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Earth’s tropical regions lost 12.2 million hectares of tree cover in 2020, including 4.2 million hectares, an area the size of the Netherlands, within primary forests. Carbon emissions resulting from this primary forest loss (2.64 Gt CO2) are roughly the same as the annual emissions of 570 million automobiles. This primary forest loss was 12% higher in 2020 than the year before, the second year in a row of worsening primary forest loss in the tropics. Indonesia’s rate of primary forest loss declined for the fourth year in a row in 2020 and it was one of only a few countries to do so. Brazil led the world in 2020 in primary forest loss with a total of 1.7 million hectares lost, an increase of 25% from the year before. The world’s largest tropical wetland, the Pantanal, lost 16 times more primary forest in 2020 than in 2019, with experts estimating that about 30% of the Pantanal burned last year. Source: Global Forest Watch, World Resources Institute

By Becky Hoag* Buffalo River On a cold January day in 1968, the Buffalo River in New York caught fire. It would be the first of several river fires in the Great Lakes over the following year. The Lakes had been long polluted by gallons of oil and grease being poured into them every day. “We’re at the end of the Erie Canal, so Buffalo was the reason for the westward expansion in the United States,” Buffalo resident Marcus Rosten explains. “So we were an industrial hub and just abused our natural resources.” As a result, people grew up learning to stay clear from the water, and the pollution in the waters increased with sewage and garbage being dumped in it. The less people interacted with the water, the less they cared about it. Out of sight, out of mind. Local Ecology Teacher Marcus Rosten Inspires Students Rosten teaches aquatic ecology at McKinley High School, which sits in front of a creek trickling off the Buffalo River. He says the creek could have been the school’s main water supply and even provide fish if it were clean enough. For now, he works to remind his students of the creek’s existence and to teach them the history behind why they cannot drink the water. He started the job this school year and says it has not been easy teaching kids to appreciate nature from a screen. It often can feel like he is talking to himself, but he does his best to at least get his students out virtually by using his phone to take class outside to sample bird songs. “I can put my phone on my scope and zoom in so they’re looking at the robins like they would with binoculars,” Rosten says. “Digital outside is better than no outside.” Luckily, the aquatic ecology class at McKinley is unique. As a vocational school, students pick between multiple hands-on tracks, such as carpentry, plumbing, printing, and aquatic ecology. Once they choose a track, the vocational teacher works with the students for an hour and a half every school day for the next three years. Rosten teaches his students fish husbandry, conservation, and ecology through a combination of lectures, guest speakers, field trips, and hands-on labs. The school’s campus holds a greenhouse and two large ponds filled with tilapia especially for this class. Until in-person teaching can fully resume, Rosten has taken the opportunity to familiarize his students with the ins and outs of these systems. “The whole idea is that we have all these living systems and we teach environmental education and career and technical education using those living systems with a hands-on approach—getting kids out in the fields doing sampling work,” Rosten says. The western New York native focuses his lessons with a regional lens as a way to personalize environmental lessons to the students. It also just makes sense to do so with how much environmental history surrounds them. Just a half hour drive away from Buffalo sits Love Canal, Niagara Falls. The area was originally slated to be a canal between the upper and lower Niagara Falls, but it became a municipal and industrial chemical dumpsite when the plan fell through in the 1920s. The property’s owners, the Hooker Chemical Company, then covered the landfill up in the 1950s and sold it to the city for a dollar. Unaware of what was just beneath the soil, the city built about 100 homes and a school there, which was fine until it poured the first day of August 1978. The ground began leaching chemicals into the streams and drinking water. Trees began to turn black and die. Cases of birth defects and miscarriages began to skyrocket. Kids got cancer after playing in the creek. Community members, particularly members of the homeowners association, demanded government action. The Love Canal disaster sparked the movement to start the EPA’s Superfund, or CERCLA (the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980). Love Canal became one of the first locations to receive a Superfund to clean up the hazardous waste. Now the area lies abandoned. Since this tragedy, many other similar developed dumpsites have been found around the country. Rosten brings this story home to his students by inviting one former Love Canal homeowners association member, a mother whose son died of cancer after playing in the creek by Love Canal, to speak. For Rosten’s class, this is both an environmental disaster to learn from and an example of how impactful community action can be. It also reminds his students how fragile ecosystems can be. “I worry about getting too doom and gloom sometimes,” Rosten admits. “The more you are aware of your environment, of the fragility of our ecosystem, the more you see the environmental detriment and harms.” He mitigates this by focusing on the complexity of the system and inspiring stewardship. He likes to remind students of what the lakes and streams used to be like before industrialization, and what they can become again. For example, the creek behind McKinley High School used to be known for its water sports. Rosten says he is starting to see the creek come back to life again as people are realizing the value of being a waterfront city, if not environmentally then definitely economically. A 2018 study by the Great Lakes Commission showed that for every dollar invested in the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative, an average of $4 in economic activity will be paid back to the region. Health is another factor inextricably linked to the environment. Rosten says it is more compelling to remind people how the health of the water connects to human health, rather than relying on them to care for nature’s intrinsic value. So far this adjustment in communication seems to be working. “What we’re seeing now is a reawakening,” Rosten says. “People are starting to realize that a clean waterway is the key to our revitalization and a clean environment is the key to our economic revival.” This reawakening is in big part thanks to community effort via nonprofits and dedicated citizens. Rosten emphasizes the importance of community-based action by inviting different local environmental organizations to speak to his students. He invited many of his contacts from his previous roles as an aquatic invasive species program manager for the West New York Partnership for Regional Invasive Species Management and as a fish and wildlife technician for the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, among other jobs. Western New York is turning a corner, thanks in part to Rosten's work. Named one of North American Association for Environmental Education (NAAEE)’s 30 Under 30, Rosten has spent his career fostering environmental stewardship through the Youth Environmental Leadership Program (YELP) with the non-profit Buffalo Niagara Waterkeeper. He takes what he has learned out in the field back to community members and educational programs. While Rosten has worked in positions that hold educational elements, he chose to go all in to an education position to inspire the next generation of environmental stewards. “I realize these problems that we have in the environment and our natural resources are so complex, and I can’t solve them [on my own],” Rosten says. “The only thing I could do is hopefully change and inspire the next generation of stewards to take the lead and shift society in a better direction.” *Becky Hoag is a science writer with a special interest in climate change communication. You can find her work on her site beckyhoag.com or through her YouTube channel Beckisphere at https://www.youtube.com/c/Beckisphere.

