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The government of French Polynesia plans to challenge an American startup’s proposal to explore the waters just beyond its maritime borders for seabed mining. 

“We were approached, but we were not consulted,” Moetai Brotherson, the territory’s president, told Grist. “We are not remaining passive while industrial activities are proposed immediately next to ecosystems that French Polynesia has chosen to protect.”

As Grist reported last week, a Bay Area investor wants the Trump administration’s approval to explore seabed mining in international waters entirely surrounded by the maritime borders of the Cook Islands, Kiribati, and French Polynesia. The company, American Deep Sea Minerals, has a permit application pending before U.S. regulators and hopes to extract minerals essential to the production of batteries and military technologies. It is one of at least a dozen applications under consideration as President Trump races to make the United States a leader in critical mineral mining. 

Negotiators from dozens of countries are meeting this month in Jamaica at the headquarters of the International Seabed Authority, where they are debating the minutiae of a regulatory framework that’s been in progress for more than a decade. Last year, the Trump administration invited companies to apply for permits to mine the high seas directly through the U.S. rather than wait for the adoption of those rules. That has prompted global outrage from countries who say it flouts international law. 

“The deep seabed belongs to no single country and no corporation; it belongs to all of us,” Letitia Carvalho, the secretary-general of the regulatory body, said in Jamaica last week. “If we lose sight of this, we risk repeating on the ocean floor the same injustices and destruction we still strive to remedy on land.” 

French Polynesia doesn’t have a seat at the authority because it remains a French territory whose Indigenous people haven’t been granted political self-determination. And until recently, when environmental nonprofit organizations extended their observer status to Indigenous advocates, the voices of French Polynesians were largely left out of the discussion. Still, Brotherson said he prefers the international regulatory process to recent U.S. actions. 

“This case therefore goes beyond one company or one licence application,” Brotherson said. It raises a fundamental question, he said, about whether an individual country can unilaterally authorize a new industry in international waters, particularly those adjacent to Pacific island nations and protected marine areas. 

According to Brotherson, American Deep Sea Minerals sent a brief introductory email to a government representative; the government replied asking for more information. “No response was received,” he said. “Thus, no consultation has taken place regarding this proposal, and the government has not been provided with sufficient information to assess the project or its potential environmental implications.” Under international law, Indigenous peoples have the right to free, prior and informed consent — and to withhold such consent — regarding development and extractive projects on their ancestral territories. 

Graham Goulet, the CEO of American Metals, told Grist the company intended to consult the governments of the Cook Islands, Kiribati, and French Polynesia “as the exploration program develops.” Those discussions will, he said, occur under U.S. oversight and in accordance with the intentions outlined in its application. The filing notes that it intends to create a benefit sharing agreement with Pacific nations and plans to avoid interfering with fishing.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the U.S. government agency overseeing seabed licenses in international waters, is still considering Goulet’s application. It is available for public comment online until August 3. 

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The environmental implications of seabed mining have long concerned French Polynesia, which banned the practice in 2022, followed quickly by France in 2023. Indigenous peoples with longstanding connections to the ocean, such as for traditional navigation, account for 80 percent of the territory’s population. Studies show extraction could harm fisheries, and Indigenous Pasifika leaders from across the region have raised cultural concerns about the significance of disturbing the sea floor. 

“As if climate change wasn’t enough, the spectre of deep-sea mining threatens to strip-mine the ocean floor, our sacred place of creation,” said Hinano Murphy, an Indigenous cultural expert from Moorea and Tahiti in a TEDxTalk last year.  

Last September, Brotherson added further prohibitions on seabed mining within Tainui Atea, a marine protected area that encompasses nearly all of the islands’ exclusive waters. The preserve sustains 21 species of sharks, 176 species of coral, and more than 1,000 species of fish, according to the United Nations. One survey found more than 92 percent of French Polynesians support Tainui Atea because it honors their traditional cultural practices. 

“French Polynesia’s position is therefore not only a political statement. The protection of deep-sea ecosystems is now embedded in our domestic regulatory framework,” Brotherson said. 

The waters that American Deep Sea Minerals is eyeing, known as Eastern High Seas Pocket 3, are also a popular tuna fishing spot, as well as a potential conservation area. 

In January, the United Nations High Seas Treaty, an international law intended to protect marine ecosystems, took effect, allowing nations to create conservation areas in international waters for the first time. French Polynesia wants to use the law to protect the Eastern High Seas Pocket 3. Doing so could set an important precedent for how effective the treaty is, and how protected the world’s oceans will be in the future, Brotherson said. 

If American Deep Sea Minerals’ application proceeds, French Polynesia wants a say in what happens and a thorough environmental review. Recently, U.S. regulators fast tracked the approval process for deep-sea mining applications by halving the number of environmental reviews required for commercial permits. “We expect the interests of neighboring Pacific countries and territories to be fully taken into account through prior notification, meaningful consultation, and a comprehensive, independent and participatory environmental impact assessment,” Brotherson said.

As part of a U.S. application, American Deep Sea Minerals will need to conduct scientific studies of the area and create an environmental impact assessment. Brotherson said that his government supports independent scientific research conducted on deep-sea ecosystems.

“However, we do not regard this particular application as neutral scientific research,” he said. Although the company says it does not yet intend to apply for a commercial license, its application shows that it intends to conduct the research necessary to apply for one, as well as a mining test. “It is therefore part of a pathway towards potential commercial mining,” Brotherson said. 

This story was originally published by Grist with the headline French Polynesia objects to an American seabed mining plan made without its input on Jul 21, 2026.

This story is published through the Indigenous News Alliance.

The Arctic is warming four times faster than other regions, a trend that disproportionately harms the Indigenous Sámi people — particularly their access to vital traditional resources like reindeer and salmon, which are used for food, clothing, weapons, and more.

As northern temperatures rise, snow is melting and refreezing at an accelerating rate. That forms ice, preventing reindeer from reaching the lichen below and dramatically increasing starvation rates. “Those impacts in nature are severe for our culture and livelihoods,” said Tuomas Aslak Juuso, vice president of the Sámediggi, or Sámi Parliament, of Finland. “So survival of reindeer and then survival of our livelihoods [and] cultures is then questioned.” 

Last week, the impacts of climate change and colonialism were among the key issues raised by the hundreds of Indigenous people gathered in Geneva. They’d come from around the world to discuss these mounting threats at the United Nations Expert Mechanism on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, or EMRIP. They agreed that a multitude of crises will only grow worse unless they are given greater say in international negotiations and decision-making. That’s why in addition to pushing specific policy recommendations on conflict, AI, and other key issues, Indigenous delegates continued their decades-long demand for better representation at the U.N.

“What we are trying to do is to get some implementation resources for us to adapt to the climate change. With Finland, for example, we don’t have any adaptation resources on how to adapt to these situations,” Juuso said. “To be able to bring these issues forward to the global discussion, we would have to have the opportunity to participate.”

Member states are granted access to U.N. gatherings, where they can easily express views, determine policies, and outline their progress implementing international commitments required by the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples and other agreements. But Indigenous advocates say the voices of the peoples directly impacted by such actions aren’t always heard at international forums. 

The U.N. structure requires participation through either a member state or a registered civil society agency — for instance, a non-governmental organization, academic institution, or accredited Indigenous organization. But Indigenous nations don’t fit neatly into one of those categories and are reduced to participating as NGOs. Beyond those structural barriers, Indigenous peoples also face financial and other resource challenges that compound the difficulty of making themselves heard at the international level. That’s why those attending EMRIP continued the long fight for what is called enhanced participation, which could finally give Indigenous nations and organizations the same access and power the United States and other countries enjoy.

That increased influence is especially important when many countries ignore Indigenous priorities. Throughout the week, many delegates identified climate and environmental issues as one area where national governments often have different priorities than Indigenous peoples, who consider land and ecosystems more important than economic growth — a value system they believe is at odds with the world’s best interests. 

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“We’ve got to try and balance immediate economic interests with longer-term environmental protections,” said Kym Hamilton, who is from the tribes of Ngāti Kahungunu, Ngā Rauru, Ngāti Raukawa in Aotearoa New Zealand. “I think we’ve got a responsibility to protect our descendants.”

In U.N. lexicon, enhanced participation is the catchphrase often used for efforts to elevate Indigenous peoples’ voices. Those gathered in Geneva asserted the right to represent their communities in crucial global discussions that impact them. They are also demanding more respect from member-state governments and other policymakers, something they argue will better help them to survive conflict and other crises.

“The question before us is no longer whether Indigenous peoples should participate more fully in the Human Rights Council,” Hamilton, who spoke on behalf of the National Iwi Chairs Forum that represents 87 tribes, said. “The question now is how quickly we will implement these commitments.” 

