--:-- Sean Rameswaram: Welcome to Today Explained. I'm Sean Rameswaram.
--:-- Sean Rameswaram: Today's episode is the final installment of our Earth Week series. We're talking about the plan to protect 30% of the planet.
--:-- Sean Rameswaram: I'm joined by Katrin Einhorn, who covers biodiversity for the New York Times.
--:-- Katrin Einhorn: Thanks for having me.
--:-- Sean Rameswaram: So, Katrin, let's start with the basics. What is this plan to protect 30% of the planet?
--:-- Katrin Einhorn: The plan is called 30 by 30. It's a global push to set aside 30% of the world's land and water by 2030.
--:-- Sean Rameswaram: And why 30%?
--:-- Katrin Einhorn: Scientists would say that we need more, actually 50% is what they would recommend. But 30% was agreed upon just in terms of political viability.
--:-- Sean Rameswaram: And what's the goal of this plan?
--:-- Katrin Einhorn: The goal is to preserve the nature that still exists. These big, intact swaths of tropical rainforest and other important ecosystems need to be preserved.
--:-- Sean Rameswaram: And how will this be accomplished?
--:-- Katrin Einhorn: A bunch of conservation organizations have joined with governments led by Britain, France, and Costa Rica to really try and get the world to commit to this goal.
--:-- Sean Rameswaram: And what's the current state of biodiversity on the planet?
--:-- Katrin Einhorn: There's broad scientific consensus that we are experiencing a global biodiversity collapse. A million plant and animal species are threatened by extinction.
--:-- Sean Rameswaram: And what's the impact of this biodiversity loss?
--:-- Katrin Einhorn: It threatens entire ecosystems. A less wild world is less able to provide for our needs, less able to maintain dependable weather and seasons, and less able to absorb our impact.
--:-- Sean Rameswaram: And what's the role of indigenous communities in this effort?
--:-- Katrin Einhorn: There's a growing consensus that indigenous communities are better stewards of nature. They have a deep understanding of the land and a strong connection to the natural world.
--:-- Sean Rameswaram: And how will indigenous communities be involved in the 30 by 30 plan?
--:-- Katrin Einhorn: Unfortunately, they don't have a prominent seat at the table. It's a structural problem because countries are the ones that have the votes.
--:-- Sean Rameswaram: And what's the U.S. involvement in this effort?
--:-- Katrin Einhorn: President Biden ordered his team to look into how we would set aside 30% of the U.S. by 2030. But it's a little tricky because we are not party to this UN biodiversity agreement.
--:-- Sean Rameswaram: And what's the significance of this agreement?
--:-- Katrin Einhorn: It's a chance to inject a new resolve into safeguarding and repairing our life support system.
--:-- Sean Rameswaram: And what's the current state of conservation efforts?
--:-- Katrin Einhorn: Countries of the world did not do a good job hitting the targets set a decade ago. None of the 20 objectives have been fully met, and only six were partially achieved.
--:-- Sean Rameswaram: And what's the impact of this failure?
--:-- Katrin Einhorn: It's a reminder that we're in a real problem. The world is coming to realize the real problem that we're in.
--:-- Sean Rameswaram: And what's the way forward?
--:-- Katrin Einhorn: We need to come together for a common good and figure out a way to make this fair.
--:-- Sean Rameswaram: Katrin Einhorn, thanks for joining me today.
--:-- Katrin Einhorn: Thanks for having me.
--:-- Sean Rameswaram: Now, let's hear from some of the people who are working on the front lines of conservation.
--:-- Brian Anderson: Hi, I'm Brian Anderson, and I'm the editor of Down to Earth, Vox's new reporting initiative on the science, politics, and economics of the biodiversity crisis.
--:-- Sean Rameswaram: Brian, what's your favorite Earth fact that you've discovered over the past year?
--:-- Brian Anderson: My favorite Earth fact is just how much turning the volume down on ocean noise pollution helps out marine life.
--:-- Sean Rameswaram: And how does this work?
--:-- Brian Anderson: Sound is the primary medium through which most any marine mammal uses to communicate and find food and find potential mates.
--:-- Sean Rameswaram: And what's the impact of ocean noise pollution?
--:-- Brian Anderson: The oceans have been getting louder and louder with an increase in shipping traffic, and this is really detrimental to marine creatures.
--:-- Sean Rameswaram: And what's the solution?
--:-- Brian Anderson: You can silence it at its source, and that's going to have an immediate impact, especially in the oceans.
