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Today, by a vote of 6-3, the U.S. Supreme Court struck down the long-standing federal limit on campaign spending coordination between political parties and candidates. This limit was passed by Congress in 1971 to guard against the corrupting effect of large campaign contributions flowing through party committees to candidates to circumvent federal limits on the amount of direct campaign contributions to candidates. The case is National Republican Senatorial Committee v. Federal Election Commission. Public Citizen filed an amicus brief in the case arguing in support of the law.

“This Supreme Court twisted the First Amendment to help billionaires and corporations buy our elections and bend our government to their will,” said Public Citizen Democracy Advocate Jon Golinger. “We have to combat this outcome by increasing transparency so voters know who’s paying for election ads, empowering small donors and public matching funds, and passing the Democracy For All Amendment to empower Congress, the states, and the voters to put in place reasonable protections to guard against campaign finance corruption.”

Data centers are large warehouse-like structures filled with digital electronics that process artificial intelligence (AI). They can encompass more than a million square feet. Today by one count there are 4,149 data centers in the US, with 2,788 more under construction or planned. LNS is currently preparing an informational guide about the impact of data centers on workers.

The companies planning data centers maintain they will benefit local communities and produce large numbers of much-needed jobs. Some unions have joined them. But according to a recent Gallop poll, seven in ten Americans oppose constructing data centers in their local area. Nearly half, 48%, are strongly opposed. Barely a quarter favor these projects, with only 7% strongly in favor. Community coalitions in hundreds of locations are organizing to oppose them. Just in the first quarter of 2026, the number of groups actively opposing data centers more than doubled to 833 across 49 states. They say they will corner local energy supplies and therefore raise electric rates; drain scarce water resources; pollute the environment; accelerate global warming; and create heat and noise pollution for miles around.

Patrick Schloesser, a software engineer at Amazon Web Services, recently testified in support of regulation of new data center construction in Seattle: “It’s been reported that this year, Amazon is spending $200 billion on capital, with most of it going to data centers and AI. Microsoft is spending $190 billion. Meanwhile, the leaders at my company have laid off 30,000 corporate employees in the last eight months.” (The Seattle City Council ultimately voted for a yearlong moratorium of local data center construction.)

Tech workers, joined by the American Federation of Teachers, the American Association of University Professors, and the Working Families Party, have just founded the Guardrail Alliance, a super PAC designed to “take on moneyed entities that oppose reining in A.I., while supporting legislation to safeguard the technology.”

The post Why All the Fuss about Data Centers? first appeared on Labor Network for Sustainability.

Image Source: “Renewable Energy Systems Engineering” by Getty Images Signature via Canva (Altered)

The Green Workers Alliance is an organization of 1,800 renewable energy workers across the country who are mobilizing to win more and better jobs in the sector. In early June GWA members joined allies from the United Ratepayers campaign to crash the Edison Electric Institute annual summit in Las Vegas, joining activists from across the nation to call for an end to rate hikes and increased use of renewable energy, the most affordable way to power our nation. As the CEO of Nevada Energy spoke, ratepayers demanded the utility cancel the daily demand charge, which is being imposed as Nevada residents face worsening struggles paying their utility bills. GWA says that expanding renewable energy means jobs for its members and affordable energy for hard-pressed utility customers.

Source: https://www.greenworkers.org/post/gwa-on-the-move-this-spring

The post Green Workers Alliance Crashes Edison Electric Institute Summit first appeared on Labor Network for Sustainability.

Image Source: The White House, Public Domain

In two new pieces in his Commentary on Solidarity and Survival series, LNS co-founder and senior strategic advisor Jeremy Brecher reviews Donald Trump’s war against fossil-free energy and examines to what extent it has succeeded.

Trump’s Anti-Greentech Counter-Revolution by Jeremy Brecher | Jun 1, 2026

From the day of his inauguration until long after the closing of the Straits of Hormuz, President Donald Trump and his fossil fuel supporters have conducted an unrelenting war against the Greentech revolution and fossil free energy.

Irresistible Greentech Revolution Meets Immovable Trump Counter-Revolution by Jeremy Brecher | Jun 15, 2026

As we saw in the previous commentary, Donald Trump is conducting a full spectrum counter-revolution against the Greentech revolution that is transforming energy production and consumption worldwide. This commentary shows that he has managed to significantly impede the onward march of Greentech in the US, but that Greentech is marching on nonetheless.

 

The post Has Trump Defeated the Greentech New Deal? first appeared on Labor Network for Sustainability.

Image source: “Piles Judicial Court Files” by AndreyPopov via Canva (Altered).

In March, 2023 the UN General Assembly asked the International Court of Justice, also known as the World Court, to rule on the obligation of nations to protect the climate under international law. In July 2025 the Court ruled that States have an obligation to protect the environment from greenhouse gas emissions. The Court also ruled that if States breach these obligations, they are legally responsible and may be legally required to stop the wrongful conduct, offer guarantees that it won’t happen again, and make full reparation, depending on the circumstances.

Now the General Assembly has passed a new resolution, affirming the Court’s ruling that States are obliged to protect the environment from greenhouse gas emission. There were 141 votes in favor, and 28 abstentions, with Belarus, Iran, Israel, Liberia, Russia, Saudi Arabia, the US, and Yemen voting against.

Source: https://news.un.org/en/story/2026/05/1167561

The post UN General Assembly Backs World Court: International Law Says Governments Legally Responsible to Protect the Climate first appeared on Labor Network for Sustainability.

Image Source: “Global Climate Strike 09-20-2019” by Markus Spiske via Canva (Altered).

In an advisory opinion issued May 21, the International Court of Justice ruled that the right to strike is protected under the International Labor Organization’s Convention No. 87 on Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organise, AFL-CIO President Liz Shuler said in a statement,

“At a moment when workers’ organizations face sustained attacks around the world, this opinion reaffirms that the freedom to withhold one’s labor is not a privilege granted by the powerful, but a fundamental human right grounded in international law.”

Check out “Labor Unions Celebrate World Court’s Ruling That Enshrines the Right to Strike” from Truthout for more information.

The post World Court Affirms: Workers Have a Right to Strike first appeared on Labor Network for Sustainability.

Today in Trump v. Barbara the U.S. Supreme Court upheld the Fourteenth Amendment’s guarantee of citizenship to everyone born in the United States.

Thomas Wolf, director of democracy initiatives at the Brennan Center for Justice at NYU Law, had the following reaction:

“Today’s ruling is the right one amid an avalanche of Supreme Court opinions undermining our democracy. The Court could not have defensibly ruled any differently. The Fourteenth Amendment guaranteed citizenship to everyone born here over 150 years ago. The Supreme Court affirmed that 20 years later in Wong Kim Ark. Meanwhile, the Court has been on an anti-democratic rampage.

“In just the past few weeks alone, the Court further undermined the Voting Rights Act, encouraged more aggressive partisan gerrymandering, dangerously expanded presidential power over federal agencies, and further depleted protections for immigrants. This ruling does not make up for all the damage the Court has done this term.”

In an important victory for all Americans, today the U.S. Supreme Court struck down a presidential executive order that would have changed the 14th Amendment’s process for U.S. citizenship.

But while today is a victory, attacks on communities of color continue to persist both with the president and in cases with this court.

“While we welcome the Court finally upholding a constitutional amendment ratified nearly two centuries ago, upholding the law is no cause for celebration, it is a requirement” Common Cause President & CEO Virginia Kase Solomón said. “Let today be a stark reminder that this court continues to systematically dismantle voting protections for Black and brown communities, tilting the scales of justice toward a dark era where a wealthy, privileged few dictate the rules for the rest of us. Today may be a brief victory for the rule of law, but our fight to protect our multiracial democracy continues.”

It’s not easy being green — especially when you’re a scientist in an environmental field. Sometimes we’ve been at it for so long we lose sight of the many sympathetic folks and resources that surround us.

But there’s much we can do to find local, national, and international colleagues, and more importantly help the public understand the importance of what we do every day.

 

 

Dear Dr. Green,

I’ve been active in the environmental movement ever since high school. I’m a microbiologist studying the ability of bacteria and fungi to break down pollution. I also partner with organizations like Mossy Earth to restore degraded land. I’m seeing a lot of burnout and pessimism in environmentalist circles, but I’m really optimistic about humanity’s odds to beat climate change, habitat destruction, and our other problems. The scientific discoveries I make show me that nature is resilient. I can’t seem to convince anyone, though. My question is: How do people find hope again? Sometimes it feels like I’m carrying a torch in the dark all by my lonesome.

