Environment

This week, Mexico’s leaders voted to enshrine that concept in the Constitution, declaring native corn “an element of national identity” and banning the planting of genetically modified seeds. The measure, which aims to protect Mexico’s thousands of varieties of heirloom corn from engineered versions sold by American companies, has become a nationalist rallying cry. Support for the reform has only grown in recent months as Mexico has fended off insults, threats of tariffs and even the specter of U.S. military intervention from President Trump.

As an Urban botanist and plant lover, most of my wild plant sightings are of the same aggressive introductions, hanging on in the cracks of the sidewalks. The alternatives are urban gardens, yet most are filled with the same gaudy box-store plants. Don’t get me wrong, I do admire the steadfast dandelion, for its tenacity and beautiful spring colour, and am a huge fan of the wonderful displays of colourful impatiens and petunias that sprinkle our city in summer, and dare I say it, I love the gorgeous red of the aggressive burning bushes each fall.

It’s been two years since Culdesac Tempe, the self-proclaimed "first car-free neighborhood in America," opened with a goal of making walkability its centerpiece. With the first phase finished last year, the high-profile development continues to unfold on a 17-acre site along a light rail line in an established neighborhood about 15 miles east of downtown Phoenix. The $200 million project now includes 288 apartment units with about 300 tenants, reeling residents in with appeals of a healthier, more eco-friendly lifestyle, built-in community with ample amenities, and accessible transit to Tempe and the greater metro area.

As of the year 2000, glaciers—excluding the continental ice sheets of Greenland and Antarctica—covered an area of 705,221 km² and held approximately 121,728 billion tons of ice worldwide. Since then, glaciers have lost about 5% of their total ice mass, with regional losses ranging from 2% in the Antarctic and Subantarctic Islands to as much as 39% in Central Europe.

The richest countries in the world are “exporting extinction” by destroying 15 times more biodiversity globally than they do within their own borders, according to a new Princeton University study. The researchers found that 13.3 percent of biodiversity loss worldwide came from the consumption of high-income countries, a press release from Princeton said.

In a focused yet festive atmosphere, the Agriculture Conference 2025 took place from February 5 to 8, 2025, at the Goetheanum. 700 participants from 47 countries gathered to work together on three key tasks and themes: the future of the biodynamic movement, the Earth as a living organism, and the methodological approach through Rudolf Steiner’s seven life processes.

On a recent afternoon, however, the talk among the moms and dads as we kept half an eye on a hotly contested game of four-square swerved to a somewhat unusual topic—eggs. Parents rattled off reports of what they had seen at various places, from the big box outlets to the local food co-op, from high-end Whole Foods to discounters like Grocery Outlet and WinCo. “And,” someone sighed, “Can you believe the prices?” I listened and nodded, secure in the knowledge that I had six fresh eggs, straight from the backyard, on my kitchen counter.

The post Op-ed: Egg Prices Are Soaring.