--:-- Sean Rameswaram: Brian Anderson, thanks for joining me today.
--:-- Brian Anderson: Thanks for having me.
--:-- Sean Rameswaram: Next, let's hear from Benji Jones, a reporter at Vox focused on explaining the biodiversity crisis.
--:-- Benji Jones: Hi, I'm Benji Jones.
--:-- Sean Rameswaram: Benji, what's your favorite thing that scientists have discovered about the Earth in the last year?
--:-- Benji Jones: My favorite thing is how wombats poop cubes.
--:-- Sean Rameswaram: And how does this work?
--:-- Benji Jones: Wombats have various sections of the intestine of various thickness and elasticity, and they can vary the rates at which those sections compact the poop.
--:-- Sean Rameswaram: And why do wombats poop cubes?
--:-- Benji Jones: Some researchers think that it's to prevent the poop from rolling away because it is really how they mark their territory and communicate with other wombats.
--:-- Sean Rameswaram: Benji Jones, thanks for joining me today.
--:-- Benji Jones: Thanks for having me.
--:-- Sean Rameswaram: Next, let's hear from Bird Pinkerton, a reporter-producer for Unexplainable, Vox's science podcast.
--:-- Bird Pinkerton: Hi, I'm Bird Pinkerton.
--:-- Sean Rameswaram: Bird, what's your favorite thing that scientists have discovered about the Earth in the last year?
--:-- Bird Pinkerton: My favorite thing is that there are 100 million-year-old bacteria living at the bottom of the ocean.
--:-- Sean Rameswaram: And how does this work?
--:-- Bird Pinkerton: Scientists have pulled up bacteria from the bottom sediments of the South Pacific Gyre, a marine desert with very few nutrients.
--:-- Sean Rameswaram: And what's the significance of this discovery?
--:-- Bird Pinkerton: It's an indication that life is unbelievably hardy and can survive in the harshest possible conditions for millions of years.
--:-- Sean Rameswaram: Bird Pinkerton, thanks for joining me today.
--:-- Bird Pinkerton: Thanks for having me.
--:-- Sean Rameswaram: Next, let's hear from Eliza Barkley, the science, health, and climate editor at Vox.
--:-- Eliza Barkley: Hi, I'm Eliza Barkley.
--:-- Sean Rameswaram: Eliza, what's your favorite thing that scientists have discovered about the Earth in the last year?
--:-- Eliza Barkley: My favorite thing is that seagrass can naturally mitigate ocean acidification.
--:-- Sean Rameswaram: And how does this work?
--:-- Eliza Barkley: Seagrass performs photosynthesis, which removes carbon dioxide from the water and counteracts the acidifying effect of CO2 in the ocean.
--:-- Sean Rameswaram: And what's the significance of this discovery?
--:-- Eliza Barkley: It's a relatively easy solution compared to other climate solutions, and it's a top priority ecosystem that we should be protecting.
--:-- Sean Rameswaram: Eliza Barkley, thanks for joining me today.
--:-- Eliza Barkley: Thanks for having me.
--:-- Sean Rameswaram: Finally, let's hear from Brian Resnick, a science reporter at Vox.
--:-- Brian Resnick: Hi, I'm Brian Resnick.
--:-- Sean Rameswaram: Brian, what's your favorite thing that scientists have discovered about the Earth in the last year?
--:-- Brian Resnick: My favorite thing is just new species, new types of life documented for the first time in the scientific literature.
--:-- Sean Rameswaram: And how many new species have been discovered?
--:-- Brian Resnick: One institution, the California Academy of Sciences, described 213 new species.
--:-- Sean Rameswaram: And what's the significance of this discovery?
--:-- Brian Resnick: It's a reminder that we still don't know what most of the life on Earth is, and there's still so much more to discover.
--:-- Sean Rameswaram: Brian Resnick, thanks for joining me today.
--:-- Brian Resnick: Thanks for having me.
--:-- Sean Rameswaram: And that's it for Earth Week on Today Explained. Thanks for listening.
--:-- Sean Rameswaram: If you have thoughts on the housing market in the United States, we want to hear from you. Call our phone line at 202-688-5944 or send us an email at
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--:-- Sean Rameswaram: Support for Today Explained comes from Chime. Learn more about Chime at chime.com.
--:-- Sean Rameswaram: And support for Today Explained comes from Charles Schwab. Learn more about Charles Schwab at schwab.com.
--:-- Sean Rameswaram: Thanks for listening to Today Explained.
