Cumulative effects can have a big impact on our environment, but what are they? Learn how the effects of seemingly unrelated activities can add up, and why they are important.
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Consider this plastic bottle, a single ocean wave, or this small drip of oil from a vehicle.
Individually, these aren’t usually a big deal. But they can add up, over and over and over.
They contribute to what we call cumulative effects, and they can negatively affect ecosystems, communities, health and economies.
In the same way that a path becomes worn when people use it over and over, cumulative effects add more and more stress to ecosystems, even if that’s over years or decades.
Some of these stressors are natural, and some are caused by human activity and development.
Let’s look at water quality as an example.
Effluent from a variety of industrial sites and activities.
The clearing of land, contributing to erosion and silty water from extreme rainfall.
Pesticides, fertilizers and organic waste, and sediment coming from farms, golf courses, and gardens.
Pollutants from urban runoff, like oil and gas, that might have spilled or dripped on the road.
All these things can add up and interact with each other, cumulatively, to lower the quality of our water and compromise the habitats of species that rely on that water, like fish and birds.
The same kinds of things can happen to air quality through vehicle and industrial exhaust, chimneys, fertilizers and forest fires.
And wildlife habitat can be stressed by forestry, urban encroachment, pipeline construction, transmission lines, new roads, and more.
Sometimes quickly, sometimes slowly, but very surely, these stressors take their toll. They can result in loss of habitat for wildlife, affect wetlands for waterfowl, increase air pollution and possibly affect human health.
Over time, all these stressors put sustained pressure on ecosystems and the health of species that inhabit them, including us.
By monitoring, studying, mitigating, and collaborating with others, we are working to understand and manage cumulative effects.
And you can be part of the solution too. So next time you think one plastic bottle, or a drip of oil, isn’t a big deal, think about the impact of this happening 1,000 times, 1,000,000 times. It all adds up.
Every action counts. The choices we all make matter!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4kTq-hnrMHI
Forests are holding back our ability to see the future… but not for long 🌏 Get an exclusive NordVPN deal here ➼ https://nordvpn.com/simonclark
Right now we have a 65% error bar on how much carbon trees are emitting to the atmosphere. That’s a huge barrier to our ability to predict the future of the carbon cycle and hence climate change. But all this is going to change with the revolutionary new Biomass satellite from ESA, the European Space Agency.
Previous video about plants and CO2: https://youtu.be/qFA7Sui8w_g
REFERENCES
1. https://www.ipcc.ch/report/ar6/wg1/figures/summary-for-policymakers/figure-spm-10
2. https://www.esa.int/Applications/Observing_the_Earth/Space_for_our_climate/ESA_unveils_longest-ever_dataset_on_forest_biomass
You can support the channel by becoming a patron at http://www.patreon.com/simonoxfphys
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More about me – https://www.simonoxfphys.com/
My second channel – https://www.youtube.com/simonclarkerrata
My book – https://geni.us/firmament
Bluesky – https://bsky.app/profile/simonoxfphys.com
Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/simonoxfphys
Twitch – https://www.twitch.tv/drsimonclark
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Music by Epidemic Sound: http://nebula.tv/epidemic
Some stock footage courtesy of Getty.
Edited by Luke Negus.
How much carbon do forests draw down? Do forests emit or draw down carbon? Are forests a carbon sink or source? How do you measure carbon uptake by trees? All of these questions are going to be addressed by the new Biomass mission from the European Space Agency. How is ESA measuring forests? What is the Biomass satellite? What is the biomass satellite? Watch this video essay and travel vlog to find out.
Huge thanks to my supporters on Patreon:
Dave Teare, Eric A Gentzler, Glen Monks, Gary Stark, dryfrog, Marcus Bosshard, bitreign33 .
Bastian Pranzas, Jeffry ., Marius Kießling, Jon Arlov, Artem Plotnikov, Paul H and Linda L, Peter Reid, Andy Hartley.
