It’s Halloween, which means costumes, candy, and scary movies. Fear turns to fun on October 31 because Halloween lets us seek scary thrills that can’t hurt us. When we feel like threats are closing in on us and things are getting truly scary, we just turn off the TV and turn on the lights. But there is one terror that we can’t escape, no matter the time of year.

We’re talking about climate change! Here are five of the scariest, most bone-chilling facts about climate change to get you in the mood for terror this season (and hopefully also scare you and your fellow trick-or-treaters into action to address it).

1. Within the next 2 decades, global temperatures are likely to reach 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels.

In its highly-anticipated Sixth Report in 2021, the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) stated that a certain amount of global warming is locked in and is irreversible. They reported that from 2011–2020, the global temperature had already reached 1.1 degrees Celsius above 1850-1900 levels. 

In 2024, global temperatures rose above 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels for the first time, and if this trend persists, we will have failed to reach our climate goals established under the Paris Agreement. As climate change becomes more severe, it is predicted to increase the frequency of “fire weather”, kill 70-90% of coral reefs at 1.5 degrees Celsius warming, and raise our sea levels globally by .3 meters above 2000s level.

Scientists estimate that we are on track to reach the 1.5 degree Celsius threshold by 2030 and reach the “tipping point” for climate change. Although the 1.5 degree threshold is considered by the signatories of the Paris Agreement as an acceptable level of global warming, every “extra bit of warming increases the severity of many weather extremes, ice melt and sea-level rise.” Yet, little has changed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. It’s like the movie Don’t Look Up; we know what’s happening but we aren’t doing enough to change the outcome.

In 2019, global carbon emissions from fossil fuels and industry reached a high of 36.44 billion metric tons. In 2020, emissions from fossil fuels and industry fell by 5.8 percent due to COVID-19 and the resulting economic crisis. Despite that year’s reverse trend, however, 2022 emissions were back up to 36.8 billion metric tons. In the latest estimates from 2024, fossil fuel and industry emissions reached a new record high of 37.41 billion metric tons of CO2.

Four years later, Professor Forster’s eerie words still hold true.

2. The last 7 years have been the warmest on record

In 2023, NASA announced that the summer of 2023 was the hottest summer on record globally, surpassing the intense heat experienced in 2016. One year later, 2024 is confirmed by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) as the hottest year on record. 

And not only is food security severely at risk because of climate change, but our human security is as well. With temperatures rising due to climate change comes the risk of heat stress, the leading cause of weather-related deaths. 

As we enter the spooky season, the Washington Post reports that it will be an unseasonably hot one in the US. As a marine heatwave amplified by long-term global warming sweeps across the US, we are likely to experience temperatures above seasonal averages, with the Ohio Valley, Appalachians and Northeast predicted to experience 10 to 20 degree deviations.

 “Whether one year is a record or not is not really that important — the important things are long-term trends,” said Goddard Institute for Space Studies (GISS) Director Gavin Schmidt. The current long-term trend is that each year is getting hotter and hotter. 

Are you scared for our future, yet? Well get ready, because it’s going to get even scarier.

3. Our extinction rate is currently estimated to be 1,000-10,000 times the natural rate.

Imagine dressing up as a frog for Halloween and having to explain to younger generations what a frog was and why it’s gone. Currently it is estimated that  41%  of all amphibians species are at risk of extinction due to climate change — so this could be a reality if we don’t act soon.

Extinction is a natural phenomenon, claiming about five species per year. But some experts suggest we’re in the midst of the sixth mass extinction — one that is caused mostly by human activity.

According to a 2023 report, 48% of species are declining and on their way to extinction. It also revealed that the 33% of species listed as non-threatened by the IUCN Red-List are actually decreasing. By mid-century, over one third of the total species found on Earth are predicted to disappear because our extinction rate is currently 1,000 to 10,000 times the natural rate. In 2024, 21 species were declared extinct by the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, which tragically included the beloved Bachman’s Warbler.

Allowing this to continue is “a crime equivalent to tossing books from the Library of Alexandria thoughtlessly into a fire, erasing the shared inheritance of all mankind,” according to the National Institute of Environmental Health Science in a review from 2009.

Species diversity is crucial for ecosystem resilience, and without it, ecological communities will not have the strength to withstand change — especially not the change we’re throwing at them.

4. Climate change is already happening, and it’s detrimental to human life, too

The impacts to human health are much scarier than any child-eating clown movie.

Rising temperatures — coupled with cities that lack the capacity to minimize the accumulation and generation of urban heat and the increasing population of elderly — have increased heat-related deaths, according to an article published in 2024 by the World Health Organization.

A 2018 report concluded that the lack of adaptive capacities and effort toward reducing emissions threatens human lives and the national health systems people rely on, by pushing services to their limit and disrupting core infrastructure. Vulnerable communities are already being hit first and worst.

But hyperthermia is not the only risk climate change brings to human life. Pollution worsens air quality, and as of 2021, has been reported to be responsible for 1 in 8 deaths worldwide. This makes air pollution the second leading risk factor for death worldwide. 

