good to be with you. i'm katy tur. to mask or not to mask? there are a lot of questions about the end of the transportation mask mandate, and for the next 12 minutes or so, we're going to try to answer them all.

here is what we know right now. for the first time in 14 months you can board a plane or a train without your mask if you choose. the tsa, uber, amtrak and public transportation systems in major cities like washington, d.c., and philadelphia are all lifting their mask mandates after a federal judge in florida struck down the cdc's requirement. delta, united, and jetblue were among the airlines to announce today that masks onboard are now optional. some pilots even picked up the intercom mid flight to share the news. here was some of the row action. >> the transportation administration will no longer enforce the federal mandate requiring masks onboard aircraft and in airports. >> finally! >> finally, you hear one person say. in her ruling the federal judge in florida said the cdc was

relying on a 1944 law, the public health service act, that did not support the mandate as necessary for, quote, sanitation. wearing a mask cleans nothing, judge mizelle wrote. it traps droplets but doesn't sanitize the person wearing the mask nor sanitizes the conveyance. the white house has still not said whether it intends to appeal the ruling despite calling it, quote, disappointing. after all, it is one thing to issue an order and another to fight for it. while some are thrilled, others are exceedingly nervous about where this leaves them and where it leaves their families. young children under the age of 5 cannot get vaccinated and kids under 2 can't wear masks, so can they still travel safely? and then there is the timing. coronavirus cases are rising in major cities, but hospitalizations are not rising. that is because we have vaccines

and boosters and treatment and the knowledge one-way masking for the vulnerable does work. so let us start answering some of those questions. antonia hilton from jfk airport in new york and nbc news justice correspondent pete williams from washington. antonio, first to you. what's the reaction you're getting there from jfk? >> reporter: well, katy, it's about 50/50, i would say. some of the first people we met were pretty nervous. we met folks wearing n-95s saying they wouldn't take their masks off to eat or drink even for a moment on their flight. we met a woman on her way to a 16-hour flight to india who was concerned about what might transpire in those 16 hours for her as she had planned this trip before this decision came out. some said it was time for life

to go back to normal. to add to some of the confusion, the port authority is still asking people to mask inside public transit hubs like laguardia airport, jfk, where i am now, so some people are confused. they step into the building, they have masks on but go on their flights and have the option to take masks off. there's still an adjustment right now. but on all sides people are saying their interpretation of the decision is now public health is up to me and i'm going to have to figure out what's the best for myself and the health and safety of others who are around me. take a listen to some of the conversations i had today. >> i don't feel okay with the mandate being gone. too soon, i think. i am going to wear my mask. >> i've been flying a lot. i'll wear my mask, and i think three times vaccinated so i'm okay. >> i think everyone should still be wearing masks. i think you're in a confined space, and it's still variant is strong and i don't want to get

sick, so i will be wearing a mask. >> reporter: the other thing to keep in mind, katy, there are people who are worried about relatives. one woman we met has an elderly mother who is at risk and like many americans they're trying to keep in mind folks around them who may be immunocompromised. for some folks this decision may change travel plans they have today or in the coming days now. katy? >> indeed. pete, let's talk about how this is going to take effect. there are airlines that are saying that this is now optional. what does it mean for amtrak? what does it mean for the new york city subway? what does it mean for uber? is it the same across the country or are individual cities and states have some authority? >> it's up, for the most part, up to the transportation system. it's up to the airlines. it's up to the subways. some states have laws. and, of course, states have much broader control here and much broader authority to act in this area than the federal government does. so a number of transit systems

have said you still have to wear a mask like the subways in new york, for example, but in d.c. you don't. it's really up to them. there is no national federal requirement for it. the justice department now has to decide what to do. they have two options. one seems pretty much foreclosed by now, and that would be to seek an emergency order from the 11th circuit court of appeals to put the judge's ruling on hold and allow the government to continue to enforce the mask mandate. that horse seems out of the barn by now. it would have no immediate effect on the mask mandate but would get another court to review what the judge said here for the sake of precedent. the judge's ruling has been somewhat controversial. you noted the sort of guts of one part of it where she says the public health law gives the cdc authority to sanitize, but she says that means to clean things up not to keep them clean. and so you could argue, she says, that masks keep clean but that's not what the law talks

