Our daily nature walk around the world

🇨🇦 Canada is debating whether to tap $67 billion worth of rare minerals that are buried under a carbon-capturing peat bog. One of the world’s largest untapped sources of nickel, copper, and cobalt – metals essential for making EV batteries – is located in northern Ontario, under a large ecosystem of peat bogs which absorb more carbon per square foot than the Amazon rainforest (!). Mining companies and automakers are pushing to access Canada’s vast rare mineral deposit amidst a global transition towards EVs, while climate advocates warn that destroying the peat bog could have a “catastrophic” impact on worldwide CO2 levels.

🇰🇵 Travis King, the US soldier who illegally entered North Korea, has returned home. King, 23, was supposed to fly back to the US in July for disciplinary action after serving two months in a South Korean prison for assault – but instead, he joined a tour group to South and North Korea’s demilitarized zone and crossed the border. North Korea deported King to America this week after months of diplomatic talks mediated by Sweden, with US officials saying no concessions were ultimately made to North Korea.

🇪🇬 Egypt plans to double its number of annual tourists by 2028. Egyptian tourism has fallen more than 30% over the past decade due to a combination of reasons, including civil unrest following the overthrow of President Hosni Mubarak’s government in 2011 and the recent Covid pandemic. Under its newly-announced plan, Egypt hopes to increase domestic hotel-room and flight-seat capacity by over 30% annually through 2028, and will also work with the British Museum and Paris’ Louvre to modernize its tourist sites.