KPFA - Terra Verde

Indigenous activist and education Melissa K. Nelson. As the climate crisis deepens, our educational systems have a foundational role to play in developing an informed citizenry and charting a path forward. Yet traditional Indigenous knowledge often remains marginalized in these spaces. On this episode of Terra Verde, co-host and Earth Island Journal Managing Editor Zoe Loftus-Farren speaks with Indigenous ecologist and scholar-activist Melissa K. Nelson about the importance of integrating Indigenous learning models in our educational system and engaging the mind, body, heart, and spirit in learning. Melissa has spent her career advocating for Indigenous Peoples rights and advancing Indigenous ecological knowledge, including through her decades at the helm of The Cultural Conservancy, her time as a professor at San Francisco State University, and now her work at Arizona State University’s School of Sustainability. The post Whole Body Learning on a Warming Planet appeared first on KPFA.

A weekly public affairs show that delivers news and views about the most important environmental issues in California and globally. The post Terra Verde – September 4, 2026 appeared first on KPFA.

A gray whale mother-calf pair migrating along the central California coast from the wintering grounds in Mexico to the summer feeding grounds in the Arctic. Long term ocean warming and changes in sea ice have affected supplies of the high-fat prey that these cetaceans, researchers say. Photo Courtesy of NOAA Fisheries.Photo Courtesy of NOAA. Since the start of this year, at least 187 gray whales have washed up dead or dying up and down the Pacific coast, making 2026 one of the deadliest years for the species in recent history. Marine conservationists are calling this a “catastrophic mortality event.” And on Tuesday, August 25, three conservation groups — Oasis Earth, the International Marine Mammal Project, and the Center for Biological Diversity — sent the Trump administration an intent to sue notice for failing to protect the species. In this episode of Terra Verde, Earth Island Journal editor-in-chief and cohost Maureen Nandini Mitra talks with conservation biologists Mark Palmer, associate director of the International Marine Mammal Project, a Berkeley-based environmental group that works to protect dolphins, whales, and their ocean environment (and an Earth Island project), and Rick Steiner founder of Oasis Earth, a global consultancy that focuses on policy solutions to the environmental crisis, to understand what is causing this spike in whale mortalities and what can be done to prevent it. The post Why Are So Many Gray Whales Dying Along the Pacific Coast? appeared first on KPFA.

The Trump administration advances a plan to rescind the federal “Roadless Rule,” which protects millions of acres of national forest lands from new roads and timber harvesting. Photo by Mick Haupt / Pexels. For more than two decades, the federal Roadless Area Conservation Rule has limited new road construction and certain forms of development across millions of acres of undeveloped national forest lands. Now, the US Forest Service is proposing to rescind the rule, potentially opening up more than 4 million acres of roadless forest in California to new roads, logging, mining, and other development. In this episode of Terra Verde, host and producer Hannah Wilton speaks with Wendy Schneider, executive director of Friends of the Inyo, and Benjamin Pitterle, director of advocacy and field operations at Los Padres ForestWatch, about what’s at stake for California’s public lands. The US Forest Service is accepting public comments on the proposal through September 21. Californians can learn more about the proposed rule on the federal registrar, and can submit comments by visiting Roadless.org. The post Protecting the Roadless Rule appeared first on KPFA.

The West faces extremely high fire potential this season, with a number of major wildfires already burning across the region. No single fire is the same as any other, yet public information about wildfires often lacks geographic specificity and historical context — which are critical to understanding both specific fires and our broader fire reality. Zeke Lunder started The Lookout during the Dixie Fire in 2021 to communicate more nuanced information about wildfires to the general public in real time. He has worked in wildfire for almost 30 years, including two decades as a wildfire mapping specialist and analyst on many of the largest fires in California history. Zeke has also designed and managed wildfire fuels reduction projects, and worked as a prescribed fire instructor and burn boss. He joins Terra Verde host Fiona McLeod to discuss our current fire reality and what we can all do to improve fire literacy and preparedness. The post How to Talk About Wildfire appeared first on KPFA.