T.F.

Hello T.F.,

First, thank you for your service and dedication to environmentalism. We need people with the optimistic, whole-hearted commitment to our natural world more than ever. Your  optimism is invigorating and your work sounds fascinating and fulfilling.

Loneliness seems to be part of the package, too, but you don’t have to feel alone. Like the discoveries you’ve made about nature’s resilience, you need to nurture your own resilience and gather other environmentalists around you in a vibrant collective.

Let’s look at how we can get you more grounded with others who share your values and work ethic and how you can inspire hope in the process.

Start with yourself, then friends and colleagues, and expand from there.

Do you like to write about your ecological science work in language accessible to the public? That might be a great way to contribute to local and regional newspapers’ editorial sections; or contact the editors of regional media and suggest an environmental section if there isn’t one already. Such pieces can get people involved in local issues that affect their health and wealth.

Look for local events like farmers’ markets and monthly town celebrations where you might try having an informational table or booth and meet and greet. It may cost you a bit, but you can set out a donation jar to offset costs and get friends involved to help. The World Wildlife Fund has a great guide on how to host an information booth.

Next, reach out to your circle of professional contacts, groups and colleagues — even if you haven’t talked to them in ages. I’m not a fan of Facebook, but it can be a handy place to seek out old comrades and colleagues in your field, as can other social media platforms or LinkedIn. You mentioned your work with Mossy Earth; did you make connections there? Reach out and find where they are gathering with other environmental scientists. What are some other environmental circles you have worked or participated in?

Consider becoming an educator and mentor for younger folks interested in the work you do.

Young people — and really, anyone at any age — love learning about cool stuff like using bacteria and fungi to destroy pollutants. Mentor school kids: They might want to follow in your footsteps. Look for some public presentation opportunities at your local library, community and youth centers, the YMCA/YWCA, Rotary and other clubs (Lions Club, Elks, Veterans), local outdoors clubs — like hiking, gardening, surfing, boating — churches, schools (especially science classes), and community colleges and universities. These places are always looking for guest speakers or experts.

Develop a PowerPoint projected slideshow, handouts, and other educational materials. Again, a little out-of-pocket cost for screens, projectors, and your time is cheaper than feeling lonely or despairing.

In giving these talks, you’ll meet people and have a chance to enlighten them. Remember to speak in layman’s terms: Explain any concept in simple easy-to-understand language and don’t get in the weeds with overly academic or scientific terms. Focus on the enthusiasm you have for what you do, and the audience will be enthusiastic too.

People can rediscover hope when you show them good news about new  developments in environmental science.

Shine a light for everyday people who are not scientists, but who are eco-curious. Communicate to them what you and your colleagues are doing to save the environment, such as with Mossy Earth and other organizations and teams. Your rich experience and optimism will get people engaged.

Scientific achievements mean little to the public unless people in the sciences, like us, get out there and talk about what we’re doing.

Let our readers know how it’s going and ask more questions about the dissemination of scientific work to the public. We want to know how you move forward with this!

See you next time!

Cheers, my friend

Dr. Green

What are you struggling with as a dedicated environmentalist and global citizen? Let us know by sending your questions and success stories in the text box below.

All participants are anonymous. Even Dr. Green has no idea who you are.

Send Dr. Green your questions and stories below:

All questions are considered intended for publication; published questions will be kept anonymous. Individual replies are not possible.

Disclaimer: This column is not a replacement for therapy, and the advice given is educational in nature, not a replacement for professional psychological or psychiatric therapy. This is a peer-driven support effort by The Revelator to inform and build community with environmental and wildlife defenders.

If you are feeling critically depressed and suicidal, it’s time to immediately find professional help. Go to your closest emergency room or call the following numbers to get immediate help in your area:

SUICIDE HOTLINES

Worldwide: http://www.befrienders.org/support/

United Kingdom: http://www.samaritans.org

USA: http://www.suicidepreventionlifeline.org

1-800-273-TALK

Resources:

“Feeling Hopeless About the Climate? Try Our 30-Day Action Plan” (The Revelator)

“Yes, Your Friends and Neighbors Want to Talk to You About Climate Change” (The Revelator)

WWF: “How to Host a Booth or Table at a Community Event”

The Nature Conservancy: “Ways to Get Involved”

Mossy Earth: A Team Restoring Nature & Fighting Climate Change

American Scientist: “12 Tips for Scientists Writing for the General Public” by Katie L. Burke

Saving Us: A Climate Scientist’s Case for Hope and Healing in a Divided World by Katharine Hayhoe

What If We Get It Right? Visions of Climate Futures by Ayana Elizabeth Johnson

The post Dr. Green: An Environmentalist Scientist Asks About Finding Connections and Inspiring Hope appeared first on The Revelator.

Today, the Supreme Court ruled for the Republican Party and JD Vance in National Republican Senatorial Committee v. Federal Election Commission, reversing previous decisions and removing one of the last restrictions preventing wealthy donors from funneling huge sums to their preferred candidates through political parties. The decision strikes down limits on "coordinated expenditures" and opens the door to even more billionaire influence in American elections.

Stand Up America’s Managing Director of Policy and Political Affairs, Brett Edkins, issued the following statement on today’s decision:

“The right-wing supermajority on the Supreme Court thinks Citizens United didn’t go far enough. Today they gave their blessing for billionaires to buy even more influence over the politicians who represent us.

“Americans deserve a Supreme Court that upholds our fundamental freedoms–not one that consistently sides with billionaire donors and diminishes the power of everyday citizens in our democracy. Congress should rein in this rogue Court once Trump leaves office by enacting major reforms, including term limits, an enforceable code of ethics, and expanding the Court with justices who will defend our democracy and our fundamental freedoms.”

Since 2021, Stand Up America has been on the front lines of the fight for Supreme Court reform, mobilizing its members to take nearly one million actions in support of Supreme Court term limits, expansion, and a binding code of ethics.

SALT LAKE CITY — Today, the National Audubon Society released the Great Salt Lake Birds and Habitat Assessment—a science-based analysis that integrates habitat, hydrology and climate modeling...

Eric Mackres is senior manager of urban analytics for the WRI Ross Center for Sustainable Cities and attended London Climate Action Week during the June 2026 heatwave. Usama Bilal is an associate professor of epidemiology and co-director of the Urban Health Collaborative at Drexel University.

As thousands gathered in London for one of the year’s largest climate gatherings last week, Western Europe faced its most severe heatwave ever recorded. The irony was not lost.

Across Europe, over a dozen countries issued urgent heat warnings and the World Health Organization recorded over 1,300 excess deaths. In London, where air conditioning is rare in buildings and on trains and buses, temperatures soared past 36 degrees Celsius (97F) and schools closed early. The mayor announced the city’s first heat action plan – an important step.

Extreme heat is now a public health crisis for many of the world’s cities, as the urban heat island effect intensifies dangerous temperatures – and it’s growing worse. Around 500,000 people die from extreme heat every year. As global temperatures rise, and with a severe El Niño getting underway, even more people will die and be hospitalised unless cities act soon.

But most cities are still taking a far too one-sized-fits-all approach to tackling heat, looking only at temperatures and not its local effects on people and their health.

People experience heat differently

How extreme heat affects people’s health can vary widely across a country and city, depending on their environment and demographics. Cities can save far more lives and prevent more hospitalisations by taking a tailored approach, using data to understand who’s most vulnerable and directing solutions toward them.

The good news: better data now exists that enable cities to pinpoint who’s most at risk. And that data can inform customised adaptation strategies to save lives. Indeed, the future of cities will hinge on their ability to deliver solutions to extreme heat tailored to at-risk people and neighborhoods.

Comment: Climate adaptation in Africa needs investment, not imported solutions

First, cities should start by measuring heat’s risks to people’s health locally. Our work in Brazil and across Latin America shows big differences in what temperatures are dangerous and how quickly risks escalate at higher temperatures. These variations exist between cities, between demographic groups and between neighbourhoods.