about. and then secondly independent grounds she says when you make a rule like this you have to invite public comment. that's what the federal law requires. there is an exception but the government didn't give a good enough explanation of why it was entitled to that exception. for those two reasons -- and that's a pretty well developed part of the law. for those two reasons she says the cdc acted improperly and now the government has to decide whether to appeal the ruling, the logic behind her ruling even though it will have no immediate effect on the mask mandate. >> when you're talking about precedent, say if this virus gets out of control again and hospitalizations skyrocket again or, god forbid, there's another virus that does something similar or worse, without the precedent of this getting overturned, does that mean the federal government will have very limited ability to impose things like masks for public safety in the future? >> reporter: well, it would mean there was one district court judge's opinion against it. it wouldn't necessarily stop the

government from doing something similar in the future if it was different enough. a single district judge's ruling can't bind any other district judge this is a judge in tampa, florida. her judge can't rule the rest of the country. still, i suspect there are many in the justice department who for reasons you've just said don't want to keep this on the books and want to try to get it overturned. if you appeal and lose you have a court of appeals decision that's a little more authority. in any event that's what the government is trying to decide what to do right now. how much of this opinion is an outlier and likely to be reversed on appeal. >> questions on top of questions. pete williams, antonia hylton, thank you. dr. natalie azar is a rheumatologist at nyu. so the big question is, if i'm going to get on a plane right

now with my 3-year-old and my 1-year-old, should i feel safe if nobody on the plane is wearing a mass snk. >> well, you just said it, katy. for your 3-year-old you can probably get a kn-95 to fit but not an n-95 although they are equivalent. for your 1-year-old, no, she's not going to be wearing a mask. those are the groups we are concerned about. those are the patients i see all day long. one thing to talk about airline travel and the filtration in an airplane but another thing altogether to talk about subways and buses, almost everyone needs to use some form of transportation just to get to work. i'm not worried about necessarily myself. my whole family had covid a month ago. i'm triple-vaxxed.

i'm not worried about getting sick myself. i'm worried about passing it to someone else. if a person next to you is wearing a mask, put your mask on. there's probably a reasonable they are wearing a mask and you can't assume everyone else is so excited to take their masks off. >> can i go deeper with you on kids. the numbers for the risk that this virus poses for kids, vaccinated or not vaccinated, they don't support the kids getting hospitalized at large rates. they might get sick but not severely sick. am i taking this more seriously than i would take the risk of my kids getting, you know, sick at the playground or sick at school or sick with the flu? should i not get on a plane now and not travel to see family? that seems extreme to me. >> it does seem extreme and you have to discuss it with your family and make a decision

that's right for you guys based on your own risk tolerance. i would say you should be taking it much more seriously than the flu. if you get your kids the flu shot and worry about them getting sick with the flu, as we do every year, we lose a fair number of children from flu. we have lost many more children in the last two years from covid, this is a big concern. that on top of children are immunocompromised as well, they have asthma, other conditions, other respiratory viruses they're susceptible to so in the winter wouldn't be excited about rsv and covid-19 together. yes, of course, in relative numbers children have done much better than adult counterparts but clearly not spared from this terrible virus. >> if you are immuno compromised can you wear an n95 mask or kn95 mask and feel safe?

