As the host of this year’s UN climate treaty negotiations and home to most of the Amazon tropical rainforest, Brazil led a major advance for forests and their indigenous inhabitants. The new $125 billion fund, with guarantees for investors, will send its profits to countries with documented forest preservation, including some cash going directly to indigenous and local populations. 

Also, we now know about the severe health impacts of tiny airborne particles or PM2.5, thanks in large part to the groundbreaking “Six Cities” study that started in the 1970s. The leaders of that team were Doug Dockery and Arden Pope, and they’re co-authors of the 2025 book, Particles of Truth: A Story of Discovery, Controversy, and the Fight for Healthy Air.

And members of the Living on Earth crew share a few laughs and our favorite Thanksgiving recipes, from pumpkin soup to chouriço stuffing to desserts made with leftover pie crust.
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If you or someone you know might be interested in a Living on Earth internship, this is “last call” to apply for Spring 2026 by Wednesday, November 26th! Learn more at loe.org/about/jobs 

Tropical Forests, Forever? Air Pollution Pioneers, and Thanksgiving Feast Favorites.

Wildfire smoke is fouling air quality across the US with increasing regularity, and it carries a heavy toll. A September 2025 study published in the journal Nature found that every year around 40,000 Americans are dying from wildfire smoke, with more on the way as the planet warms. Air filters, face masks and low-intensity prescribed burning can help protect the public from this growing threat.
Also, around a third of the firefighters who battle wildfires in California are incarcerated, and until recently they were paid just $5 to $10 a day. Under a state law enacted in October 2025, incarcerated firefighters are now paid at least $7.25 per hour while actively fighting fires.
And around the world, Indigenous people have been using fire on the landscape for thousands of years. One such practice comes from the Métis tradition in Western Canada. A Cree-Métis scientist shares with us how this low-intensity “good fire” helps rekindle cultural traditions and cultivate healthier ecosystems. 
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Do you have a story of recovery or rethinking your relationship with wildfire you’d like to share? Record and send us a voice memo at comments@loe.org, and we might feature your story on Living on Earth. To find out how, check out this week’s Living on Earth newsletter. Just go to the Newsletter tab at loe.org and click on “View previous newsletters.”

Wildfire Threats and Resilience

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Endless

Always With Me

Ascent

In Darkness

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Start Again

Artificial intelligence or AI’s huge appetite for power is reviving demand for older and dirtier fossil fuel energy. We talk about the massive data centers that power AI, community pushback, and how AI seems to be putting vital climate targets out of reach. 
Also, the Make America Healthy Again or MAHA movement has pinpointed some health concerns backed up by credible research, including concerns about pesticides such as the probable carcinogen glyphosate, the key ingredient in Monsanto’s Roundup. But after agribusiness lobbying the Trump Administration erased pesticides from its MAHA Commission report. 
And Braiding Sweetgrass author Robin Wall Kimmerer is also the author of a 2024 book that continues her explorations of gift economies. She shares insights from The Serviceberry: Abundance and Reciprocity in the Natural World and how gift economies can offer an alternative to overconsumption.

AI Power Demand and the Climate, MAHA, MAGA and a Win for Pesticides, and Robin Wall Kimmerer on The Serviceberry.

Climate activist Bill McKibben, who authored The End of Nature nearly 40 years ago, is back with Here Comes the Sun: A Last Chance for the Climate and a Fresh Chance for Civilization. He joins us for a wide-ranging discussion on the stunning growth of renewable energy from the sun and wind, led in part by China, even as the fossil fuel industry digs in.

Living on Earth’s Explorer-in-Residence, Mark Seth Lender provides a refuge for hungry ducks during hunting season. He also observed something remarkable: these “dabbling” ducks have learned to dive for the seed he offers them.

And as a preview for next week’s Winter Solstice storytelling special, we feature a traditional “Wassail Song” with storyteller Diane Edgecomb.

Zouk love dj pam and pierre antoine

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