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Welcome to a special edition of our Top of The World newsletter. We wanted to take a moment and highlight some of the amazing reporting taking place over at our our environment desk, driven by correspondent and editor Carolyn Beeler and reporter and producer Anna Kusmer.
Every week, they find stories about climate change solutions in a series we call the Big Fix. The stories explore how individuals and organizations around the planet are tackling the climate crisis. We also welcome your questions about solutions to the climate crisis. Email us at climate@theworld.org.
The Big Fix
The Atlantic rainforest in Brazil is a bright spot for restoration
A new report from conservation group Forest Trends found that tropical forest deforestation has risen about 50% since the early 2000s. An area the size of Tennessee gets cleared every year around the world. But in some places, like the Atlantic rainforest in eastern Brazil, the trend is going the other way, providing a blueprint for what it takes to create a successful forest restoration program.
Amsterdam bans fossil fuel ads from its metro
People passing through Amsterdam’s busy metro system will no longer see ads for greenhouse gas-intensive products, such as gas-powered cars and cheap flights around Europe.
That’s because the Amsterdam City Council instituted a ban on these ads in the city’s subway system, which advocates hope will pave the way for larger, more comprehensive ad bans across the Netherlands and beyond.
Global network of young people writes poems to cope with climate crisis
Some people might find it naïve to talk about poetry as a climate solution, but the arts represent one of the more powerful ways that people transform deeply held worldviews and beliefs about the natural world. Over the last 10 years, there’s been a surge of literature about climate change, including poetry. Here’s a collection of young, talented poets worth exploring.
Can K-pop stars wield their celebrity to influence climate action?
Blackpink, one of the biggest pop bands in the world, has garnered billions of views of their music videos on YouTube. In December, they put out another kind of video: a climate change announcement expressing concern for the environment. Watch the video below.
In case you missed it
Listen: China’s season of crackdowns
Over the past few months, China’s regulatory crackdowns have impacted almost every corner of Chinese society, with new restrictions targeting everything from entertainment to after-school education to car-share apps and video games. Also, Haitians gathered under the Del Rio International Bridge in south Texas will be allowed to cross the Mexico-US border, but those who make it across often have to scramble for lodging and aid from volunteers. Plus, the National Theater of Somalia in Mogadishu hosted the country’s first movie screening in 30 years on Wednesday. The theater opened in 1967, a gift from Mao Zedong, but shut down at the start of Somalia’s civil war in 1991.
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