Smog over Los Angeles. Westend61 / Getty Images
After four decades of improving air quality, the U.S. has started to take a step backwards, as the number of polluted days has ticked upwards over the last two years, the Associated Press reported.
Federal data shows there were 15 percent more days with unhealthy air over the U.S. in 2017 and 2018 than there were on average from 2013 through 2016, according to the AP. In that four-year span, Americans had the fewest number of polluted days since 1980.
President Trump has claimed that air quality is improving under his watch, saying earlier this month, "We have the cleanest air in the world, in the United States, and it's gotten better since I'm president." Yet, the facts tell a different story.
World Health Organization data says otherwise. When looking at fine particulate matter, a key to air pollution, the U.S. ranks tenth in the world, well below several European countries, Australia, Canada and New Zealand, as the New York Times reported.
"We do not have the cleanest air and we have not crossed the finish line when it comes to pollution," said former Obama U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Chief Gina McCarthy, now director of the Center for Climate, Health and the Global Environment at the Harvard School of Public Health, as the AP reported.
Fine particulate matter is especially relevant after the EPA rolled back the Obama-era Clean Power Plan Wednesday, as EcoWatch reported. Fine particulate matter is a byproduct of the burning that frequently comes from power plants, engine exhaust and wildfires. It is also hazardous to human health, leading to asthma and respiratory inflammation, and increasing the risk for lung cancer, heart attack and stroke, according to the New York Times.
Furthermore, EPA data found there were significantly more polluted days each year of Mr. Trump's than in any year of President Obama's second term, according to the AP. And the worst of the bad days jumped even more than the 15 percent rise in unhealthy air. On average, there were nearly 140 times, in 2017 and 2018, when a city's air pollution reached "very unhealthy" and "hazardous" levels with the air quality index greater than 200. That's more than two-and-a-half times the average of nearly 55 from 2013 to 2016, the AP reported.
"Today it feels like the future of our kids and our country is at stake," said McCarthy.
Federal regulations since the Clean Air Act of 1970 that limit the emissions of certain chemicals and soot from factories, cars, and trucks helped dramatically improve air quality. In fact, a recent study, found that air pollution related deaths fell by about 30 percent in the two decades between 1990 and 2010.
Yet, air pollution is still a scourge. EPA data says that more than 110,000 million Americans live in counties with unhealthy levels of air pollution, according to the New York Times. And one recent study found that air pollution in the U.S. led to 107,000 premature deaths and cost the country $866 billion in 2011. Of the early deaths, 57 percent were caused by energy consumption — 28 percent were transportation related, 14 percent were from coal-fired and gas power plants, while 15 percent were caused by agricultural activities like manure storage, as CNN reported.
"Cars and trucks are much cleaner than they were, power plants are cleaner, industrial operations are cleaner," said Paul Billings, a representative of the American Lung Association, to the New York Times. "But cleaner air is not clean air."
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Reindeers at their winter location in northern Sweden on Feb. 4, 2020, near Ornskoldsvik. JONATHAN NACKSTRAND / AFP via Getty Images
Sweden's reindeer have a problem. In winter, they feed on lichens buried beneath the snow. But the climate crisis is making this difficult. Warmer temperatures mean moisture sometimes falls as rain instead of snow. When the air refreezes, a layer of ice forms between the reindeer and their meal, forcing them to wander further in search of ideal conditions. And sometimes, this means crossing busy roads.