A warming world also increases the intensity of natural disasters.

According to NASA, extreme wildfire activity has more than doubled worldwide.  This year, California saw one of the most destructive wildfires in US history in terms of loss of life, structural damages, and acres lost. In 2024, an intense wildfire in Chile killed 136 people, making it the deadliest disaster in the country since the 2010 earthquake and tsunami. Not only are the fires themselves deadly, but the smoke they produce is as well. As of this year, smoke from wildfires in Canada and the American West are predicted to cause more than 40,000 premature deaths per year. This is more than all the fatalities from car crashes in 2024. 

Hurricanes are reaching new extremes, too. According to scientists, 84% of Atlantic hurricanes between 2018 and 2023 were, on average, 18 mph stronger because of climate change. It has become immensely more difficult to escape these storms unscathed, and it will only get harder in the future.

Have you noticed that the Halloween season doesn’t feel the same either? If we can’t wear a full costume without sweating then something is wrong, right?

That’s because climate change is shifting the seasons. Over the past five decades, the vegetation season has become lengthened by an average of one month. This means that spring arrives earlier, while fall is delayed. This not only affects Halloween, but it might affect your Christmas plans too! Because of this change in seasons, many popular ski destinations around the world are forced to make their own artificial snow to stay open.

This change in season not only makes dressing up in a full-body werewolf costume uncomfortable but also disrupts the natural interactions between species, their habitats, and their migration patterns. 

BOO!

5. Many leaders still aren’t taking it seriously.

The world has been aware of climate change at least since the IPCC formed in 1988. Scientists and the public rallied around environmental policy, but many global governments had a different idea.

They were going to ignore it.

Countries contributing the most to global emissions have the best chance of curbing climate change, but leaders are doing little to address it.

Although it has been seven years since the Paris Agreement entered into force, none of the world’s major economies are on track to keep global warming well below 2 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels.

To outline steps to achieve the goals of the Paris Agreement to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and build resilience to climate change, parties submit Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) every five years. February 10 was the deadline to submit updated NDCs, however, some countries failed to submit theirs, including many of the world’s major polluters. Although the US submitted their NDCs, they have since withdrawn from the Paris Climate agreement. Climate literacy is among the climate goals that have missed the mark. Climate literacy (as supported by an integrated K-12 curricula) is needed to prepare youth with an understanding of the climate crisis and skills to create solutions, yet not one country has thoroughly addressed it within its NDC.

Everyone may die at the end of horror movies, but we don’t have to.

We’re not in a Hollywood studio, helplessly in the hands of sadistic screenwriters. We can actively choose to change the ending of our story — and for that we should feel hopeful.

In 2019, younger generations took matters into their own hands and started striking for the climate. They skipped school completely to plead for an end to inaction toward climate change and demanding world leaders to undertake environmental reforms. A 2021 study revealed that 83% of people aged 16-25 feel that we have failed to take care of our planet and concluded that it is vital for governments to take “urgent” action against climate change. In June of this year, UNICEF described this eco-anxiety as “an emergent mental health problem.”

The next UN Conference of Parties (COP30) will be held this November. In this international meeting of heads of state and governments and stakeholders, countries will have an opportunity to heighten their ambition on climate change. 

After decades of inaction on climate change, we don’t have any more time to spare before it’s too late. Join the movement and add your voice to this urgent call for change. You can sign the Global Plastics Treaty petition, and spread the word to your friends! Or, you can donate to our Canopy Project, which organizes tree plantings all over the world, and take the effort not to buy clothes that promote Fast Fashion.

This Halloween we must face our fears. The human-made monster that is climate change won’t go anywhere if you just close your eyes or turn off the TV. Action and advocacy are the only way to flip the script — and not wind up like your favorite victim at the end of the horror film.

The post 5 Climate Change Facts to Scare You Into Action This Halloween appeared first on Earth Day.

Ladybugs, known for their vibrant red and black spots on their wings, play a significant role in the natural world. Despite being commonly mistaken as bugs, they are more accurately classified as beetles and are known as ladybird beetles or lady beetles to scientists. These captivating creatures have intrigued humans for centuries with their distinctive spots and graceful flight. However, there is much more to learn about ladybugs: their ecological importance, the concerning decline in their population, and the urgent need for conservation efforts.

Legend has it ladybugs were named after the Virgin Mary or Our Lady. During the Middle Ages in Europe, farmers faced crop devastation from aphid swarms. Praying devoutly for help to the Virgin Mary, they were blessed with a miracle as ladybugs swarmed their fields, acting as saviors by devouring the pests. In gratitude, these beetles became known as Our Lady’s Beetle or Beetle of Our Lady. The spots on the common seven-spotted ladybugs were believed to symbolize the seven joys and sorrows of the Virgin Mary.

Ladybugs serve as natural pest control agents, benefiting humans by protecting plants and crops. With their appetite for harmful insects — especially aphids, a single ladybug can consume up to 50 aphids in a day. This makes them valuable allies for farmers and gardeners, significantly reducing the need for chemical pesticides which harm the environment and contaminate soil and water sources. In fact, scientists estimate ladybugs have the potential to save hundreds of crops each year from common pests, making them essential for sustainable and productive agriculture.

