Caroline Cox

Caroline Cox is a retired pesticide scientist. She was a staff scientist at the Northwest Coalition for Alternatives to Pesticides from 1990 to 2006 and a research director and senior scientist at the Center for Environmental Health from 2006 to 2020. She is a contributor to the Observatory.

October 20, 2026

Defence/Geopolitics

China’s Suspected Underwater Drone Motherships Signal Expanding Naval Ambitions

China appears to be developing a second unusually configured vessel that could serve as a mothership for large underwater drones, adding to evidence of a potential effort to extend the country’s uncrewed

Culture/Human Rights

Falling Crucifix Kills Ecuadorian Priest During Livestreamed Mass

Ecuadorian Catholic priest Patricio Alfredo Sánchez Molinari was killed when a heavy crucifix and a statue of Jesus Christ fell from the wall behind the altar during a livestreamed Mass at the Church of Perpetual Relief in Guayaquil. The incident

October 19, 2026

‘I Apologise to the Maha Sangha’: Sirisena Admits Error in Gnanasara Pardon

Judiciary/Sri Lanka

Former Sri Lankan president Maithripala Sirisena has acknowledged a procedural error in the granting of a presidential pardon to Galagoda Aththe Gnanasara Thero, saying

Sri Lanka’s Buddhist Legacy Is Bigger Than Its Borders

Culture/Editor's Choice

Former president Ranil Wickremesinghe has called for stronger cooperation among Theravada Buddhist nations, declaring Anuradhapura a sacred centre for Buddhists across Asia. Highlighting centuries

Do Organic Farms Use Pesticides? How Organic and Conventional Farming Differ

June 12, 2026

Sri Lanka Guardian Essays

Many consumers assume that food labeled organic is grown without pesticides. The reality is more nuanced. Organic farmers can and do use pesticides, but the types of pesticides they use, the circumstances

The Carbon Soil Opportunity: Organic Farming Helps Counter Climate Change

December 3, 2024

Agriculture

Climate change is no longer an abstraction. I can literally see it at my front door. My figs ripened in October 2024, which has never happened before as it was never warm