<p>Luckily, Sweden's transport authorities have a solution. They are planning to build a dozen bridges in northern Sweden so that the reindeer can cross in peace, Swedish public science radio <a href="https://sverigesradio.se/artikel/7649066" target="_blank">Vetenskapsradion reported Monday</a>, according to <a href="https://www.thelocal.se/20210119/sweden-to-build-reindeer-bridges-so-they-can-cross-roads-to-find-food" target="_blank">The Local Sweden</a>.</p><p>"In a changing climate with difficult snow conditions, it will be extra important to be able to find and access alternative pastures," Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences landscape ecologist Per Sandström told the radio, as <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/jan/20/sweden-to-build-bridges-for-reindeer-to-safely-cross-roads-and-railways?CMP=fb_gu&utm_medium=Social&utm_source=Facebook&fbclid=IwAR2nkVyCQKM6c-SKoghZwJbXw0zrgKjcJhjkh9KqZkd1utAWq1LFzaBTveU#Echobox=1611148969" target="_blank">The Guardian translated</a>.</p><p>The new bridges will be called "renoducts," a combination of the Swedish word for reindeer (ren) and viaduct.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/wildlife" target="_self">Wildlife</a> bridges are an effective solution to the problem of helping animals to travel through a world criss-crossed by highways. The <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/san-antonio-wildlife-bridge-2649485994.html" target="_self">first</a> was constructed in France in the 1950s, and they can significantly reduce collisions between animals and vehicles.</p><p>Work will begin this year on the first of the Swedish renoducts over the E4 motorway north of the city of Umeå, Vetenskapsradion reported. This motorway now has to be shut down entirely every time a herd attempts to cross.</p><p>The renoducts aren't only a boon for Sweden's 250,000 reindeer. They are also a help to the 4,500 Indigenous Sami who have special authorization to herd them, The Guardian explained.</p>
<p>The changing climate has driven up costs and extended the time it takes to herd the reindeer, according to an AFP story published in <a href="https://www.thelocal.se/20200529/how-swedens-sami-reindeer-herders-are-being-forced-to-adapt-to-climate-change" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">The Local Sweden in May 2020</a>. Sami couple Margret Fjellstrom and Daniel Viklund told AFP that it took them twice as long to move their reindeer from their summer to winter pastures last year than it would have under regular weather conditions.</p><p>"It can rain in January, it can snow in May, there's no logic to it any more," Fjellstrom told AFP.</p><p>Sami herders hope the new renoducts will help.</p><p>"I'm looking forward to us being able to cross undisturbed," reindeer herder Tobias Jonsson told Vetenskapsradion, as The Guardian translated.</p><p>He said that herders had helped with the design of the renoducts so that the reindeer would be more likely to use them. They recommended two meter (approximately seven foot) barriers so that the reindeer would not fall off but insisted that the bridges be open on top so that the reindeer would not be too frightened to cross.</p><p>Sweden's reindeer aren't the only ones in trouble because of climate change. A <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/reindeer-population-climate-change-2623281571.html" target="_self">2018 report</a> found that reindeer and caribou numbers across the Arctic had fallen by 56 percent in the preceding two decades.</p>
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The Great Lakes, including Lake Michigan, experienced some of their warmest temperatures on record in the summer of 2020. Ken Ilio / Moment / Getty Images
Heatwaves are not just distinct to the land. A recent study found lakes are susceptible to temperature rise too, causing "lake heatwaves," The Independent reported.
<p>For the first time, researchers showed how lakes experience <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/heat-wave" target="_self">heatwaves</a> and are sensitive to variations in the climate, lead author Dr. Iestyn Woolway, a research fellow at the European Space Agency's Climate Office in the UK, told The Independent.</p><p>Published on Wednesday in Nature, the study analyzed how hundreds of lake temperatures changed across the world, from the period between 1901 to 2099. If greenhouse gas emissions continue to rise, lakes will experience hotter and longer heatwaves, researchers <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-020-03119-1" target="_blank">found.</a></p>
<p>Woolway and his team studied lake temperatures during heatwaves under two scenarios: high greenhouse gas emissions and low greenhouse gas emissions. Compared to data from the period between 1970-1999, the average temperature of global lakes could increase to about 1.7°C during heatwaves by the end of the century in a high greenhouse gas emission future, <a href="https://www.independent.co.uk/environment/climate-change/climate-crisis-lake-heatwaves-lethal-b1790076.html" target="_blank">The Independent reported.</a></p><p>But high greenhouse gas emissions could increase more than just a lake's temperature during a heatwave. The average length of a heatwave could also increase from eight days to 95 days by the end of the century, The Independent reported.</p><p>"As lakes warm during the twenty-first century, their heatwaves will begin to extend across multiple seasons, with some lakes reaching a permanent heatwave state," <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-020-03119-1" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">the study noted</a>.</p>
