Biodevastation

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.

Cuban scientists are known for ingenuity in the face of adversity. Over the years, as U.S. sanctions coupled with government mismanagement worsened the island’s economic woes, Kalet León Monzón and his colleagues at the Center of Molecular Immunology (CIM) in Havana continued to develop and produce monoclonal antibodies and recombinant proteins, resorting to clever workarounds such as retrofitting old instrumentation and what he calls “nontraditional ways” of importing reagents.

Indian cities are entering a new phase of climate stress where extreme heat is increasingly combined with rising humidity, creating dangerous “heat index” conditions. This article examines how urban expansion, concrete-heavy infrastructure, loss of water bodies, waste burning, vehicular emissions, and weak planning are intensifying heat stress in cities like Delhi, Hyderabad, and Ahmedabad. It argues that the crisis is not only about climate change but also about governance failures that ignore worker vulnerability, public health, and ecological balance. The piece calls for a deeper rethink of urban planning and resilience in the face of worsening heat conditions.

Behind the Dominican Republic’s assault on Haitian water sovereignty stands an Israeli Occupation apparatus – arming border forces, training police, and designing a thirty-year plan to control their island’s water supply.

As of April 28th, the U.S. Drought Monitor confirmed much of the country in various stages of drought with some regions in serious condition. The Plains States and entire Southeast are trapped in various stages of unending drought. The West is another story altogether, experiencing lost snowpack like never before in history.