(upbeat rock music) - Coming up next on "NewsDepth," environmental scientists worry England's eroding away.

Plus this young guy makes a very old discovery.

The United States reopens its land borders to Mexico and Canada, and what does Lake Tahoe have to do with hurricanes?

We'll tell you, "NewsDepth" is now.

Red rover, red rover, Mexicans and Canadians come on over.

Hello, everybody, I'm Margaret Cavalier, filling in for Rick Jackson, thanks for joining us.

The United States will reopen land borders to travelers from Canada and Mexico in November.

A border is, of course, the land between two areas, in this case, countries.

Unlike state borders, you can't cross into other countries without permission.

Extra restrictions on who can cross into the United States have been in place for more than a year and a half as an attempt to slow the spread of the coronavirus.

Starting next month, though, visitors are welcome as long as they are fully vaccinated against COVID-19.

Businesses in border cities and families with members from multiple countries greeted the news with a mix of excitement and sighs of relief.

Chris Wynn has the full story for us, Chris?

- [Chris] More progress on the COVID-19 front as America prepares to reopen its borders with Canada and Mexico to fully vaccinated visitors.

- It's important news for our country, for our economy.

We're talking about land ports of entry with two of our key trading partners.

It helps to safely open up North America.

- [Chris] Starting in early November, inbound foreign travelers by land and ferry will be able to visit for non-essential reasons.

The United States now set to welcome tourists and separated family members who have been shut out of the country since March of 2020, returning a sense of normality.

(Andres speaking in foreign language) - [Translator] We're going to have normality at our northern border.

Mexico has made many efforts in procedures with the United States government.

There have been many meetings with the goal of achieving the reopening of the border, and at the same time, we decided to vaccinate in the border areas to help bring about this agreement.

- [Chris] The decision by the Biden Administration marks a new phase in the recovery from the pandemic following guidance by the CDC.

Communities along America's northern and southern borders already looking forward to a much needed economic boost.

- These economies, that of Western New York, Southern Ontario, the United States and Canada, are deeply integrated.

We are trading partners, we are friends, and for the first time in 19 months, we are gonna be reunited to generate all that economic activity again, enhance the life quality, and as importantly, allow loved ones who have been separated for the past 19 months to be reunited.

- [Chris] The US also plans to lift a similar restriction on travelers from overseas in January, a ban that has impacted thousands of people to all inbound foreign nationals.

- We want to get to that fully reopened state as quickly as we responsibly can, but it's always first gonna be guided by doing what's right to beat this pandemic.

- [Chris] In Washington, I'm Chris Wynn.

- Thanks, Chris, and 20.7 million people from Canada and 18.3 million from Mexico visited the United States in 2019 according to the US Travel Association.

In 2020, those numbers dropped dramatically to 4.8 million and seven million, respectively.

That's a lot less visitors, and one spot they've been missing out on, California's redwoods.

We told you a few weeks back about the state's giant Sequoias trees, so how about an update?

Recently, the Windy Fire has been encroaching on the special forest, and firefighters have gotten pretty creative to save the trees.

They wrap them up in, get this, aluminum foil.

Here you can see firefighters wrapping up General Sherman, the world's largest tree.

The wrap protects the bases of the trees where they were previously damaged by fires.

South of General Sherman is a Trail of 100 Giants, a path through a grove of redwoods.

The hike has remained protected due to the hard work of many caretakers.

Rather than wrap all of the trees in foil, they took a different approach to save the forest.

Jessica Harrington has the details.

- [Jessica] Trees are bare boned and hotspots are still burning where the Windy Fire raced through the Sequoia National Forest.

About 15 minutes away, the beloved Trail of 100 Giants still closed to the public, but mostly unscathed.

- This is an island of survival in a sea of desolation all the way around here.

This area has been showed to be managed correctly.

- [Jessica] As flames moved in, crews set up sprinklers at the base of the giant Sequoias to moisten the ground around them.

- Where the Long Meadow Grove, or the Trail of 100 Giants is, for a while, we were pushing 20,000 gallons of water out a day on these trees, and we were really cooling them down and getting them the water they needed.

They can survive a lot, but when they're, 95% of their leaves are gone, incinerated, and they're burned all the way into the inner layers of the bark, they can't survive that.

- [Jessica] For more than a decade, Forest Management crews have been clearing out heavy fuels, including dead trees hit by bark beetles.

