Science & Technology Archives - The World from PRX

Former NASA astronaut Dr. Mae Jemison, who now directs the 100 Year Starship Project, talks about the power of the "big, blue marble" image of planet Earth, taken 50 years ago.

Flooded areas have seen surges in malaria and other waterborne illnesses.

With a 2024 completion deadline that was voted on in March, the future treaty aims to reduce plastics pollution on a global scale. Organizers plan to mitigate the costs and effects of plastic production as a whole and engage workers’ concerns within the industry.

In the remote Colombian province of Vichada, mostly covered by savannah and small forests, the San Jose ranch is trying to show that there are ways for cattle ranching to be more environmentally friendly — and still be profitable.

Residents in Uganda's oil-rich Hoima district say their land is up for grabs as an ambitious oil pipeline project plans to run more than 800 miles from the western part of the country all the way to neighboring Tanzania.

Uganda is seeking to develop and refine its oil in partnership with the French energy company Total, and a state-owned Chinese corporation.

Some climate change impact is now unavoidable. At the COP27 climate summit in Sharm el-Sheikh this month, developing nations have been pushing for more funding, canceled debt and changes to the global financial system to help them address the funding gaps they face in dealing with climate change.

In the past 10 years, the global demand for lithium has skyrocketed, and the production increase of electric vehicles is expected to raise this demand by at least 300% in the next 10 years. Chile meets about a third of the lithium demands, and plans to boost its production in the next few years.

Brazil's President-elect Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva is taking his concerns for the environment to the international stage. As a special guest at COP27 this week in Egypt, he said he’s going to tackle deforestation.

Europeans have been battling the Velutina hornet for about 15 years. Spanish beekeepers have sent out a mayday for help, but so far they’ve been left to defend their hives on their own.