<p>Over the summer, the Great Lakes experienced some of their warmest temperatures on record. Surface water temperature in all the Great Lakes, except for Lake Superior, experienced temperatures in the 70s, <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/weather/2020/07/14/great-lakes-record-warm-water/" target="_blank">The Washington Post</a> reported in July. Lake Erie even reported temperatures in the 80s, similar to that of Virginia Beach.</p><p>"Ultimately, lake temperatures follow the temperatures of the atmosphere," Dr. Woolway told The Independent.</p><p>The Great Lakes water temperatures were six to eleven degrees warmer than normal this past summer, responding to air temperatures in the region that were some of the warmest ever reported, The Washington Post reported.</p><p>"Last year was really cold and there was a lot of rain. This year there hasn't been as much rain, and it's been persistently hot," Andrea Vander Woude, manager of the Great Lakes CoastWatch program at NOAA, told The Washington Post.</p>
<p>Some locals in the Great Lake region had nothing to complain about. "I'm loving this," Whitney Miller, a Michigan-based swim instructor, told the Record-Eagle, a newspaper in the region, according to The Washington Post. "Last year I was in a wetsuit up through the 15th of July ... I was a popsicle." However, high temperatures in lakes pose a serious threat to the survival of natural ecosystems, the study found.</p><p>Serving as more than just a recreational hotspot, the Great Lakes are an important source for clean water and economic livelihood. Nearly 90 percent of the freshwater in the United States and approximately 20 percent of the world's fresh water supply comes from the Great Lakes, <a href="https://www.noaa.gov/education/resource-collections/freshwater/great-lakes-ecoregion#:~:text=Lawrence%20Seaway.,system%20for%20clean%20drinking%20water" target="_blank">according to NOAA</a>. Millions of pounds of fish are also extracted out of the lakes each year.</p><p>Increases in water temperature will reduce habitat for coldwater fish, making the lakes more suitable habitats for invasive species and susceptible to dangerous algal blooms, <a href="https://www.nwf.org/Educational-Resources/Wildlife-Guide/Wild-Places/Great-Lakes" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">The National Wildlife Federation reported</a>.</p><p>But meeting the <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/paris-agreement">Paris agreement'</a>s goal of limiting global warming below 2°C compared to pre-industrial levels could slow temperature increases and reduce heatwave length in lakes, the study found.</p>
<p>Relative to the period between 1970 and 1999, lake temperatures during heatwaves could be limited to just a 0.3°C increase by the end of the century if this goal is met. A lake's heatwave duration could also be limited, increasing by only 27 days, rather than 95 days in a high emissions future, according to the study.</p><p>To avoid major changes to lake ecosystems, action must be taken now, the researchers stress. "Reducing greenhouse gas emissions must remain at the forefront of our agenda," Dr. Woolway told The Independent. </p>
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Starfish might appear simple creatures, but the way these animals' distinctive biology evolved was, until recently, unknown. FangXiaNuo / Getty Images
By Aaron W Hunter
A chance discovery of a beautifully preserved fossil in the desert landscape of Morocco has solved one of the great mysteries of biology and paleontology: how starfish evolved their arms.
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<p>Starfish are one of the most recognizable animals on our planet. Most people probably associate them with trips to the beach, walking in rock pools or swimming in the sea. They might appear simple creatures, but the way these animals' distinctive biology evolved was, until recently, unknown.</p><p><a href="https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rsbl.2020.0809" target="_blank">Our new study</a>, published in the journal Biology Letters, sheds light on how the starfish developed its distinctive shape.</p><h2>The Mystery of Starfish</h2><p>Starfish, and their close relatives the brittle stars, belong to a group called the <a href="https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2014.0479" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">echinoderms</a>. These are animals with spiny skins, including sea urchins, sea lilies and sea cucumbers, with bizarre biological traits. They have no head or a brain, and have a unique circulatory system called a water vascular system, which uses seawater instead of blood. They even possess the power to regenerate over 75% of their body mass if it is lost.</p><p>Starfish have almost always had the same five-armed body shape. This has not changed for almost 480 million years, throughout the five great <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-greatest-mass-extinction-ever-may-have-been-kicked-off-by-microbes-25061" target="_blank">mass extinctions</a> they survived.</p><p>Other echinoderms use their arms to filter feed or catch food from the water and, unlike starfish, face upwards with their arms spreading outward to feed. But starfish do not, and their distinctive body shape appeared in the fossil record fully formed. So for years scientists have been perplexed by how it evolved and how starfish are related to their close relatives, the brittle stars.</p>