She offered recommendations for EMRIP’s seven expert Indigenous members, including a clear timeline for creating participatory status for Indigenous peoples’ institutions and appointing Indigenous and state representatives with equal standing to lead the process. She also called for the establishment of an independent and transparent accreditation mechanism to prevent states from vetoing Indigenous representatives, and initiatives to provide predictable and sustainable funding to take part.

Hamilton said Indigenous peoples’ full participation in international deliberations includes the right to decide who represents their communities. “Governments don’t always tell the truth,” she said, citing the U.N. Human Rights Council’s Universal Periodic Review — which all 193 member states must undergo every 4.5 years — which she said revealed gaps between the reports governments submitted and the actual human rights situations within their jurisdictions.

Kenneth Deer, member of the Mohawk Nation of Kahnawà:ke and longtime international Indigenous advocate, echoed that point. “The government never speaks ill about itself,” he said. “You can’t let government speak for us.”

But the U.N.’s accreditation and recognition process can hinder progress toward collectively tackling the challenges impacting Indigenous peoples, he noted. “For us, as a representative institution, there isn’t actually any clear path to accreditate ourselves — and that leads to them trying to improvise, and try to find ways how we can accreditate ourselves.”

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The National Congress of American Indians also called for increased Indigenous participation at the international level. “Recognition and participation of Indigenous peoples must accommodate the numerous ways we identify, organize, and represent ourselves,” President Mark Macarro said. “It is essential that we participate directly in matters of global concern that affect our environment, health, human rights, and unique rights as Indigenous peoples.”

Deer said he’s seen many caucuses of Indigenous delegates at the U.N. engage in important collaborations. But he wishes they could have a higher profile. “Indigenous peoples want to have a voice,” he said. “They want to be heard.”

A diversity of voices at the U.N.’s highest levels, he believes, would improve the U.N. processes and system to the benefit of all countries. “What we need is the states, now, to agree to a process that was run by Indigenous people,” he said.

Throughout the week, EMRIP delegates identified a host of other barriers to participation. For example, communications technology within remote communities presents challenges to joining global deliberations. Additionally, there are significant financial barriers for under-resourced communities when U.N. forums are held far from their homelands.

The U.N. Voluntary Fund for Indigenous Peoples, which helps finance travel to U.N. forums, is also experiencing budget shortfalls, inhibiting many delegates’ ability to attend. It is seen as an important way to increase participation among delegates from areas where governments do not recognize the Indigenous peoples within their borders. Sheryl Lightfoot, EMRIP’s North America region member, is an Anishinaabe expert in Indigenous rights, global politics, and public policy.

She said states are not involved in how EMRIP officially recognizes Indigenous peoples. “Worldwide, there’s a need — and this is especially true across Africa and Asia — of Indigenous peoples seeking just mere recognition of their existence from their governments,” she said. “States seem to be more resistant now than they were 10 years ago to recognize that peoples are Indigenous peoples and have those rights attached to them.”

Despite Hamilton’s doubts about how much change has been achieved internationally, hearing her peers from other Indigenous nations testify about how they’ve persevered inspired her and restored her hope. “I feel like there’s a real sense of … urgency and concern,” she said. “We don’t want our grandchildren’s grandchildren to have to keep coming here and doing this stuff.”

This story was originally published by Grist with the headline As climate change threatens their lands, Indigenous nations demand more power at the UN on Jul 21, 2026.

If the post-truth era reflects a shift in people’s understanding of whom or what to trust, it should also reflect a shift in how we earn people’s trust. Only by building strong levels of trust can we encourage people to question their own beliefs and accept alternative viewpoints.

Recent weeks have seen a flurry of reports from public health authorities and scientists that estimate the deaths caused by Europe’s record-breaking summer heatwaves.

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Environmental fallout is becoming a tangible reality for a growing number of Europeans amidst unabated climate change. While much of this harm is hard to attribute to a single cause or set of policies, there are cases where a few actors bear clear responsibility for the damage. This dynamic is visible in the Netherlands, Germany, and Italy, where voters have expressed their frustration through the ballot box.

The ground in the Dutch province of Groningen shakes more often than one might expect. More than 1,600 kilometres from the nearest active volcano, and far from any major natural fault lines, the earthquakes that trouble this region are entirely man-made.

For decades, the Netherlands extracted vast quantities of natural gas from beneath Groningen’s soil, powering homes, fuelling industry, and filling state coffers, all while quietly destabilising the earth below. What began as an economic triumph has since left a complicated legacy: thousands of small earthquakes have damaged homes, unsettled communities, and eroded public trust. Today, residents live not only with cracks in their walls, but with fractures in their confidence in the institutions that once championed the project. From compensation claims and legal battles to the ballot box, this distrust is increasingly visible today.

Gas in Groningen

Up until 1959, the North Sea area was assumed to be mostly devoid of oil and natural gas. This changed when exploratory drilling by the Dutch Petroleum Company (NAM), jointly owned by Shell and Esso, discovered a gas field in the municipality of Slochteren, in the province of Groningen. While little was known about its size at first, further drilling revealed a site large enough to be of commercial interest. After the Dutch government granted a concession in 1963, extraction began under a consortium of the state-owned mining company, NAM, Esso, and Shell.

The ensuing gas rush was further amplified by expectations that gas would lose its relevance over the following decades with the anticipated rise of nuclear energy. Consequently, there was a strong push to scale up production and sell Groningen’s gas quickly, and early concerns – particularly about possible ground subsidence – were brushed aside. Extraction ultimately peaked in 1976, at 88 billion cubic metres, roughly equivalent to Germany’s entire current annual gas consumption. Only after the oil crisis of the 1970s and growing social resistance to nuclear energy had shown that gas was here to stay did the government begin treating the Groningen field as more of a long-term reserve, slightly reducing extraction and diversifying towards smaller fields, particularly in the North Sea.

A Turning Point

Throughout the 1960s and early 1970s, the Groningen field seemed nothing short of a miracle. Gas profits flowed generously into shareholders’ pockets as well as into the treasury. The Dutch government received up to 85 per cent of gas revenues, which at times accounted for as much as a fifth of total government spending. For a small country still rebuilding after World War II, this was transformative. Roads, schools, hospitals, and social programmes were funded in no small part by the resource extracted from beneath Groningen.

Yet the benefits to the province itself proved limited. The gas sector created around 9,200 jobs – meaningful but modest for a region with a labour force of approximately 286,000. As a Dutch parliamentary inquiry concluded in 2023, only about 1 per cent of the total revenues from the gas field flowed back to Groningen. Most of the economic value flowed upwards to The Hague, to be redistributed at the national level, far from the villages that hosted the extraction sites.

National policy choices only deepened this imbalance. Unlike Norway, which established a sovereign wealth fund on its oil revenues, the Netherlands folded gas income directly into the state budget. This allowed for the rapid expansion of the Dutch welfare state, but at the cost of longer-term planning. The gas windfall also brought what The Economist would coin the “Dutch Disease” in 1977: as revenues strengthened the guilder, Dutch manufacturing lost its international competitiveness, and unemployment more than quadrupled between 1970 and 1977, rising from 1.1 per cent to 5.1 per cent. In short, the gas boom filled the treasury while hollowing out industry.

Things get shaky

For the first two decades of gas extraction, the ground beneath Groningen remained deceptively calm. Despite early concerns about subsidence, no seismic activity was officially recorded, reinforcing the belief that the risks were manageable. This confidence began to erode on Christmas Day in 1986, when a magnitude-2.8 earthquake struck near Assen. In 1991, the Dutch meteorological institute recorded the first officially recognised induced earthquake directly linked to the Groningen field, with a magnitude of 2.4. From there, seismic activity accelerated: four earthquakes in 1991, six in 1992, and 16 in 1993.

Induced earthquakes occur when human activity, most commonly hydrocarbon extraction, alters pressure levels in underground rock formations. As gas is removed, pressure drops, the surrounding rock compacts, and stress builds along geological faults until it finds sudden release. In Groningen, this process unfolded gradually but relentlessly.

By the early 2010s, the situation had escalated sharply. In 2013 alone, 133 earthquakes were confirmed across the Netherlands, 121 of them in Groningen, averaging roughly one every three days. The turning point came on 16 August 2012, with the Huizinge earthquake, measuring 3.6 on the Richter scale, the strongest ever recorded above the Groningen field.

Though most of these tremors were classified as light by seismological standards, their impact on buildings and residents was anything but negligible. Homes cracked, foundations shifted, and entire neighbourhoods began to deteriorate.

Still, the political response lagged despite the mounting evidence. In January 2013, the Minister of Economic Affairs, Henk Kamp, decided against an immediate reduction in gas extraction, against the urgent recommendation by the State Supervision of Mines, instead commissioning 14 separate investigations into the maximum credible earthquake magnitude, seismic hazard, effects on housing and infrastructure, security of supply, and the fiscal cost of a production cut. This decision came at a time when the Netherlands was in a period of fiscal austerity, and gas revenues were not easy to forgo.