i know we're talking about all forms of mass transportation and i think trains might be different than planes. walk me through it. >> right, yeah. so there is a qualitative difference in terms of the risk associated with traveling in a train versus a bus where there's not a significant filtration system there. the data that we have for risk of transmission in airlines and airplanes is good although there was a study out of japan that showed an infected person infected 14 other people when there were no masks. we don't have the infection status of the people here. if you're immunocompromised you

need to wear a high quality mask. we don't recommend double masking but there's no problem throwing a surgical mask over. when we got fitted to work or get fitted for n95s to work at the hospital we have to go through a whole protocol to make sure we're getting a good seal. your risk is not zero. i worry about my patients who may not have mounted as good a response to vaccination as someone not immunocompromised. that we're not just making them for ourselves but for our neighbors, for the person sitting across the row from us. i think if we do that we're staying in the right place. it was really to see what ba.2

would do, not only how it would be transmitted in an airplane, we don't have that data but more to see if we would see an uptick in hospitalizations and deaths. we're hoping because so many people got infected with ba.1 that would blunt some of the increase but it's more transmissible than ba.1. >> dr. natalie azar, i do have another question for you about when the line is for when we can -- when you think we can stop wearing masks and do it safely, what the numbers need to look like. i'm about to lose my next guest so i have to move on. with me is sarah nelson, president of the association of flight attendants, cwa. i know you only have seconds left to talk to us so i want to get your reaction to this news.

>> we have a mixed bag of opinions about this all through our union but what i will tell you that it's always difficult when decisions are made and policies are changed on a moment's notice. people made a decision to buy an airplane ticket because there was the mask mandate in place and suddenly they were on a plane and it was announced people could take off their masks. you can't just walk away from a plane. this is not just planes. this is buses and subways and other transportation systems where we all have a shared space and it's really important that we are all looking out for each other and not just ourselves but the situation someone else may be in. the numbers are very small in children who have died from coronavirus. i am a flight attendant who has

seen people going to funerals on our planes and who have seen people who are flying because they are going for medical treatment. the only way to go is in a form of transportation that is with a whole bunch of other people. we come to the modes of transportation with the spirit we're all in this together and the guidance we should be looking out for each other and have clear, consistent communication so people know what to expect, know what the rules are, what the good recommendations are if there are not rules around it and what the consequences are. and we are in this space right now where that is not clear. and that leads to a rising conflict that is something frontline workers have been experiencing over the last year and a half and it's just not

fair. >> it seems like the rollout of these changes has been bumpy throughout the entire pandemic. what did you think of -- it seemed like on some planes the pilots took it upon themselves to announce the rule. what was your reaction when you saw the pilots getting on the intercom and telling everybody mid flight? >> i'm very angry with the airlines for setting up both the pilots and the flight attendants in that scenario. that never should have happened. the reason that happened was because messages were being sent to the flight deck saying that the mask mandate had been struck down and that was a real misstep. i think failed leadership. this was important to encourage confidence and air travel when

not only our health is at risk but our economic security as well. we should never be taking off with one set of rules with people in a confined space and changing the rules on them mid-flight. that was disheartening to see even though i know a lot of flight attendants were cheering we don't have to enforce this any longer or wear it ourselves in the hot summer months coming up. >> i think there's a lot of people out there ready to move on and ready to stop wearing a mask. i understand that. you go to an airport, you get on a plane, on a train, again, with one set of rules, expecting travel to be this way, preparing for it to be that way. and to be blind sided mid flight if you feel uncomfortable or in a position of vulnerability. that would be difficult. thank you so much for sticking around. i know we've eaten up a little too much of your time. i am so sorry about that. >> that's okay. happy to be with you. >> thank you. and coming up next, the next

phase of russia's war on ukraine. what moscow is planning in the donbas. plus, leaders along the southern border prepare for the biden administration to lift title 42. what they say is going to happen once it does. later, an update on a story we brought you last month. new developments at a new jersey high school possibly linked to at least 100 cases of rare brain tumors. (supervisor) conventional thinking says this level of 360 support ends after the sale, but not with t-mobile for business. when you're looking for a solution tailored toward your unique business needs whether that's improving efficiency, increasing collaboration, or driving growth. t-mobile's team of experts work side-by-side with you to help realize your vision. it's the kind of partnership that delivers real value for your business. and it's ready right now.

