Climate Resilience Grants Resume, The Story of CO2 Is the Story of Everything, and A Woolly Rhino DNA Discovery

Climate Resilience Grants Resume, The Story of CO2 Is the Story of Everything, and A Woolly Rhino DNA Discovery

From Living on Earth by Living on Earth

March 27, 2026 · 52 min

About this episode

The episode discusses the resumption of climate resilience grants, the historical significance of carbon dioxide, and a recent discovery related to the woolly rhinoceros.

A federal judge recently issued an enforcement order mandating the release of funds from FEMA's Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities or BRIC program, which the Trump administration had stalled. Why money spent to protect critical infrastructure from disasters like storms, floods and wildfires pays for itself many times over. Also, over billions of years of its history, the planet has frozen over almost completely and then lost all its ice as crocodiles basked in a balmy Arctic. Carbon-based life arose and adapted to all this change. And at the center of it all is the notorious greenhouse gas, carbon dioxide, the focus of the book The Story of CO2 Is the Story of Everything: How Carbon Dioxide Made Our World. And a recent discovery is giving us insights into the last days of the woolly rhinoceros in Siberia before it went extinct some 14,000 years ago. Researchers studied the DNA of a well-preserved piece of woolly rhino meat that was the last meal of a wolf pup. --- Interested in in gaining hands-on experience with producing a radio show and podcast? Apply to be a Living on Earth intern this summer! We’re now accepting applications and to learn more, go to…

People in this episode

Host: Living on Earth

Topics covered

  • climate resilience
  • infrastructure funding
  • carbon dioxide
  • woolly rhino discovery
  • environmental history

Keywords

  • climate resilience
  • FEMA
  • BRIC program
  • carbon dioxide
  • woolly rhinoceros
  • extinction
  • infrastructure
  • environmental science

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: FEMA, BRIC program

Books & works: The Story of CO2 Is the Story of Everything

Places: Siberia, Arctic

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