But it’s not as simple as finding the hottest places. In temperate Porto Alegre, in southern Brazil, a person’s risk of death increases by 25% at temperatures of 27 degrees Celsius (81F). In tropical Teresina, in northern Brazil, which is hot year-round, the same temperature does not elevate the risk of death. At 32 degrees Celsius (90F), a person’s risk of death increases by a milder 10%.

These differences also exist within cities where the climate is the same. Elderly people, the very young, lower-income communities and those without air-conditioning and shaded green spaces are all more likely to get sick, be hospitalised, or die from heat. Areas with more trees and green spaces usually have lower temperatures, and therefore lower impacts of heat.

Targeted heat alerts

Second, cities can use this data to develop early warning systems and outreach campaigns that give people more targeted heat alerts. Research in the UK found that the elderly, despite being among the most at-risk, often were unable to heed warnings during the 2022 heatwave. Well-designed heat warning systems and city responses strengthen people’s trust in health services. They can change people’s behaviours and better prepare municipal services, helping reduce illness, hospital visits and deaths.

Rio de Janeiro adopted a heat alert system in 2024 with five alert levels based on past heatwaves’ impacts on health and forecasts of when temperature and humidity will hit those dangerous levels again. The alert levels activate services like cooling centres, extra public drinking water, and changes to outdoor events. When a heatwave struck during Carnival in 2025, the city was able to deploy resources to protect and warn people while still allowing events to go on.

WHO issues new guidance on heat-health action plans, as El Niño sets in

Finally, cities should use local heat data to target cooling solutions to where they can help people the most. Solutions like tree cover, shade structures and cool roofs lower temperatures and can provide targeted relief for the most vulnerable people, like outdoor workers and those who travel by foot, bike or public transit.

In Florianópolis, Brazil, we helped the local government use heat impact modeling to design a green corridor and urban forestry project that will reduce pedestrians’ heat stress up to 7 degrees C. In Hermosillo, Mexico, our researchers worked with the city and found that certain neighbourhoods could feel up to 14 degrees C hotter than the shaded city center. A park is now under construction that will bring better shade and heat relief to one of the city’s most at-risk areas.

A modular street shade structure on display during an event at New York Climate Action Week on Governors Island, NYC in September 2025. (Photo: Megan Rowling) A modular street shade structure on display during an event at New York Climate Action Week on Governors Island, NYC in September 2025. (Photo: Megan Rowling) Connecting health and climate planning

Momentum to address extreme heat in cities is growing, from both national and local governments. At last year’s UN climate summit in Brazil, the Belém Health Action Plan saw 30 national health ministries commit to build climate-resilient health systems based on local data and evidence-based policies.

And over 160 local governments joined the Beat the Heat initiative, committing to develop urban heat action plans and deliver passive cooling projects to reduce health risks.

But there’s still a disconnect between health, urban and climate officials. Only 23% of World Meteorological Organization member countries integrate weather information into health surveillance systems. Heat-health impact models, though increasingly easy to scale, are not yet built for every city. Some cities still need to collect local data for specific demographics and neighbourhoods – and many need support.

National and local governments will need to partner on this tailored approach. It will require integrating local heat and health data into public health systems, city planning, infrastructure, and disaster preparedness.

We have the data to know who will be most impacted by extreme heat when – and the solutions to keep people alive and out of the hospital. It’s time for governments to use them.

The post With extreme heat now a public health crisis, local data can save lives appeared first on Climate Home News.

• June 30, 2026

(Op-Ed) Ska Fela Moya: Don’t Give Up, Just Breathe The Fumes

When a corporation wraps itself in the language of human endurance while polluting the air that athletes breathe, we should name it for what it is. A lost opportunity.

Gerda Steyn crossed the Comrades Marathon finishing line in Pietermaritzburg in 5 hours 44 minutes and 53 seconds, her fifth (and fourth consecutively), setting a new Up Run course record. It was, by any measure, one of the great performances in the history of the race.

Gerda is a Global Team Toyota Athlete. Toyota announced that partnership at last year’s Comrades and it returned with her to the 2026 race.

Two diesel-powered Toyota Hilux vehicles led her to the finish line.

I have spent more than 25 years working at the intersection of energy, environment and community rights in South Africa. In that time, I have seen many examples of corporations saying one thing and doing another. It is particularly disappointing that Toyota seems to have regressed by only providing fossil fuel-powered vehicles at Comrades 2026. This deserves to be examined clearly.

The Language Of Values, The Reality Of Diesel
Before the race, Toyota South Africa issued a release describing its 22-year Comrades partnership as an expression of values ‘deeply aligned with the Toyota brand,’ including ‘human endurance and determination.’ It provided 14 Hilux bakkies, three Quantum mini-buses, two Urban Cruisers and two Starlet Cross models to support the event.

Not one of those vehicles is electric. Toyota produces the BZ4X electric SUV and, through Lexus, the RZ 450e. Neither appears in the Comrades fleet. The official lead vehicles for the route from Durban to Pietermaritzburg were two diesel Hilux models, burning diesel directly in front of runners for hours on end.

When the language of human spirit is used to sell a brand while exhaust emissions from that brand’s products harm the environment and the health of the people it claims to celebrate, that is a contradiction dressed in marketing.

What The Science Tells Us About Diesel And Human Health
I am a scientist by training. I rely on evidence. There have been a number of published peer reviewed articles that show that breathing in diesel fumes is not good for your health.

Diesel particles cause inflammation in the body. A controlled chamber study by Xu et al., published in Particle and Fibre Toxicology, found that healthy volunteers exposed to diesel exhaust for three hours showed measurable drops in lung function, airway irritation, and elevated inflammatory markers in the blood.

A 2021 peer-reviewed study in PeerJ by Zoladz and Nieckarz found that elite marathon runners ventilate at over 110 litres of air per minute during a race, absorbing substantially more particulate matter than a person at rest. The researchers called for ‘clean air marathon runs’ as a public health measure. A 2024 Brown University study in Sports Medicine quantified the performance effect: higher race-day air pollution could mean slower finish times.

“It’s a missed opportunity. Leading the Comrades Marathon in an electric vehicle would have promoted the brand, the safety of electric vehicles, and the lack of harm. It is slightly incongruous that you are leading a marathon with a diesel engine,” said Professor Richard van Zyl-Smit, professor of pulmonology at the University of Cape Town and Groote Schuur Hospital. “Diesel particles are known to cause inflammation in the body. They are associated with cardiovascular disease and the development of asthma.”

Van Zyl-Smit is right. And there is a further dimension to this that goes beyond the elite runners at the front of the field.

The runners who spend twelve hours on the Comrades route are not professional athletes with medical teams and optimal conditions. They are ordinary South Africans, many from communities that already bear a disproportionate burden of air pollution from industry, traffic and energy poverty.

Every runner on that road was already breathing elevated levels of traffic pollution on a public highway for up to twelve hours, with lungs working at many times their resting capacity.

Instead of seizing the opportunity to promote the future and highlight how electric vehicles can showcase a future driven by clean transport, Toyota disappointingly chose to supply a fossil fuel fleet as the official, branded, celebrated centrepiece of a race-day environment that in my view should have focused on clean air.

The Athlete In The Exhaust
The Gerda Steyn detail sharpens this further. Toyota announced her as a Global Team Toyota Athlete in 2025. She returned to Comrades in that capacity and won, emphatically, smashing her own Up Run record by nearly five minutes and becoming only the second woman in history to claim five Comrades titles.
South Africa and Toyota will celebrate that, as it should. But Steyn, ventilating at elite pace for nearly six hours, was absorbing airborne particulate matter every step along the road.

Why not lead with a fully-electric vehicle?

The Technology Exists. So Why Not Showcase It?
In 2025, Toyota led the Comrades elite races with a Corolla Cross Hybrid. In 2026, it was replaced by a diesel Hilux, a vehicle that burns more fuel, not less. The Toyota BZ4X has a range of over 400 km on a single charge. The Comrades route is 86 km. Other major marathons have already made the shift: the 2025 Berlin Marathon was led by an all-electric BMW iX3, and the London Marathon is supported by an all-electric Ford fleet.

There are various electric vehicle initiatives underway in South Africa. For example, for logistics and people-mover duties, peer-reviewed research by Professor Thinus Booysen and Joshua Sello of Stellenbosch University (conducted in partnership with GoMetro) has demonstrated that electric minibus taxis are operationally viable in South African conditions.