The prevailing assumption was that the risks could be managed financially. A compensation scheme for earthquake damage was expanded, based on the belief that revenues could offset material losses and political fallout. Extraction would continue; damages would be paid.

It was not until 2014 that production was capped – at 42.5 billion cubic metres – for the first time explicitly due to the earthquakes. Further reductions followed, though always cautiously. Plans to phase out extraction entirely were announced, revised, and at one point delayed by the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022, which briefly revived Groningen’s strategic importance. Gas extraction from the field ultimately ceased in October 2023. By then, roughly 2.3 trillion cubic metres of gas had been extracted from one of the largest gas fields ever exploited.

But even with extraction halted, the harm persists. Over 3,300 buildings were demolished in Groningen due to earthquake damage between 2012 and 2023. Furthermore, following the Huizinge quake, hundreds of thousands of damage reports have been filed. The Dutch state has paid over 1.2 billion euros in compensation, yet many residents describe the process as slow, opaque, and adversarial. Studies by researchers at the University of Groningen also link sustained exposure to the risk of earthquakes to deteriorating mental and physical health outcomes, and even to increased mortality. Entire communities lived for years in a state of permanent vigilance, unsure whether their homes were safe or whether promised repairs would ever materialise.

Shaking Up the Vote

What makes Groningen particularly distinctive is not just the scale of the damage, but its origin. The harm that people there have faced for decades is immediate, local, and unmistakably man-made. And that has had significant political consequences.

Jordan McAllister and Afiq bin Oslan tackle this topic in a recent paper titled “Shaking up the Vote: The Electoral Impact of Induced Earthquakes”. Placing the Groningen earthquakes at the centre of a broader inquiry, the authors examine how first-hand experience of the direct consequences of environmental harm has translated into changed voting behaviour.

Groningen is an unusually well-suited setting for this kind of study. Unlike pollution or an oil spill, where the distribution of harm is ultimately shaped by human decisions, induced earthquakes strike in nearby areas depending on geological factors that no one controls. They are caused by human activity (unambiguously so in Groningen, where earthquakes were virtually non-existent before drilling began), but where exactly they strike is essentially random. As a result, the researchers can reasonably associate differences in voting behaviour across polling stations with earthquake exposure rather than some pre-existing political difference between areas.

Using data on 891 earthquakes linked to the Groningen field alongside highly granular polling-station-level data across Groningen and its two neighbouring provinces, Friesland and Drenthe, McAllister and bin Oslan ask whether voter exposure to induced earthquakes increases electoral support for GroenLinks, the Dutch green party. The answer, in short, is yes. Across three elections and multiple model specifications, areas with greater earthquake exposure consistently show higher GroenLinks vote shares in subsequent elections.

The paper also finds that earthquakes are associated with a significant fall in support for the PvdA, the Dutch Labour party, consistent with the idea that earthquake exposure is prompting vote-switching towards the Greens from other parties on the left, rather than simply raising overall turnout.

Crucially, the relationship between earthquake exposure and green voting is not linear. It peaks at moderate levels of exposure and weakens at the very highest levels of impact. The authors suggest that those most severely affected may come to prioritise immediate material concerns such as compensation, repairs, and economic security over electoral environmental preferences. At the same time, those experiencing meaningful but less overwhelming exposure are most likely to translate that experience into a green vote. Environmental shocks then do not automatically and uniformly push electorates in a greener direction. How exposed they are, and what else that exposure demands of them, matter as well.

Beyond Groningen

The Groningen case is, in several respects, unusual. Induced seismicity directly linked to gas extraction in a densely populated region, with clear institutional responsibility and a single identifiable operator, is not a combination that recurs frequently elsewhere. But the broader mechanism it illustrates – locally experienced and clearly attributable environmental harm feeding back into political behaviour – is hardly confined to the Netherlands.

In the Val d’Agri valley in the southern Italian region of Basilicata, the energy giant ENI’s oil extraction operations present a comparable picture. The region hosts the largest onshore oil field in Western Europe, yet its population has seen negligible economic benefit from decades of extraction while bearing environmental costs, including contaminated water sources and elevated rates of cancer and respiratory illness.

The political response has been real: ENI executives have faced joint legal action from the regional government, municipalities, and environmental agencies. Moreover, grassroots organisations such as COVA Contro have built sustained platforms for accountability. Anti-extraction sentiment has surfaced electorally too: in the 2019 regional election, a left-wing candidate running explicitly on an anti-oil platform received 4.3 per cent of the vote, though this has remained a niche position rather than a decisive force.

Two factors may help explain the gap between Italy and the Netherlands. Firstly, economic anxiety in the Val d’Agri valley, one of Italy’s poorest regions, tends to compete with environmental grievance as a political driver. Secondly, unlike the Netherlands, Italy has no well-established Green party capable of channelling anti-extraction sentiment into parliamentary weight. While the Groningen parallel seems to hold in terms of the underlying injury and political mobilisation, the similarities are less clear when it comes to votes.

The German lignite regions offer another striking parallel. In the Rhineland and Lausitz, local communities have borne the costs of extraction in ways that are, if anything, more visible than in Groningen: more than 50 villages or parts of villages have been demolished in North Rhine-Westphalia alone to make way for expanding open-cast mines, with entire communities uprooted and resettled. The public has opposed these projects fiercely: the planned demolition of the village of Lützerath to expand RWE’s Garzweiler II mine drew thousands of protesters over years of sustained resistance; in 2023 the eventual five-day police clearance of an activist occupation of the village became a national flashpoint. But was there also a wider political response?

The vote share data from North Rhine-Westphalia is at least suggestive: the Greens rose from 6.4 per cent to 18.2 per cent in state elections between 2017 and 2022, in contrast to their more modest gains at the federal level, from 8.9 per cent in 2017 to 14.8 per cent in the 2021 Bundestag election. That rise, though, predates the party’s own turn: In October 2022, when they were in government federally and in the state, the Greens agreed to the deal with RWE that cleared Lützerath for demolition. This turn was viewed by many as a change in sides. Whether this will cost them electorally is difficult to determine.

The confounders here are too numerous to read much into either shift directly, but the broader point stands: these cases offer at least plausible instances of locally experienced environmental harm feeding back into political behaviour, in different institutional and partisan contexts. What they also reveal, by contrast, is why Groningen is such a rare analytical opportunity. Elsewhere, the harm is real enough, but the causal pathway remains tangled, and the harm harder to isolate.

The Limits of Attribution

The cases considered so far share a key feature: the source of harm is local, visible, and traceable to a specific operator or set of decisions. Where the previous section showed variation – Groningen producing a measurable electoral response, Basilicata and the lignite regions less so – the explanation lay not in attribution, but in what came after it: whether a credible electoral channel existed to convert grievance into votes. The mobilisation, in all three cases, seems real enough. But not all environmental harms afford even that starting point.

When flooding devastates a region or drought destroys harvests, the causal chain is longer and more contested. Climate change may have made the event more severe, but the link between many natural disasters and specific policy choices is harder to draw, and therefore harder to convert into electoral accountability. The devastating floods that struck Valencia in October 2024, killing over 230 people in one of the deadliest natural disasters in Spain’s recent history, illustrate this well. Scientists broadly agreed that climate change had intensified the rainfall, but the political response was far from unified. Multiple levels of government faced – and traded – blame simultaneously: regional president Carlos Mazón faced mass protests over the dismantling of an emergency unit his administration had shut down just the year before, while the national government faced accusations of insufficient coordination. Rather than producing more support for environmental protection, the debate became highly polarised, with disinformation campaigns seeking to redirect blame onto environmentalists themselves for having allegedly restricted flood-control infrastructure.

Groningen and the cases it can usefully be set alongside illustrate that the political salience of environmental harm is shaped not only by its severity, but by its legibility, by how clearly it can be traced to identifiable decisions, and how directly it is felt. As the consequences of both energy policy and climate change continue to accumulate across Europe, that kind of clarity is likely to become rarer.

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Dari sudut pandang pengalaman pengguna, permainan yang mudah dipahami dan memiliki identitas visual yang jelas memang cenderung lebih cepat mendapatkan perhatian. Hal ini juga sejalan dengan tren industri game yang mengutamakan aksesibilitas dan pengalaman bermain yang nyaman.

Kesimpulan

Lucky Neko saat ini memang sedang naik daun berkat perpaduan antara desain yang menarik, gameplay yang sederhana, tema budaya yang ikonik, serta dukungan komunitas yang aktif. Popularitasnya bukan muncul secara kebetulan, melainkan karena mampu menghadirkan pengalaman hiburan yang mudah dinikmati oleh berbagai kalangan.