- The fuels work that basically took this larger fuel and we reduced it down to fuel that is more favorable for the firefighter to get into the area to extinguish the fire.

- You can still see the remnants from some of that work, ash from some of those prescribed burns.

Firefighters move in and try to clear out about 20 feet around these giants so that when a major fire like the Windy Fire moves in, the heat is less intense.

- Without this, my professional opinion would be that we'd probably see a lot more loss of giant Sequoia trees in this grove.

- [Jessica] While the majority of the area was virtually untouched, the canopy of one giant Sequoia caught on fire from an ember from the Windy Fire.

Aircraft was able to drop water on top of it, and then specialized climbers moved in to completely extinguish the fire inside.

The Windy Fire has impacted 11 separate groves so far.

The KNP complex has impacted at least 12, and last year, the Castle Fire impacted 10.

- That's over half the groves that have been impacted by fire in two years.

That has never happened before.

We've never seen these effects.

- [Jessica] Because of that, the Sequoia Coalition was created.

The group of forest experts come up with longterm plans for climate change, focused on the resilience of the giants and determine the pace and scale of fuel treatments.

- We want to make sure that these trees are here for the future, for the children and the grandchildren to be able to enjoy these trees, just like we have.

- Thanks, Jessica, not all the trees have fared so well.

Unfortunately, wildfires have burned at least 74 Sequoias this year.

Meanwhile, environmental scientists in neighboring Nevada are teaming up with NASA to forecast another type of national disaster, hurricanes.

By testing water temperatures in Lake Tahoe and comparing them with measurements taken by satellites, the scientists can see if their instruments are accurate.

An environmental scientist is someone who researches and investigates pollution and other hazards that can hurt the environment or public health.

These folks need to be good at problem solving and listening, not to mention using different computer programs.

Oh, and they definitely need to have a passion for protecting nature.

The career is a good fit if you can pay attention to details, take initiative, and work on a team.

To become an environmental scientist, you'll need to attend college and earn a bachelor's degree.

In Ohio, it's considered an in-demand career and is expected to have plenty of positions to fill in the future.

All right, now let's see these scientists in action.

Reporter Josh Little tagged along as they tested those Lake Tahoe temperatures, Josh?

- [Josh] Researchers at UC Davis make this trek four times a year to check on the buoys out in Lake Tahoe.

They measure the surface temperature of the lake.

- The radiometers- - [Josh] And it plays an important role for NASA.

- We take air measurements and we compare them to these various satellite sensors.

- [Josh] If those readings are correct in Tahoe, then it serves as a reference point to other buoys in the ocean and lets scientists know that their satellites are accurate.

- Using these satellite systems to build up longterm records over many, many decades, and so if we want to match all of those systems together, we have to have some sort of reference point.

So we're interested in it from not only this sort of near term of the weather forecasting, but really the longer term as it affects climate.

- [Josh] These temperature readings are one of the most crucial aspects in forecasting and responding to hurricanes, and because of its size, location, and altitude, Lake Tahoe is a perfect spot to collect these readings.

- Because it is such a massive volume of water, small ponds tend to respond very quickly.

Tahoe is more of a reservoir of what's happened over the last several decades.

- [Josh] And the buoys also help show why there's been a drop in clarity over the last 30 years.

- They collect anything from fire smoke and ash to just winter dust from when we sand the roads, and all of that material basically falls on the lake and has some level of impact.

- [Josh] Including the wildfires this summer, like the Caldor Fire, burning in the Tahoe Basin.

- So we have seen a direct result from that smoke of a loss of about five meters or 15 feet in the clarity readings.

- [Josh] That's more of a seasonal issue, likely to be changed by winter storms and lake mixing, but the erosion caused by the fire is more of a longterm problem, as well as a rise in water temperature.

- The warmer it stays through the winter, the less likely it is that this warm layer on top of the lake will break up, okay?

So then you get this persistent warm layer, and then you get less turnover of the lake, and then you get a change in the biological activity of the lake.

Eventually, you could get conditions that, where we certainly won't see a nice, lovely blue lake.

- [Josh] The good news, the loss of clarity has plateaued over the last decade.

Reporting from Lake Tahoe, Josh Little.

- Thanks, Josh, part of what makes Lake Tahoe so beautiful is how clear and blue the lake is.

