Environment & Climate

On Wednesday last week, the nonprofit Natural Resources Defense Council revealed that pig herds in the United States receive almost as many antibiotics as people in this country do. That’s bad news, especially since most of the pigs receiving antibiotics aren’t sick, but instead are getting the drugs to prevent infections in intensive farming. Those drugs don’t keep the US pig herd healthy—major diseases have increased year over year since 2000—and all those antibiotics are increasing the amount of drug-resistant bacteria that arise on pig farms and that are routinely found on meat.

ll winter long we wait impatiently for the weather to get warmer so we can resume regular outdoor activities. Winter ends and we’re delighted, pulling out our BBQs, splash pads, and outdoor running shoes—until we remember what the warm weather also brings… Mosquitoes.

Generally, mosquito activity will begin when the temperature reaches the 50° F level. The mere mentioning of the nasty insect brings back an onslaught of memories from last summer: itchy welts, allergic reactions, bug spray, and itch creams. They’re a great way to ruin summer, by why do they tend to bite some people

Are straws the new plastic bags?

They’re the latest single-use plastic item getting increased attention as an unnecessary (for most people) tool that too often ends up clogging waterways, seas, and beaches.

MEXICO CITY—"Clau-dia! Clau-dia! Clau-dia!" The crowd swarms around the smiling woman, chanting her name as she makes her way from her car to the stage at a recent campaign rally in a ramshackle neighborhood of cinder block buildings. Voters jostle to clasp her hands, look in her eyes, and tell her about their troubles.

The enthusiasm still astonishes Claudia Sheinbaum Pardo. "It's like I'm an actress, or someone actually famous!" she says. Until 3 years ago, she worked quietly as an environmental engineer at the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM) here.