+
upworthy
Nature

The Earth's forests have regrown an area as large as France since 2000

The Earth's forests have regrown an area as large as France since 2000
via Trillion Trees

An encouraging study published by Trillion Trees shows that nearly 59 million hectares of forests — an area larger than mainland France — have regrown since 2000.

Trillion Trees is a joint venture between World Wildlife Fund (WWF), BirdLife International, and the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS).

This newly-regenerated forest has the ability to store 5.9 gigatons of CO2, roughly the same amount of emissions generated by the U.S. every year.


Forests are a vital part of the fight against climate change. Trees work to lower the Earth's temperature through a process known as photosynthesis. A 2017 study found that forests and other ecosystems could provide over one-third of the reductions needed to keep global warming below 2 °C through to 2030.

The green areas show the areas of dramatic regrowth.via Trillion Trees

One of the biggest success stories in forest regeneration is the Atlantic Forest in Brazil. An area roughly the size of the Netherlands has grown since the start of the new millennium. This was done through a wide variety of initiatives from planned projects to responsible industry practices.

Other places that have seen dramatic change are the boreal forests of northern Mongolia, central Africa, and the boreal forests of Canada.

"Deforestation is at the center of our climate crisis, and we must do everything we can to halt it," said Josefina Braña Varela, vice president and deputy lead for forests at WWF. "In addition, the restoration of our natural forests will play an essential role in preserving these critical ecosystems. The analysis provides a positive outlook for natural regeneration—but this growth doesn't happen without careful planning, increased investment, and strong policies in place that lead to an increase in forest cover."

The study also provides a road map for future reforestation projects which are sorely in need as the Earth's temperature rapidly rises.

"This map will be a valuable tool for conservationists, policymakers, and funders to better understand the multiple ways we can work to increase forest cover for the good of the planet," said John Lotspeich, executive director of Trillion Trees.

Lotspeich believes that we have little time to waste if we want to reach the goals set forth by the Paris Agreement.

"The data show the enormous potential of natural habitats to recover when given the chance to do so. But it isn't an excuse for any of us to wait around for it to happen," he said.

via Dr. Alexey Yakovlev / Flickr

The news is definitely positive but there is still much work to do. Even though there has been substantial reforestation in some parts of the globe, the Earth is still losing an area about the size of the UK every year, largely due to the timber industry and agriculture.

"Deforestation still claims millions of hectares every year, vastly more than is regenerated," William Baldwin-Cantello of WWF said in a statement.

"To realize the potential of forests as a climate solution, we need support for regeneration in climate delivery plans and must tackle the drivers of deforestation, which in the UK means strong domestic laws to prevent our food causing deforestation overseas," he continued.

The good news is the study proves that reforestation can happen at a pretty rapid pace if we just leave mother nature alone and let her do her thing. If only we learned that lesson earlier.

Teacher starts period in front of class, turns into a lesson

Teachers are almost always teaching even when it's not in their lesson plan.

Those that were born to be teachers find teachable moments everywhere and one woman found herself in one of those moments. Though this one was likely just a bit more personal than she probably would've liked.

Emily Elizabeth posted a TikTok video about how she found herself in a predicament in front of her classroom full of 10 and 11-year-old kids. The teacher explained that she was noticing a lot of commotion and whispering among the little girls in her class while she was wearing white pants. After reminding the girls to stay on task, the whispering continued, prompting Emily to be more direct.

That's when one of the girls asked to speak with her privately dropping the bomb that no one that gets periods wants to hear in public.

Keep ReadingShow less
Education

Gen Z is 74% more likely than other generations to want to homeschool their kids

Theirs reasons for wanting to homeschool and how they think it should be done departs from previous generations as well.

Canva

Homeschooling numbers in the U.S. have more than quadrupled since 1999.

It used to be that if you said the word "homeschooler," people would conjure up images of a Bible-carrying homesteader whose parents kept them out of school so they wouldn't learn about "dangerous" ideas like carbon dating and evolution.

While those kinds of homeschoolers still exist, the homeschooling world has become much larger and more diverse in recent decades. In 1999, there were approximately 850,000 students homeschooled in the United States. Before the COVID-19 pandemic, that number had tripled to an estimated 2.5 million, and in the past year, it's grown by over a million more to 3.62 million. These days, you'll meet homeschool parents from all walks of life who have chosen to educate their own kids for all kinds of reasons, moving the "typical homeschooler" stereotype further and further from reality.

Now we have a new generation of Americans thinking about how they want their kids to be educated. Gen Z is now 12 to 26 years old, with the 20-somethings at a prime age for starting (or at least imagining) their future family lives. Interestingly enough, they are even more keen on homeschooling their kids than their parents or grandparents were.

Keep ReadingShow less
Family

Woman who was pressured to quit her job to raise stepdaughter's baby makes a bold decision

This sparked an important conversation about family responsibility.

via Pixabay

A middle-aged woman holding a baby.

A story that recently went viral on Reddit’s AITA forum asks an important question: What is a parent’s role in taking care of their grandchildren? The story is even further complicated because the woman at the center of the controversy is a stepparent.

The woman, 38, met her husband Sam, 47, ten years ago, when his daughter, Leah, 25, was 15. Five years ago, the couple got married after Leah had moved out to go to college.

Leah’s mom passed away when she was 10.

Last year, Leah became pregnant, and she wanted to keep the baby, but her boyfriend didn’t. After the disagreement, the boyfriend broke up with her. This forced Leah to move back home because she couldn’t afford to be a single parent and live alone on a teacher’s salary.

Keep ReadingShow less

Daphne Berry has the best comeback to a catcaller.

It’s 2023, and unfortunately, catcalling is still a problem.

While some may dismiss it as harmless flattery, it can be extremely frightening to be sexualized in public by a stranger. Further, the object of the harassment, unusually a woman, has no idea whether the catcaller's intentions are dangerous or if they’re just being rude.

Australian TikTok star Daphne Berry (@berridaph) has gone viral for her quick-witted reply to a catcaller that turned the tide and made him the subject of humiliation.

Over the course of just 5 days, the video has been seen over 4.1 million times.

Keep ReadingShow less
@kelsewhatelse/TikTok

This is a playtime game changer

Independent playtime, as the name suggests, is an allotted period of time where kids are left alone to entertain themselves.

It’s not only a chance for parents to catch up on whatever emails, chores, rest, etc. that they might have fallen behind on, but an opportunity for kids to develop their imagination, problem-solving and self-reliance. And, you know, make friends with the voices inside their head.

But, as important as independent playtime is, it’s not always easy for parents to implement. Some kids have a hard time finding ways to entertain themselves without trying to involve mom or dad.

That’s where the ‘invention box’ comes in.

Keep ReadingShow less
Internet

Viewers watch in awe as the woman with world's longest fingernails finally gets them cut

It took more than 2 bottles of nail polish and 20 hours to paint her nails!

Viewers can't stop watching as woman cuts two foot fingernails

There's something about seeing something out of the ordinary, be it a strange animal, an accident or even an argument between strangers. Humans are naturally curious beings and seeing a random argument between your neighbor and her teenage son will have some people outside taking their goldfish for a walk just to gawk.

So it's not surprising that thousands of viewers tuned in when Ayanna Williams, the Guinness World Record holder for the world's longest nails went to have them all cut off. Williams had her record breaking nails for 29 years but decided it was finally time to bid them adieu and the entire thing was filmed. It's a monumental moment for the record holder after having lived with the 24 foot nails for decades.

Most of us would simply need to grab a pair of fingernail clippers and get clipping, but for Williams the process was a bit more complicated.

Keep ReadingShow less