New report shows key indicators of Earth’s health are ‘outside the safe operating space’ as climate disaster looms

Trucks carry wood from a deforested area in Para state, Brazil, during the Cop30 UN climate change conference in November 2025,. Photograph: Mauro Pimentel/AFP/Getty Images

Climate crisis

‘Planetary boundaries’ necessary for flourishing of life have been massively breached, scientists warn

Oliver Milman

Mon 21 Sep 2026

The planetary life support systems relied upon by humans have deteriorated to their worst levels ever recorded amid ongoing pollution and habitat destruction, according to a key yet grim annual update by scientists.

Of the nine “planetary boundaries” that help determine whether life can flourish on Earth, seven are being breached at their highest ever levels of transgression, according to the latest planetary health check, a process that was established in 2009.

The seven key indicators in the danger zone include climate change, change in biosphere integrity, land system change, freshwater change, modification of biogeochemical flows, introduction of novel entities and, for the first time last year, ocean acidification.... READ MORE   https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2026/sep/21/planetary-boundaries-breached-scientists-warn-climate-crisis

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"It’s worth remembering that no one actually asked for AI, and yet here it suddenly is trying to kill us. And even if that’s averted, it’s embedding itself in our workplaces and in our emotional lives (ChatGPT may be the largest provider of mental health services in the US), robbing us of the capacity for critical thinking, and threatening economic and social stability." Brigid Delaney

‘Flourishing is having a direct relationship with the natural world – not the world through a screen, or the natural world itself destroyed and degraded to create more capacity for screen-based existence.’ Photograph: Martyn Williams/Alamy

Opinion

 AI (artificial intelligence) 

We greet the news that AI could extinguish us with a glazed indifference. What is the way out of this nihilism?

There are several answers, and none of them will be provided by tech. One thing we must do is identify the ingredients for human flourishing

Brigid Delaney 

Sun 13 Sep 2026 

Imagining the future as almost entirely bleak has somehow crept into the collective consciousness this year.

Last week I was having coffee with an old friend. He was telling me about what his kids wanted to study when they went to university, when he suddenly broke off, stared into the middle distance and said, “I wish I’d never had children.”

He’d been a father for 20 years and I’d never heard him say that.

“Oh my god, why?”

He loves his kids beyond measure, but right at that moment, he looked desolate.

“AI,” he replied.

“What about it?”

It could have been anything AI-related at this point in time. Was it that AI was going to take all the jobs his kids would have done, rendering their lives impoverished and without purpose or meaning? Or was it environmental, with all the water and energy AI consumes that is going to create further stress on the climate and make the planet uninhabitable? Or was it the news that week that AI could “kill all humans” within the next 10 years?

It was the latter. We talked listlessly about the “killing all humans” thing for a bit, then moved on. But the shadow had fallen and I started wondering: is the polycrisis that we are facing so overwhelming that we don’t even have the capacity to talk about it with urgency any more? Instead it’s just there, in the air, ambient, like pollution, each particle containing its own particular doomsday scenario – and the only way to be in this atmosphere is to be numb to it.

Currently, for so many, all our past and future decisions are being refracted through this strange and dark moment.... READ MORE  https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2026/sep/14/we-greet-the-news-that-ai-could-extinguish-us-with-a-glazed-indifference-what-is-the-way-out-of-this-nihilism 

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Why protect nature with criminal law (#EcocideLaw)? Criminal law: 👼 Shapes moral boundaries 💰 Redirects financial flows 🤵 Creates personal accountability

Why protect nature with criminal law (#EcocideLaw)?

Stop Ecocide International

@EcocideLaw

 

Why protect nature with criminal law (#EcocideLaw)? Criminal law: 👼 Shapes moral boundaries 💰 Redirects financial flows 🤵 Creates personal accountability More🔗 https://stopecocide.earth/about

 

Ecocide - mass damage and destruction of nature

While most human interaction with the environment creates some level of impact, ecocide refers only to the very worst harms, usually on a major industrial scale or impacting a huge area.

Legal recognition of ecocide as a serious crime

Criminalisation of ecocide creates enforceable accountability for these key decision-makers, so that where there is a threat of severe and either widespread or long-term damage, the dangers will be better researched and taken very seriously. Appropriate safety protocols will be employed or alternative approaches developed in order to protect nature, climate and people, and in order to avoid criminal liability.