Meski demikian, setiap orang tentu memiliki preferensi yang berbeda dalam memilih permainan. Karena itu, pendekatan terbaik adalah menikmati Lucky Neko sebagai bentuk hiburan digital secara bijak dan tetap memiliki ekspektasi yang realistis. Dengan cara tersebut, pengalaman bermain akan terasa lebih menyenangkan sekaligus bertanggung jawab.

Gene editing regulations ruled unlawful Channel News brendan 21st July 2026 Teaser Media

In "almost Shakespearean grotesquery," our cringe Buffoon-In-Chief just thrust himself into the World Cup final only to be unceremoniously booed, snubbed and cropped out of team photos. Then he again assailed Canada for smoke from their wildfires, though ours are much worse and they've often helped us with them. Still, our ever-gracious northern neighbor launched a new initiative to dutifully sweep the Rockies, vacuum the forests, hand-rake pine needles. Its acronym: F.U.C.K.O.F.F.

The headlines for Trump's Sunday gatecrash of another major sports event that really, really didn't want him there tells the vainglorious and mortifying tale: "Most Universally Hated President In History Mercilessly Booed," "Crowd Boos, Player Snub and Failed Photobomb: Trump's Big World Cup Day Out," and "Confused Old Fuckwit Imagines He's Won the World Cup." The Guardian also wins a Snark of the Year Award for the caption to its photo of FIFA's Infantino deep in conversation with a clueless Trump, both men standing under a blizzard of confetti, after he literally had to drag him off-stage: "Gianni Infantino carefully explains to Donald Trump he is not part of the Spanish team."

Some of the over 82,000 fans at New Jersey's Met-Life Stadium, where Spain trounced a listless, chaotic, often-thuggish Argentina 1-0, had earlier made their feelings clear when video briefly showed Trump ensconced in his glass-encased VIP digs and scattered boos rang out. By the time he finally lumbered and waddled stoop-shouldered onto the field at the end, it sounded like all 82,000-plus had reconsidered and joined in to jeer. Trailing behind him, looking like hostages trying to keep a safe distance to not catch any cooties, were Mexico's and Canada's leaders, the tournament's purported, far-less-despised hosts. Implausibly given....everything, but thanks to Infantino's long gross obsequiousness, Trump got to hand out awards.

And he did, though not without some drama: Several players hesitated, recoiled or refused to shake his hand. Then it was time to hand out the (seductively gold) World Cup. Little needy Donnie, a malignant narcissistic lump, swooped in to awkwardly “help” Infantino carry it like a five-year-old hungry for the feckin' ice-cream cone his dad is holding, “a lonely, grasping figure refusing to release a trophy he didn’t win.” Once they handed it to Spain’s captain Rodri, Trump, “malice wrapped in vanity,” painfully lingered in the limelight - camera! also person, woman, man TV - as Infantino struggled to yank him away for the iconic team hoist photo: "OK, grandpa, time to get back to your chocolate pudding." In the end, a patient Rodri gently nudged him out of the shot, but cringingly not off the stage, where he stood dazed and wobbling, our national farce and tragedy.

Steve Schmidt noted the clumsy resulting image's era-defining power, its display of the "breathtaking psychological fragility" of a "President Norma Desmond...incapable of understanding that the greatest office in the world confers responsibility, not ownership." "The character has been devoured by the caricature," he wrote of "self-parody made flesh," the small man so consumed by the need for adulation that, "Every trophy is his trophy. Every triumph is his triumph. Every stage is his stage." Later, in photos released both by FIFA and the Spanish team, Trump had mercifully, miraculously disappeared from both shots, because this is why God and Al Gore invented photoshop.

The awkward bit of theater with Spain came, lest we forget, in the wake of Trump's weeks of vilifying the nation and their prime minister Pedro Sánchez - first, for their refusal to allow the U.S. military to use Spanish bases to help illegally bomb Iran, then for the alleged failure of "bad" and "hopeless" Spanish people to pay enough for NATO defense spending. Despite Trump's ugly threats to "cut off all trade" with a longtime ally unforgivably following the law, it all suddenly vanished before the cameras, where Trump congratulated "a great team," even though they speak Spanish, and claimed there was "no tension" with the country’s leadership. Actually, he smirked, "I have no tension with anybody."

Tell it to Canada, which Trump has been moronically berating for "Willful Negligence," aka inexplicably allowing smoke from over 800 wildfires raging across some of Canada's 347 million acres to drift over our pristine shores. A few days earlier, joined by equally stupid MAGA lackeys, he raged the U.S. "is being unnecessarily invaded by filthy, polluted, and unhealthy air" at an "incalculable" (a big word he probs didn't write) cost, and "maybe they should pay us some damages" or billions more in tariffs, and he'd call Carney "to find out what they are going to do about it." "We are holding Canada responsible," he thundered, "for the fact that they are not properly maintaining their Forests, and Brush therein."

Like his long-ago claim during California wildfires that Finland's president told him they rake their forests and have no such problems - Finland when asked: "WTF" - this is an idiot's fever dream. Facts owe: This year, America has seen over 40,000 fires burn roughly 3.9 million acres, 157% its ten-year average. There are now over 70 uncontained U.S. fires being fought by nearly 18,000 people, with much of the Northwest - Colorado, Oregon, Washington - at National Preparedness Level 5, the highest, and up to 58 new fires a day. Air quality alerts affecting a million Americans are due to those fires, to blazes across 70,000-plus acres in Minnesota, and to 3,600 fires across 1.8 million acres, below the five-year average, in Canada.

In the face of politely unnamed U.S. pols mindlessly "chirping away," notes Ontario Premier Doug Ford, he has already asked for firefighters or "anything they can send" to help fight nearly 200 fires, some of which have crossed into Canada from Minnesota, that have forced entire First Nations to evacuate and many residents to sleep in their cars. Rather than complain maybe send help, he adds, "because we have done the same thing for our American friends," again and again. Even as Canadian officials issue air quality warnings from U.S. fires drifting north, a 56-year-old Canadian helicopter pilot from B.C. just died in a crash battling a fire in Colorado, the fourth firefighter death there this summer.

Meanwhile, a mindless, science-denying MAGA has ended support for dozens of climate initiatives, dismantled our largest climate research center and pushed for more fossil fuel carnage. On Sunday, with much of his country visibly on fire, Trump attacked the National Academy of Sciences - chartered by Abe Lincoln mid-Civil War "because even a nation shooting at itself understood it needed scientists" - because it's "run by Radical Left Dumocrats” who published costly, "fraudulent," “totally discredited” climate change manuals, which he ordered "Suspension and Debarment" officials to review. Also - cue dumbest timeline ever - Repubs jumped in to decry DEI-loving advocates who (gasp) may have tried to stop blessed oil and gas projects.

Still, Canada is a tolerant, peace-loving nation that tries to accommodate all comers, even a malevolent asshole who's never gotten any closer to a "forest" than Central Park, if even there. It also values its natural resources, including a 270-million-acre boreal forest, much of it roadless, whose vast ecosystem serves as a global carbon sink to purify air and water, regulate climate and offer a safe breeding ground to billions of birds. And if some random asshole neighbor to the north chides its inadequate forest management, Canada seeks to rise to the occasion - to, as it were, Be Better. Thus was born a bold new initiative from its Department of Forest Tidiness, which is now "pleased to confirm the message has been received loud and clear."

Canada's Forest Undergrowth Clearing & Kindling Operation for Foreign Friends, aka F.U.C.K.O.F.F., renders every able-bodied person ages 16 to 65 responsible for removing leaves, twigs, moss, bark, sticks, branches, pine needles, deadfall and shrubs deemed "insufficiently tidy by Congressional observers." After receiving government-issued rakes, gloves and safety vests, they must arrange all debris "into neat bilingual piles," to be painstakingly inspected by forestry officials. Further actions may include sweeping the Rocky Mountains, power-washing the Canadian Shield, vacuuming deserts, raking California, installing smoke-detectors across the Yukon and mandating that all fires contain and respect clearly marked provincial borders.

In Ontario, workers will be assigned 6.7 acres (40 NHL hockey rinks) of dense untracked country and a 26-hour work week; elsewhere, shifts surge to a hefty 18.3 acres (110 rinks) and 70 hours a week. Morning commutes start with a three-day canoe trip and 15-km hike through swamp; on-site, workers will hand-groom 300 billion trees, hand-rake an infinity of pine needles, make local beavers submit environmental impact reports and dodge grizzlies as needed. Finally, it notes, "Canada thanks Congress for sharing their extensive knowledge of forestry, wildfire behavior, climate science, geography and upkeep of a country containing 9% of the world's forests, and looks forward to receiving further practical advice from Washington."