Plastic has been found in more than 60% of all seabirds and in 100% of sea turtles species. Every year, 8 million metric tons (8.8 million tons) of plastics enter our ocean on top of the estimated 150 million metric tons (165 million tons) that currently circulate our marine environments. 2.5 billion tons of solid waste was produced in 2010; 275 million metric tons (303 million tons) of it was plastic waste. 2 billion people within 30 miles of the coast create 100 million metric tons (110 million tons) of coastal plastic waste. At the current rate, we could be facing 250 million metric tons (275 million tons) in the ocean in less than 10 years. Source: Ocean Conservancy

AMR occurs when bacteria, viruses, fungi and parasites change over time and no longer respond to medicines. Misuse and overuse of antimicrobials (antibiotics) are the main drivers in the development of drug-resistant pathogens. The rate of resistance to ciprofloxacin, for example, an antibiotic commonly used to treat urinary tract infections, varied from 8.4% to 92.9% in reporting countries. Poor sanitation and unclean drinking water are factors in the spread of microbes that are resistant to antimicrobials. The WHO declared AMR to be one of the top ten health threats to humanity. According to the WHO, the clinical pipeline has no new effective antimicrobials at this time. The emergence of resistance to new ‘last resort’ TB drugs to treat drug-resistant TB poses a major threat. Source: WHO

In 2019, consumers tossed away nearly 1 billion tons of food or 17% of all food they bought. In 2019, 690 million people were undernourished. 8 to 10% of all greenhouse gas emissions come from producing food that is ultimately thrown away. In 2019, 61% of food waste was generated by households, 26% from food service and 13% from retail. An estimated one-third of the food we produce is lost or wasted, and with it an estimated 38% of energy consumed in food systems. Food systems currently consume 30% of the world’s available energy. Source: United Nations Environment Programme and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations

In 1993 to 1994, investigators in India seized 1470 lbs of tiger bones from the black market. A person can have a tiger killed for as little as $1 to $9, depending on whether they use poison or a steel trap. Far eastern traditional medicine manufacturing has been a destination for tiger bones. A general offense under India’s Wildlife Protection Act carries a maximum penalty of three years in prison. Over 1300 wild animals died of electrocution, accidental or deliberate, in the last decade in India. India recorded over 100 tiger deaths last year. Source: Wildlife Protection Service of India

Disasters lower women’s life expectancy more than men’s. Women, boys, and girls are 14 times more likely than men to die during a disaster. Most of the victims trapped in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina were African-American women and their children. Women were 61% of fatalities in Myanmar after Cyclone Nargis in 2008, 70% after the 2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami in Banda Aceh, and 91% after Cyclone Gorky in Bangladesh in 1991. Following a disaster, many women may avoid shelters for fear of being sexually assaulted. Women in poorer countries often are at home with no early warning system (television or radio). Source: United Nations Development Programme