Toyota has previously shown a willingness to supply even rare, commercially unavailable vehicles when it suits the brand. In October 2023, it brought a hydrogen-powered Mirai to the Smarter Mobility Africa Summit in Gauteng for a proof-of-concept demonstration, with the Gauteng Premier in the passenger seat. The Mirai is not for sale in South Africa. Toyota went to the effort regardless. The will to deploy experimental technology for brand purposes exists. Why not seize the opportunity to deploy existing, locally available electric vehicle technology that showcases the future in front of 21 000 runners and a much larger television audience?

The CMA Must Account For Its Choices Too
Toyota does not operate at Comrades without the agreement of the Comrades Marathon Association. Sponsorship contracts are negotiated. The CMA has the standing to require that its official vehicle partner supply electric vehicles and also engage a zero-emissions logistics provider. Neither condition was apparently set.

The CMA’s theme for 2026 is “Ska Fela Moya.” “Don’t give up.” Those words carry weight for everyone who has kept moving through the pain of the last 20 kilometres. But clean air is not a luxury for marathon runners. It is the medium through which they perform. Toyota and the CMA missed the opportunity to deploy electric vehicles and demonstrate that the future of transport is clean, consistent with their celebration of human endurance and determination.

The 100th Comrades Is Eleven Months Away
We live in climate-constrained world, and a move to electric vehicles is an important part of our just energy transition package. South Africa’s Just Energy Transition (JET) aims to decarbonize the economy while protecting vulnerable workers and communities, and its Electric Vehicles White Paper predicts that 75% of total new vehicle sales by 2035 will be electric vehicles. There appears to be an amazing opportunity to showcase South Africa as a country which is moving away from polluting fossil fuels, and that Toyota is committed to leading this charge.

The 2027 Comrades Marathon will be the 100th edition of the race. It will draw global attention and carry symbolic weight that goes well beyond a single sporting event. It is an opportunity to demonstrate what South African sport, and Toyota, stand for over the next 100 years.

A fully electric lead vehicle and fleet at the centenary Comrades would be a genuine expression of the values of sustainability and endurance that lie behind ensuring another 100 years of long-distance running. Corporate environmental responsibility is not measured in mission statements. It is measured in decisions that make a difference in the real world: in this case, what you burn and what you do not burn, and whose air you choose to protect and whose you choose to compromise.

Let us ensure that the 100-year celebration of The Comrades Marathon is a celebration of human endurance and determination to move towards electric-driven mobility.

Liziwe McDaid is Strategic Lead at The Green Connection and co-recipient of the 2018 Goldman Environmental Prize for Africa.

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The post (Op-Ed) Ska Fela Moya: Don’t Give Up, Just Breathe The Fumes appeared first on The Green Connection.

As governments gathered at the Our Ocean Conference in Kenya’s coastal city of Mombasa this month, pledging over $6 billion for marine protection, sustainable fisheries and offshore wind, one issue remained largely absent from the main stage: the continued expansion of offshore oil and gas.

From Norway, Brazil and Guyana to South Africa, Angola and Kenya, countries are pushing ahead with offshore oil and gas projects even as they promise to protect marine ecosystems and tackle the climate change that is heating the ocean, raising sea levels and damaging coastal livelihoods. 

Governments argue that offshore oil and gas production is needed for energy security, public revenues and economic growth, but environmental groups say new drilling risks locking countries into decades of fossil fuel production just as they are promising to build a sustainable blue economy. 

Inia Seruiratu, Fijian parliamentarian and the Pacific COP31 Envoy for the Ocean, said the contradiction is becoming harder to ignore. 

“For too long, two conversations – climate mitigation and ocean protection – have run on separate tracks, in separate rooms, with separate experts,” Seruiratu told delegates at a side event during the Mombasa conference held on the shores on the Indian Ocean. 

• Jun 19, 2026 Oceans Mombasa ocean summit drives progress on marine protection, but threats persist At the 11th Our Ocean conference in Kenya, its founder John Kerry says the ocean must become central to climate solutions and needs to be looked after Read more
• Jun 18, 2026 News West African nations target Eastern Atlantic for early high seas protection At the 11th Our Ocean Conference, African governments launched a bid to have the zone classified as one of the first high-seas protected areas Read more
• Jun 5, 2026 Nature Offshore oil and gas expansion threatens key marine ecosystems, report warns Sea life in countries like Kenya is under threat from planned new oil and gas production, analysis by environmental groups has found Read more

“We talk about emissions reductions in one hall, and coral bleaching in the other, as if they were unrelated phenomena rather than cause and effect. As we commit to new marine protected areas, new ocean financing and fisheries action, we cannot continue to treat the symptoms while funding the disease,” he added. 

In Mombasa, only one side event out of the dozens of panels was dedicated to the threats posed by the expansion of offshore oil and gas. That event was organised by civil society rather than governments.

Kenyan officials led by deputy president Kithure Kindiki, alongside John Kerry, founder of the Our Ocean conference. (Photo: Kenya State Department for Blue Economy and Fisheries) Kenyan officials led by deputy president Kithure Kindiki, alongside John Kerry, founder of the Our Ocean conference. (Photo: Kenya State Department for Blue Economy and Fisheries) New wave of offshore projects

One-third of the world’s global production of oil and gas comes from offshore projects. They harm oceans in part through the greenhouse gas emissions generated by the fuels they produce, with climate change already driving record sea temperatures, coral bleaching and sea-level rise. 

Offshore exploration and production also affect marine life through seismic surveys, underwater noise, vessel traffic and the risk of oil spills, threatening sensitive habitats such as coral reefs, mangroves and seagrass meadows that support fisheries, biodiversity and coastal protection. 

Now, as onshore reserves mature, a new wave of offshore oil and gas development is advancing across the world. 

Offshore oil and gas expansion threatens key marine ecosystems, report warns

A May report by Earth Insight found that 85% of all hydrocarbon discoveries made in 2024 were offshore, with new projects advancing from Norway and Brazil to Guyana, Namibia and East Africa. 

In Africa, countries such as Namibia, Tanzania and Kenya say exploiting fossil fuel resources could help finance development, support economic growth and lift millions out of poverty, particularly at a time when many face high debt levels and limited access to climate finance. 

Kenya’s conundrum

The debate was on display at the Mombasa conference, where host Kenya announced it was joining the Global Offshore Wind Alliance (GOWA), while also defending plans to explore for oil and gas in the Lamu Basin, a biodiverse coastal region. 

“The energy transition is a journey. It is not a one-stop shop,” Alex Wachira, principal secretary for Kenya’s Department of Energy, told Climate Home News. “Therefore, we must explore the transition and bring on as many options as possible while exploiting the resources we have. At some point, the entire sector will transition to 100% renewable,” he added. 

Wachira said Kenya’s low contribution to global emissions and its continued development needs justify pursuing offshore oil and gas alongside renewables, adding that the country still has “the industrial revolution” to achieve.

“Kenya needs to have a piece of the pie … our emissions today are the least, but we have suffered the most,” said Wachira. 

How Shell is still benefiting from offloaded Niger Delta oil assets

The East African nation is seen as a world leader in renewable energy, with about 90% of its electricity generated from geothermal, hydropower, wind and solar. 

Omar Elmawi, a Kenyan climate activist and member of the Fossil Free Ocean Initiative, said Kenya should focus on expanding renewable energy, adding that new fossil fuel projects could result in financial losses as countries move to cut planet-heating emissions and shift to cleaner energy. 

“We know we cannot have a future dependent on fossil fuels. The rest of the world is talking about how to move beyond them,” Elmawi told Climate Home News. 

“If we invest heavily in fossil fuels within our oceans, we’ll end up with stranded assets and a huge debt that taxpayers will have to pay,” he added. 

A side event on fossil-fuel-free oceans at the Our Ocean conference in Mombasa. (Photo: Kenya State Department for Blue Economy and Fisheries) A side event on fossil-fuel-free oceans at the Our Ocean conference in Mombasa. (Photo: Kenya State Department for Blue Economy and Fisheries) Offshore wind as a solution

Many environmental groups argue that offshore wind is a promising alternative, as it can deliver similar economic benefits from energy production without worsening climate change. 