<h2>The Pompeii of Paleontology</h2><p>The Fezouata formations are sedimentary rock deposits in Morocco dating back to the early Ordovician period, <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/nature09038" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">a critical stage in the evolution of life</a>, which ended around 460 million years ago. Paleontologists think life <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/let.12259" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">rapidly diversified during this time</a>, in an episode call the great Ordovician biodiversification event, when animals we might recognize today first appeared.</p><p>The Fezouata formations are a bit like the Pompeii of paleontology. The conditions on the seabed meant even soft tissue, which <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gr.2015.03.009" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">would normally be destroyed over time</a>, could be preserved. Because of this, the formations provide a window into what happened at a key moment in the history of life on Earth.</p>
<img lazy-loadable="true" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yNTUxMTc2OS9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTY2Nzc2NjU4NX0.TlhJ3Afacw2rrYbL0BNtsuwr85ulUivm3pvkE64xhc4/img.jpg?width=980" id="6e925" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="44d850359181b3c5aac81d0bf9705fb9" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" data-width="1200" data-height="798" />
The Pompeii of palaeontology. Aaron Hunter, Author provided
<h2></h2><p>Although starfish might appear very robust animals, they are typically made up of lots of hard parts attached by ligaments and soft tissue which, upon death, quickly degrade. This means we rely on places like the Fezouata formations to provide snapshots of their evolution.</p><p>The starfish fossil record is patchy, especially at the critical time when many of these animal groups first appeared. Sorting out how each of the various types of ancient starfish relate to each other is like putting a puzzle together when many of the parts are missing.</p><h2>The Oldest Starfish</h2><p><em><a href="https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/216101v1.full.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Cantabrigiaster</a></em> is the most primitive starfish-like animal to be discovered in the fossil record. It was discovered in 2003, but it has taken over 17 years to work out its true significance.</p><p>What makes <em>Cantabrigiaster</em> unique is that it lacks almost all the characteristics we find in brittle stars and starfish.</p><p>Starfish and brittle stars belong to the family Asterozoa. Their ancestors, the Somasteroids were especially fragile - before <em>Cantabrigiaster</em> we only had a handful of specimens. The celebrated Moroccan paleontologist Mohamed <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.palaeo.2016.06.041" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Ben Moula</a> and his local team was instrumental in discovering <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0031018216302334?via%3Dihub" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">these amazing fossils</a> near the town of Zagora, in Morocco.</p><h2>The Breakthrough</h2><p>Our breakthrough moment came when I compared the arms of <em>Cantabrigiaster</em> with those of modern sea lilles, filter feeders with long feathery arms that tend to be attached to the sea floor by a stem or stalk.</p><p>The striking similarity between these modern filter feeders and the ancient starfish led our team from the University of Cambridge and Harvard University to create a new analysis. We applied a biological model to the features of all the current early Asterozoa fossils in existence, along with a sample of their closest relatives.</p><img lazy-loadable="true" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yNTUxMTc2Ny9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTY2MTg3MzQ0N30.6-aipySK8z8wqCr2zZWUCRAga4I0InHXnCI9yRaQXhA/img.jpg?width=980" id="48c69" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="3db466babd81a70a84c720d980653516" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" data-width="1200" data-height="800" />
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<em><a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/aaron-w-hunter-271771" target="_blank">Aaron W Hunter</a> is a </em><em>Science Guide & Tutor, Dept. of Earth Sciences, University of Cambridge.</em>
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<em>Disclosure statement: </em><em>Aaron W Hunter does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</em>
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<em></em><em>Reposted with permission from <a href="https://theconversation.com/starfish-rare-fossil-helps-answer-the-mystery-of-how-they-evolved-arms-153481" target="_blank">The Conversation</a>.</em>
</p><iframe height="1" src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/153481/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-advanced" width="1"></iframe>Cantabrigiaster is the most primitive starfish-like animal to be discovered in the fossil record. Aaron Hunter, Author provided
<p>Our results demonstrate <em>Cantabrigiaster</em> is the most primitive of all the Asterozoa, and most likely evolved from ancient animals called crinoids that lived 250 million years before dinosaurs. The five arms of starfish are a relic left over from these ancestors. In the case of <em>Cantabrigiaster</em>, and its starfish descendants, it evolved by flipping upside-down so its arms are face down on the sediment to feed.</p><p>Although we sampled a relatively small numbers of those ancestors, one of the unexpected outcomes was it provided an idea of how they could be related to each other. Paleontologists studying echinoderms are often lost in detail as all the different groups are so radically different from each other, so it is hard to tell which evolved first.</p>
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U.S. President Joe Biden sits in the Oval Office as he signs a series of orders at the White House in Washington, D.C. on January 20, 2021. Jim Watson / AFP / Getty Images
President Joe Biden officially took office Wednesday, and immediately set to work reversing some of former President Donald Trump's environmental policies.
