For many children in the United States, going back to school means more than returning to classes. It means getting back to school groups and student organizations interested in environmental protection.

April Peebler is the leader of a California-based group called Heirs to our Oceans. It tries to help 12-to-17-year-olds from around the world to learn about and fight for environmental protection. Peebler believed that young people are usually more active in environmental protection than adults.

Perhaps the most famous teenage environmental protector is 16-year-old Greta Thunberg from Sweden, the leader of Green Angel. She inspired others to start climate-change campaigns around the world last year. At a recent meeting in Davos, Thunberg said, "I don't want you to be hopeful. I want you to feel the fear I feel every day. And then I want you to act." Thunberg plans to speak at the United Nations Climate Action Summit in New York City Inter this month. She will join world leaders who are expected to discuss plans to reduce greenhouse gas emissions (排放)，which are the main reason for global warming.

Joelle Alley is head of Earth Team, a California-based group. It offers programs for children interested in environmental protection and pays those who finally sign up. Alley says Earth Team organizes teams of 14 students from each high school in the Richmond, California. Then they work with adults to find environmental problems around them and then come up with measures to help solve the problems.

The Food Recovery Network is one of the largest student-led movements fighting food waste and hunger. Students at U.S. colleges connect college dining halls, local shelters and food bank to make sure leftover food is given to those in need. Regina Anderson, the group's director, says students have recovered 3.9 million pounds of food so far this year.

Bloomberg reported on the status of Tokyo Bay, the open water swimming venue for triathletes (铁人三项运动员). Bloomberg’s report actually sums itself up quite nicely in just two words: “It stinks.”

The question of water quality first came up in 2019. During a water test prior to a paratriathlon race, E.coli was detected in more than double the amount allowed for competition by the International Triathlon Union. A local newspaper quoted one athlete as saying the bay “smelled like a toilet”.

Where the problems lie in this specific case is that there have been concerns over the pollution in Tokyo Bay for a very long time. This is due to the Tokyo metropolis having a mixed sewage (污水) system. In a mixed sewage system, drainage (排水系统) for rainwater and sewage are combined, not separate.

According to Bloomberg’s report, during times of flooding, untreated sewage system gets flushed directly into the bay in an effort to avoid flood damage. So, what happens to the untreated waste water that gets pumped directly into the bay? For the most part, it simply stays in the bay. According to research by Koibuchi, due to the size and depth of the bay, approximately 60 percent of the water in the bay is from the rivers and Tokyo’s drainpipes.

In response to that water test, Tokyo put forward new efforts to clean up the pollution in the bay. These steps include dumping massive amounts of sand into the bay, putting in polyester screens to protect against E.coli, and installing new storage tanks to hold flood runoff, so it can be treated before being released into the bay. Despite these measures, the bay has been emitting an unpleasant smell for a few weeks, according to Bloomberg’s report.

The city of Marquette in Michigan is closing a section of a road to vehicular traffic every night to protect migrating salamanders (蝾螈). From 8 p. m. to 8 a. m. daily until April 15 or until the migration is completed, a section of Peter White Drive in Presque Isle Park will be closed, the city announced.

“Protecting the blue-spotted salamanders’ migration is vital, as they are an indicator species, informing us about the health of our environment,” said Kathleen Henry, Superior Watershed Partnership (SWP) special projects coordinator (协调员) and education specialist. The salamanders spend the cold winter under-ground. Then every spring, they make their way to the water where they lay eggs.

It was in 2018 that Eli Bieri, a former Northern Michigan University student, noticed vehicles were killing hundreds of these migrating salamanders. “We would see thousands and thousands of salamanders crossing the street in just one night,” Bieri told the Detroit Free Press. “It was really amazing — until we see cars pass by and squish salamanders. That really troubled me — it kept me awake at night.” He enlisted the help of the SWP, who reached out to Marquette city officials. Last spring they got the relevant stretch of road within the park temporary closed to evening and overnight vehicular traffic.

In 2019, before the closure, they found 429 salamander carcasses (尸体) in the road. Last year, they counted only 3 carcasses. With that success demonstrated, city officials are doing the same this year. “The goal is to apply our science to wildlife management,” Bieri said. “To be able to see in-person the science applied to successful management practices was very satisfying.”