A study unveiled at the Mombasa conference by Zero Carbon Analytics, Ocean Conservancy and GOWA found that Africa’s offshore wind potential is vast, yet largely untapped. 

The continent could install around 6,750 gigawatts of offshore wind capacity – roughly 28 times its current power generation capacity. 

Developing just 5% of that potential could create an estimated 5.9 million jobs and generate more than $1 trillion in economic benefits, while producing enough electricity to meet all projected growth in power demand through 2040, the study found. 

Campaigners say this could strengthen energy security, reduce dependence on imported fossil fuels and help build new industries around ports, manufacturing and maritime services. 

According to a 2025 World Bank report, every $1 million invested in offshore wind creates around 25 jobs – five times more than fossil fuels. 

Robust marine protection needed

Bruna Campos, senior campaigner for the Climate and Energy Program at the Center for International Environmental Law (CIEL), said offshore wind offers a cleaner alternative to offshore oil and gas, but warned that poorly planned projects can also cause harm. 

She called for robust marine spatial planning, environmental assessments and early community involvement to ensure the industry does not repeat mistakes associated with fossil fuel development. 

“You need to understand what are the impacts that offshore wind will have on sensitive ecosystems and communities,” Campos told Climate Home News. 

West African nations target Eastern Atlantic for early high seas protection

A 2024 UN study found that offshore wind farms can disturb whales, seals, porpoises and migratory fish, particularly during construction, when underwater noise and seabed disruption are greatest. At the same time, turbine foundations can act as artificial reefs, creating habitat for some species and boosting local fish populations. 

Pacific COP31 Envoy for the Ocean Seruiratu said that while investing in renewables is crucial, it is also important to keep pushing for fossil fuels to be phased out. 

He said his own country, Fiji, is among a growing block of nations calling for “a binding international mechanism for an orderly and equitable phase-out of fossil fuels”. 

“Every offshore drilling decision, every new exploration site, every delayed phase-out is a decision made against the common good,” he added. 

The post Ocean summit stays silent on new wave of offshore oil and gas expansion appeared first on Climate Home News.

Headline News:

• “Trump Killed Climate.gov Last Summer. Scientists Have Just Brought It Back” • Last summer, Trump shuttered climate.gov, NOAA’s portal on climate science. Now a team of roughly eighty volunteer scientists and former NOAA staffers has resurrected climate.gov as the nonprofit climate.us, crowdfunded with over $321,000 in donations. [Gizmodo]

Atmospheric river (NOAA, public domain)

• “Power From Here: Most Of Humanity Already Lives Where Solar And Wind Are Strongest” • Most of the world is already rich in the two energy sources we need to decarbonize fast: sun and wind. The global shift to renewables is not constrained by resource scarcity, but by whether planning and investment move fast enough. [CleanTechnica]
• “Europe’s Record Heatwave Is Shifting East” • Europe is still going through its most severe heatwave on record, with all-time highs shattered by temperatures across the continent. The death toll is more than 1,300. Now the heat is shifting east towards the Balkans and Ukraine, and Ukraine’s war-damaged power grid is bracing for the heat’s next phase. [Euronews]
• “Solar Power: From Intermittent To Reliable Power” • Global solar demand is growing dramatically. China is by far the largest investor in solar PV generation and the largest producer of solar panels. In contrast to many other markets, solar truly is a global growth industry, now representing over 40% of the investment in global power generation. [McKinsey & Company]
• “Duke Energy Latest Company to Accept Trump’s Dirty ‘Deal’ to Scrap Offshore Wind” • Duke Energy accepted $129 million in taxpayer money to end an offshore wind lease. The company is the latest to accept such an offer from the Interior Department. California and northeastern states are suing the US government over such agreements. [CleanTechnica]

For more news, please visit geoharvey – Daily News about Energy and Climate Change.

Berdasarkan informasi yang beredar, ROYALGACOR memperkenalkan diri sebagai platform hiburan daring yang menyediakan berbagai kategori permainan, mulai dari permainan bergaya slot hingga layanan lain yang berkaitan dengan taruhan digital. Dalam materi yang dipublikasikan, platform tersebut mencantumkan sejumlah fitur seperti permainan kasino, sportsbook, layanan pelanggan, serta sistem transaksi bagi pengguna.

Namun, keberadaan sebuah platform daring tidak hanya dapat dinilai dari daftar fitur yang ditampilkan. Faktor lain seperti transparansi pengelola, keamanan data, legalitas operasional, serta rekam jejak layanan menjadi bagian penting yang perlu diperiksa oleh masyarakat.

Pemeriksaan Informasi Menjadi Langkah Utama

Dalam perkembangan industri layanan daring, tampilan profesional dan banyaknya fitur belum selalu menjadi indikator utama tingkat kepercayaan sebuah platform. Beberapa layanan berbasis internet dapat menggunakan strategi pemasaran yang menonjolkan kemudahan akses maupun berbagai fasilitas, tetapi pengguna tetap perlu melakukan verifikasi secara mandiri.

Salah satu pemeriksa situs pihak ketiga, ScamAdviser, memberikan catatan berbeda terhadap beberapa domain yang menggunakan nama serupa ROYALGACOR. Salah satu domain mendapatkan peringatan terkait sejumlah faktor seperti identitas pemilik yang tidak terlihat, usia domain, serta indikator yang dianggap perlu diperhatikan sebelum digunakan.

Temuan tersebut tidak secara otomatis membuktikan suatu layanan bermasalah, tetapi menjadi pengingat bahwa pemeriksaan keamanan tetap diperlukan, terutama ketika pengguna diminta memberikan data pribadi atau melakukan transaksi keuangan.

Keamanan Data dan Transaksi Jadi Perhatian

Salah satu aspek yang sering menjadi sorotan dalam platform daring adalah perlindungan informasi pengguna. Data seperti identitas akun, metode pembayaran, hingga riwayat aktivitas merupakan informasi yang memiliki nilai penting.

Pengguna disarankan memahami bagaimana sebuah platform mengelola data, apakah memiliki kebijakan privasi yang jelas, serta bagaimana mekanisme perlindungan yang diterapkan. Selain itu, penggunaan kata sandi yang kuat dan kewaspadaan terhadap tautan tidak resmi juga menjadi langkah dasar dalam menjaga keamanan akun.

Memahami Klaim dan Realitas di Lapangan

ROYALGACOR menampilkan berbagai klaim mengenai pengalaman bermain, variasi permainan, hingga layanan yang tersedia bagi pengguna. Namun, klaim promosi perlu dibedakan dengan informasi yang dapat diverifikasi secara independen.

Dalam praktiknya, setiap layanan berbasis permainan berisiko memiliki tantangan tersendiri, termasuk risiko kerugian finansial, ketergantungan penggunaan, maupun penyalahgunaan data apabila keamanan tidak diperhatikan.

Karena itu, pemahaman terhadap mekanisme layanan, aturan penggunaan, serta batasan pribadi menjadi bagian penting sebelum seseorang memutuskan menggunakan sebuah platform.

Kesimpulan

ROYALGACOR menjadi salah satu nama yang menarik perhatian dalam pembahasan mengenai platform permainan daring. Informasi mengenai fitur dan layanan memang tersedia, tetapi pengguna tetap perlu melakukan pemeriksaan lebih lanjut terkait keamanan, kredibilitas, dan transparansi sebelum mengambil keputusan.

Di tengah perkembangan layanan berbasis internet yang semakin luas, sikap kritis dan kemampuan memilah informasi menjadi faktor utama agar pengguna dapat memahami sebuah platform secara lebih menyeluruh, bukan hanya berdasarkan tampilan atau klaim yang ditawarkan.

Austerity and neoliberalism have pushed workers across Bolivia into an indefinite general strike, with miners, teachers, and transport workers, alongside social movement groups (primarily Indigenous),...

The post “Rifle, machine gun, the people will not be silenced”: General strike and protests in Bolivia first appeared on Spring.

Milk comes out slowly. Nipples hurt after each pumping session. Many parents blame the pump, but the real problem sits in a small plastic piece. Wrong flange size cuts milk output by half and damages tender skin. A lactation specialist measures and fixes this hidden issue quickly. Calling a lactation specialist Dubai changes pumping from painful to productive in one visit.

