"Plastics are a “grave” danger to humans and the planet, responsible for an estimated $1.5 trillion annually in health-related costs, and nations need to center human health as they finalize the global plastics treaty, scientists said in a new report released Monday."

"The United States and Mexico have signed an agreement outlining specific steps and a new timetable to clean up the longstanding problem of the Tijuana River pouring sewage across the border and polluting California beaches, officials from both countries announced Thursday."

"The saguaro cactus is the iconic plant of the Arizona borderlands, and in June and early July, its thorn-covered small fruit ripens. For members of the Tohono O’odham Nation, whose ancestors have lived in this hot desert for thousands of years, harvest time for the “bahidaj” is sacred."

"A planned fish farm off Florida’s Gulf Coast has received an environmental permit allowing operators to discharge nutrient-laden water from what could be the first commercial-scale saltwater aquaculture operation in the Gulf of Mexico."

"Multiple efforts are underway to stop a parasitic fly from swarming Texas and the rest of the U.S. and wreaking havoc on the nation’s multi-billion-dollar cattle industry."

"A boom in avocado production in Mexico has led to illegal deforestation and an influx of drug cartels dominating the lucrative trade. But Indigenous communities have fought back against the gangs and turned to traditional practices to grow avocados and save their forests."

"A factory processing US hazardous waste in Mexico has promised to relocate what authorities call its “most polluting” operations following a Guardian investigation."