Online, many Americans, after reportedly snorting their coffee through their noses, thanked Canada "for being great neighbors and allies," and apologized for - hands held hopelessly wide - "all this." "We are so, so sorry," said one. Another: "We're so incredibly sorry." Canadians joined in: "I'm in Alberta - I'll send water," "In B.C., have to get my mountaineering gear first. Sorry. eh?" and a generous offer to add a new organization, Canadian Undergrowth, Nature, and Tree Services: "I believe that with your cooperation, F.U.C.K.O.F.F plus C.U.N.T.S could really show Americans we take their health and well-being seriously." Organizers estimate their work will be completed "somewhere between Thursday afternoon and the collapse of human civilization," which should be any day now.

Pictured: Entrance to the pop-up exhibition.

“Remember normal?” This is a question that resonates with many, especially those who’ve lost homes or been misplaced due to climate-related extreme weather disasters. The Museum of Unnatural Disasters pop-up exhibit, a project of the Climate Action Campaign in partnership with the Center for American Progress, Climate Power, and Extreme Weather Survivors, shares stories from families across the United States whose homes were ravaged by extreme weather events. The exhibit highlights a common recurring motif as a reason for worsening disasters, and one that environmental health researchers and scientists have been warning people about for years: Climate change is making extreme weather worse, leading to more damaging and costly disasters.

The Museum of Unnatural Disasters opened in Constitution Gardens on the National Mall from June 3rd-10th, 2026. Images on display in the pop-up museum paint a picture that people across the country are all too familiar with: the emotional and deadly toll that extreme weather events have on communities. The exhibit showcases items collected from individuals in communities ravaged by climate-related disasters, many weathered and torn apart, including street signs, asthma inhalers, and clothing pieces. Whether it be fatal flash floods in central Kansas, harrowing hurricanes on the Florida coast, or withering wildfires across California and Northern Michigan, these show the human toll that headlines often miss.

Pictured: Children’s artwork and notes after Hurricane Sandy in New Jersey.

The name of the pop-up exhibit, The Museum of Unnatural Disasters, calls attention to natural disasters and their unnatural causes. As climate change worsens year by year through global warming and extreme weather events, it’s becoming more stark the impact that fossil fuel emissions have on our deteriorating environment. According to the United Nations, fossil fuel emissions account for 68 percent of greenhouse gas emissions and 90 percent of carbon dioxide emissions, directly contributing to a warming planet and worsening extreme weather patterns.

 At the end of the exhibit, museum guests were urged to reflect on one thing they would save if a disaster hit their home today. Many responses included pets, family photo albums, or people in the home with them. To have to even reflect on such a tragic question underscores the unfortunate reality of how every region within the United States and the world is at risk.

Pictured: Wall at end of exhibit asking guests to take a card and answer one question: What would you save in the event of a natural disaster?

The Museum of Unnatural Disasters inspired museum guests to take action for a better climate. A main goal of the exhibit was to bring attention to and urge action against practices that actively harm our environment, such as continued burning of fossil fuels for energy. One action that can be taken right now is signing on to a petition to members of Congress, demanding they take urgent action to address climate change. Sign the petition here. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Author: Lauren Baldwin is a junior at the University of Central Florida majoring in Health Sciences, and is an Environmental Health undergraduate intern at ANHE.

The post Catastrophic Climates and Consequences: A Dive into the Museum of Unnatural Disasters appeared first on ANHE.

Update on EWG-sponsored California bills to boost consumer safety, choice and transparency Ketura Persellin July 20, 2026

California, the world’s fourth-largest economy, could soon prove – once again – its status as a leader in environmental and public health policy that helps reshape the U.S. marketplace. 

When Sacramento lawmakers return from recess next month, they’ll consider four EWG-sponsored bills that address key issues: energy affordability, “forever chemicals” pesticides, toxic chemicals in diapers and ultra-processed foods, or UPF. 

If enacted, these bills would help consumers lead cleaner, healthier lives through transparency, commonsense safety regulations and choice. They face further votes in the Legislature in August before being sent to Gov. Gavin Newsom for his signature. 

1. Using solar to lower sky-high electricity bills (Senate Bill 868)

The average California ratepayer faces electricity bills higher than those of most Americans. “Balcony solar” could help.

SB 868 would make it easier for everyone, including renters, apartment and condo dwellers, as well as owners of single-family homes, to plug into the sun using balcony solar systems – small, portable solar panels that can easily be set up on a patio or balcony and taken along when the owner moves. 

The systems are inexpensive enough that ratepayers can recoup their investment within a couple of years, putting solar – and savings – within reach of more people. And the costs should decline as the market grows. 

But complex rules make accessing balcony solar unnecessarily hard, if not impossible for many.

That’s why EWG is sponsoring this bill, known as the Plug and Play Solar Act, authored by state Sen. Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco). If enacted, it would ensure that balcony solar systems meet strict safety standards and remove hurdles for Californians who want to take more ownership over their utility bills.

SB 868 passed in the California Senate in May, and through the Assembly Utilities and Energy Committee in June. No major amendments have been added to this bill and the next step in the process is review by the Assembly Appropriations Committee. 

2. Widespread use of PFAS pesticides (Assembly Bill 1603)

This bill would address the use of the toxic “forever chemicals” known as PFAS that are currently being allowed to be used as pesticides in California.

Over 2.5 million pounds of these chemicals are applied to crops each year within the state, contaminating not just produce but soil and water too.

The bill follows EWG research showing state test results finding PFAS pesticides on nine in 10 California-grown samples of peaches, nectarines and plums. It’s critical to address this source of toxic pollution in the state that grows about half the country’s produce.

Our interactive map shows the California fields where PFAS pesticides are applied. 

As introduced, AB 1603, by Assemblymember Nick Schultz (D-Burbank), would have banned the use, sale and manufacture of PFAS pesticides statewide beginning in 2035. It would have also immediately paused state approvals, phased out by 2030 the PFAS pesticides not allowed in Europe, and required public disclosure of PFAS pesticide uses. 

AB 1603 passed the Assembly in May and went on to pass through two Senate policy committees in June, Environmental Quality and Agriculture, where it was heavily amended. The Senate Appropriations Committee will next review the bill, followed by a full Senate vote.

The bill has been modified to no longer prohibit the sale or use of PFAS pesticides. It requires disclosure only. Still, that’s an important first step in addressing the use of these chemicals.

AB 1603 also maintains a categorical approach – viewing PFAS as a class of chemicals, rather than regulating them one at a time. 

3. Baby diapers made of mystery chemicals (Assembly Bill 1901)

Many categories of personal care products are a virtual black box, their ingredients a mystery. 

That’s especially true for baby diapers, since infants and toddlers wear them constantly for at least a couple years. Their developing bodies make them particularly vulnerable to toxic chemical exposure. 

AB 1901, by Assemblymember Marc Berman (D-Menlo Park), would require manufacturers of children’s diapers sold, distributed or manufactured in California to fully disclose their ingredients on product packaging and online.

Recent tests have found diapers may contain phthalates, linked to hormone disruption, bleaching agents associated with skin and respiratory irritation, and volatile organic compounds, including hazardous air pollutants like toluene and xylene.

Parents and caregivers deserve to know what chemicals sit for years on their child’s body 24/7.

AB 1901 passed the California State Assembly and the Senate Environmental Quality Committee. In August, the bill heads, with no major changes, to the Senate Appropriations Committee for review. 

4. What is and isn’t ultra-processed food (Assembly Bill 2244)

UPF make up more than two-thirds of children’s diets and more than half of the typical adult diet in the U.S. 

AB 2244 addresses the confusion shoppers face in distinguishing ultra-processed from less processed food, with the intent of helping to rein in skyrocketing and harmful UPF consumption. 

If enacted, the bill would establish a system for certifying qualifying foods as free from the additives, emulsifiers, food dyes and flavors that often characterize UPF. It would tie that system to California’s first-in-the-nation definition of UPF, which was adopted last year as the result of an earlier bill, also intended to stem the consumption of UPF.

Assemblymember Jesse Gabriel (D-Encino) is the lawmaker behind this bill and several other pioneering laws addressing food safety, especially for kids. His work has helped galvanize a national movement to address food chemicals. 

AB 2244 passed the Assembly in May, when it was revised to give grocers more flexibility in how they display products sporting the UPF label. The Senate health and judiciary committees have passed the bill, and the Senate appropriations panel will consider it next.

Protein powder bill falls short

EWG also sponsored a fifth bill, which aimed to require manufacturers of protein powder and shakes to disclose levels of heavy metals in their products. 

Millions supplement their protein intake in various forms every day. But they have no way to know whether the shakes, powders and bars they consume contain concerning levels of harmful contaminants: lead, cadmium, mercury and arsenic. One recent study showed about half the products tested exceeded at least one state or federal safety limit for these contaminants.