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it is day 55 of russia's war on ukraine, and here is what we know right next. the next phase of moscow's assault is under way. it's the battle for the donbas. russian troops appear to be concentrated for a major ground assault and air strikes on key cities in eastern ukraine. the kremlin said its goal is to achieve, quote, full liberation. that's what it's calling it, of that region. earlier today russian forces seized control of the eastern city of kreminna, the regional governor there said ukrainian troops withdrew after being attacked from all sides. still, ukrainian president volodymyr zelenskyy is vowing to keep on fighting. he said in a video address late monday, quote, we will not give up anything ukrainian. and in the besieged city of mariupol, the ukrainian resistance is holing out. they did not yield to a new

demand from russians to surrender despite nonstop bombardments. joining me is foreign correspondent ali arouzi. >> reporter: the dangerous phase of the war is unway in the donbas, loaiza area and shelling has been intense throughout yesterday and today. look, the russians are attacking a line of about 300 miles from south of the country -- from the south of the region all the way up to the north near kharkiv, which has also been another site of very intense shelling. i spoke to the governor of luhansk. he said morning, noon and night the selling is incessant and the russians control 80% of the region.

they're making little distinction because they want to not only weaken the military but weaken the civilians in order to make them capitulate. it's a very intense battle there. let's take a listen to my interview with him from a little earlier on. >> our motivation is our land, our families, our wives, children and parents, and the motivation of the russian soldiers. we showed it to the whole world. these are washing machines, irons, and that's it. it's motivation of looters. this is just an army of barbarians. >> reporter: everyone here calls them orks, from the "lord of the flies." they say they're destructive, untrustworthy and create wanton havoc everywhere they go. you hear that from all

ukrainians. it's not difficult to see why they would refer to those russian invaders of their land. >> ali, thank you very much. joining me now is former director for counterintelligence at the national security council with trench coat advisers. so as the forces amass on the east, as ali was just laying out, what is the risk to the greater ukraine? does that mean kyiv is still okay right now? does it mean lviv is okay? what about odesa? what can you tell us? >> thanks, katy. i wouldn't take anything off the table at this point. i think it's clear the russians thought they could have a quick decapitation, take out the leadership in ukraine by attacking kyiv. that hasn't worked out. but that doesn't mean that they are stopping. clearly listen to the rhetoric out of moscow, the propaganda for their own people, they are doubling down. if anything they're going back to sort of old tactics which is using artillery, much easier for

them in the east of the country. and so i think it's just a new strategy to do the same thing. they'll see how far they can get and will continue to re-assess it at each level. >> the beginning of the war has not gone well for moscow. they've been suffering a number of setbacks and embarrassments, frankly, the sinking of that battleship being just one of them. we've seen a ton of them so far. when you are looking at what they're doing in the east, is this an attempt by vladimir putin to show that he can get things together and conquer a certain amount of territory? is this going to be a pr move for him back in russia? >> i think he believes ukraine is a threat to russia. that is what he truly believes and believes that he has to do this in order to secure russia. and so he will do anything he needs to do which includes just

flattening the entire territory as we started to see him doing in other areas. and so, i mean, i think he is committed to this. there is no going back. and so he will continue to drive at this. it hasn't gone well for them, but russia has been engaged in multiple other conflicts in georgia or even in chechnya and many decades ago which have had ups and downs and they continue to grind away at it. so i think this is far from over. >> so you're saying, i mean, this could go on for some time. do you have an estimation for how long russia can keep going? how long they are going to have the supplies to do it, the money to do it, the sanctions, although they haven't taken great effect in russia so far there's been warnings by the head of the central bank in russia that the sanctions are going to start having a negative effect on the everyday russian economy quite soon. >> it's a difficult question to

answer. it's how much can the russian people endure without potentially having negative feelings develop to putin. a fairly unbiased and nongovernment associated poll which continues to show widespread support for this. i think this is going to go on for a long time. there's a recent report out that dod talking to some military contractors and asking them if they're able to continue to supply weapons to ukraine for years to come, which had the secretary of state talking about this likely going on for all of 2022. i think there's generally consensus that even at the lower levels this will continue on and on. >> holden, thank you so much for joining us. i appreciate your time. holden triplett. a judge rules a group of georgia voters can move forward with their lawsuit against marjorie taylor greene.

