Biodevastation

Hot composting offers a faster way to turn household and garden waste into useful soil. Also known as Berkeley composting, the method relies on heat-generating aerobic bacteria, supported by a careful balance of carbon- and nitrogen-rich materials. With proper preparation and regular turning, a compost pile can reach temperatures high enough to destroy weed seeds and many plant diseases, while processing organic waste in weeks rather than months. Brian Kaller explains the principles behind hot composting, the materials and ratios involved, temperature management, and possible uses for the heat generated. The method also offers practical benefits for reducing household waste and fossil-fuel use.

Twenty years ago, the Gates and Rockefeller foundations launched the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA), promising agricultural transformation from improved seeds, synthetic fertilizers, mechanization, and commercial markets. Now, nearly 20 years of data are in, and AGRA’s results fall far short of its promises. They raise fundamental questions about AGRA, the Gates Foundation and their influence on African governments and institutions.

Photographs, storytelling, poetry, and well-documented research unveil the immense suffering, ecological devastation, worker exploitation, and economic injustice caused by the animal agricultural industry.

Scientists are wary of glyphosate. MAHA loathes it. And our yearlong investigation shows California is spraying it everywhere.

The catastrophic floods and debris flows in Nepal and Tibet on 26 August have exposed the growing vulnerability of the Himalayan region. The disaster comes amid rapid glacier loss, expanding glacial lakes, destabilising mountain terrain and increasing development in fragile valleys. Soumya Dutta examines how climate change is interacting with infrastructure expansion to create more complex and potentially cascading hazards. The article looks at lessons from recent disasters in Sikkim and Uttarakhand and argues for stronger transboundary monitoring, real-time early-warning systems, comprehensive hazard mapping and climate-resilient development. It calls for reconsidering infrastructure and settlements located in high-risk Himalayan corridors.

Nepalis and Tibetans must not pay the price – with their lives, livelihoods and money meant for education and health – for global heating caused by wealthy states.

The Save Silent Valley Movement remains one of India’s defining environmental struggles. Faced with a proposed hydroelectric dam that threatened an ancient rainforest in Kerala, scientists, writers, activists and local communities united to protect one of the Western Ghats’ richest ecosystems. Their sustained campaign led to the cancellation of the project and the declaration of Silent Valley as a National Park. This article revisits the history of the movement, the people who shaped it, and the enduring lessons it offers for balancing development with ecological conservation and protecting irreplaceable natural heritage for future generations.

The export-oriented extractivist model imposed on Our America since the 1990s poses a major threat to populations, ecosystems, and water resources. In response, communities and peoples have been proclaiming that water is worth more than gold, copper, lithium, uranium, and rare earths.

In Gaza’s displacement camps, access to a safe and private toilet has become a serious health and safety concern. At al-Deira camp, around 70 displaced families share three makeshift toilets without plumbing or sewage systems. Many women avoid using them at night because of fear, poor lighting, roaming dogs, bombing, lack of privacy and unsanitary conditions. Some restrict their water intake and hold their urine for long periods, contributing to urinary tract infections, kidney stones and other health problems. Rima al-Swisi reports on the daily realities faced by displaced women whose basic sanitation needs remain largely unmet amid the destruction of Gaza’s housing andinfrastructure.