Environment

The world’s biggest polluters are also the most protected from the environmental harm they helped create, a new study finds.

Antibiotics, antidepressants and other drugs frequently leach into the environment, where they can impact ecosystems and human health.

A new modeling study estimates that every year, thousands of tons of the most-used antibiotics are released into the world’s rivers from human consumption alone—and 11 percent of them reach the world’s oceans or inland sinks. Researchers have also discovered widespread contamination of aquatic ecosystems with antidepressants, heart medications and other drugs in recent years.

Shell reported a malfunction April 25, and the company was later issued a notice of violation. Residents are still looking for answers.

A new study finds that 28 of the most populated cities in the U.S. are sinking, which can increase flood risks and weaken infrastructure.

The rise in e-commerce has created a commensurate rise in demand for single-use paper packaging. Fast-growing, high-yield eucalyptus has become a popular choice for paper but farming communities in Mozambique are paying the price for cheap paper according to a Mongabay documentary produced by Boaventura Monjane, Davide Mancini and Juan Maza.

Tunisian environmentalist Semia Labidi Gharbi, awarded a global prize for her role exposing a major waste scandal, has a message for wealthy nations: developing countries are "no dumping ground".

More than 45,000 people have been affected by flash floods in Somalia since mid-April, the United Nations said, with at least four people killed.

How sound waves could help track space junk and meteors

Scientists on Union glacier in Antarctica fear the region is reaching a dangerous tipping point

As pollution levels hit record highs and fresh water becomes ‘the new oil’, is it time to radically reimagine our relationship to the natural world?

In Ecuador, Indigenous communities are fighting for stronger safeguards to protect their sovereignty as more oil drilling looms. A right to say no to unwanted development could revolutionize a consultation process used around the world.

Paper shares innovative natural capital accounting approach to valuing the benefits of ecosystems in Colombia’s Upper Sinú Basin to key economic sectors.

• Since Myanmar’s 2021 coup, lead mining in the country’s southern Tanintharyi region has exploded, with the number of mining sites more than doubling as lawlessness enables rapid expansion.
• The environmental impact has been severe, with polluted rivers, dying crops, and communities losing access to clean water.
• Armed groups and junta officials profit from the boom by collecting bribes and taxes, turning mining into a revenue source across all control zones.
• Environmentalists warn that without immediate action and sustainable planning, the region’s ecosystems and natural resources may be permanently lost.

archived (Wayback Machine)

MEXICO CITY — Officials have acknowledged the environmental damage caused by Tren Maya, and say they’re exploring ways to restore cenotes and rainforests disrupted by the railway’s construction through the Yucatán peninsula.

During a press event earlier this month, Environment Minister Alicia Bárcena said the government was looking at correcting some of the damage done by the train like deforestation of protected areas and breaking through cave walls.

“The restoration required for a project like Tren Maya is so comprehensive that reforestation is essential,” Bárcena said during the meeting. “The communities themselves can be the ones to help us restore the forest ecosystem, instead of hiring the consortiums involved in Tren Maya — companies that come, plant a tree, and it dies the next day.”

The multi-million-dollar train project stretching 1,554 kilometers (966 miles) across five states became a national controversy when it relocated local communities, drove pillars through sensitive cave ecosystems and cut into the protected rainforest of the Calakmul Biosphere Reserve — often without permits.

The project caused an estimated 6,659 hectares (16,455 acres) of forest loss, one research group found.

Now that construction is largely finished, officials with the Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources (Semarnat) reportedly want to remove fencing along the tracks, which prevents wildlife crossings. They also want to ban the construction of additional roads that would connect the train with harder-to-reach tourism activities in rainforests.

archived (Wayback Machine)

• The EU has agreed binding rules to reduce plastic pellet pollution, aiming to tackle up to 184,000 metric tons of annual leakage into the environment.
• Provisional measures will require companies to prevent spills, implement risk management, and report losses — but reliance on self-reporting may limit accountability, environmental groups argue.
• Campaigners have welcomed the deal but criticized loopholes, delays for maritime transport, and lighter rules for small businesses, warning these could undermine the regulation’s impact.

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Snowfall in Asia's Hindu Kush-Himalayan mountain range has reached a 23-year low, threatening nearly two billion people dependent on snowmelt for water, scientists warned in a report on Monday.

The river’s health has been suffering, with a number of harrowing mass fish deaths events taking place in recent years.

archived (Wayback Machine)

archived (Wayback Machine)