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and president biden is in new hampshire this afternoon where he just commented on the ruling overturning the federal mask mandate for public transportation. he answered questions about whether his administration planned to challenge the ruling. here is how he responded. >> mr. president, should people continue to wear masks on planes? >> that's up to them. i haven't spoken to the cdc yet. >> i guess he's going to speak to the cdc. those comments come as the president prepares to deliver remarks on his bipartisan infrastructure plan in portsmouth, new hampshire.

a lawsuit will move forward that could keep republican congresswoman marjorie taylor greene from running for re-election. why, you ask? here is why. the suit points to a civil war-era condition tucked into the 14th amendment which prohibits anyone from, quote, engaging in insurrection or rebellion from running for federal or state office. now the lawsuit argues greene's rhetoric and alleged role in the january 6th capitol riot should render her ineligible. greene has denied any wrongdoing and has already filed a counter suit. joining me now is nbc news senior national political reporter. tell us about this lawsuit. >> reporter: katy, there's a bit of legal hot water. this judge ruling that she has not proven a strong likelihood on the merits of the case and, therefore, this lawsuit challenging her eligibility to be a member of congress can proceed.

now the judge thinks there's a whirlpool of colliding constitutional interests here pitting the interests of greene and the voters of her district and the 14th amendment that says can you not be a member of congress if you engage in insurrection. greene for her part says this is an attempt by her political opponents to try to defeat her in court when they can't defeat her at the ballot box. let's have a listen to what she said. >> these leftists, these progressives who would rather have the judge or bureaucrats making decisions instead of voters, they want to hand that over to them and not let the people in my district to even have the right to vote for me. but, no, the republican party needs to fight harder. >> reporter: now greene will have to appear in court this friday where the plaintiffs intend to question her under oath about her involvement in the events of january 6th. what this all boils down to, katy, greene is not out of the

woods yet. she still has to prove her case in court she's eligible to be on the ballot. critics still have to make their case on the merits and prove she should be disqualified. >> sahil, when she has to answer questions under oath about her involvement, i mean, that could get pretty interesting. she's not appeared before the january 6th committee. it's not like she can just say no to testifying under oath for this lawsuit, though, right? >> reporter: that's right, katy. there's no doubt they will be paying close attention. she's someone who has spread falsehoods and conspiracy theories about the 2020 election. and the one thing she did say she wants the republican party to fight harder for her. nbc news has reached out to house minority leader kevin mccarthy who has not commented on the lawsuit or the judge's decision to move it forward. mccarthy has previously defended marjorie taylor greene and he has promised that she will get committee assignments back if house republicans flip the house

majority suggesting she might get better committee assignments than the ones before democrats kicked her off committees last year. we'll see how this all unfolds, katy. >> thank you so much for joining us. towns along the southern border are worried the next few months could be trouble. the biden administration is lifting covid restrictions for entry into the u.s. known as title 42 next month. migrant arrivals in march were already at a 22-year high with those restrictions in place. refugees from mexico, cuba and ukraine fueled the surge and agents on the ground say numbers could double when the title 42 restrictions are gone. joining me now is correspondent julia ainsley. so, julia, tell us what's happening. >> reporter: katy, the biden administration says they have a plan for when title 42 lifts on may 23rd. they want to streamline the asylum process, move 600 border patrol agents down to the area

and try to make this a process that won't create the log jams we've seen in the past. that's not the reality for people on the ground. they want to hear a lot more about the brass tacks, how this will come down when it comes to taking these immigrants in, sheltering them and transporting them where they need to go. let's take a listen. urgent warnings from the border with the border patrol releasing these new images saying a record 221,000 migrants crossed into the u.s. last month. local officials expect that could soon double. >> numbers like that would be completely overwhelming to our community. >> reporter: the surge is expected after the biden administration decided to end a covid border restriction called title 42. the department of homeland security estimates more than 170,000 migrants are waiting in mexico planning to cross when title 42 is lifted may 23. what do you need from the biden administration between now and may 23rd? >> plans would be helpful.