<p><br>As he did on his campaign and transition website, Biden emphasized the <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/climate-change/" target="_self">climate crisis</a> as one of the major challenges facing his administration, along with the coronavirus pandemic and systemic racism.</p><p>"A cry for survival comes from the planet itself," Biden said in his <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/speeches-remarks/2021/01/20/inaugural-address-by-president-joseph-r-biden-jr/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">inaugural address</a>. "A cry that can't be any more desperate or any more clear."</p><p>Hours after his inauguration, Biden signed a total of 17 executive orders, memorandums and proclamations, <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2021/01/20/us/biden-executive-orders.html" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">The New York Times reported</a>. Some of these orders had important implications for the climate and environment.</p>
<h3><br>1. Rejoining the Paris Agreement</h3><p>Biden honored a <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/paris-climate-agreement-biden-2648649350.html" target="_self">campaign promise</a> by <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2021/01/20/paris-climate-agreement/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">rejoining</a> the <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/paris-agreement" target="_self">Paris Agreement</a> on his first day in office.</p><p>The agreement recommits the U.S. to reducing greenhouse gas emissions enough to limit global warming to well below two degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels. Under Trump, the U.S. officially exited in <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/paris-agreement-us-withdrawal-2648618695.html">November 2020</a>.</p><p>Biden's reversal means the U.S. will now rejoin the agreement 30 days from Jan. 20.</p><h3>2. Cancelling the Keystone XL Pipeline</h3><p>Biden also signed a massive order titled "<a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/presidential-actions/2021/01/20/executive-order-protecting-public-health-and-environment-and-restoring-science-to-tackle-climate-crisis/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Protecting Public Health and the Environment and Restoring Science to Tackle the Climate Crisis</a>." This order included revoking Trump's 2019 permit for the controversial <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/keystone-xl" target="_self">Keystone XL</a> pipeline.</p><p>The 1,700-mile pipeline would have carried around 800,000 barrels of oil a day from Alberta, Canada to the Texas Gulf Coast, <a href="https://apnews.com/article/joe-biden-alberta-2fbcce48372f5c29c3ae6f6f93907a6d" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">The Associated Press reported</a>. The Obama administration <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/breaking-president-obama-rejects-keystone-xl-pipeline-1882117930.html" target="_self">revoked the permit in 2015</a>, but the Trump administration <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/trump-dakota-access-pipeline-2211697835.html" target="_self">reversed course</a>.</p><p>Construction on the controversial project halted Wednesday in light of Biden's action, The Associated Press reported.</p>
<h3><br>3. Reversing Trump's Rollbacks</h3><p>The same executive order also empowered agencies to review Trump's many environmental rollbacks. It established commitments to listen to science, protect public health and the environment and conserve sites of national interest. Additionally, the order asked federal agencies to review any Trump regulations that violated these commitments.</p><p>The order specifically highlighted four rollbacks to be halted, altered or revoked: <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/epa-methane-emissions-regulations-2646947182.html" target="_self">methane emissions</a> in the oil and gas sector, <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/trump-fuel-efficiency-proposal-2592345279.html" target="_self">fuel efficiency standards</a> for cars and light trucks, energy efficiency standards for appliances and buildings, and air pollution controls, including the decision to limit <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/epa-secret-science-rule-health-2649767248.html" target="_self">certain scientific studies</a> for setting public health policies.</p><p>Further, Biden called for a review of the <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/shrinking-bears-ears-grand-staircase-escalante-2645172719.html" target="_self">shrinking</a> of Bears Ears and Grand Staircase Escalante National Monuments and the opening the Northeast Canyons and Seamounts Marine National Monument to <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/trump-commercial-fishing-2646161692.html" target="_blank">commercial fishing.</a> Biden also paused <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/anwr-oil-lease-fail-2649791991.html" target="_self">oil and gas leasing</a> in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.</p>
