In recent years, thrifting—buying secondhand clothing, furniture, and goods—has shifted from fringe to mainstream behavior in the US and worldwide.

A 2025 Nature study by researchers at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology explores the scope of plastics. It finds over 4,200 “chemicals of concern” that could be toxic to the aquatic environment or human health out of 16,325 unique chemicals that are present in plastics.

Wetlands, such as swamps, marshes, and bogs, are essential habitats for fish and wildlife, supply nutrient-rich materials to support the food web, and store carbon from the atmosphere. However, wetlands are shrinking, according to the Global Wetland Outlook 2025.

Global seafood consumption has risen to 162 million tons in 2021—nearly six times the 28 million tons in 1961—according to the UN Food and Agriculture Organization’s (FAO’s) latest report in 2024. With a per capita consumption of 20.6 kg (about 45.4 lbs.) per year, this trend raises concern over overfishing.

Natural disasters—including the recent flooding in Texas in early July—are of pressing concern, given the possibility of increased frequency and damage from climate change. Climate Central, a policy-neutral nonprofit that researches “our changing climate and how it affects people’s lives,” released data on billion-dollar natural disasters in the US from 1980 to 2024.