Beyond their pest control abilities, ladybugs also serve as essential biodiversity indicators. Their presence in an ecosystem is a sign of a healthy and diverse environment. Ladybugs not only provide benefits to humans but also serve as a vital food source for other insects, birds, and small mammals. By maintaining a delicate balance in the ecosystem, ladybugs promote stability and overall well-being.

Sadly, the ladybug population is facing a troubling decline, with species like the two- and nine-spotted lady beetle becoming less abundant in North America. Climate change, pollution, and habitat loss contribute to this decline. Climate factors and changes in landscape composition affect ladybug habitats, while pesticide use further threatens their numbers.

Rising temperatures and heat waves disrupt their reproduction and pest control abilities. Agricultural intensification, landscape simplification, and urbanization negatively impact ladybug communities, especially those restricted to native habitats. The loss of natural habitats — like wetlands and heathlands — endangers specialist ladybug species. This decline disrupts ecosystem balance and harms organisms dependent on ladybugs as a food source.

To address the challenges faced by ladybugs, extensive research has led to a roadmap for global conservation. Short-, medium-, and long-term actions are necessary to conserve and recover ladybug populations. These actions include:

• engaging citizen scientists in data collection and observations
• implementing education programs and conservation efforts
• enhancing agricultural landscapes by creating insect-friendly habitats
• utilizing machine learning for long-term monitoring
• fostering international collaboration through national monitoring systems

Ladybugs, the tiny yet mighty beetles, deserve our attention and protection. Beyond their charming appearance, they play a vital role in maintaining ecological balance and serving as natural pest control agents. The declining ladybug population is a cause for concern, and concerted efforts are needed to conserve and restore their habitats. 
Conserving ladybugs starts with individual actions. We must act swiftly and collectively to secure their future. Join EARTHDAY.ORG, the world’s largest environmental movement, and EARTHDAY.ORG supporter Clean Beauty Collective to support our Protect Our Species campaign to drive effective efforts in ladybug conservation. Together, let’s make a significant impact and ensure a sustainable future for these remarkable beetles.

The post Could Ladybugs Save The World? The Hidden Heroes of Your Garden appeared first on Earth Day.

The natural world is shrinking, but what does that mean for us?

A study published last month by Cambridge University found that by the end of this century, climate change and food demand could shrink most bird, mammal and amphibian habitat ranges by almost 25%.

Maybe you’re thinking, ‘well that’s not great, but does it really matter?’. It does! We as individuals are completely dependent upon the natural world for a lot of things.

For example, habitats like mangroves can help reduce the effects of extreme weather events, like hurricanes, that threaten our saltwater coast communities. However, with habitats like this increasingly being destroyed, we’re losing important safeguards.

The study also showed that tropical environments are some of the most at risk, with rainforests being cleared to make way for palm oil plantations that will destabilize the soil and fragment the remaining parts of the forest. Rainforests are biodiversity hotspots and have high species richness, meaning they have large numbers of different species within a given area. The issue is, species habitat ranges within rainforests are smaller than those in Europe and North America, so deforesting these areas leads to an exponentially higher amount of habitat loss within the rainforest ecosystem compared to a grassland ecosystem.

Losing habitat in such a dramatic way also means losing individuals within a species. Entire populations will be negatively affected due to this destruction and can lose their role in the ecosystem. When these roles break down, the ecosystem becomes out of balance and even more loss of life occurs. This chain reaction, fueled by climate change and poor food management, means that we could lose rainforest ecosystems by 2100.

Losing these ecosystems also means that we lose the ecosystem services that they provide. This can range from the alteration of temperate and consistent microclimates to a loss in naturally found chemicals important to medical research. Currently, over 25% of active ingredients used in cancer-fighting drugs are derived from organisms that call the rainforest home. And moreover, the U.S. National Cancer Institute has listed more than 3,000 plants that actively fight cancer cells, with 70% found only in rainforests.

This doesn’t however go to say that we should protect our species and ecosystems for our own gain — we should protect our species and ecosystems because we can and have the time and tools to do so!

Time and time again, studies have shown that humans benefit from doing the right thing and protecting the natural world. It cleans our air, fortifies our coastlines, amplifies our fish stocks and provides endless amounts of beauty.

While the authors of the Cambridge University study leave us with an uncertain future, there is one thing we can be sure of: we can make the necessary changes to save these ecosystems and species, but we must be decisive and quick as we are running out of time.

Learn more about how to protect these critical species at EARTHDAY.ORG’s Conservation and Biodiversity campaign.

The post Species habitat decline — What it means for us and what we must do appeared first on Earth Day.

With their striking beauty, incredible natural history and stunning gatherings in California and Mexico, it’s hard to imagine a creature more simultaneously magical and familiar than the monarch butterfly.

