Koalas are endangered. This iconic Australian species has suffered from habitat loss and wildfires. Host Steve Curwood and Peter Dykstra, an editor at Environmental Health News discuss Australia’s response. On a more optimistic note, one of America’s biggest utilities, Duke Energy, is pledging to quit coal by 2035 and become carbon neutral by 2050. And from the history books, DuPont is awarded a patent for nylon and begins integrating plastics into our lives and environment.

After 1865 Black Americans freed from the sugar plantations of slavery rose up and built thriving communities in the deep rich bottom land along the Mississippi River between Baton Rouge and New Orleans. But a century later, the petrochemical industry moved in and now more than 150 facilities pollute the air, land, and water in what’s been dubbed Cancer Alley. Sharon Lavigne, the founder of environmental justice group RISE St. James, joins Host Steve Curwood to share her memories of what her home was like before industrial poisoning, and to talk about the ongoing struggle to protect its residents.

After the historic turnout of the 2020 Presidential election, all eyes turned to Georgia for the twin runoff races that would determine control of the Senate. Democrats pulled off victories for both Senate seats and gained control of the chamber, thanks in part to Georgia's environmental voters, who are statistically more likely to be people of color and young, and to live in urban centers. Nathaniel Stinnett, founder of the Environmental Voter Project, joins Steve Curwood to look at how the winning margin for the Senatorial victors was boosted by those unlikely voters who rank the environment as their top priority.

The Environmental Voter Project has spent years identifying registered environment-first voters and motivating participation. Their recent research found nearly 1 million environmentalists who voted in the 2020 presidential election but have never voted in a midterm election. Nathaniel Stinnett, founder and executive director of the Environmental Voter Project joins Host Steve Curwood to talk about why these so-called environmental drop-off voters could be decisive in the 2022 midterms if they show up at the polls.

In the aftermath of Hurricane Ida, the communities of the Louisiana region known as ‘Cancer Alley’ were left to deal with destroyed homes, no electricity, and polluted water. That’s on top of the toxic air they breathe every day because of industrial pollution, and Black residents have been fighting for environmental justice there for decades. Sharon Lavigne is the founder of RISE St. James and a 2021 Goldman Prize recipient for her work in organizing against a massive Formosa plastics plant, and she joins Host Steve Curwood to discuss the hurricane’s impacts and the health effects of industrial pollution in her community.

Amid the restrictions and stresses of COVID, throngs of visitors seeking the solace of nature at many of our national parks threaten to overwhelm the chronically underfunded and understaffed park system. Kristen Brengel, Senior Vice President of Government Affairs for the National Parks Conservation Association, discusses these challenges with Host Bobby Bascomb.