The fifth bill, SB 1033, would have required manufacturers to disclose levels of heavy metals in their products. Its author, state Sen. Steve Padilla (D-San Diego), sought to make manufacturers accountable for a product that is under-regulated by federal standards.

This bill would have brought greater transparency to protein products, much like an earlier law, which holds producers of baby food to a safety standard for heavy metal. But the legislation did not advance out of the Senate.

Areas of Focus Ultra-Processed Foods Children’s Health Toxic Chemicals Pesticides PFAS Chemicals California July 23, 2026

Antimining Barricade Torn Down In Palawam - But Indigenous People Resistance Will Not Be Silenced

Palawan — long celebrated as the Philippines’ last ecological frontier — is now ground zero for a disturbing pattern: mining incursions advancing with impunity, and Indigenous Peoples’ rights being trampled by the very institutions mandated to protect them.

On March 26, in Sitio Linao, Barangay Ipilan, Brooke’s Point, Pala’wan communities watched in shock as two backhoes belonging to Calmia Nickel Inc. (CNI) crossed the invisible boundary that has safeguarded their upland ancestral domain for generations. For the first time, heavy machinery penetrated a landscape where selfsufficiency still thrives: forests rich with wildlife, upland rice and cassava fields, and dozens of freshwater springs sustaining entire communities.

Support the Pala’wan

What you can do: to support this struggle, please sign and send this email letter to Hon. Cesareo Benedito Jr., Mayor of Brooke’s Point, including also the other electronic addresses in Cc.

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Along with many concerned individuals worldwide, I am particularly alarmed by developments in the Municipality of Brooke's Point, where the mining tenements of companies such as Ipilan Nickel Corporation (INC) and Calmia-MacroAsia overlap with the Mount Mantalingahan Protected Landscape (MMPL), an area of both national and international ecological significance. Allowing further degradation in these zones risks irreversible consequences for the island's sustainable future. Public records reveal that at least 218,854 trees have already been targeted under "Special Tree Cutting and EarthBalling Permits" for mining operations in Palawan. This number is staggering - not only because of the trees themselves, but because each permit threatens watersheds, biodiversity, soil stability and the entire ecological system that sustains life on the island. It is disheartening to learn of the Municipal Government's recent endorsement of the business permit renewal for Ipilan Nickel Corporation - an action that would authorize the cutting of approximately 32,000 trees in primary forest. I sincerely hope that this decision, supported by nine members of the Sangguniang Bayan, can still be reconsidered and ultimately reversed in the interest of long-term environmental stewardship. I am equally concerned about the situation in Sitio Linao, where the barricade erected by Indigenous residents to stop Calmia's heavy equipment was dismantled on 29 June. This community has safeguarded and sustainably managed its environment for generations, and their grievances merit urgent attention and meaningful action. They are not alone in facing the impacts of mining; the livelihoods of farmers and fisherfolk across Brooke's Point are already being undermined, as seen in the experience of barangay Maasin proper. This pattern of harm cannot be allowed to continue. I respectfully urge your office not to endorse a business permit to Calmia Nickel Inc. and to ensure that existing operations - particularly those of INC - are not permitted to expand, and ideally are halted altogether. While the recent provincial moratorium on new mining applications is a welcome step, it is discouraging to learn that several officials are circumventing it with increasing ease and impunity. Please be assured that the international network of civil society organizations is closely monitoring the situation in Palawan and remains committed to supporting efforts to protect what has long been recognized as the "Philippines' Last Ecological Frontier." As Mayor, you hold the authority and responsibility to ensure that Brooke's Point remains one of the greenest and most beautiful municipalities in Palawan. I earnestly hope that you will use your mandate to safeguard the forests that Indigenous peoples have protected for centuries, so that future generations may inherit a landscape that remains intact, vibrant, and life-sustaining. Respectfully, [Your Name]` }; } function openActionEmail(type) { const data = getActionEmailData(); if (type === 'gmail') { window.open( 'https://mail.google.com/mail/?view=cm&fs=1' + '&to=' + encodeURIComponent(data.to) + '&cc=' + encodeURIComponent(data.cc) + '&su=' + encodeURIComponent(data.subject) + '&body=' + encodeURIComponent(data.body), '_blank' ); } if (type === 'outlook') { window.open( 'https://outlook.office.com/mail/deeplink/compose?' + 'to=' + encodeURIComponent(data.to) + '&cc=' + encodeURIComponent(data.cc) + '&subject=' + encodeURIComponent(data.subject) + '&body=' + encodeURIComponent(data.body), '_blank' ); } if (type === 'mailto') { window.location.href = 'mailto:' + data.to + '?cc=' + encodeURIComponent(data.cc) + '&subject=' + encodeURIComponent(data.subject) + '&body=' + encodeURIComponent(data.body); } } function copyPalawanLetter(button) { const data = getActionEmailData(); const completeText = 'TO: brookespointmayorsoffice@gmail.com\n' + 'CC: mabuhay@palawan.gov.ph, tjsmatta@gmail.com, oed@pcsd.gov.ph, ohea@denr.gov.ph, region4b@ncip.gov.ph, jenmarcantonjos@gmail.com, ich@unesco.org, comite.liaison.ong@unesco.org\n\n' + data.body; const textArea = document.createElement('textarea'); textArea.value = completeText; textArea.setAttribute('readonly', ''); textArea.style.position = 'fixed'; textArea.style.top = '0'; textArea.style.left = '0'; textArea.style.width = '1px'; textArea.style.height = '1px'; textArea.style.padding = '0'; textArea.style.border = '0'; textArea.style.fontSize = '16px'; textArea.style.opacity = '0.01'; document.body.appendChild(textArea); textArea.focus(); textArea.select(); textArea.setSelectionRange(0, completeText.length); let copied = false; try { copied = document.execCommand('copy'); } catch (error) { copied = false; } document.body.removeChild(textArea); if (copied) { showCopyConfirmation(button); return; } /* Segundo intento para navegadores compatibles */ if (navigator.clipboard && window.isSecureContext) { navigator.clipboard.writeText(completeText) .then(function () { showCopyConfirmation(button); }) .catch(function () { showManualCopy(completeText); }); } else { showManualCopy(completeText); } } function showCopyConfirmation(button) { const originalText = button.textContent; button.textContent = 'Letter copied!'; setTimeout(function () { button.textContent = originalText; }, 2000); } function showManualCopy(text) { window.prompt( 'Press and hold the text, then select Copy:', text ); }

According to tribal leader Panglima Celso Paida,

“The company entered our ancestral domain without consulting us at all. We had no choice but to act immediately and set up a community barricade to stop further intrusions. In spite of this, they’re leveling an area where they, supposedly, plan to put up their building.”

For nearly three months, indigenous residents guarded the barricade day and night. It became a living symbol of resistance – a collective assertion of ancestral rights and a civil society defense of Brooke’s Point’s watersheds, which sustain upland communities, farmers, and fisherfolk downstream.

A Brutal Dismantling — Backed by State Agencies

On June 29, this outpost of Indigenous selfdetermination was dismantled. The operation was carried out with coordination and support from the National Commission on Indigenous Peoples (NCIP), Palawan National Police (PNP), the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), the Mining and Geoscience Bureau (MGB) and other agencies.

The order to dismantle the barricade was executed under NCIP Memorandum Order No. 1562026, based on a resolution issued by IPDOBICAMM, an organization whose legitimacy is widely contested by true Pala’wan leaders. In a striking display of bias, NCIP Provincial Director Atty. Jansen Jontilla personally served the dismantling order while wearing a mining helmet — a visual confirmation of where NCIP’s loyalties lie, and a betrayal of the very communities the agency is legally mandated to protect.

Illegitimate Leaders Elevated, True Custodians Ignored

IPDOBICAMM President Julhadi Titte, a key figure behind the dismantling, claimed the barricade violated prior agreements and breached IP rights under the Indigenous Peoples Rights Act (IPRA). But Pala’wan leaders reject this narrative outright. One of them argues: “Titte is not a legitimate Indigenous leader, he does not belong to the Pala’wan tribes and IPDOBICAMM does not represent the true custodians of the ancestral domain, across the six ‘barangays’ (administrative units)”. Yet NCIP continues to elevate such figures – a pattern that conveniently aligns with mining interests.

“IPDOBICAMM was created through collusion between mining companies and NCIP. Our legitimate leaders are reorganizing through PEKP (traditional leaders), supported by MKE (women’s groups) and SAMAKA (youth opposing mining).”

A respected Pala’wan representative

A Flawed FPIC Process — Manipulated to Favor Mining

The agreements cited by IPDOBICAMM are deeply questionable. According to legitimate Pala’wan leaders, the Free, Prior, and Informed Consent (FPIC) process was manipulated by NCIP officials. One leader explains: “NCIP validated mining approval through dubious ‘majority’ votes rather than genuine consensus, as required by IPRA.”