Yet for decades, we’ve seen North American monarchs sliding steadily into decline, and lately free falling: Western monarch populations now stand at less than 1% of historical levels, and eastern monarch populations hover between 20­–30% of their former abundance.

So, how did we get here — and how can we help?

First, let’s examine the threats facing monarchs. Urbanization is destroying pollinator habitats, and monarchs depend on milkweed for laying eggs and abundant nectar sources for food.

Unfortunately, much monarch breeding habitat has been decimated by herbicides and development, and widespread pesticide use has impacted monarch health. Additionally, monarch overwintering sites — where monarchs rest in trees for several months — have deteriorated as a result of climate change.

Monarchs also suffer from a devastating parasite that occurs on milkweed plants, and a non-native variety (Asclepias curassavica) is especially concerning. Unlike native milkweed species, this exotic milkweed does not go dormant in the autumn in warm areas. This encourages winter breeding in monarchs, which can lead to considerably higher parasitic infection and disruptions in migratory behavior.

The Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA) SAFE: Saving Animals From Extinction, was formed in 2014 as a highly collaborative, action-focused and education-oriented conservation framework. There are currently 26 SAFE species programs that build on AZA member-driven conservation efforts. The SAFE North American monarch program was established in 2019 and has formed a network of nearly 80 AZA-accredited institutions and their partners to engage the public in monarch conservation efforts.  

Specifically, SAFE North American monarchs addresses habitat loss, educates the public on monarchs’ threats, and connects individual conservation efforts of AZA-accredited organizations throughout the U.S.

It has never been more important for all of us to work together for their recovery, and you can join the fight — below are several steps you can take to protect monarch butterflies:

Be an environmental steward for monarchs

While tropical milkweed may be easy to get at your local nursery, it carries potentially devastating risks for monarchs, particularly in southern states, where it can persist year-round.  Instead, advocate for native milkweed and pesticide-free nectar plants. To find regionally appropriate milkweed, check out these resources from SAFE monarchs partner, Monarch Joint Venture. Then ask your local nursery to stock it.

Support community science efforts to track monarchs’ numbers, movements and disease

For decades, The Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation has monitored western monarch populations and resources. Volunteers are key to this effort, and their data help inform conservation planning and management.

Visit the community science project Western Monarch Milkweed Mapper to enter your monarch sightings. Another community science initiative is Project Monarch Health, which tracks disease in monarch butterflies across North America.

Advocate for monarchs through government 

We urgently need more monarch breeding habitats, as well as protections for overwintering sites.  From enlisting the help of local and federal governments, to petitioning for changes in existing laws, you can advocate for the protection and recovery of monarchs. Ask your representatives to support the monarch’s recovery through the following programs and legislative bills:

• National Wildlife Federation’s Mayor’s Monarch Pledge: This pledge commits mayors and local governments to supporting monarchs.
• The MONARCH Act of 2020  and the Monarch and Pollinator Highway Act of 2019, both in congressional committees, would provide critical funding for monarch recovery efforts nationwide. Send a vetted letter to support the Monarch and Pollinator Highway Act at AZA’s Legislative Education Center.

Now, more than ever, migratory monarchs need everyone’s help. Through the collective power, advocacy and action of zoos, aquariums and visitors nationwide, SAFE North American Monarch aims to meet this challenge. Together, we can protect and preserve monarchs. Learn more at Earth Day Network’s Conservation and Biodiversity campaign.

The post How we can protect monarch butterflies appeared first on Earth Day.

On April 20, 2010 — two days before the 40th anniversary of Earth Day — the BP Deepwater Horizon offshore rig exploded, killing 11 people and unleashing what many consider the largest environmental disaster in American history. 

The environmental consequences are staggering — and long lasting. After the spill released more than 200 million gallons of crude oil over 87 days, the environment shuttered. Tens of thousands of marine animals died, including up to 800,000 birds and 170,000 sea turtles. Tourism tanked, and it cost the U.S. millions of dollars in “repair” in the following years.   

The Deepwater Horizon spewed 20 times more oil than the Exxon Valdez tanker that dumped nearly 11 million gallons of oil into Prince Water Sound in 1989. That area is still hurting from the spill: Alaskan fisheries are recovering, thousands of species died and some species have vanished altogether. 

Both situations were avoidable, yet they still happened. The two disasters taught us several lessons, many of which we’re heeding today, but some of which, remarkably, we’re ignoring. 

Today, offshore drilling still accounts for 16% of U.S. oil production and nearly 30% of global oil production. We even set a new global record in 2019, with 10.3 million barrels extracted per day — a number that has steadily risen since the 1980s. 

“Offshore drilling is still as dirty and dangerous as it was 10 years ago,” said Diane Hoskins, Oceana campaign director, in a statement last week. “If anything, another disaster is more likely today as the oil industry drills deeper and farther offshore.”

Because we’ve already tapped many of our oil reserves, we’re going deeper and deeper for oil: The average depth of U.S. deepwater drilling increased by 32% between 1999 and 2019, according to an AP analysis of data from the U.S. Interior Department’s Bureau of Ocean Energy Management. 