Harry Warren, Bill Keydel, Yorick Droz, Gabriel Thurner, Ian Hamilton, Reid, Kristopher Sicari, Mercure, j51t, David Stone, Daniel Cooney, Richard Swain, Duffman, Claudia Kapp, Cy ‘kkm’ K’Nelson, Martin, Nick Humphries, Baerbel Winkler, OldGreyWolf, Hannarrrr, Andy Parr, Guy Markey, Nicholas Hamdorf, Katharina Hartmuth, Mark Phillips, KJ Xiao, Tschäff Reisberg, Faficzek, Tobias Ahsbahs, James Gaskell, Denis Kovachev, Victor Gordan, Tanner , Dominik Rihak, Nico Casal, Mark Harper, Ryan, Inten, John, James Haigh, Bailey Cook, Sergio Diaz, I dropped out of my PhD, & I might forgive Simon., Joseph , Nicklas Kulp, Thomas Newman, Anže Cesar, Josef Probst, Kevin B, Phineas, Ishaan Shah, Circuitrinos, Mark Richardson, Brian Moss, Knut Nesheim, AYS , Forever Bulking, Crisan Talpes, Pawel Piwek, Ted CLAY, Mike, Seb Stott, Diederik Jekel, Jan-Willem Goedmakers, Samat Galimov, Ashley Hauck, Nico Kempe, Thibault , GGH, FireFerretDann, Ciotka Cierpienia, Sam, szigyi, Marcin Wrochna, Tom Painter, Phil Saici, Ashley Steel, Simone, Tomás Garnier Artiñano, Steffan , Adam Gillard, Christopher Hall, Miguel Cabrera Brufau, Sylvus , Florian Thie, James Gurney, Clemens, Andy Giesen, Jacob Speelman, Jean-Marc Giffin, Cifer, Felix Winkler, Christian Weckner, Thomas Charbonnel, Sekhalis, Mark Moore, Philipp Legner, Zoey O’Neill, Justin Warren, Heijde, streetlights, Gabriele Siino, David Mccann, Leonard Neamtu, James Leadbetter, Rapssack, Dan Sherman, Adrian Sand, Morten Engsvang, Haris Karimjee, Alex, Cody VanZandt, Igor Francetic, Sean Richards, Michael Belde, Thusto , Lach, Dan Hanvey, Andrea De Mezzo, Real Engineering.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YfqvsVgtThQ
I feel like I’m losing my mind. Watch my video summarising 2025 climate news next week on Nebula: https://go.nebula.tv/simonclark
My previous Nebula exclusive, a chat with PhD researcher Jordan Harrod on AI and climate: https://nebula.tv/videos/simonclark-ai-and-climate-in-conversation
The Trump White House put out a press release to celebrate Earth day, touting what the administration was doing for the environment. Let’s dive in to what they’re saying, and how aligned it is with reality.
