NPR • March 21, 2025
Friday marks the International Day of Forests, as designated by the United Nations. the organization warns that 10 million hectares of forest are intentionally destroyed annually. Another 70 million hectares are impacted by fires, which experts say are being made worse by the ongoing climate crisis. In the United States, efforts from past administrations to better protect the environment have come under scrutiny by the Trump administration. This month, President Trump signed executive orders aimed at aggressively ramping up the nation's timber production. He framed the importation of wood products as a potential national security threat. Another order, signed on the same day, includes provisions to sidestep the 1973 Endangered Species Act.