Experts have been keeping the lake sparkling by restoring nearby wetlands and preventing erosion on the lake shores.

Now, erosion is the process of making rocks and soils to a new location, and I actually have a whole spot on science about erosion on Lake Eerie, but hey, since I'm hosting, let's take a look at erosion on the shores of England instead of watching me all day.

Conservationists in the United Kingdom are worried that important sand dune habitats are being severely worn away due to climate change.

Coastal erosion is so bad that some of the landscape is already disappearing.

Salma Abdelaziz reports.

- [Salma] The northwest coast of England, where sand moves with the tides, but the climate crisis is disturbing the rhythm of this ecosystem, with more intense storms wrecking a barrier of sand dunes, says local official Paul Wisse.

- These natural systems do provide an important defense for Sefton.

The sand dunes obviously hold an awful lot of sediment, that when it's released on the beach, helps raise the level of the beach to reduce the wave impacts.

- [Salma] Global warming also means rising temperatures and longer tourist seasons.

- We have an awful lot of visitors to the coastline, and they can have, in some areas, a detrimental impact on the vegetation in the dune systems.

- [Salma] And with tourists comes trash.

Tom Norbury runs a volunteer group that picks up litter on the beach.

- Let people come here, keep it protected, very fine balance, and people just think that they're entitled to come here.

They don't realize it's a special place.

- Coastal erosion is happening at an alarming rate.

Experts say large swathes of coastline here are at risk of retreating more than 65 feet in the next 20 years.

British scientists warn that if the climate crisis continues unchecked here, it could threaten railways, roads, and more than 100,000 homes across the UK.

Coastlines like this one could disappear in the next century.

On this protected beach, rangers are repairing the sand dunes, home to rare species of lizards and toads.

But unpredictable weather events, made more likely by climate change, are a threat to recovery, says lead ranger, Kate Martin.

- The storms are a real issue.

You don't really know when they're coming.

We're also getting freak storm events happening in August and other times of the year, and that makes it a lot harder for us to plan our management.

- [Salma] Manmade infrastructure blocking the back of the dunes is another challenge, Marin says.

- If those dunes can't move and shift as they want to move and shift, and can't adapt, then that is an issue because if they suddenly, the dunes go, then the whole of the sea defense in this area goes.

- [Salma] But beyond this coastline, humans will also need to adapt their behaviors to preserve these beaches for future generations.

Salma Abdelaziz, Sefton Coast.

- Thanks, Salma.

For this week's poll, we want to know, have you noticed any unusual changes in the weather?

Head to our online poll to vote either yes or no.

Paying close attention to nature around you can result in some amazing discoveries.

That's just what a six-year-old in Michigan learned last month.

He noticed something on the ground while on a family hike.

Turns out it was a giant mastodon tooth.

Megan Woods has more on the find.

- I just felt something on my foot and I grabbed it up, and it kind of looked like a tooth.

- [Megan] At first the family thought it was your standard rock, and given the name of the nature center, maybe even a dinosaur tooth.

But after a quick Google search, they realized it belonged to a mastodon.

- At first I thought I was gonna get money.

I was gonna get a million dollars, (laughs) so embarrassing right now.

- [Megan] But that's not what happened next.

Researchers at the U of M Museum of Paleontologists confirm the family's hunch.

Not only that, it is a rare discovery.

Just ask the people at U of M's Museum of Natural History.

- Well, honestly, I'm a little jealous personally because finding fossils is something that I wish I could do every day.

- [Megan] They have a pretty rare exhibit on mastodons, and while it is known as the state's fossil, finding what's left of them is hard to come by.

- It's hard to be preserved as a fossil.

When an animal dies, most of the time it is scavenged.

- [Megan] Julian's dad wanted to throw the tooth back into the water, but both Julian and the Nature Center believe a valuable lesson can be learned from all of this.

- The great thing about nature is you never know what you're going to find, and that even if you are an expert, it doesn't mean that you're going to be the one to find things.

- [Megan] That's what makes this so incredible.

Mastodons date back to 12,000 years, and this discovery is a nod to both history and the future.

- I really want to be an archeologist, but I think that was a sign that I'm gonna be a paleontologist.

- Thanks, Megan, how cute is that kid?

I think he'd make a great archeologist or paleontologist, and he's got us inspired for this week's question.