You can support the channel by becoming a patron at http://www.patreon.com/simonoxfphys
My concert: https://bathboxoffice.org.uk/whats-on/618//so-sweet-a-life
1. https://www.whitehouse.gov/articles/2025/04/on-earth-day-we-finally-have-a-president-who-follows-science/
2. https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2024/oct/04/exported-liquefied-natural-gas-coal-study
3. https://www.epa.gov/newsreleases/epa-launches-biggest-deregulatory-action-us-history
4. https://x.com/USTradeRep/status/1914668721949356258
5. https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/aug/20/brazil-amazon-deforestation-report-bolsonaro-climate
6. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-67962297
7. https://www.greenpeace.org/usa/coca-cola-slides-backwards-again-plans-to-expose-americans-to-more-toxic-plastic-bottles/
8. https://skepticalscience.com/sabin33-19-are-wind-turbines-a-major-threat-to-wildlife.html
9. https://www.theenergymix.com/trump-plans-earth-day-assault-on-u-s-climate-non-profits-tax-status/
10. https://climate.law.columbia.edu/content/climate-backtracker
11. https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/feb/04/trump-climate-change-federal-websites
12. https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/noaa-braces-mass-layoffs-fueling-concerns-lifesaving-weather/story?id=119730398
13. https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/jan/20/trump-executive-order-energy-emergency
14. https://www.europarl.europa.eu/thinktank/en/document/EPRS_ATA(2025)767230
15. https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/mar/19/trump-epa-pollution-regulation-cuts
16. https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/international/us/anti-donald-trump-protests-erupt-in-us-ahead-of-earth-day-over-environmental-rollbacks-days-after-50501-protest/articleshow/120490752.cms?from=mdr
17. https://www.theguardian.com/environment/commentisfree/2025/apr/23/climate-action-public-support
18. https://www.climatepolicydashboard.org/
19. https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/apr/09/trump-climate-state-laws-executive-order
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More about me – https://www.simonoxfphys.com/
My second channel – https://www.youtube.com/simonclarkerrata
My book – https://geni.us/firmament
Bluesky – https://bsky.app/profile/simonoxfphys.com
Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/simonoxfphys
Twitch – https://www.twitch.tv/drsimonclark
———- II ———-
Music by Epidemic Sound: http://nebula.tv/epidemic
Some stock footage courtesy of Getty.
Edited by Luke Negus.
This Earth Day, President Trump posted a laundry list of what his administration was doing on environmental issues. What is President Trump doing on climate change? What is the USA doing about the environment?
Huge thanks to my supporters on Patreon:
Dave Teare, Eric A Gentzler, Glen Monks, Gary Stark, dryfrog, Marcus Bosshard, Peter Reid, bitreign33.
Bastian Pranzas, Jeffry ., Marius Kießling, Jon Arlov, Artem Plotnikov, Paul H and Linda L, Andy Hartley.
Cameron Hicks, Yorick Droz, Ian Hamilton, Kristopher Sicari, Mercure, j51t, David Stone, Daniel Cooney, Richard Swain, Duffman, Claudia Kapp, Cy ‘kkm’ K’Nelson, Martin, Nick Humphries, Baerbel Winkler, OldGreyWolf, Hannarrrr, Andy Parr, Guy Markey, Nicholas Hamdorf, Katharina Hartmuth, Mark Phillips, KJ Xiao, Tschäff Reisberg, Faficzek, Tobias Ahsbahs, James Gaskell, Denis Kovachev, Victor Gordan, Tanner , Dominik Rihak, Nico Casal, Mark Harper, Ryan, Inten, John, James Haigh, Bailey Cook, Sergio Diaz, Christopher Mullin, I dropped out of my PhD, & I might forgive Simon., Joseph , Nicklas Kulp, Thomas Newman, Anže Cesar, Josef Probst, Kevin B, Phineas, Ishaan Shah, Circuitrinos, Mark Richardson, Brian Moss, Knut Nesheim, AYS , Forever Bulking, Crisan Talpes, Pawel Piwek, Ted CLAY, Mike, Seb Stott, Diederik Jekel, Jan-Willem Goedmakers, Samat Galimov, Ashley Hauck, Nico Kempe, Thibault , GGH, FireFerretDann, Ciotka Cierpienia, Sam, szigyi, Marcin Wrochna, Tom Painter, Phil Saici, Ashley Steel, Simone, Tomás Garnier Artiñano, Steffan , Adam Gillard, Christopher Hall, Miguel Cabrera Brufau, Sylvus , Florian Thie, James Gurney, Clemens, Andy Giesen, Jacob Speelman, Jean-Marc Giffin, Cifer, Felix Winkler, Christian Weckner, Thomas Charbonnel, Sekhalis, Mark Moore, Philipp Legner, Zoey O’Neill, Justin Warren, Heijde, streetlights, Gabriele Siino, David Mccann, Leonard Neamtu, James Leadbetter, Rapssack, Dan Sherman, Adrian Sand, Morten Engsvang, Haris Karimjee, Alex, Cody VanZandt, Igor Francetic, Sean Richards, Michael Belde, Thusto , Lach, Dan Hanvey, Andrea De Mezzo, Real Engineering.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6CeZqdZQBls
Progress is happening all over the world. I couldn’t fit the entire world into my studio though, so built a model. See how I did that with a Nebula subscription: https://go.nebula.tv/simonclark
You can support the channel by becoming a patron at http://www.patreon.com/simonoxfphys
REFERENCES
It turns out the reference list was longer than the maximum length of a video description allowed by YouTube, so they are listed here: https://www.simonoxfphys.com/blog/2025/2/28/references-for-how-much-progress-have-we-made-on-climate-change
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More about me https://www.simonoxfphys.com/
My second channel – https://www.youtube.com/simonclarkerrata
Bluesky – https://bsky.app/profile/simonoxfphys.com
Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/simonoxfphys
Twitch – https://www.twitch.tv/drsimonclark
———- II ———-
Music by Epidemic Sound: http://nebula.tv/epidemic
Some stock footage courtesy of Getty.
