Noted

Almost 30 million acres of U.S. farmland are owned by investors from Canada, Germany, China, and other foreign countries—a percentage that has doubled over the past two decades. Foreign ownership is expected to increase in the years to come because many American farmers are approaching retirement and have no family members willing to take over. The median age of U.S. farmers is 55 years old.

Today, 35.7 million Americans live alone, or 28 percent of households. That’s up from 13 percent of households in 1960 and 23 percent in 1980, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. Demographers attribute the trend to delayed or forgone marriage, longer life expectancy, urbanization, and greater wealth.

At least 70 gray whales, many emaciated, have washed ashore in recent months along the West Coast from California to Alaska, in what federal officials are calling an “unusual mortality event.” Marine biologists say warming waters in feeding grounds near Alaska may be reducing food sources for the whales.

Deforestation increased 73 percent in the Brazilian Amazon between 2012 and 2018, reversing efforts to curb logging by ranchers and farmers. Almost 2 million acres were cleared last season, and Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro has vowed to clear more land in the Amazon, which serves as a major “sink” for carbon dioxide.