Category: Less of What We Don’t Need

Children and teens who spend hours scrolling social media are far more likely to smoke or vape than their peers, with the highest risks seen among girls and heavy users, according to new research.

For months, HHS Secretary Robert Kennedy Jr. has crisscrossed the nation advancing his “Make America Healthy Again” agenda — spotlighting plans to crack down on unhealthy ultra-processed foods, and praising state-level efforts to restrict chemical food additives and bolster consumers’ right to know. But in an interview with Bloomberg, Kennedy’s comments echoed Big Food’s talking…

The UN Convention on the Rights of the Child… makes it clear that states have an explicit obligation to protect children from exposure to toxic chemicals, from contaminated food and polluted water, and to ensure that every child can realise their right to the highest attainable standard of health. These and many other rights of…

Reports from institutions responsible for analyzing this global phenomenon show that the United States’ aggressive maneuvers in the Caribbean were not aimed at drug trafficking: Reports from the UN, the DEA, the European Union, and the World Customs Organization over several years reveal that Venezuela is an “irrelevant” country in terms of drug production and…

Plastic pollution is one of the most pressing environmental issues in Bangladesh, threatening ecosystems, public health, and urban hygiene. Experts agree that the crisis stems more from its irresponsible use and widespread mismanagement than from plastic production itself. Plastic’s low cost and convenience, combined with a lack of viable alternatives, have made it the default…

Those who do not live in war zones or in suffocated countries are forced to live life as if there is nothing strange about what is happening around us. When we read about war, it is disconnected from our lives, and many of us want to stop listening to anything about the human misery caused…

No doubt working people everywhere would benefit from a greater sharing of experiences and community-based strategies of resistance.  At the same time, it seems clear that there is a natural alliance waiting to be formed, one that brings together those opposing data center operations and construction with those opposing the widespread use of LLMs in schools, workplaces,…

A sweeping new review warns that chemicals in common plastics pose serious and lasting health risks to children, from before birth through adulthood. Published September 21 in The Lancet Child & Adolescent Health, the study examined hundreds of studies involving pregnant women, babies, and children. Researchers found that plastic additives such as phthalates, bisphenols, and…

Over the first four months of 2025, 56 Norwegian citizens convened to discuss how Norway’s immense oil wealth can best serve current and future generations, both domestically and globally. Unlike traditional policymaking, where elected officials and experts call the shots, this so-called Future Panel – the second such assembly held in Norway – allowed ordinary…

An honest and imperfect response to the climate crisis would require a political, behavioural, economic and moral transition that would systematically reduce our energy and material consumption at an unprecedented pace. But that’s not an action any modern politician seems to be able to contemplate, let alone discuss.