Environment

I wrote the following extended analysis of Mexico’s unprecedented constitutional amendment banning the cultivation of genetically modified corn. The amendment protects Mexico’s rich store of native corn from the kinds of flawed reasoning exhibited by the three-member trade panel that ruled in favor of a U.S. complaint against Mexico’s GM corn restrictions. As I write here, “At every opportunity to assess such evidence, the tribunal shrank from responsibility, In so doing, the panel failed to resolve any of the important scientific questions raised by the case.”

In Native Hawaiians’ genealogical stories, says Solomon Kahoʻohalahala, the coral polyp is considered the oldest ancestor, and they hold spiritual relationships with migratory animals, including the Koholā, or humpback whale (Megaptera novaeangliae). “Koholā is the manifestation of our god of the sea and is revered for its ability to dive into the depths of the deep sea and the realm of the sacred place of our creation, far beyond our imaginations,” he said. “Their care and protection are vital for the existence of species and Native Hawaiians.”

Over the past 100 days, President Trump and his collaborators have taken a sledgehammer to the federal government and the U.S. scientific enterprise. Their sweeping actions are not about reform or improvement—they are about dismantling the institutions, expertise, and public safeguards that uphold democracy, protect health and the environment, and ensure that America’s farmers, workers, and communities can thrive fairly and securely.

With honeybees playing a critical role in agriculture and food production, one local beekeeper is calling attention to their importance—and the growing need to protect both domesticated bees and native pollinators. Dale Lewis, owner of Youngest Son Beekeeping near MacGregor, Manitoba, has been raising bees since he was 14 years old. Now managing around 250 hives, Lewis says honeybees are vital not only for honey production but also for pollinating crops that feed communities.

I have always had a love and fascination for plants. I began growing them as a young boy at the start of grade school. I spent my childhood in the forest, learning the names of the plants and animals and understanding how they functioned as an ecosystem. I was destined to be a farmer because growing plants is fundamental to our work. Now, in my 70s, I continue to farm because my passion for growing plants and raising animals remains strong, and I will never quit. Two events profoundly influenced my approach to agriculture. In 1973, Peter Tompkins and Christopher Bird published " The Secret Life of Plants," which confirmed what I had known as a child: plants are sentient beings that communicate.

The United States has announced sweeping changes to encourage more logging in the country's national forests. A new emergency order requires rolling back environmental protections on almost 60% of the national forests, more than 112 million acres of land mostly in the west.

Between 2000 and 2002, global soil moisture plummeted by approximately 1614 gigatonnes. The researchers note that this is “much larger than Greenland’s ice loss of about 900 gigatonnes” recorded between 2002 and 2006. Even after the initial sharp drop, the loss continued. From 2003 to 2016, an additional 1009 gigatonnes disappeared from the soil. This decline was identified using the ERA5 dataset—an advanced climate reanalysis model that tracks soil moisture from space. To cross-verify the trend, the team also examined sea level rise and polar motion. They found both indicators reflected the shift in water mass from land to ocean.