I think it is B. Every plot should have a conflict, rising action, and climax.
Answer:
Maathai identified the link between environmental degradation and poverty in Kenya and sought to remedy the two issues simultaneously. The rate of deforestation in Kenya yielded landslides, frequent droughts, soil erosion, and the loss of vital resources to communities.
Answer: Our paper's science writer, whose column I read every week, recently reported on exoplanets.
Explanation: There are three ideas here.
1. Our paper's science writer
2. They recently reported on exoplanets
3. How I read their column every week.
Two of the ideas are included in the sentence (1 and 2), and the last simply needs to be modified.
"Whose" is a determiner and associates things with other things. In the last idea, we associate their column to them: whose column... Then, we add how I read it every week and say, "...whose column I read every week."