Earth Day: A closer look at Planet Earth’s hot spots
April 22nd marks the 51st annual Earth Day. In recent years, a heightened focus around sustainability efforts to help Planet Earth has been made, but there are still major concerns they are not enough. Yahoo Finance’s Brooke DiPalma shares the details with Akiko Fujita.
Video transcript
AKIKO FUJITA: In our special coverage, "Planet Earth in Crisis" this week, we are taking a closer look at the issue of climate change, the environmental challenges, the policies to address them, and then the impact that's likely to have on Wall Street. We've got a long list of business leaders as well as lawmakers lined up for this week.
But we're kicking off our coverage today by taking a look at the problem at hand. Brooke DiPalma has been examining some of those key hot spots around the world, and she's here with that story. Brooke?
BROOKE DIPALMA: Akiko, human impact has really taken a toll on Planet Earth. And like you said, government officials, experts-- and also major consumer-facing brands, like Dunkin' and Starbucks, whose goal is to eliminate single-use plastic cups-- have really looked to help in this crisis.
More than 7.8 billion people populate Planet Earth, using its natural resources. In recent years recycling efforts have been made across the globe to reverse human impact. But it might not be enough.
In just one year, 8 million metric tons of plastic waste ends up in oceans. That's in addition to the 150 million metric tons of plastic that already exist within the ocean. At this rate, the ocean is on track to have more plastic than fish by the year 2050.
The Earth's oceans are not the only areas feeling the wrath of human impact. The Amazon Rainforest covers 40% of the South American continent and is home to nearly 10% of the world's species and 1.4 billion acres of forest. But human impact has taken a toll. Manufacturing, transportation, and industrial needs have led to rapid deforestation.
And while many areas have been hit by climate change and human impact, the Arctic Circle is among the worst. Stretching 5.4 million square miles, this frozen body of water is now free-flowing, with the ice melting at a rate of 13.1% decade.
--is in fact at a tipping point. And experts warn that the future of the planet is really up to us. While many actions have been taken, there is still a lot more work to be done.
Recently, there's become a heightened focus for investors, as many flock to environmental, social, and corporate governing investing, rather known as ESG investing. In fact, a study from One Planet Capital predicts that investment within the ESG market will double this year alone, with more than 12% of investors are planning to move to ESG-related funds. But the big question now, Akiko, is will that be enough?
AKIKO FUJITA: It's certainly one of the questions we are tackling this week. Thanks so much for that, Brooke. And we should remind you that you can catch the full story from Brooke on our website at YahooFinance.com.