Why size matters:

Fit determines success. If the tunnel diameter is too large, too much tissue pulls inside. This causes friction and swelling. If the diameter is too small, the nipple rubs against the sides, causing pain and blocking flow. Correct alignment allows the tissue to move freely without dragging. Proper dimensions provide comfort and protect sensitive skin from unnecessary trauma during daily use.

Signs of incorrect fit:

Watch for clear physical signals. Redness or skin irritation indicates poor sizing. Pain or burning sensations during the session point toward a bad match. If the nipple looks blanched or white after pumping, the flange is likely too tight. Conversely, if too much areola enters the tunnel, the opening is far too wide. These visual cues tell a story about comfort levels.

How to measure accurately:

Measuring requires patience. Wait until the end of a session when the tissue is most supple. Use a simple tool to measure the base diameter of the nipple. Avoid including the surrounding areola in the calculation. Add a few millimeters for movement to find the ideal diameter. Most manufacturers provide guides to help determine the starting point based on these specific measurements.

The impact on output:

Efficient emptying relies on proper suction mechanics. When the fit matches the anatomy, the cycle mimics a natural nursing rhythm. This stimulates milk production effectively. Poorly fitted parts restrict the ducts, reducing volume. Achieving the right seal helps the device work exactly as intended. Better fit leads to shorter sessions and improved overall yield without the frustration of constant adjustments or skin distress.

Adjusting as needs change:

Bodies shift throughout the journey. Tissue size fluctuates due to hormone levels and hydration. What worked during the early weeks might not suit the situation three months later. Periodically re-evaluating the fit remains wise. Small changes in size requirements are normal. Updating the equipment to match current physical needs keeps the process comfortable and productive throughout the entire duration of feeding.

Governments are holding “critical” talks this week on a global treaty to curb plastic pollution, as some countries and activists warn that key issues – including measures to rein in soaring plastic production – are being sidelined.

Diplomats are meeting in person in Nairobi for the first time since negotiations were suspended in chaos nearly a year ago, stymied by a long-running deadlock that pits petrostates against more ambitious nations over the reach of the UN pact.

Because nearly all plastic is made from planet-heating oil, gas and coal, the sector’s trajectory will have a major influence on global efforts to cut greenhouse gas emissions.

The four-day informal gathering, which begins on Tuesday, has been billed by the chair of the talks, Chilean ambassador Julio Cordano, as a “brainstorming” session in which countries are invited to put forward possible solutions to some of the treaty negotiations’ most divisive elements.

Cordano is expected to distill those views in a new document intended to serve as the basis for a new draft text of the future treaty, which governments would take up at the next official round of negotiations, scheduled for March 13-24, 2027.

Two earlier rounds, each billed as the final one, ended without agreement, derailed largely by a standoff over how the treaty should address plastic production, which the UN says is set to triple by 2060 without intervention.

Production curbs in the spotlight

Large fossil fuel and petrochemical producers, led by Saudi Arabia, the United States, Russia and India, have repeatedly argued that the treaty should focus only on managing plastic waste. A US State Department spokesperson told Climate Home News that Washington supports “practical, cost-effective solutions” to plastic pollution, while opposing “global plastic bans”.

A majority of countries – including most European, Latin American, African and Pacific island nations -want to limit the manufacturing of plastic to “sustainable levels”, but have not pushed for any wide-ranging ban. 

• Jun 22, 2026 Comment China’s coal-chemicals boom risks repeating the mistakes of the past By reviving the problematic industry in the name of energy security, China runs the risk of higher emissions, stranded assets and setting back its ambitions as a clean energy leader Read more
• Mar 18, 2026 News Roadmap launched to restart deadlocked UN plastics treaty talks The chair of the negotiations proposes informal meetings through 2026 to bridge deep divisions among countries, following the collapse of talks in Geneva last year Read more

Ahead of what it described as “critical” talks in Nairobi, the French government said last week it had already shown flexibility and “significantly scaled back” its initial ambitions. But a French official told a meeting of EU environment ministers that without an explicit reference to the “unsustainable nature” of plastic production, the treaty would be “fundamentally unbalanced, ineffective and, worse still, could set us on the wrong path for decades to come”.

In a separate written communication, the French government lamented that informal meetings held in recent months have given “disproportionate visibility to the positions of the least ambitious states”, fuelling a “risk that partial agreements may be reached only on the issues with the broadest consensus”.

Dennis Clare, a negotiator for the Pacific island nation of Micronesia, told Climate Home News that “if we fail to address any key elements”, including overproduction, the impacts of the plastic crisis on the climate, human health and ecosystems will only grow more severe. 

Fears over “political calculations”

Despite such concerns, plastics production is not mentioned in the wide-ranging list of topics Cordano has drafted for the meeting – an omission that has alarmed observers.

Christina Dixon, a campaigner at the Environmental Investigation Agency (EIA), said there appeared to be an attempt to write off this crucial element of the treaty as “too complicated and politically unviable”.

David Azoulay, environmental health programme director at the Center for International Environmental Law (CIEL), said the meeting’s proposed structure was “highly concerning”. He accused the chair of “making political calculations in favour of potential short-term wins” and aiming to deliver a treaty “based on the lowest common denominator”.

UN asks AI companies to reveal full environmental impacts

Speaking to journalists last week, Cordano pushed back, insisting that “no topic is off the table” and inviting countries to bring whatever proposals they judged necessary for a successful outcome.

He added that the treaty could not be allowed to settle for just any level of ambition, and that he would not be happy with an outcome at all costs.

“This is what makes it so difficult and complex,” said Cordano, who was elected in February after his predecessor’s resignation. Countries “are trying to be creative” in finding solutions, he explained, because “the road to the objective of our work might not be so obvious”.

The post UN plastics pact talks restart amid fears production curbs will be left out appeared first on Climate Home News.

Tomás Ayala leaps off the side of a small dinghy and into the dark swell of water. His arms slice through the waves like a cutlass as he dives deep into the bay off the southeastern coast of the Puerto Rican island of Culebra. Armed with a spear gun, Ayala swims even deeper as he scans the perimeter of the reef for his target. It doesn’t take long. Mere seconds later, a cloud of blood darkens the water around a large hogfish — proof enough that he found his mark. He snatches up his catch and makes for the surface. 

Back safely on his boat, Ayala drops the reef fish into a cooler, guns the motor, and heads for shore. It’s late Wednesday afternoon in mid-May. Ayala has been out since before dawn. The 50-year-old hails from a family of fishers — he started free diving for reef fish, laying lobster traps, and catching octopus when he was just eight years old, following in the footsteps of his brother and grandfather. Before long, he arrives at his destination — a concrete dock leading to a villa pesquera, a “fishing village” or “fish landing center,” a site with key infrastructure for Culebra’s community of traditional fisherfolk. Inside are cleaning stations, freezers, a saltwater tank for storing lobsters, a mélange of other equipment, and a bustling market. 

The villa pesquera provides the equipment dozens of local fishers need to sustain their work, and also a space to convene: Every week, the association that co-manages the space comes together for updates and to share their challenges and successes.

Ayala is greeted by Nicolás Gómez Andújar, a marine scientist whose dad is a local fisher, and they prepare the space for their next gathering. The members will discuss the federal permits they’re hoping to get for a native oyster farm, the effort to clear droves of abandoned fishing gear from Culebra’s seabed, and anything else someone may want to bring to the group. While they talk, they’ll eat a seafood mofongo, a popular shrimp-and-plantain dish.

Ayala and Pedro Gómez drive a boat off the coast of the island-municipality of Culebra. Nelson Vega Oliveras / 9 Millones

For decades, Culebra’s villa pesquera lay dormant, an abandoned facility shut down by the Puerto Rican government in 2002 because of political infighting, loss of government funding, and conflict between local fishers. In 2021, when Ayala and Gómez Andújar decided they wanted to resurrect it, dozens of their friends, neighbors, and local businesses donated time and labor to restore the dilapidated structure. It took roughly four years of organizing, fundraising, and securing permits for it all to come together. 

Last October, they formally reopened the fish market to much fanfare. Hundreds of people, on an island home to less than 2,000, showed up to help celebrate. They ate, laughed, and danced together. “We created what we dreamed of,” said Ayala. 

