A paradigm shift is necessary to understand the ocean’s role in the Anthropocene. Rather than viewing the ocean through terra-centric frameworks as biased as, for example, the Eurocentric views of former “Orientalist” scholarship, it urges us to “think through water.” Doing so requires us to vertically explore Earth’s different spatial layers, from subsoil to outer space, that artificial islands gave access to. A paradigm shift also requires a focus on people who sought realistic, sustainable solutions when marine regions were profoundly reshaped. It demands an analysis of the Ages of Coal and Oil in view of oceanic energy transitions and their impacts. The coevolution between humans and other species also must be reexamined regarding the extension of the human habitat, marine biomass concentrations, and invasive species translocations. Exploring the clashes between various environmentalist and developmentalist “schools” of thought is essential, as is understanding the spatial competition among users of marine regions. Finally, the terrestrial mindset must be shed, ranging from climate adaptation thought to geo-ontological views of global production centers and peripheries.

This chapter examines what is considered a fact in individual communications processed by the Human Rights Committee (HRC), recognized as the UN’s most authoritative human rights monitoring body. Despite its significance, little is known about the HRC’s handling of individual complaints against states that have signed the optional protocol. Through the case studies of Sanila-Aikio v. Finland (2018) and Näkkäläjärvi et al. v. Finland (2018), which address the inclusion of new voters on the Sámi Parliament’s electoral roll, the chapter scrutinizes the Committee’s evidentiary practices. Notably, the Finnish Supreme Administrative Court added ninety-three persons to the Sámi Parliament’s electoral roll, while an unreferenced study suggested over half a million could be eligible. The Committee included this study without verifying its reliability. The chapter explores how evidence is translated and distanced from Committee members, questioning how material veracity is determined. It concludes by reflecting on how the HRC’s evidentiary regime shapes and supports certain narratives while marginalizing others.

Representing the macro-level and historical context associated with the social ecologies of physically diverse individuals, our chapter is strategic. It uses theory to analyze and interrogate the underacknowledged dialectic produced both to the human sources of discrimination as well as those who are victims or prey to its impact. The latter is evident either as patterned interpersonal traditions among individuals or as lifecourse, impactful, organized stress-imposing systems. Using the theoretical framework of phenomenological variant of ecological systems theory (PVEST), our chapter interrogates the historical underpinnings and persistence of ethnic and racial discrimination and discusses implications for potential supportive remedies. This dual conceptual concentration (i.e., phenomenology and ecology) acknowledges perception and context while taking into account cognitive, socioemotional, and biological human processes. Central to this analysis are the enduring intergenerational manifestations, as underanalyzed multisystems, that contribute to the persistence of ethnic and racial discrimination.

This chapter introduces an oceanic-vertical perspective on Asia’s Anthropocene, focusing downward from offshore oil platforms to oil fields beneath the seabed. It emphasizes the overlooked role of marine regions in Asia’s contribution to global carbon emissions. It highlights how Asian political elites, particularly after decolonization, played a central role in developing offshore oil fields, synchronizing terrestrial and oceanic energy transitions by the mid-twentieth century. Unlike land-based infrastructures constrained by colonial legacies, marine regions offered greater autonomy, allowing Asian political elites to assert judicial control. The chapter spans from the 1880s to the 1970s, tracing offshore oil’s rise first across Japanese and US waters, later followed by various Asian marine regions. It argues for recognizing Asia’s marine regions as critical sites of environmental transformation and Asian political agency. By foregrounding offshore fossil fuel development, the chapter reframes the Asian Anthropocene within global histories of energy, development, and technology—beyond terrestrial confines and explanations focused on Western colonial and capitalist elites.

Peers play a critical role in children and adolescents’ development and adjustment. This chapter reviews existing scholarship on peer-perpetrated ethnic and racial discrimination, as well as supportive ethnic and racial processes in peer groups. We first examine theoretical perspectives underlying peer ethnic and racial discrimination and its developmental implications. We then review empirical evidence that has linked various forms (e.g., general, victimization, teasing, exclusion, online) of peer discrimination to developmental outcomes. The chapter subsequently explores protective factors in peer groups (friendships, socialization) that can buffer the negative influence of discrimination, as well as existing programs and practices that seek to address peer ethnic and racial discrimination. Lastly, the chapter identifies several areas for future research to unpack further the complex ethnic and racial processes in peer groups.

In this chapter, I provide reflections on two decades of research on ethnic and racial discrimination and its consequences for children and adolescents. Building on foundational theoretical frameworks and methodological advances, the chapter highlights the extraordinary growth of the field since the early 1990s, when empirical attention to discrimination and youth was sparse and marginalized within developmental science. Drawing across the twenty-four chapters, the commentary identifies the now-incontrovertible evidence documenting the breadth, magnitude, and persistence of discrimination’s effects across developmental domains – from psychological well-being and identity to academic, physiological, and behavioral outcomes. I highlight five themes that I believe should guide the next phase of scholarship in the field: the need to situate interpersonal discrimination within broader systems of structural and historical racism; a more explicit focus on how power operates in young people’s lives; an intersectional lens that captures the realities of youths with multiple marginalized identities; long-overdue attention to White youths’ racial learning; and a shift toward strengths- and rights-based perspectives that highlight resistance, cultural assets, and possibilities for thriving. Together, these themes chart a path toward a more comprehensive, equity-driven developmental science.