At 1.5°C, over 70% of coral reefs will die, but at 2°C, all reefs over 99% will be lost. Insects, vital for pollination of crops and plants, are likely to lose half their habitat at 1.5°C but this becomes almost twice as likely at 2°C. The Arctic Ocean being completely bare of sea ice in summer would be a once per century likelihood at 1.5°C but this leaps to a once a decade likelihood at 2°C. Over 6 million people currently live in coastal areas vulnerable to sea-level rise at 1.5°C degrees, and at 2°C, this would affect 10 million more people by the end of this century. Sea-level rise will be 100 cm higher at 2°C than at 1.5°C. The frequency and intensity of droughts, storms and extreme weather events are increasingly likely above 1.5°C. Source: Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change

In 2018, the US produced 292.4 million tons of municipal solid waste (MSW), or 4.9 lbs per person per day. About 24% of the MSW, or 69 million tons, was recycled. About 8% of MSW, or 25 million tons, was composted. Paper and paperboard makes up 23.1% of waste produced. Food makes up 21.6% of waste produced. Plastics make up 12.2% of waste produced, or almost 36 million tons of plastic waste produced in a year. Source: US Environmental Protection Agency

Overall, mostly due to the COVID-19 pandemic and associated restrictions, energy-related CO2 emissions decreased by 11% in the US in 2020. Transportation sector: Petroleum, which typically accounts for the majority of CO2 emissions in transportation, experienced a 15% decrease in emissions compared to 2019. Commercial sector: CO2 emissions associated with energy use fell overall by 12%, with emissions from commercial electricity down by 13%, commercial petroleum down by 13%, and natural gas by 11%. Industrial sector: Energy-related CO2 emissions fell by 8% overall, with coal emissions down 15%, electricity by 15%, petroleum by 8%, and natural gas by 2%. Residential sector: CO2 emissions associated with energy use in the residential sector declined by 6% in 2020, with residential petroleum emissions down by 11%, natural gas by 7%, and electricity by 5%. Residential petroleum emissions fell by 11%, natural gas by 7%, and electricity by 5%. Within the U.S. power sector, emissions from coal declined the most, at 19%. Natural gas-related CO2 rose by 3%. In 2020, as fossil fuel generation declined, generation from renewables continued to grow. Generation from wind and solar together increased by 17% in 2020 Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration

On March 31, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) released the results of its “The World in 2030” Survey conducted in 2020. The report revealed what over 15,000 global participants considered to be the most urgent problems of the decade and what were the needed solutions. With 57% of respondents under the age of 35 and 35% under 25, the survey’s results particularly showcase the viewpoints of the world’s youth. UNESCO plans to use the insight from this report to guide their own policies in coming years. A majority 67% of participants chose climate change and loss of biodiversity as the top challenges facing the world. They further expressed concern for increasing natural disasters and extreme weather, risk of conflict or violence, and impacts on oceans. Notably, participants revealed that they were losing hope to be able to solve these and other challenges. For 7 of the 11 challenges named in the study, education in various forms was identified as the top solution. For 3 more issues, education placed second. Teaching peace, non-violence, cultural tolerance, human rights, media literacy, science, and technology were viewed as critical. An overwhelming 95% of respondents felt that international cooperation was essential to overcome global problems. However, only 25% actually believed the world would be able to come together effectively. The survey revealed a “crisis in faith” in the effectiveness of multilateralism. Source: UNESCO report

The international response to COVID-19 has taken resources and attention away from tuberculosis (TB) and other illnesses, according to Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director-General of the World Health Organization (WHO). “The disruption to essential services for people with TB is just one tragic example of the ways the pandemic is disproportionately affecting some of the world’s poorest people, who were already at higher risk for TB,” said Dr. Ghebreyesus. The WHO estimates that 1.4 million fewer people received care for TB in 2020 than in 2019, according to preliminary data compiled by WHO from over 80 countries—a reduction of 21% from 2019. According to the data, the countries with the biggest relative gaps were Indonesia at 42%, South Africa at 41%, Philippines at 37%, and India at 25%. Stated WHO’s Director-General, “These sobering data point to the need for countries to make universal health coverage a key priority as they respond to and recover from the pandemic, to ensure access to essential services for TB and all diseases.” WHO is concerned that more than half a million more people may have died from TB in 2020 because they were unable to obtain a diagnosis. Source: WHO report