Scientific and on-the-ground knowledge

Detailed knowledge of risks to nature, climate and people in specific contexts is extensive, and readily available to decision-makers in policy and industry.

Route to justice for the severest environmental harms

Ecocide law provides a route to justice for the worst harms inflicted upon the living world in times of both peace and conflict, whenever and wherever they are committed.

For history of ecocide law and academic articles, see our sister site www.ecocidelaw.com

Some examples of large-scale destruction that ecocide law could address:

Destruction of endangered species or habitats

Mass Deforestation

Severe water and land contamination

Chemical disasters

---

International Criminal Court

While we wholeheartedly support ecocide legislation at national and regional levels, our work aims ultimately to support recognition of ecocide as a standalone crime in the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court. 

At present, the Statute lists four crimes: Genocide, Crimes Against Humanity, War Crimes and the Crime of Aggression. The Statute can be amended to include a fifth crime of Ecocide.

 https://www.stopecocide.earth/about

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"They shall beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks” (Is 2:4)... Vatican announces theme for 2026 World Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation - traditionally SEPTEMBER 1

 

Nature  (AFP or licensors)

Vatican

• Pope Leo XIV
• environment
• dicastery
• war
• world day

Vatican announces theme for 2026 World Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation

The Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development announces the theme chosen by Pope Leo XIV for the 2026 celebration of the World Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation, held on September 1, as "They shall beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks” (Is 2:4).

By Deborah Castellano Lubov

Pope Leo XIV has chosen “They shall beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks” (Is 2:4) as the theme for the 2026 edition of the World Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation, traditionally celebrated on September 1.

In the statement from the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development making the announcement, the Dicastery states that the Holy Father’s Message for the Day highlights the connection between armed conflict and environmental degradation. 

Such degradation, it underscored, constitutes both a serious violation of our duty to care for creation, as well as a long-term threat to the lives of hundreds of millions of people. 

Moreover, it said "the now widespread awareness of the impact of war on natural resources has not led to the creation of adequate institutions or to responsible decisions aimed at preventing conflicts and resolving disputes peacefully."  

Finally, the statement concluded that the title, the passage in which the Prophet Isaiah prophesies the transformation of weapons into agricultural tools, "is an explicit invitation to prioritize development and sustainability over violence and destruction."

Thank you for reading our article. You can keep up-to-date by subscribing to our daily newsletter. Just click here

https://www.vaticannews.va/en/vatican-city/news/2026-06/vatican-theme-2026-world-day-of-prayer-for-the-care-of-creation.html 

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Forbidden Plants of Palestine: Each tatreez [embroidery] motif documents a “Forbidden Plant of Palestine,” carrying a story of connection and resilience, offering a reminder of the enduring bond between the people and the land that nurtures them.

shereen.quttaine

Forbidden Plants of Palestine

For countless generations, Palestinians foraged and harvested the fruits of their land, from wild plants like tumble thistle (Akkoub), medicinal thyme (Za’atar), and wild sage (Meramieh) to cultivated staples like olives, oranges, and watermelons. Like all other facets of their lives, their autonomy over their own food is under occupation. In addition to confiscating farmlands and uprooting centuries-old fruit trees, the occupation imposes oppressive laws forbidding Palestinians from picking and growing the plants that comprise their culinary, medicinal, and cultural traditions. Despite this, Palestinians continue to find ways to resist.

Each tatreez motif documents a “Forbidden Plant of Palestine,” carrying a story of connection and resilience, offering a reminder of the enduring bond between the people and the land that nurtures them.

Palestinian women have long documented their stories and surroundings through embroidery, preserving history and identity in every stitch. Through creating my own motifs for the plants that Palestinians are restricted from accessing on their own land, I am continuing this tradition—using thread as a form of resistance. This project is my way of documenting apartheid, reclaiming narratives, and strengthening my connection to my roots and identity. Each tatreez motif is a testimony of endurance, belonging, and the fight to keep our heritage alive.

I created these motifs to be used for non-commercial purposes. The Palestinian cause is not for sale and should not be exploited for profit. If you wish to share or use these motifs, proper credit is required.

If you would like the pdf booklet for the designs dm me. 

Shereen Quttaineh

 #PalestinianTatreez #ThreadsOfResistance #ForbiddenPlantsOfPalestine#StitchingResistance
 

 https://www.instagram.com/p/DIzBSuTsqaq/ 

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