And, while government and industry leaders assure us they’re taking steps to avoid another disaster, as offshore deepwater drilling is expanding, inspections are decreasing. Visits by the U.S. Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement — created in the aftermath of the Deepwater Horizon — dropped 20 percent in the Gulf of Mexico over the past six years, saving companies an estimated $1.7 billion. 

No matter what we tell ourselves, we must remember: It only takes one mistake to have a decades-long environmental catastrophe. 

Still, human nature is tough to overcome. Oil spills remind us of our stubborn insistence to control nature. John McPhee explored how our attempts at control — levees and canals in the Mississippi River and overflowing basins for debris in California — often lead to further unintended environmental consequences. Over 20 years later, we haven’t shook that mentality, as Naomi Klein writes in The Guardian. 

“This Gulf Coast crisis is about many things,” writes Klein, months after the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. “But underneath it all, it’s about this: Our culture’s excruciatingly dangerous claim to have such complete understanding and command over nature that we can radically manipulate and re-engineer it with minimal risk to the natural systems that sustain us.”

The Deepwater Horizon disaster follows an interesting trend in American environmental history, with a major oil spill happening every 20 or so years. That absence is just long enough to forget (or blatantly disregard) the environmental toll. 

The White House could be speeding up the timeline with recent regulatory rollbacks. But this hasn’t always been the case.

In 1969, the Santa Barbara oil spill, the third largest oil spill in U.S. waters, signaled a change among Americans. After the repeated fires on the Cuyahoga River, the choking air pollution of cities and the toxic sludge secreted by industry, people had enough. That enough-is-enough mentality gave rise to the modern environmental movement, culminating in the first Earth Day in 1970. 

One year after the disaster, the National Environmental Policy Act passed with bipartisan support and U.S. President Richard Nixon created the Environmental Protection Agency. The Clean Air, Clean Water and Endangered Species Acts followed soon after. 

We can learn from history, as we did after the 1969 Santa Barbara oil spill, or we can ignore it, as is currently happening. 

With demand for oil plummeting and production grinding to a halt amid the coronavirus pandemic, we have a chance to reevaluate how we use, and extract, oil. Do we keep digging deeper and deeper, hoping for the best? Or do we instead invest in renewable energy? 

If we choose the former, we must ask ourselves: Is it worth the cost?

The post We could be headed toward another Deepwater Horizon disaster appeared first on Earth Day.

Art affects people on a personal level — inspiring action and instilling a deeper consciousness of the world around us. It can also be a powerful tool to spread awareness of environmental issues and climate change, both of which profoundly affect our existence.  

Even as the world shutters in response to the COVID-19 outbreak, people are finding solace in making art and sharing it with others. And, a few young Middle Eastern painters — influenced by other activists and Earth Day Network’s Artists for the Earth campaign — are using their talents to fight climate change.

Sana Hussein

With a career spanning more than nine years, Sana Hussein joined the environmental movement after seeing how a changing climate directly impacts her community of Konya, Turkey. Using modern art techniques, Hussein reflects on the importance of saving our environment and motivating others to take action.

For the 50th  anniversary of Earth Day, she contributed three portraits: “Earth Beauty,” “Tulips” and “Daisy Flowers.” In all her pieces, Hussein emphasizes the role of women in fighting climate change. 

Aysha Al Musdi

Aysha Al Musdi learned to draw by watching YouTube tutorials. She creates pieces about the environment and teaching complex techniques to other aspiring artists in Turkey. 

Al Musdi painted this piece, entitled “Our One and Only Earth,” in honor of Earth Day. She used greens and blues to depict the liveliness and gorgeousness of our planet. 

Nour Qasim

Nour Qasim uses her artwork to illustrate the magnificence of nature. 

For the 50th anniversary, she merges the concept of women’s beauty with a wild landscape. With “Eyes on Earth,” she intends to demonstrate that climate change affects more than just the natural world around us – it impacts humans, too. 

Amal Obaid

Amal Obaid cares deeply about our planet. She never attended school, but she learned quickly the detrimental effects climate change will have on bird species.

Obaid drew “Save our Species,” an artistic painting to save and protect our feathered friends.

Young artists are bringing energy and life to Earth Day 2020. And art will play as big of a role as it did on the first Earth Day back in 1970. The planet needs us now more than ever. On April 22, the 50th anniversary of Earth Day, join the largest digital mobilization for the environment, and sign up as an Artist for the Earth.

The post Artists in the Middle East spread awareness for Earth Day appeared first on Earth Day.

Margaret Bullitt-Jonas and Leah D. Schade are co-editors of the book Rooted and Rising: Voices of Courage in a Time of Climate Crisis (Rowman & Littlefield, 2019), an anthology of essays from religious environmental activists on finding the spiritual wisdom for facing the difficult days ahead.

Earth Day 2020 comes at a tumultuous time. COVID-19 has upended our lives. The number of infections keeps soaring world-wide and entire countries are sheltering in place.