An indigenous woman advocate corroborates:

“Several of those consulted are not truly indigenous. They collaborate with mining companies for personal gain. They speak in our name without our consent — and NCIP validates them instead of us.”

Mining Agreements Built on Fraud and Violations

The Mineral Production Sharing Agreement (MPSA) of MacroAsia Mining Corp., implemented by Calmia Nickel Inc., allegedly received community support leading to NCIP’s issuance of a Certification Precondition (CP). But the consultations involved illegitimate leaders, not the true custodians recognized by local communities.

Indigenous leaders are now demanding an investigation into how the Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) was secured – and how mining approvals were pushed through despite widespread opposition.

“Why does NCIP follow the orders of IPDOBICAMM - a group that manages mining royalties - instead of the indigenous community who actually live within the ancestral lands to be mined?”

Victor Colili – Former Brooke’s Point Councillor and Indigenous Peoples’ leader

“NCIP was created to protect Indigenous Peoples, not undermine them. When decisions affecting ancestral domains disregard the voices of those who have long protected these lands, public trust in the institution collapses.”

Mary Jean Feliciano – Vice Mayor of Brooke’s Point

Legal Violations, Broken Promises, and a Threat to a UNESCO Landscape

MacroAsia/Calmia promised nine programs for IPs in the MOA — none have been fulfilled. Their mining tenement overlaps with the Mount Mantalingahan Protected Landscape (MMPL), a UNESCOrecognized biodiversity hotspot feeding 33 rivers and providing ecosystem services valued at US$5.5 billion, supporting 200,000 people.

The project also lacks a business permit from the Brooke’s Point Mayor and should not be allowed to push through, given the Provincial Ordinance No. 3646, which imposes a 50year mining moratorium. Yet enforcement agencies continue to ignore these violations. This reflects a familiar pattern in Philippine resource governance: corruption, clientelism, and impunity, undermining Palawan’s status as a UNESCO Man & Biosphere Reserve and threatening one of the country’s last intact forests.

IPRA Under Attack — A Dangerous Legislative Shift

The Philippines has some of Asia’s strongest Indigenous rights laws. Yet corruption hollow them out. Even the landmark Indigenous Peoples’ Rights Act (IPRA) is now under threat. Proposed laws such as House Bill 9608 and House Bill 621 seek to transfer IPRA functions from NCIP to DENR — the same agency whose Mines and Geosciences Bureau grants mining permits. If passed, Indigenous rights would fall under the authority of those who profit from their erosion. This would mark the death of IPRA.

“The destruction of the barricade will not stop us. It will only make us more determined to defend our forest and the future of the coming generations.”

Blockade participants led by Celso Paida

Indigenous Resistance Continues

Despite the dismantling, Indigenous resolve remains unbroken.

The struggle of the Pala’wan and civil society to protect Brooke’s Point’s pristine environment will continue — until mining operations retreat and ancestral domains are respected.

What you can do: To support this struggle, please sign and send this email letter to Hon. Cesareo Benedito Jr., Mayor of Brooke’s Point, including also the other electronic addresses in Cc.

/* Contenedor */ .palawan-actions { width: 100%; padding: 30px 20px; box-sizing: border-box; } .palawan-actions-desktop, .palawan-actions-mobile { align-items: center; justify-content: center; flex-wrap: wrap; gap: 14px; } /* Botones */ .palawan-actions .palawan-button { position: static !important; display: inline-flex !important; align-items: center; justify-content: center; float: none !important; width: auto !important; min-height: 48px; margin: 0 !important; padding: 12px 22px !important; background: #94164f !important; color: #ffffff !important; border: 2px solid #94164f !important; border-radius: 4px !important; font-family: inherit; font-size: 16px !important; font-weight: 700 !important; line-height: 1.2 !important; letter-spacing: 0 !important; text-align: center; text-decoration: none !important; white-space: nowrap; cursor: pointer; box-shadow: 0 3px 8px rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.14); transition: background-color 0.2s ease, color 0.2s ease, border-color 0.2s ease, transform 0.2s ease; } /* Evita el ícono y el desplazamiento automático de Divi */ .palawan-actions .palawan-button::before, .palawan-actions .palawan-button::after { display: none !important; content: none !important; } .palawan-actions .palawan-button:hover, .palawan-actions .palawan-button:focus { padding: 12px 22px !important; background: #ffffff !important; color: #94164f !important; border-color: #ffffff !important; transform: translateY(-2px); } .palawan-actions .palawan-button:focus-visible { outline: 3px solid rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.6); outline-offset: 3px; } /* Escritorio */ .palawan-actions-desktop { display: flex; } .palawan-actions-mobile { display: none; } /* Tablet y celular */ @media only screen and (max-width: 980px) { .palawan-actions { padding: 24px 20px; } .palawan-actions-desktop { display: none !important; } .palawan-actions-mobile { display: flex !important; } } /* Celular */ @media only screen and (max-width: 480px) { .palawan-actions-mobile { flex-direction: column; gap: 12px; } .palawan-actions .palawan-button { width: 100% !important; max-width: 280px; white-space: normal; } } Send with Gmail Send with Outlook Copy letter Open email app Copy letter function getPalawanActionSubject() { if (!window.palawanSelectedSubject) { const subjects = [ "Protect Brooke's Point and Palawan's Indigenous communities", "Stand with the Indigenous communities of Palawan", "Urgent action needed to protect Brooke's Point", "Defend Palawan's forests and Indigenous rights", "Stop mining expansion in Brooke's Point", "Protect Palawan's Last Ecological Frontier", "Respect Indigenous rights in Brooke's Point", "Appeal to protect Brooke's Point from mining" ]; window.palawanSelectedSubject = subjects[Math.floor(Math.random() * subjects.length)]; } return window.palawanSelectedSubject; } function getActionEmailData() { return { to: 'brookespointmayorsoffice@gmail.com', cc: [ 'mabuhay@palawan.gov.ph', 'tjsmatta@gmail.com', 'oed@pcsd.gov.ph', 'ohea@denr.gov.ph', 'region4b@ncip.gov.ph', 'jenmarcantonjos@gmail.com', 'ich@unesco.org', 'comite.liaison.ong@unesco.org' ].join(','), subject: getPalawanActionSubject(), body: `Dear Mayor Benedito, With each passing month, I continue to receive deeply troubling reports regarding the accelerating intrusion of mining operations within Palawan, a UNESCO Man and Biosphere Reserve. Along with many concerned individuals worldwide, I am particularly alarmed by developments in the Municipality of Brooke's Point, where the mining tenements of companies such as Ipilan Nickel Corporation (INC) and Calmia-MacroAsia overlap with the Mount Mantalingahan Protected Landscape (MMPL), an area of both national and international ecological significance. Allowing further degradation in these zones risks irreversible consequences for the island's sustainable future. Public records reveal that at least 218,854 trees have already been targeted under "Special Tree Cutting and EarthBalling Permits" for mining operations in Palawan. This number is staggering - not only because of the trees themselves, but because each permit threatens watersheds, biodiversity, soil stability and the entire ecological system that sustains life on the island. It is disheartening to learn of the Municipal Government's recent endorsement of the business permit renewal for Ipilan Nickel Corporation - an action that would authorize the cutting of approximately 32,000 trees in primary forest. I sincerely hope that this decision, supported by nine members of the Sangguniang Bayan, can still be reconsidered and ultimately reversed in the interest of long-term environmental stewardship. I am equally concerned about the situation in Sitio Linao, where the barricade erected by Indigenous residents to stop Calmia's heavy equipment was dismantled on 29 June. This community has safeguarded and sustainably managed its environment for generations, and their grievances merit urgent attention and meaningful action. They are not alone in facing the impacts of mining; the livelihoods of farmers and fisherfolk across Brooke's Point are already being undermined, as seen in the experience of barangay Maasin proper. This pattern of harm cannot be allowed to continue. I respectfully urge your office not to endorse a business permit to Calmia Nickel Inc. and to ensure that existing operations - particularly those of INC - are not permitted to expand, and ideally are halted altogether. While the recent provincial moratorium on new mining applications is a welcome step, it is discouraging to learn that several officials are circumventing it with increasing ease and impunity. Please be assured that the international network of civil society organizations is closely monitoring the situation in Palawan and remains committed to supporting efforts to protect what has long been recognized as the "Philippines' Last Ecological Frontier." As Mayor, you hold the authority and responsibility to ensure that Brooke's Point remains one of the greenest and most beautiful municipalities in Palawan. I earnestly hope that you will use your mandate to safeguard the forests that Indigenous peoples have protected for centuries, so that future generations may inherit a landscape that remains intact, vibrant, and life-sustaining. Respectfully, [Your Name]` }; } function openActionEmail(type) { const data = getActionEmailData(); if (type === 'gmail') { window.open( 'https://mail.google.com/mail/?view=cm&fs=1' + '&to=' + encodeURIComponent(data.to) + '&cc=' + encodeURIComponent(data.cc) + '&su=' + encodeURIComponent(data.subject) + '&body=' + encodeURIComponent(data.body), '_blank' ); } if (type === 'outlook') { window.open( 'https://outlook.office.com/mail/deeplink/compose?' + 'to=' + encodeURIComponent(data.to) + '&cc=' + encodeURIComponent(data.cc) + '&subject=' + encodeURIComponent(data.subject) + '&body=' + encodeURIComponent(data.body), '_blank' ); } if (type === 'mailto') { window.location.href = 'mailto:' + data.to + '?cc=' + encodeURIComponent(data.cc) + '&subject=' + encodeURIComponent(data.subject) + '&body=' + encodeURIComponent(data.body); } } function copyPalawanLetter(button) { const data = getActionEmailData(); const completeText = 'TO: brookespointmayorsoffice@gmail.com\n' + 'CC: mabuhay@palawan.gov.ph, tjsmatta@gmail.com, oed@pcsd.gov.ph, ohea@denr.gov.ph, region4b@ncip.gov.ph, jenmarcantonjos@gmail.com, ich@unesco.org, comite.liaison.ong@unesco.org\n\n' + data.body; const textArea = document.createElement('textarea'); textArea.value = completeText; textArea.setAttribute('readonly', ''); textArea.style.position = 'fixed'; textArea.style.top = '0'; textArea.style.left = '0'; textArea.style.width = '1px'; textArea.style.height = '1px'; textArea.style.padding = '0'; textArea.style.border = '0'; textArea.style.fontSize = '16px'; textArea.style.opacity = '0.01'; document.body.appendChild(textArea); textArea.focus(); textArea.select(); textArea.setSelectionRange(0, completeText.length); let copied = false; try { copied = document.execCommand('copy'); } catch (error) { copied = false; } document.body.removeChild(textArea); if (copied) { showCopyConfirmation(button); return; } /* Segundo intento para navegadores compatibles */ if (navigator.clipboard && window.isSecureContext) { navigator.clipboard.writeText(completeText) .then(function () { showCopyConfirmation(button); }) .catch(function () { showManualCopy(completeText); }); } else { showManualCopy(completeText); } } function showCopyConfirmation(button) { const originalText = button.textContent; button.textContent = 'Letter copied!'; setTimeout(function () { button.textContent = originalText; }, 2000); } function showManualCopy(text) { window.prompt( 'Press and hold the text, then select Copy:', text ); }