commitment for additional funds. >> reporter: migrants who cross through the rio grande valley come through this bus station and officials here worry if the numbers get too high it could overwhelm the bus system, the shelters, leaving people with nowhere to go and sleeping on the street. >> we're asking them to reconsider lifting the title 42. >> reporter: the sheriff says he's been told to have his officers on standby in case the ports of entry are overrun. >> we're talking about the deputies dressed in their riot gear with their shields and their helmets and batons to keep the crowd at bay. >> reporter: the biden administration is facing bipartisan criticism of its immigration policy with 1.7 million illegal border crossings last year, an all-time record. but at a shelter we met a family who supports lifting title 42 saying it keeps migrants waiting

in dangerous conditions in mexico. ava and her husband told us she became a victim of rape. >> the same person who offered her the job took advantage of her, abused her, and that was how the rape happened. >> reporter: now, katy, for people crossing the border to claim asylum, they will, of course, have to go before an immigration judge, and if that request is denied they will be deported. that's something for 1.7 million immigrants over the past two years they haven't even been allowed inside a courtroom. so this will mean justice for those people who want a chance to make that claim and for a lot of immigration advocates they say that day can't come soon enough. >> julia ainsley, thank you. good to see you as well. and a new development in a medical mystery plaguing a new jersey town. what is happening at that high school where so many cases of a rare brain cancer are possibly linked? you're pretty particular about keeping a healthy body.

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but until an answer is found, the school will remain open. joining me now is a man who has been working to bring attention to this possible cancer cluster. al, we talked to you last month. you had something around 80 cases then. you've now identified even more. what have you learned? >> we're up to 111 cases, thanks to the news coverage going national, the cases are coming in more and more. as of about an hour ago i added my 111th individual. >> wow. so this is all between, remind me, what time period, the '90s, correct? >> so, no, the school opened in 1967. i'm capturing data from anytime after the opening of the school with regards to graduates and people affected. the bulk of the cases seem to center around a 30-year time span, roughly 1972 to 2002. we do have some cases before. we do have some cases after.

but the vast majority seem to be in that rough 30-year period. >> so when they're doing the testing, it's 2022 now, if it is up until the early 2000s, as you're just saying, are they going to be able to identify what could be causing this given that we are 20 years out from when it looks like the last cases might have happened? >> so that seems to, unfortunately, be a fallacy that we don't have any newer cases. both my wife and my sister took 25 years of developing this brain tumor before it exposed itself. so if we have someone who graduated in the last 10 or 15 years, there's a real possibility that they just have not developed a tumor yet, and that's why we're looking at this so closely because it may be an ongoing problem. >> that is a really good point. you have nieces at this school right now. are you concerned about them? >> correct. extremely. my sister had four daughters.

one graduated last year. she has another that is a senior right now and another that's a sophomore. her youngest is going to the high school next year, so we're really pushing to find answers. we don't want to have to think about what can come next if they find something at the school and what it means not only for my sister's children but all the children and the teachers and staff involved at the high school. >> so this is not something you cannot be concerned about anymore because it happened so long ago, it could develop later on. and just to remind our viewers, you know what you're talking about when it comes to this stuff. you majored in environmental sciences, a minor in industrial hygiene safety engineering at rutgers. you have a career of cleaning up unsafe sites at a health and safety administrator with marine spill response corp, the largest oil spill cleanup company in the u.s. so when the agencies go in there

and look for anything that seems out of place, explain to us what might that be? >> so we're still exploring the link that it may be contaminated fill on the site. where it came from we don't know, but until we can identify a contaminant, we can't really speculate where it could have come from. the radiological survey that's happening now is just step one. if we find nothing, it doesn't mean we're in the clear. it just means we have to broaden our scope and continue looking for other potential contaminants. >> why not get your nieces out of that school? >> we're not eliminating that as a possibility. i don't think anyone is in extreme harm at the moment. this seems to be long-term exposure, it's nothing acute. so remaining in the school for several more weeks is not going to do any more harm than is potentially already done. >> got it. al lupiano, thank you for the

