Science & Technology Archives - The World from PRX

The Cumbre Vieja volcano’s eruption was officially declared over on Christmas Day after 10 days of no lava flows or seismic activity, and more than three months since it first erupted. Now, residents are trying to pick up the pieces and rebuild their lives.

In an effort to protect Indonesia’s thermal coal supply, the country imposed an export ban in early January. But after several countries in Asia that depend on the crucial commodity lamented the move, the country has indicated an imminent ease of the ban.

Aquamation is a corpse decomposition process that uses water instead of fire to produce similar results — an urn of ashes. It’s seen as a “greener alternative” to carbon-emitting cremation.

Writer Jennifer Junghans describes her close encounters with blue-footed boobies and blacktip sharks — and a wondrous face-to-face meeting with a curious pufferfish.

Many Native American communities belong to a clan that identifies with an animal — such as the bear, deer, or loon — that is featured in their traditional stories.

In northeastern Brazil, weeks of rain have caused massive flooding. At least 24 people are dead and tens of thousands have lost their homes. But in some places, local residents are coming together to provide support for those in need.

Norway is a leader in the shift to clean energy. Almost all of its electricity now comes from renewable sources. Norway also has big plans to go all-in on electric cars. They'll need a lot of minerals like copper, silver and lithium for batteries and electric grids. To that end, Norway plans to build a new copper mine in the Arctic. Some see this as trading one environmental problem for another.

Until recently, residents of Central Asian cities didn't have a good way to check the air quality before stepping outside in the winter, when pollution especially stagnates in the air. Pavel Plotitsyn took matters into his own hands, building low-cost air sensors and a website to help gauge air quality on any given day.

A drought that began last year still extends across much of southern Brazil, where reservoirs powering hydroelectric dams are less than 20% full. This is causing huge spikes in electricity prices, and forcing the import of power from abroad.

NASA has announced that its Parker Solar Probe has flown through the sun's corona. Kelly Korreck, a solar physicist at NASA's headquarters, joined The World's host Marco Werman to discuss this remarkable feat that took 60 years to accomplish.