As 2021 draws to an end, the NewsHour Weekend team selected our favorite stories of the past year about nature and the environment.
Karla Murthy, Special Correspondent, reported on a possible solution to climate change by planting trees. She visited Cleveland, a city that was once known as The Forest City to see how it is trying to restore its once-prolific tree cover. New studies have shown that planting trees in green cities can purify the air, and even lower city temperatures.
The water level at the southern end Lake Michigan’s Indiana Dunes National Park has risen five feet since 2014. This has been caused by the construction of human-made structures as well as the increase in storms due to climate change. Higher watermarks are indicative of more erosion to the sand-dunes that have been present in the area for thousands and years. Zachary Green reports on the park’s adaptation to the new norm.
Rich MacDonald kept a record of every bird he saw in Hancock County, Maine for a whole year. This includes Acadia National Park. His findings were published as Little Big Year, Chasing Acadias Birds. Hari Sreenivasan spoke with MacDonald about his autumn trip to Maine.