Out of caution, many are keeping physical distance from each other. But out of compassion, many are helping any way they can — staying connected by phone or internet with those who are lonely; sewing masks for desperate health care workers; making donations to groups that help migrants and the homeless; pushing for policies that protect the lowest-earning members of society.

If there was ever a time in which humanity should finally recognize that we belong to one connected family on Earth, this should be it. We share a single planet, drink from the same water and breathe the same air.   

So whether hunkered down at home or hospital, or working on the front lines, we are all doing our part to face a common enemy together. When COVID-19 is finally behind us, instead of returning to normal life, we must hold on to these lessons in the fight against climate change.

Below are 6 lessons the coronavirus pandemic can teach us about our response to climate change.

1. Science matters

We can save lives by funding, accessing and understanding the best science available. The science on climate change has been clear for decades, but we’ve failed in communicating the danger to the public, leading to slow action and widespread denial of the facts.

2. How we treat the natural world affects our well-being.

The loss of habitat and biodiversity creates conditions for lethal new viruses and diseases like COVID-19 to spill into human communities. And if we continue to destroy our lands, we also deplete our resources and damage our agricultural systems.

3. The sooner we mobilize for action, the less suffering will take place.

Quick and drastic action can flatten the curve for coronavirus and free up healthcare resources, lowering death rates. Similarly, drastic action on climate change could reduce food and water shortages, natural disasters and sea level rise, protecting countless individuals and communities.

4. We have the ability to make drastic changes very quickly. 

When sufficiently motivated, we can suspend business as usual to help each other. All over the world, healthy people are changing their lifestyles to protect the more vulnerable people in their communities. Similar dedication for climate change could transform our energy consumption immediately. All of us can make a difference and play an important role in the solution.

5. All of us are vulnerable to crisis, though unequally.

Those with underlying social, economic or physical vulnerabilities will suffer most. A society burdened with social and economic inequality is more likely to fall apart in a crisis. We must also recognize that industries and people who profit from an unjust status quo will try to interrupt the social transformation that a crisis requires.

6. Holding on to a vision of a just, peaceful and sustainable Earth will give us strength for the future.

Earth Day 2020 will be remembered as a time when humanity was reeling from a pandemic. But we pray that this year will also be remembered as a time when we all were suddenly forced to stop what we were doing, pay attention to one another and take action.

Business as usual — digging up fossil fuels, cutting down forests and sacrificing the planet’s health for profit, convenience and consumption — is driving catastrophic climate change. It’s time to abandon this destructive system and find sustainable ways to inhabit our planet. 

What would it look like if we emerged from this pandemic with a fierce new commitment to take care of each other? What would it look like to absorb the lessons of pandemic and to fight for a world in which everyone can thrive? 

On this 50th anniversary of Earth Day, as fear and illness sweep the globe, we listen for voices that speak of wisdom, generosity, courage and hope. And as always, we find solace in the natural world. In the suddenly quiet streets and skies, we can hear birds sing.

Photo credit for image at top: Robert A. Jonas.

The post 6 lessons coronavirus can teach us about climate change appeared first on Earth Day.

Through climate change, we have irrevocably upset the balance of nature — humans are driving one million species to extinction, according to a United Nations-backed report last year.

For 2020, Earth Day Network’s Conservation and Biodiversity program is focusing on protecting 10 of these endangered or vulnerable species. This month, we asked you, the public, to vote on 10 umbrella species.

The results are in, and the species below — all currently endangered or vulnerable with populations declining into endangerment — will serve as rallying points for Earth Day’s global conservation efforts. See how each of these species fare and how they’re threatened by human activities and climate change.

North Atlantic Right Whale

Fewer than 400 North Atlantic Right Whales remain, making them one of the most critically endangered species in the world. Should these whales go extinct, we would lose both a vital part of the ocean’s food chain and their contribution to nutrient mixing.

The whales are threatened by ship collisions and entanglement in fishing gear, as well as warming oceans that cause low reproductive rates and poor health. These warmer oceans also decrease populations of the North Atlantic Right Whale’s main food source, copepods. And while the whales are adapting by migrating south for food, this migration could further increase their susceptibility to ships and fishing gear.  

Axolotl

Axolotls are abundant in captivity but nearly extinct in the wild due to shrinking habitats. The axolotl’s only surviving natural habitat, the Xochimilco canals in Mexico, are heavily polluted, and water levels are extremely low from water consumption in Mexico City. Around 35 individuals per square kilometer were recently recorded in the Xochimilco canals, compared to the 6,000 per square kilometer recorded in 1998.

Non-native large fish also threaten the axolotl’s population— carp and tilapia were introduced into the axolotl’s native habitat to increase the local people’s protein consumption, but these large fish are predators to the axolotl and pose a serious competitive threat. 

Monarch butterfly

Most of us know the Monarch butterfly from its impressive migration, a route that spans up to 3,000 miles from Mexico to the Canadian border. But these North American travelers are in trouble: Their population has declined by 90% since 1990.

This decline is linked primarily to habitat destruction. We’ve converted most of the butterfly’s central migratory grassland for agriculture or urban development. Climate change also throws off their migratory timing, posing serious long-term risks for the survival of our favorite orange and black insects.