<h3>4. Stopping Border Wall Construction</h3><p>Biden also signed an <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/presidential-actions/2021/01/20/proclamation-termination-of-emergency-with-respect-to-southern-border-of-united-states-and-redirection-of-funds-diverted-to-border-wall-construction/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">executive order</a> stopping construction of the wall along the U.S. border with Mexico.</p><p>While the order did not mention the environment, several conservation groups have <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/trump-border-wall-endangered-species-2410320620.html" target="_self">opposed the wall</a> for its <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/border-wall-bulldozer-arizona-organ-pipe-2640888439.html" target="_blank">impacts</a> on wildlife and ecosystems. One <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/border-wall-endangered-species-2642927676.html" target="_self">study</a> found that wall construction could threaten eight species with extinction. It also imperils the <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/border-wall-national-butterfly-center-2638893129.html" target="_self">National Butterfly Center in Texas</a>, home to important pollinators.</p><p>Biden's initial actions prompted excitement from world leaders and environmental groups.</p><p>"Welcome back to the Paris Agreement!" French President Emmanuel Macron <a href="https://twitter.com/EmmanuelMacron/status/1351955511814615042" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">tweeted</a>.</p><p>However, everyone, including Biden, acknowledged that more work remained.</p>
<p>"They are just executive actions. They are important but we're going to need legislation for a lot of the things we're going to do," Biden said according to <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2021/01/20/climate/biden-paris-climate-agreement.html" target="_blank">The New York Times</a>.</p><p>Biden's climate plan calls for a zero-emissions electricity sector by 2035, and zero emissions across the board by 2050. The plan will likely require approval from Congress, and some Republicans are already fighting Biden's actions. Montana Senator Steve Daines said he would introduce legislation requiring the president to get Senate approval for rejoining the Paris agreement. Daines also plans to introduce legislation that would approve the Keystone XL pipeline.</p><p>Meanwhile, Indigenous groups praised Biden's action on Keystone XL but called for him to revoke the permits of other pipelines.</p><p>"It is imperative that we keep the pressure on President Biden to put an end to ALL fossil fuel infrastructure and projects, making the ones that are near or on Indigenous territories of top priority," Tasina Sapa Win Smith, co-founder of Cheyenne River Grassroots Collective, said in a <a href="https://www.mynewsletterbuilder.com/email/newsletter/1414959334" target="_blank">statement</a> from the Indigenous Environmental Network.</p>
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Erik McGregor / LightRocket / Getty Images
In many schools, the study of climate change is limited to the science. But at the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, students in one class also learn how to take climate action.
<p>"You need to know how to communicate it to people. You need to know how to organize if we're going to get anything done," said Jessica Gutknecht in the Department of Soil, Water and Climate.</p>
<p>Each spring, she co-teaches a class called "<a target="_blank" href="https://onestop2.umn.edu/pcas/viewCatalogCourse.do?courseId=815340" rel="noopener noreferrer">The Global Climate Challenge: Creating an Empowered Movement for Change</a>."</p><p>Gutknecht walks students through the science. Teddie Potter from the School of Nursing encourages them to look at climate change from a health perspective. And Julia Nerbonne of the nonprofit Interfaith Power and Light teaches them how to lead grassroots change.</p><p>"We also have them do these community action projects where they are out pounding the pavement trying to get things done," Gutknecht said.</p><p>In the past, that's included starting community gardens, convincing businesses to do energy audits, and engaging sororities and fraternities in climate action.</p><p>"Every student needs to know that they have voice and that they can be actors in this wicked problem of climate change," Gutknecht said. "And so every step of the way, whatever we're teaching them, we are empowering them. And we're teaching them that they have something valuable to bring to the table, whatever their passions are."</p>
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<iframe style="border: none" src="//html5-player.libsyn.com/embed/episode/id/17278520/height/45/theme/standard/thumbnail/yes/direction/backward/" height="45" width="100%" scrolling="no" allowfullscreen webkitallowfullscreen mozallowfullscreen oallowfullscreen msallowfullscreen></iframe><p><em>Reposted with permission from </em><em><a href="https://yaleclimateconnections.org/2021/01/college-course-teaches-students-how-to-be-climate-leaders/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Yale Climate Connections</a>.</em></p>
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