We want you to imagine you're setting up an archeological dig in your neighborhood.

Based on what you know about your hometown and Ohio's history, what do you think you would find?

Now, last episode, we asked you what you would like to see under a microscope.

Let's see what you're curious about by opening up our inbox.

(slow music) Andy from Roosevelt Elementary in Lakewood wrote, "I wanna see a cat's tongue under a microscope, and I think their tongues might have frills on them or spikes 'cause of how rough they are."

Ooh, interesting hypothesis.

Here's one from Avisi from Meadowlawn Intermediate in Sandusky.

"I would like to see a beehive under a microscope.

I think it would be very interesting.

I have never been stung by a bee, so I would really like to learn about them more.

I also think it would be very cool to see all the bees and honey.

I have always wanted to learn a lot about bees, so I think this will do the job."

Norah from Kensington Intermediate in Rocky River wrote, "I would like to see zooplankton under a microscope.

Most zooplankton are microscopic, so it would be cool to see millions of small animals that are just floating in salt water."

Abby from Crestview Elementary in Brunswick sent in this letter.

"I would like to see a flower petal under a microscope.

The reason why is because I've always wanted to see pollen on a flower, and if I could see it up close, I could study it.

I could do a bunch of tests on the petal, maybe even discover something new on the flower.

I might even be able to be the first kid to discover a cure, a medicine, or a disease on that petal.

Just think about it, maybe even other things.

That is why I want to see a flower petal under a microscope."

Finally, Maizy from Wilson Elementary in Cincinnati wrote, "I would like to see my hand underneath a microscope to see what I have on my hand.

I would like to see if I have any germs because I want to stay clean."

Ooh, great letters, everyone.

Last week, we also asked you to vote on which mission you thought NASA should focus on.

Well, 78% of you said they should concentrate on sending humans to Mars.

Whoa, onto new frontiers for you guys.

Well, you know an impressive number of astronauts have come from Ohio, right?

Gabriel Kramer has the specifics on some of these outstanding Ohioans in this week's Know Ohio, take a look.

(slow guitar music) - Ohioans know how to reach for the stars, literally.

There have been more than a handful who have headed into space as careers as astronauts.

Let me introduce you to a few who really stand out.

No doubt you've heard of Neil Armstrong.

He's got that famous quote, "That's one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind."

Originally from Wapakoneta, Ohio, Armstrong attended Purdue University, where he studied aeronautical engineering before being called to serve in the Korean War.

As a pilot for the Navy, he flew 78 missions.

If that's no prep to fly into space, I don't know what is.

Upon returning and completing his education at Purdue, Armstrong joined the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics, which eventually would become NASA.

It was here where Armstrong made history flying the Apollo 11, and becoming the first man to walk on the moon in 1969.

- [Neil] That's one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.

- [Gabriel] Although monumental, Armstrong was not the only Ohio-born astronaut making an impact during this time.

John Glenn, born in Cambridge, Ohio, beat him to space.

Glenn was the first American to orbit the Earth in 1962.

In 1959, Glenn was selected to join the first group of astronauts nicknamed the Mercury Seven.

- I look at it, if I use the talents and capabilities I happen to have been given to the best of my ability, I think there is a power greater than I am that will certainly see that I am taken care of if I do my part of the bargain.

- [Gabriel] He had already spent plenty of time in the air, having served in both World War II and the Korean War.

Glenn made history for America with his orbit mission and continued serving the country as an Ohio Senator for 25 years.

However, he didn't stop there.

He made history once more in 1998, when he did one more space flight.

What was so impressive this go?

Well, Glenn was 77 years old at the time, making him the oldest person to fly into space.

- [Announcer] And liftoff of Discovery with a crew of six astronaut heroes and one American legend.

- Now Armstrong and Glenn are probably familiar names, but how about Judy Resnik, ever heard of her?

Resnik was from Akron and was accepted into the astronaut program in 1978, along with five other women.

During her time, she became the second female astronaut to travel to space, and was well regarded for being a pioneer.

Her first flight to space was abroad the Discovery in 1984.

She was an expert in operating the shuttle's robotic arm.

Unfortunately, Resnik's next mission was aboard the Space Shuttle Challenger in 1986.

The Challenger exploded not long after takeoff, killing her and six other crew mates.