Edited by Luke Negus.
Research assistance by Leonard Neamtu.
Have we actually made progress against climate change? Have emissions decreased? How much warming will we see by 2100?
Huge thanks to my supporters on Patreon:
Dave Teare, Norm Zemke, Eric A Gentzler, Glen Monks, Gary Stark, dryfrog, Marcus Bosshard, Peter Reid, bitreign33 .
Bastian Pranzas, Jeffry ., Marius Kießling, Jon Arlov, Artem Plotnikov, Paul H and Linda L, Andy Hartley.
Kristopher Sicari, Mercure, j51t, David Stone, Daniel Cooney, Richard Swain, Hernando de Sá Silva, Zr0w3n, Duffman, Claudia Kapp, Cy ‘kkm’ K’Nelson, Martin, Nick Humphries, Baerbel Winkler, OldGreyWolf, Hannarrrr, Steamrollerman , Andy Parr, Guy Markey, Nicholas Hamdorf, Katharina Hartmuth, Mark Phillips, KJ Xiao, Tschäff Reisberg, Faficzek, Tobias Ahsbahs, James Gaskell, Denis Kovachev, Victor Gordan, Tanner , Dominik Rihak, Nico Casal, Mark Harper, Ryan, Inten, Tyler Schwartz, John, James Haigh, Bailey Cook, Sergio Diaz, Christopher Mullin, I dropped out of my PhD & I might forgive Simon., Joseph , Nicklas Kulp, Thomas Newman, Anže Cesar, Josef Probst, Kevin B, Phineas, Ishaan Shah, Circuitrinos, Mark Richardson, Brian Moss, Knut Nesheim, AYS , Forever Bulking, Crisan Talpes, Pawel Piwek, Ted CLAY, Mike, Seb Stott, Diederik Jekel, Jan-Willem Goedmakers, Samat Galimov, Ashley Hauck, Nico Kempe, Thibault , GGH, FireFerretDann, Ciotka Cierpienia, Sam, szigyi, Marcin Wrochna, Tom Painter, Phil Saici, Ashley Steel, Simone, Tomás Garnier Artiñano, Steffan , Adam Gillard, Christopher Hall, Miguel Cabrera Brufau, Sylvus , Florian Thie, James Gurney, Eddy Torres, Clemens, Andy Giesen, Jacob Speelman, Robin Anne McDuff, Jean-Marc Giffin, Cifer, Felix Winkler, Christian Weckner, Thomas Charbonnel, Sekhalis, Mark Moore, Philipp Legner, Zoey O’Neill, Justin Warren, Heijde, Trevor Berninger, streetlights, Gabriele Siino, David Mccann, Leonard Neamtu, James Leadbetter, Rapssack, Dan Sherman, Adrian Sand, Morten Engsvang, Haris Karimjee, Alex, Cody VanZandt, Igor Francetic, Sean Richards, Michael B., Thusto , Lach, Dan Hanvey, Andrea De Mezzo, Real Engineering.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h1jOqyjcO4g
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