Hidden behind their success, however, lies a story of entrenched government divides and a growing need to rehaul how fishers are represented across the Puerto Rican government. The very survival of small-scale fishing and its unsung role in Puerto Rico’s food system depends on it — especially in the face of climate change, as rising temperatures make it harder and harder to fish for a living.

Ayala fishes for sardines following small-scale and artisanal practices. Nelson Vega Oliveras/9 Millones

In the early to mid-1960s, amid a push to modernize commercial fishing boats and docking facilities, the Puerto Rican government formally established villas pesqueras, turning informal fishing spots into regulated, communal spaces. In 1979, Corporación para el Desarrollo y Administración de los Recursos Marinos, Lacustres, y Fluviales, or CODREMAR, the centralized agency tasked with handling all research, education, and conservation efforts related to commercial fishing, was born.

By the early ‘80s, the government began promoting the implementation of “fisher associations,” or organized local groups tasked with controlling their own seafood sales — partly to break up emerging seafood monopolies — and co-managing the villas pesqueras alongside municipalities. What happened next is not well documented. Research by University of Puerto Rico at Mayagüez social anthropologist Manuel Valdés-Pizzini has found fishers still struggled to keep control of the landing centers because of political infighting and dwindling institutional support — the same dynamics that ultimately led to the closure of Culebra’s fishing village.

“There is a lot of politics in this,” said Valdés-Pizzini. “The landing center is just one piece of infrastructure in the whole fishery, culture, and society.”

In 1990, CODREMAR was dissolved after the Puerto Rican government deemed its oversight of the fishing sector inefficient, leaving its core responsibilities to be divvied up between two agencies — Puerto Rico’s Department of Agriculture and Department of Natural and Environmental Resources. Nowadays, experts and fishers alike say the governance of the industry in Puerto Rico is little more than a patchwork, piecemeal approach splintered across just about every layer of government. Villas pesqueras are typically co-managed by local fishing associations, independent fishers or businesses, municipalities, and the Department of Agriculture. Some of the equipment inside, such as storage lockers, is overseen by the Department of Agriculture, and fishers’ licenses, boat ramps, and other permitting approvals are largely regulated by the Department of Natural and Environmental Resources. 

The list of government stakeholders and regulators also includes the Puerto Rican Department of Economic Development and Commerce, the Army Corps of Engineers, the U.S. Coast Guard, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the Caribbean Fishery Management Council, the Puerto Rico State Historic Preservation Office, and the Puerto Rico Planning Board, among others. For the fishers who are trying to adapt to global warming, such as those in Culebra, the red tape just gets in the way.

A forthcoming analysis by The Nature Conservancy Puerto Rico, previewed exclusively by Grist and 9 Millones, found that the burdens of this existing regulatory process as it relates to marine aquaculture “can be disproportionately high for small-scale producers.” Permits and authorizations are not only notoriously unwieldy for small fishers, but can also cost hundreds to thousands of dollars, according to the report. For some, as in the case of traditional shellfish farmers, the upfront and operating costs can be far more than what their peers in other parts of the U.S. pay.

Puerto Rico’s fishing sector also differs from the rest of the U.S. in that it’s primarily made up of small-scale, artisanal fishers rather than industrial-scale operations. Fisheries account for a marginal slice of the archipelago’s economy. Commercial fishing falls within Puerto Rico’s agriculture, forestry, and fishing sector, which accounted for just 0.69 percent of Puerto Rico’s gross domestic product in 2024. Yet in the most vulnerable island communities, where food is almost exclusively imported, poverty rates are more than double the national U.S. average, and resources are scarce, the expansion of local fishing could serve as the cornerstone of long-term food security and sovereignty. 

A recent report found that just 12 villas pesqueras contribute more than $3 million every year to Puerto Rico’s economy. And that contribution is poised to grow, as more fishers advocate for a streamlined permitting system, better industry and cultural valuations for small-scale operators, and a centralized regulatory landscape overseen by one government office. Without those changes, they face an uncertain future. 

“Fishers are embedded in this complex web with the Department of Agriculture and Department of Natural and Environmental Resources. These different governmental institutions, they don’t seem to be talking to each other. There’s a disconnection,” said Luis Alexis Rodríguez Cruz, a food systems researcher and science communicator who works with the Caribbean Agroecology Institute on fisheries. “In Spanish we say, ‘Entre la espada y la pared’ — between the sword and the wall. It’s like, you want to do something, because this agency is requiring you to do [it], often this other agency is not requiring it, or somewhat counters it.”

An aerial view of the fishing village in Ceiba, Puerto Rico, which includes an area for processing the catch of the day and a fish market. Nelson Vega Oliveras/9 Millones

Even as distrust between fishers and the government deepens, the effects of climate change are pushing fishers toward that very system for relief. 

Rising seas driven by a warming planet have continued to encroach upon shorelines, wetlands, and coastal infrastructure throughout Puerto Rico. Erosion has been identified in more than a third of Puerto Rico’s beaches. The situation is so dire that in 2023, the Puerto Rican government declared a state of emergency over the issue, a move that included earmarking $105 million in federal funds to implement nearly two dozen measures to minimize the effects. Late last month, Puerto Rico’s Governor Jenniffer González-Colón declared yet another state of emergency over coastal erosion. On May 27, days before the start of the Atlantic hurricane season, González-Colón signed an executive order that described the “critical condition” of erosion as only having “accelerated” because of rising sea levels, storm surges, atmospheric phenomena, and the landscape vulnerability of several Puerto Rican coastal communities. 

Since 1901, the average ocean temperature around Puerto Rico has increased by nearly 2 degrees Fahrenheit. This has scrambled the region’s marine biodiversity — killing off coral reefs and seagrass, shifting which species are more abundant, and affecting the quality of the catch. But the surging frequency of intensified hurricanes hitting the Caribbean remains the biggest climate stressor for Puerto Rico’s fishing sector. 

In 2017, Hurricane Maria slammed into Puerto Rico as a Category 5 storm, devastating the archipelago and plunging parts of it into close to a year without power. The hurricane was also devastating for small fisheries, which lost an estimated $17.8 million in damaged gear, boats, and shoreside infrastructure, including villas pesqueras. Following the storm, the Puerto Rican government set out to rebuild and reconstruct the fishing hubs with funding from the Federal Emergency Management Agency and NOAA, but quickly ran into issues. Aid was repeatedly delayed. Some fisherfolk didn’t receive any federal support for years and were forced to operate in makeshift markets. Others rebuilt, bit by bit, on their own dime. 

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Although no official record of how many structures were lost to the storm currently exists, a 2026 survey by the nonprofit Conservación ConCiencia found that 41 villas pesqueras are actively selling seafood, down from approximately 63 in the ‘80s, and the conditions of those facilities vary widely. The number of total active villages is unknown to the Puerto Rican government. The Department of Natural and Environmental Resources told Grist in an email that the agency currently has 1,646 “bonafide and licensed fishermen on record.” However, there tends to be discrepancies between the number of fishers licensed and those that show up in government data captured by multiple agencies.  

In the small beach town of Ceiba, which hugs the eastern tip of Puerto Rico’s mainland, Beverly Román Figueroa and her partner Ernesto Correa Torres have been fighting battle after battle with local authorities over their villa pesquera — battles that began when Maria hit. 

After the storm severely damaged Ceiba’s fishing hub, Román Figueroa says they were told by the mayor that the municipality had been allocated a little over $124,000 of Federal Emergency Management Agency aid to pay for the repairs. But when she and Correa Torres would visit the site — even as late as 2023, after a lengthy contract dispute over the villa pesquera’s management — they found little evidence that any work had been done. Photos and videos taken in March of 2023 show destroyed pipes and waterlogged floors and walls — a largely unusable space. 

“What they handed me was a neglected property,” said Correa Torres in Spanish. “This isn’t mine; this belongs to the people of Puerto Rico and to the fishermen.”

In Puerto Rico, fishing is a trade passed down through generations. Nelson Vega Oliveras / 9 Millones

For months, their requests for repairs went unanswered by local and federal officials. (The Department of Agriculture sent representatives at one point to conduct an on-site inspection, Román Figueroa says, but the visit resulted in “no real action.”) Tired of waiting and needing to generate income, the duo invested more than $60,000 of their own money into fixing up the villa pesquera. They even collaborated with Conservación ConCiencia and Hispanic Federation to get solar panels installed on the fish market for cleaner, cheaper power. 