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The Audubon Society has seen tremendous success across the fifteen certified Bird Cities! All across the state, communities are promoting events, education, and sustainability efforts that are...

Last week, a major trunk line ruptured in Los Angeles, sending thousands of gallons of water rushing down the Sunset Strip and into surrounding neighborhoods. Later that same week, two additional pipe failures caused flooding in Venice. In total, five water main breaks were reported within a single week, raising serious concerns about the city’s aging water infrastructure. 

These incidents are the consequences of relying on outdated infrastructure that is more than a century old. In 2019, the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (LADWP) reported that roughly 29% of the city’s pipes were more than 80 years old, approaching their typical 100-year lifespan.

The latest failures also echo the 2014 rupture of a trunk line on Sunset Boulevard, which released millions of gallons of water onto the UCLA campus, flooding multiple buildings and causing millions of dollars in damage. In the aftermath, the Los Angeles Times found that nearly half of the city’s water pipes had received a condition grade of “C” or lower from officials.

It remains unclear how long repairs to the damaged trunk line in West Hollywood will take. Meanwhile, utility and state leaders continue to prioritize costly projects like the Delta Tunnel rather than addressing California’s urgent need to modernize its aging water infrastructure.

These ruptures are a reminder that California must rethink its approach to water resilience. Southern California should embrace the Water Renaissance Plan by investing in sustainable, local water supplies and practical infrastructure upgrades that strengthen reliability and help prevent future disasters, rather than relying on large-scale water diversion projects.

Read more about last week’s water line breaks:

• More water pipes burst in Venice, Hollywood as Sunset Strip repairs enter Day 4. The Los Angeles Times.
• West Hollywood rupture was L.A.’s worst in years: 17 million gallons spilled, Sunset Boulevard closed for days. The Los Angeles Times.
• ‘Significant progress’ made on ruptured Sunset Strip water main. The Los Angeles Times.
• West Hollywood faces long recovery from massive water main break: ‘It was like whitewater rapids’. The Los Angeles Times.   
• 2 separate water pipe issues flood neighborhoods in Venice, damage underground parking structures. ABC 7 Los Angeles.
• Three ruptured water pipes cause flooding in Venice neighborhoods. CBS Los Angeles.
• Street, homes flooded after water pipe ruptures in Venice. KTLA.
• Two Pipe Failures Flood Venice Days After West Hollywood Water Main Rupture. Westside Current.

Registered nurses at SSM Health Saint Louis University Hospital (SLUH) in St. Louis, Mo., will hold a rally on Wednesday, July 22, to protest SSM Health’s termination of two highly skilled and dedicated nurses for participating in protected, concerted union activities.

Ring-necked Pheasants (Phasianus colchicus) are one of the world’s most popular game birds, prized as a culinary delicacy and for their beautiful plumage. Although this species is not native to...

Education is a weak point for Ford and his government, and is a potential place where he can be defeated. That requires the unions to stay united and the for the existing public support for education workers to be organized.

The post Education workers can create political crisis for Doug Ford  first appeared on Spring.

As global warming fuels more extreme rainfall in Appalachia, new research finds a link between flooding and opioid deaths.

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As fertilizer prices rise and farmers face growing pressure from climate change, researchers in Kenya are looking to an unlikely allies—insects.

At the International Centre of Insect Physiology and Ecology, scientists are developing insect-based fertilizers and biopesticides that can improve soil health, reduce dependence on expensive imported agricultural inputs, and help farmers build more resilient agriculture systems.

“The residue that remains behind is an excellent source of organic fertilizer,” Dennis Beesigamukama, a postdoctoral fellow at icipe, tells Food Tank.

The process, he explains, begins with black soldier flies. Researchers feed the insects organic waste, which the larvae convert into protein that can be used in animal feed. What’s left behind is a nutrient-rich organic fertilizer known as frass.

According to icipe, insect-derived fertilizers contain three to nine times more nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium than many conventional organic fertilizers. And they have the potential to increase crop yields by as much as 27 percent compared with similar organic alternatives.

The organization is also developing biological alternatives to synthetic pesticides. Researchers have identified naturally occurring bacteria, fungi, and viruses that target insect pests without harming crops. Several of these biopesticides are already registered for use across Africa, with commercialization underway in Europe, North America, and Asia.

These inputs are designed to become part of integrated pest management systems, helping farmers reduce their dependence on agrochemicals and protect biodiversity.

Beesigamukama says the benefits extend far beyond pest management. Insect-based fertilizers improve soil water retention and support carbon sequestration, making them what he describes as “climate smart” inputs.

The need for alternatives is becoming increasingly urgent. According to the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization, the overuse and misuse of artificial fertilizers and pesticides contributes to soil degradation, water and air pollution, and human health problems.

At the same time, African farmers remain heavily dependent on imported fertilizers. The International Food Policy Research Institute estimates that roughly 80 percent of fertilizer used across the continent is imported, leaving producers vulnerable to supply chain disruptions and volatile global markets. The World Bank reports that fertilizer prices climbed sharply this year, reaching their highest levels since 2022.

“Insect-based fertilizers, produced from locally available organic waste, create a more resilient and self-sufficient system,” says Beesigamukama.

icipe believes insect-derived agricultural inputs can help farmers reduce costs while strengthening local production capacity. Because they rely on resources that are already available within communities, Beesigamukama says they are “one of the most decentralized and scalable technologies” available to support more resilient food systems across Africa.

For researchers at icipe, insects are more than just bugs. They can be practical tools for helping farmers improve soil health, reduce dependence on imported inputs, and build food systems that are better equipped to withstand economic and climate shocks.

And for farmers facing rising input costs and increasingly unpredictable growing conditions, these insect-based solutions could offer a locally produced, lower-cost alternative that strengthens both livelihoods and ecosystems.

Articles like the one you just read are made possible through the generosity of Food Tank members. Can we please count on you to be part of our growing movement? Become a member today by clicking here.

Photo courtesy of icipe

The post At a Kenya Research Center, Insects Are Helping Farmers Reduce Their Reliance on Synthetic Fertilizers and Pesticides appeared first on Food Tank.