Leatherback Sea Turtle

Leatherbacks face threats both on land and in the ocean, almost entirely manmade. Because of rising sea levels and urban development, these sea turtles have less beach on which to lay eggs and are subject to egg harvesting from locals, both of which severely limits their populations.

Once in the water, if they make it that far, leatherbacks are at risk of getting entangled in fishing gear or dying from ingesting plastic debris. 

Great Hammerhead

As an apex predator, the great hammerhead maintains balance across the food chain. But climate change is driving these sharks to extinction. As an ectothermic species, the hammerhead’s body temperature is affected by the surrounding water temperature, and warming oceans are driving it toward the poles.

Ocean acidification is leading to rapid population decline, as juveniles are unable to survive early life in more acidic conditions. Hunting, overfishing and bycatch, and shark-finning for shark fin soup also threaten these hammerheads.

Asian Elephant

Asian Elephants, which number about 500,000 worldwide, are threatened most by habitat loss and fragmentation caused by urban development, industry, farming and mining. These practices have confined this species to smaller forests, affecting migratory patterns.

This confinement puts the elephant at a higher risk for extinction from natural disasters, disease and inbreeding. Poaching and illegal wildlife trade, though banned by The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species, are also major threats. 

Giant Sequoia

Giant sequoias, despite their massive size and 3,000-year lifespan, are not resilient enough to stave off climate change. Warming temperatures and drier climate cause major stress to these trees, leaving them more vulnerable to wildfires and invasive species.

Bark beetles — insects that thrive in warmer weather — cut off sequoias’ nutrient circulation. Scientists worry that these bark beetle infestations can permanently damage the population of giant sequoias because it takes 500 years for each tree to grow into adulthood.

African Penguin

The African penguin regulates small shoals of fish and provides a food source for larger predators. Unfortunately, this food chain is under threat by pollution, overfishing, energy production and mining, as well as climate change and severe weather patterns.

These penguins’ main food sources, sardines and anchovies, are shifting their range eastward due to warming ocean temperatures and changes in salinity. Alarmingly, African Penguins declined by an estimated 95% between 2001 and 2011.

Coral Reefs 

Coral reefs are a vitally important ecosystem, providing shelter for fishes and invertebrates, buffering waves that erode coasts and supporting a $375 billion tourism industry. Unfortunately, ocean acidification and warming temperatures are stunting coral growth and breaking down structures.

These changing conditions put stress on coral reefs, leading to increased numbers of coral bleaching events and susceptibility to infectious diseases. Other factors like rising ocean levels, extreme weather events and altered ocean circulation patterns can also destroy coral reefs.

Amazon Rainforest

The Amazon is one of the most diverse ecosystems on the planet, thought to hold at least 10% of the planet’s known biodiversity. Deforestation, combined with rising temperatures and decreasing rainfall from climate change, however, put this special ecosystem at risk.

This past summer, thousands of acres burned in wildfires that went largely unregulated by the Brazilian government. And climate change makes this fragile ecosystem even more vulnerable, degrading freshwater systems, destroying valuable soil and spreading invasive species and infectious diseases.

The post 10 iconic species threatened by climate change appeared first on Earth Day.

Honeybees are disappearing. In the past half century, we’ve lost 60 percent of the honeybee hives. Last winter alone, colonies shrank by more than a third. This decline can be blamed on several factors: pests, diseases, shrinking suitable habitats and pesticides.

Why should we care? Aside from their economic value, bees are vital parts of ecosystems: Without bees, food crops would wither, plants and flowers would suffer without these key pollinators and the animals that depend on these plants (including us) would be without food.

Plus, honeybees are remarkable creatures.

Honeybees: The more you know

Not every bee can be a honeybee: Honeybees are only one of about 20,000 bee species. When we think of buzzing, black and yellow honey-makers, we’re thinking of the European honeybee, or Apis mellifera. The European honeybee is the most widespread bee species and the species most commonly domesticated by beekeepers.

Perhaps our fascination with honeybees stems from their social behavior. When bees behave like humans — dancing, communicating, working together — we can relate to them. For one, bees perform something called a “waggle dance.” But this dance is less of a performance and more of a helpful tip to their other bees. The dance, which resembles a figure-eight movement, informs bees the direction and distance of food or water.

Honeybees work together in a colony to make hives that provide humans with honey and beeswax, which we then use for many products. Some beehives can hold up to 80,000 honeybees.

So, how do bees make honey? Honeybees drink nectar, which then reacts to enzymes in the bees’ stomachs, breaking the nectar down into simpler sugars. The bees return to the hive and throw this nectar up, which is eaten and thrown up by other bees in the colony. This happens repeatedly until the nectar has lost most of its water content, which is when the nectar is deposited into one of the honeycombs.

In other words, it’s a giant bee vomit mess. Or, as we like to call it, honey.

What about wax? Glands on the worker bees’ legs produce waxy flakes, which the bees moisten with their mouths to shape into honeycombs. Think of it like molding a clay sculpture.