Three years later, the structure and its facilities — storage lockers, the boat ramp, and the floating dock — are always accessible to local fishers. Its new restaurant, Pescaderia y Restaurante ANSI, is open four days a week. Román Figueroa whips up piping hot meals like sancocho de tiburón, a traditional stew made from the shark that Correa Torres hauls in from the sea. He is president of ANSI, the company made up of local fishers who manage the villa; she, the secretary and resident cook. Their children also help out — their daughter works in the market, and their son is also a fisher. 

“It was a disaster … but little by little, we got it back up and running,” said Román Figueroa in Spanish. The government, she says, had no part in that. “Despite everything we have done at the villa, we have worked alone.”

A sign reads, “Warning, ramp for exclusive use by commercial fishers” in Ceiba, Puerto Rico. Nelson Vega Oliveras/9 Millones

Ariam Torres Cordero, an environmental planner and assistant professor at the University of Puerto Rico at Río Piedras, has visited at least 15 of the archipelago’s villas pesqueras in the last two years to begin mapping the current state of the fishing industry. Together with Valdés-Pizzini, he is setting out to change the fact that the government has no official account of the current conditions of the fishing hubs in Puerto Rico. “You can see, already, the deterioration, even despite the fact that they were reconstructed less than eight years ago. You can already see the impacts of coastal erosion,” said Torres Cordero. 

Puerto Rico’s governance of the sector has made fishers more vulnerable to these threats — not less. This is most apparent in the bungled rebuilding of the dozens of villas pesqueras destroyed by Maria. Fisher communities across the archipelago still report being unable to access federal aid to repair storm-ravaged facilities and equipment. 

An audit published in January 2025 by the Office of the Inspector General at the U.S. Department of Commerce found that Puerto Rico’s government had distributed only around 7 percent of the $11.4 million in disaster assistance funds earmarked for fisheries since April 2020 and had completed just 4 of 17 designated restoration projects. 

Puerto Rico Secretary of the Department of Natural and Environmental Resources Waldemar Quiles Pérez did not address Grist and 9 Millones’ requests for clarification on the severe delays revealed in the audit or provide updates on the agency’s aid disbursement. “All of the fishing spaces around the Island are either privately owned or are administer[ed] by the Department of Agriculture,” Quiles Pérez said in a written statement. 

Puerto Rico’s Department of Agriculture did not respond to multiple requests for comment. 

Not only was the allocation of the aid itself riddled with delays and discrepancies, Torres Cordero pointed out, but what little money the federal government distributed for post-disaster rebuilding of villas pesqueras wasn’t used to rebuild in a way that accounts for the effects of climate change on fishing infrastructure. That much is obvious in how many of the facilities are already falling apart. By building back the structures just as they were designed decades ago, “we’re bound for another situation where we’re going to end up with most of this infrastructure being basically destroyed,” said Torres Cordero. “It’s not sustainable just to keep rebuilding the same.” 

With this in mind, he is trying to figure out how to minimize the risk of future storm and erosion damage while still allowing the fishing facilities to remain near the sea. The answer, he believes, lies in reimagining parts of the villa pesquera design itself to be both more durable and, where it makes the most sense, even mobile. 

Torres Cordero himself is recruiting the help of architecture, landscape, and social work students to come up with a new blueprint for a more “climate-proof” structure. “We need to decide, ‘What things do we need permanently placed in a location? And then what things should be mobile?’ And then design around that,” he said. 

A villa pesquera isn’t a simple building, however. The freezers and areas where fish are cleaned and prepared, for example, often require heavy equipment that would be too complex to move ahead of a storm. On the other hand, a fish market or dock could be designed to be mobile. (The Puerto Rican government, for its part, did try to do some version of this following Hurricane Maria by installing temporary floating docks in a handful of locations, which Torres Cordero says have proven not to be very durable or functional.) 

The pilot project is focused on the island of Vieques, another of Puerto Rico’s smaller island municipalities home to many traditional fishers. The work is in its infancy  — it only started coming together last summer – and Torres Cordero hasn’t yet secured the funding and capacity needed to move it forward. Several outside factors have also contributed to grounding the project before it’s really begun. In September, the fishers they were just beginning to collaborate with in Vieques were suddenly faced with the deployment of U.S. troops to the island, which the military considered a strategic position in its tensions with Venezuela. Vieques still bears the lasting environmental toll of decades of bombing by the U.S. Navy, which used much of the island for military practice. That included the navy’s regular disposal of unknown contaminants in the waters surrounding Vieques, polluting its fishing stock and marine ecosystems. Then, in April, students at the University of Puerto Rico at Río Piedras went on strike, calling for the resignation of the university president, Zayira Jordán Conde, over her controversial decisions having to do with widespread research and staffing cuts.

“All of that fell apart,” said Torres Cordero. “Right now, we are playing the waiting game.” 

As the ocean temperature rises, fishers are forced to go to deeper waters. Nelson Vega Oliveras/9 Millones

The fishers in Culebra are as ready as they can be for the next calamitous storm. That’s thanks to the more than two dozen solar panels lining the villa pesquera’s roof, the hurricane-proof windows found throughout the blue-and-white building, and a rainwater harvesting system ensuring a backup water supply. These are small but mighty ways fisherfolk there have already sought to better fortify themselves against the many climate-borne stressors assailing their sector. In doing so, they’ve also bolstered their island community’s defenses against food insecurity when the next hurricane or flood tears through Puerto Rico. 

Following Maria, Puerto Rico’s fishers mobilized to feed their neighbors. In Culebra, Ayala remembers how, after the hurricane left the island without electricity for half a year, the local seafood supply chain collapsed entirely. To meet the need, as fishers struggled with damaged gear and lack of power, and the community waited on external food aid that just didn’t come, Ayala organized an informal system. He collected fish from other fishermen, set up a makeshift area to clean the catch, and knocked on doors to sell directly to people. The grassroots effort underscored the need for a more resilient system, catalyzing the formation of the fishing association and restoration of their home base — the villa pesquera. 

Even though fishing only makes up a marginal slice of Puerto Rico’s economy, it’s clear that Culebra is better for the work that Ayala and Gómez Andújar are doing. For a community where about a quarter of residents live below the poverty line, a primary indicator of food insecurity, building a robust local supply chain and bolstering their resilience against environmental degradation isn’t merely an aspiration, but a survival strategy. So in 2020, Gómez Andújar and local environmental scientist Megan Considine set out to create another pillar of that vision — the only permitted oyster farm in Puerto Rico. 

“Climate change is, of course, this unpredictable threat. And it’s chronic, and it’s there,” Gómez Andújar said. “To a certain extent, we need to flow with it. We need to adapt. We need to mitigate.” 

Culebra fishers are prepared for an incoming storm and regular power outages in part by the more than two dozen solar panels installed on the roof of the villa pesquera.
Nelson Vega Oliveras / 9 Millones

Though the oyster farm is currently grant-funded, with only research permits, local fishers like Ayala view farming native shellfish as a way to spark future generations’ interest in careers in fishing and diversify the seafood supply chain operating out of Culebra’s villa pesquera. But in order to keep it running through the next few years, they’ll need to commercialize the farm. Everything was moving in the right direction — until late last month. 

Much of their farm’s federal compliance suddenly hinged on an Army Corps of Engineers permit at risk of expiring. Rather than chance violations, they made the difficult decision to, at least temporarily, shut down roughly half of their operations while awaiting that clearance. “It’s demoralizing,” said Gómez Andújar. “The main message, really, is we’re doing the best we can to do everything right, and it’s still very, very, very hard.” 

After their yearslong effort to restore Culebra’s fishing village, Gómez Andújar and Ayala are buried under layers of bureaucracy, yet again. The road ahead looks much like the road behind. 

“We show people how to live from the ocean, how to grow food from the ocean,” says Ayala. Fishing represents so much more to Ayala than just a job — it’s the foundation of Puerto Rico’s food-sovereign, climate-resilient future. “And the government is the biggest barrier.”

Filmmaker Nelson Vega Oliveras contributed reporting. 9 Millones’ Laura M. Quintero contributed editing.

This story was originally published by Grist with the headline For Puerto Rico’s fishers, climate change isn’t the only challenge — being left to adapt alone is another on Jun 30, 2026.