Eminent evolutionary biologist E.O. Wilson has an audacious proposal: permanently protect half the planet. He says that's what's necessary to prevent a mass extinction event as serious as the one that killed the dinosaurs.

Wilson told writer Tony Hiss, in a recent article in Smithsonian, “It’s been in my mind for years that people haven’t been thinking big enough—even conservationists. Half Earth is the goal, but it’s how we get there, and whether we can come up with a system of wild landscapes we can hang onto. I see a chain of uninterrupted corridors forming, with twists and turns, some of them opening up to become wide enough to accommodate national biodiversity parks, a new kind of park that won’t let species vanish.”

In the 9-10 am hour Thursday, Relocalizing Vermont will feature Tony Hiss talking about what he learned from Wilson, and whether it's even possible for humanity to set aside so much area. Plus, we'll hear from people who are doing just this sort of work in New England, about what Half Earth would mean for our region. Plus Vermont climatologist Alan Betts will give us the latest on climate news affecting New England. More details on the program later in the week…

Carl Etnier hosts Relocalizing Vermont Thursday, 9:00 - 10:30 am Eastern, on WGDR Plainfield 91.1 FM / WGDH Hardwick 91.7 FM / streaming at wgdr.org

Jan 25, 2025, 10 to 11 AM

Jan 25, 2025, 2 to 9 PM

Jan 30, 2025, 2:30 to 4 PM