update. i'm glad it's getting more attention and more cases are coming to light. not about the cases but you're getting all the information that you need. >> thank you for covering this, katy. and coming up next, we'll introduce you to one of the most underappreciated organisms in the world and this organism is working to save the planet. stay with us. w you can too by ag your healthcare provider if an oral treatment is right for you. oral treatments can be taken at home and must be taken within 5 days from when symptoms first appear. if you have symptoms of covid-19, even if they're mild don't wait, get tested quickly. if you test positive and are at high risk for severe disease, act fast ask if an oral treatment is right for you. covid-19 moves fast and now you can too. ♪ ♪ covid-19 moves fast nice suits, you guys blend right in. the world needs you back. i'm retired greg, you know this. people are taking financial advice from memes.

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visit paycom.com for a free demo. so here is what climate scientists say when it comes to climate change. there are two things, two big things that we need to do. reduce our global carbon emissions and capture the carbon already in the atmosphere. so when it comes to the second, we already have a natural solution. that's the good news. mangroves. they grow in coastal communities around the world, clearing the air. but mangroves are also under constant threat from coastal development and climate change. joining me now is nbc news correspondent gadi schwartz. so gadi, explain to me how they do it. >> reporter: yeah, katy, this is one of those solutions that's literally been hiding in plain sight. it is absolutely mind-boggling how incredible mangroves are at

captuing carbon from the atmosphere. five times faster than rainfests storing up to 50 times more carbon than normal forests we see on land. he with wanted to head down to baja, mexico to see them in action firsthand. hidden along mexico's baja coast an emerald oasis, home to one of the most underappreciated organisms in the world. so everything green that we're seeing around us here, these are all mangroves? >> yes. this is one of the largest forests in mexico. >> reporter: biologist monica franco says this untouched wetland is a true ecological wonder. people that might be used to seeing mangroves, do you think they fully appreciate what they're capable of? >> no, you don't think so because they don't understand that they have all these superpowers to fight climate change. >> reporter: one superpower? the ability to capture about five times more carbon dioxide from the atmosphere than tropical rainforests, pumping it through their roots and straight into the soil, where it's trapped for hundreds of years. so these are like co2 depositing

pipes that go straight into the ground. >> yes. >> reporter: wow. the carbon dioxide stored in this mangrove forest is equivalent to emissions released from a quarter of a million vehicles driven for an entire year. yet despite all the benefits, mangroves are under constant threat from coastal vaelt, climate change, even humans. in the city of la paz a group of women from a fishing village defend this fragile mangrove forest from vandalism and atv riders. she says it's about showing the new generations to protect something that their grandparents loved. for these women it's about finding localized solutions to global problems. [ speaking foreign language ] do you think this is possible in other places? >> [ speaking foreign language ]. >> reporter: and the benefits of mangroves extend beyond land. monica has brought us to porto chale where we're hoping to see some of the most magical beneficiaries of the mangroves but for that we've got to get on this boat and we've got to hope for some good luck. turns out mangroves provide essential cover for migrating

whales do. what did the mangroves do? do they protect the nursery of the whales? >> that's exactly what they do. gray whales come and give birth and they rest for several months a year and mangroves give them protection around the coastline. >> reporter: oh, there! look at that! wow. it's making a circle around us. a natural solution to climate change. >> wow! >> reporter: all thanks to these simple trees of the sea. and here's the thing. over the last 30 to 40 years up to 35% of mangrove forests have been lost according to the u.n. and that's why those programs to protect mangroves and to replant mangroves every chance we get are so important. katy? >> you get good assignments there, gadi schwartz. hope you had fun. gadi, thank you very much. that's going to do it for me today. garrett haake picks up our coverage next. picks up our verage next.

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