Honey keeps the bees fed through the winter months. What we humans eat is simply the excess honey that the bees don’t need to survive.

Urge Congress to save the bees

It’s our job to stop this bee decline free fall and one way is to limit our use of toxic chemicals. With political will and coordinated efforts, we can rebound the bee population.

Earlier this year, the U.S. Congress reintroduced the Saving America’s Pollinators Act (H.R. 1337). At its heart, the bill draws attention to harmful pesticides — pesticides like sulfoxaflor, which was recently reapproved by the Environmental Protection Agency — which is good news for bees. The law would limit pesticide uses and creates an extensive review process for the pesticides that are approved. Additionally, the act allows us to learn more about the health of wild bees, a major asset to scientists and citizens wanting to save our pollinators.

Bees may be canaries in the coal mine of our larger environmental crisis, and their rapid disappearance reflects the threats many pollinators face. Though widespread loss of bees remains a mystery to scientists, one threat we can control is our use of pesticides. Urge Congress to pass the Saving America’s Pollinators Act, and sign Earth Day Network’s Pesticide Pledge to reduce the amount of pesticides that are killing pollinators.

Learn more about how you can protect bees and other species by joining Earth Day Network’s Protect Our Species campaign.

The post Pollen over pesticides: How we can save honeybees appeared first on Earth Day.

When Dr. Seuss’s Lorax sees the Truffula trees being destroyed, he declares: “I speak for the trees. I speak for the trees, for the trees have no tongues.”

No tongues, indeed. But today, trees are gaining a voice, and nature is speaking for itself and defending its own rights to exist and thrive.

For far too long, nature has been treated as something apart from us, without a voice, unable to say “no!” when threatened. And the consequences are all too real — from the collapse of ecosystems such as coral reefs, to the accelerating rate of species extinction, and of course, with climate change.

Many are asking, why, when we have so many environmental laws in place around the world, does it seem we are unable to protect nature?

Put simply, environmental laws are largely written to authorize the use of the environment. That is, environmental laws legalize activities that use water (such as fracking, which contaminates millions of gallons of water at each frack well), use the air (such as industries that are allowed to emit billions of tons of pollution, including global warming emissions), use land (such as industrial agriculture, which spreads insect-killing pesticides across billions of acres across the globe), and use species (such as industrial-scale fisheries, which are pushing species to the brink).

This legalized use of the environment has treated nature as infinite, able to provide for endless growth and development.

But nature is not infinite, and the consequence of this system of law has proven destructive of ecosystems, species, and biodiversity.

Today, we know that species extinction rates are occurring 1,000 times faster than natural background rates, which prompted the United Nations to warn that a sixth mass species extinction is in the cards.

Indeed, as the Earth Day Network explains in its Protect our Species campaign, the theme of this year’s Earth Day: “If we do not act now, extinction may be humanity’s most enduring legacy.”

Our actions are ripping holes in the very fabric of life.This will only change with a fundamental shift in humankind’s relationship with the natural world. Fortunately, that shift is beginning to happen.

Today, a new movement is building, which recognizes that we can no longer treat nature as limitless, or as simply existing for human use. This movement is transforming how the law treats nature — from being considered an item of property or commerce, to being recognized with legal rights of its own. This movement — to secure legal rights of nature — means, for the first time, acknowledging that nature has the right to exist, the right to thrive, the right to regenerate, evolve, and be restored. And, importantly, that nature can defend and enforce these rights against threats.

Past people’s movements have sought to transform those treated as right-less to being right-bearing, including movements for the abolition of slavery and for women’s suffrage. Much like those prior movements, the movement to recognize the right of nature represents a shift in the purpose of law and governance, from one of legalized destruction, to one of protection.

The rights of nature were first secured in law in communities in the United States, beginning in 2006. Two years later, Ecuador became the first country to enshrine the rights of nature — or Pacha Mama — in its national constitution.

Today, there are rights of nature laws and court decisions in India, Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, and other countries. Tribal nations have enacted such laws, and more than three dozen communities across the U.S. have done so as well.

This transformation is occurring with the growing understanding that it’s time for change. Colombia’s Constitutional Court stated, in its 2016 decision recognizing legal rights of the Atrato River, that such a transformation in the law is necessary before “it’s too late.”

Today, people all over the world are mobilizing for change.

This includes action in Australia, where a campaign was launched last year to recognize rights of the Great Barrier Reef, which is home to millions of marine species. We’re seeing progress in the U.S., where the White Earth band of the Minnesota Chippewa Tribe recently recognized legal rights of the very first plant species, manoomin (wild rice). We are also seeing movement in India, where the High Court of Uttarakhand declared legal rights of the “entire animal kingdom.”

The Lorax warned:

“UNLESS someone like you cares a whole awful lot, nothing is going to get better. It’s not.”

Together we can make change.

To learn more about the rights of nature and how you can get involved, visit www.celdf.org or contact rightsofnature@celdf.org.

The post The Rights of Nature: Building a New People’s Movement for the Earth appeared first on Earth Day.