Biodevastation

Corey Riday-White examines how the global plastic waste crisis was shaped by decades of decisions by the fossil fuel and petrochemical industries. Drawing on recent investigations, documentaries, and legal action, the article traces how companies promoted recycling despite long-standing knowledge of its technical and economic limits. It also highlights growing scientific evidence linking plastics and their chemical additives to serious health and reproductive impacts across generations. As plastic production continues to rise worldwide, the article argues that meaningful accountability and systemic change are necessary to confront a crisis rooted not in consumer failure, but in corporate strategy andprofit.

El Habib Ben Amara reflects on the growing water crisis across the Middle East and North Africa in the context of climate instability, urban expansion, and ecological degradation. The article argues that water can no longer be treated only as a technical or economic issue, but must be understood as part of a broader ecological and cultural relationship. Drawing from traditional water-sharing systems and emerging ideas such as water literacy and fertile hydrology, it calls for a shift toward ecological restoration, conservation, public awareness, and collective responsibility. Relearning how societies live with water, the article suggests, is becoming essential for resilience, dignity, and survival in the region.

Today, the world is facing another global food and energy crisis, caused by the US-Israeli war on Iran and the disruption of supply chains in the Persian Gulf. Given this new crisis, revisiting the topic of China’s food security seems prudent, to assess its strengths and see what could be learned from these methods. The present conflict in West Asia could push as many as 45 million people into hunger, in addition to making the hundreds of millions already in hunger face even more dire circumstances, as a direct result of the US’s imperial war of aggression against Iran.

A new scientific study, published in Nature Health, reveals a strong link between exposure to agricultural pesticides in the environment and the risk of developing cancer.

Saskia Karges examines how environmental destruction is not simply the result of individual corporate misconduct but is embedded in the legal, financial, and psychological structures that govern modern corporations. The article traces how shareholder primacy, cost externalization, and growth-driven economic systems encourage pollution, waste, and ecological damage while shielding decision-makers from accountability. From plastics and fast fashion to fossil fuels, corporate incentives reward extraction over restoration. Karges argues that meaningful environmental reform requires redesigning the rules governing corporations, finance, and political power, moving beyond moral appeals toward structural transformation of the global economicsystem.

Soumya Dutta’s article examines the proposed “mega development project” in Great Nicobar from an environmental and human rights perspective. It highlights the ecological importance of the island’s old-growth rainforests, endemic wildlife, coral reefs, and mangroves, while warning of the irreversible damage posed by large-scale deforestation, infrastructure construction, and habitat fragmentation. The article also discusses the risks faced by the Shompen and Nicobarese communities whose lives are deeply tied to the forest ecosystem. It argues that the project reflects a destructive model of development at a time of intensifying climate and biodiversity crises.

E-cigarettes can quickly lodge toxic metals deep into the lungs, where they may damage tissue, according to new research that provides detailed evidence about risks of vaping. Even short-term exposure produces a measurable buildup of toxic metals in lung tissue, potentially increasing the risk of chronic lung problems, cancer, cardiovascular disease, and other conditions.

Trees are central to mitigating the various consequences of rising temperatures and heatwaves. Various scientific studies show the impact of trees and parks on temperatures in their vicinity. In 2024, researchers Harini Nagendra and Seema Mundoli wrote in Article 14 that their research revealed stark differences between roads lined with trees and those without. Across India, state agencies, private developers, mining companies and others are felling tens of thousands of trees, including fragile mangrove ecosystems, wetlands, trees in biodiversity hotspots, in dense old-growth forests that have stood for centuries, along landslide-prone Himalayan slopes, in ever-more congested metropolitan hubs, along riversides in the name of ‘beautification’, and more.

Jim Pattiz examines the Fix Our Forests Act and argues that the legislation would significantly expand federal authority for large-scale logging across U.S. national forests. The article details proposed changes to environmental review, endangered species protections, judicial oversight, and forest management rules, while placing them in the context of recent executive actions and timber production targets under the Trump administration. Pattiz contends that the bill would weaken long-standing safeguards governing public lands and concentrate greater discretionary power in agencies led by officials closely aligned with the logging industry. The article also traces the bipartisan political support behind the legislation and its expected path throughCongress.