At a memorial service for Resnik, John Glenn said, "So as we reflect on Judy's life, and Challenger's last voyage in the days and weeks ahead, let's never forget the last words that came from that spacecraft, 'Go at throttle up.'

Those are far more than a courageous epitaph.

They America's history, they are America's destiny, and they will turn tragedy into triumph once again."

Resnik's work and accomplishments helped revolutionize the industry and paved the way forward for women.

For example, one of the toughest astronauts out there, Sunita Williams.

Williams was born in Euclid, Ohio.

She joined NASA as an astronaut in 1998.

Already having retired from a career as a Navy captain, she served as a flight engineer during her time as an astronaut.

Williams has been commended for endurance as an astronaut and has a record to back it up, with two missions under her belt.

She has spent time on the International Space Station and set the record for female astronauts with the most spacewalk, totaling more than 50 hours.

Despite already accomplishing so much as an astronaut, Williams continues to strive for more as she trains for more space flights, and is expected to spend even more time aboard the International Space Station.

- Being in microgravity and flying around in space is priceless, and, I mean, I think we're cherishing every moment we have of it.

- As of 2020, she has her eyes set on being the first female to walk on the moon.

So as you can see, Ohio is home to some super accomplished astronauts, and there are plenty more I could talk about.

Will you be one of them one day?

- Thanks, Gabriel.

This week's "NewsDepth" A+ winner is focused on keeping our home planet healthy.

Westlake High School freshman Moira Burke used her artistic skills to win a statewide poster competition, focused on community and conservation.

Moira was actually in the eighth grade at St. Angela Merici School in Fairview Park when she drew the poster as part of her art class.

The theme of the homework assignment was Healthy Forests Equal Healthy Communities, and Moira said she interpreted it her way.

Her poster has a pair of different colored hands shaking.

Moira said she wanted to show that when it comes to conservation, diversity and inclusion are important.

We all have to work together to achieve a goal of a sustainable world.

On the poster, behind the shaking hands, the Earth's land is covered with native trees.

Moira said before drawing the poster, she researched to make sure the plant life was geographically correct.

The poster was submitted to the Cuyahoga Water and Soil Conservation District as part of a competition.

Moira won first place in her grade level and moved onto the state competition, hosted by the Ohio Federation of Water and Soil Conservation districts.

She won first place in the seven through ninth grade competition there, as well, and her poster has now moved onto nationals.

There are two quotes on the poster, including one from teen environmentalist, Greta Thunberg that reads, "You say you love your children above all else, yet you are stealing their future right in front of their very eyes."

Moira wants to be an ecologist and conservationist when she's older, but she has other passions, too, art and volleyball, which she plays year round.

This week, we're proud to give our "NewsDepth" A+ to Moira Burke, who made an amazing poster with our planet and environment in mind.

We know you'll go far in the sciences and with whatever you do in your future, so congratulations, Moira.

Okay, time for your favorite thing.

Let's see what News Cat's pawed up for this week's Petting Zoo.

(slow music) (cat meows) Whoa, looks like she's ready to get to work.

Check out those speedy paws.

Ah, a story about cleaning up wildlife from the oil spill in California.

Remember, we learned about it last week?

Nice find, News Cat.

- [Reporter] A duck and a grebe covered in oil in Huntington Beach nine days ago have been rehabilitated.

Wednesday they were set free.

- To learn how these birds were taken care of, click the Petting Zoo button on our website.

Thank you, News Cat.

Well, before I sign off, I want to put a call-out for some more A+ submissions.

Teachers, we know you've got some amazing students in your classes, and we've set up an easy A+ nomination form on the "NewsDepth" website, so don't be shy.

And of course, as always, we want to hear from you, and there are plenty of ways to stay in touch.

You can write to us, we're at 1375 Euclid Avenue, that's Cleveland, Ohio, zip code here, 44115.

You can email us at newdepth@ideastream.org, or you can tweet us, our handle is @newsdepthohio.

Plus, you can catch all of our special segments on YouTube.

If you're old enough, hit subscribe so you don't miss out on any of our new videos.

Thanks for joining us, I'm Margaret Cavalier.

We'll see you right back here next week.

(slow music) - [Announcer] "NewsDepth" is made possible by a grant from the Martha Holden Jennings Foundation.

- [Announcer] Clear call-outs featured in "NewsDepth" are funded by the Ohio Broadcast Media Commission.

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