Scientists have long recognized coastal wetlands—marshes, tidal forests, seagrass meadows, and mudflats—as unsung environmental powerhouses. They capture 4.8 million metric tons of carbon dioxide each year, an annual rate equivalent to removing roughly 1.12 million vehicles from the roads, and deliver an estimated $23 billion in storm-protection benefits in the U.S. alone.
Nestled between the Gran Chaco and Chiquitano dry forests and the Pantanal lowlands in southeastern Bolivia, the Serranía de Sunsas is a chain of rugged mountains shaped by one of South America’s oldest geological formations, known as the Precambrian Brazilian Shield.
Nestled within iconic landscapes throughout the United States, from the misty Adirondack Mountains in New York to North Carolina’s swamps to Alaska’s Tongass National Forest, the United States’ peatlands are quiet powerhouses. Beneath their mossy carpets lie layers of carbon-rich soil so deep that, in some places, they could swallow a three-story building.
The Central American nation of Honduras has more than 600 miles of shoreline between its Caribbean and Pacific coasts and encompasses over 1 million hectares (2.5 million acres) of coastal and island areas. Within this biodiverse, bicoastal country are abundant mangrove forests and seagrass meadows—two types of coastal wetlands that provide enormous benefits for nature, wildlife, and people.
U.S. states and local jurisdictions are largely responsible for governing the nation’s coasts. As a result, they play a major role in protecting and restoring many habitats that capture and store climate-warming carbon—such as seagrasses, salt marshes, mangroves, forested tidal wetlands, and peatlands—and offer myriad other benefits to people and the natural environment.
In one of the world’s most urbanized coastal environments—the waters around Hong Kong—pressure from human activities is threatening the vulnerable Indo-Pacific humpback dolphin, known locally as the Chinese white dolphin.
This year, more than 2 million Americans will hear the words "you have cancer." That's 5,500 people each day—about one every 15 seconds. And as upsetting as that phrase might be, even more distressing is the word that often comes next: chemotherapy.
As Americans file their state and federal income taxes this month, history suggests that they will pay hundreds of billions of dollars less than they should. This “tax gap”—the difference between the taxes legally owed to the government and the amount paid—is caused by taxpayers who should file but do not, who underreport their income, and who do not pay in a timely manner.
The gap between recent and long-term tax revenue volatility has continued to widen. Revenue fluctuations were greater in every state from fiscal year 2020 to fiscal 2024 than they were over the 15 years ending in fiscal 2024, underscoring how the COVID-19 pandemic-driven economic shock affected virtually all tax systems. The states with the largest increases in short-term volatility compared with long-term trends tended to be those that rely most on historically volatile tax sources, but even states with traditionally stable revenue structures faced greater-than-usual swings.
This special crossover episode between “After the Fact” and the World Wildlife Fund’s (WWF’s) “Nature Breaking” podcast dives into the topic of nature finance. And with an estimated $1.2 trillion needed annually by 2030 to halt biodiversity loss, this funding needs to be secured quickly and on a large scale.
Scientists have long recognized coastal wetlands—marshes, tidal forests, seagrass meadows, and mudflats—as unsung environmental powerhouses. They capture 4.8 million metric tons of carbon dioxide each year, an annual rate equivalent to removing roughly 1.12 million vehicles from the roads, and deliver an estimated $23 billion in storm-protection benefits in the U.S. alone.
States are facing an $86 billion shortfall over the next decade for maintaining roads and bridges. And the U.S. is among the most expensive countries for transportation construction—projects typically cost more than three times as much as in other upper- and middle-income economies.
