PRI: Science, Tech & Environment

Over 15 million people around the world live with a spinal cord injury, according to the World Health Organization. It's a lifelong diagnosis that can permanently affect a patient's mobility. In Brazil, an experimental treatment has yielded promising results, high hopes and legal challenges to get access to clinical trials. The World's Julia França reports on the treatment, and the patients caught between hope for recovery and uncertainty over when, or whether, they will be able to access it. The post A scientific breakthrough for spinal injuries is emerging in Brazil appeared first on The World from PRX.

Spanish journalist Carlos Barragán delves into the world of the Yahoo Boys, young Nigerian hustlers who scam lonely Westerners out of their money online. The post New book, ‘The Yahoo Boys,’ explores the world of Nigerian love scammers appeared first on The World from PRX.

Weeks after The World first reported on allegations of forced labor at BYD's new car factory in Hungary, authorities are cracking down on the car maker. Three companies associated with the Chinese EV giant's plant in Hungary have been sanctioned — and Hungary has launched an environmental investigation into the site. But labor advocates are skeptical that those actions will lead to any real change. The post Hungary cracks down on BYD plant over forced labor allegations appeared first on The World from PRX.

Deutsche Welle's Lars Bevanger traveled to northern Finland and reports on the country's booming gaming industry. The post A different kind of ‘Fintech' appeared first on The World from PRX.

Dramatic cuts to science research grants have particularly affected rare disease research. But some of the people most affected, including those with Nicolaides-Baraitser syndrome, are now organizing their own global research collaborations. The post Families organize amid government funding cuts into rare disease research appeared first on The World from PRX.

Robot news has been coming fast and furious this month. One robot won a half-marathon in Beijing, and others captured a Russian position in Ukraine. And last week, we learned of a robotic arm that beat table-tennis champions at their own game. To learn about this moment in robotics, The World's Host Carolyn Beeler spoke with Kenechukwu Mbanisi. He's an assistant professor of robotics engineering at Olin College in Massachusetts. The post The latest in the world of robotics appeared first on The World from PRX.

DW's Lars Bevanger reports on a new a controversial contract between Britain's National Health Service and the US data and spy tech company Palantir. The post Increasing frustration over UK deal with spy tech company appeared first on The World from PRX.

DW Reporter Ben Bathke meets up with an Estonian tech entrepreneur who has pivoted towards defense to discuss the role of rapidly developing technology in the Ukraine war. The post Security tech start-ups play increasingly significant role in Ukraine war appeared first on The World from PRX.

A casual conversation with a friend led NYU neuroscientist Tim Requarth down an unsettling line of inquiry. His friend had made an AI video of himself scaling Mt. Rushmore, and a little while later, he felt the slightest bit of a memory of being at Mt. Rushmore — even though he had never been there. The World's Host Carolyn Beeler speaks with Requarth about why our brains' process for making memories seems to be vulnerable to generative AI. The post AI may be messing with our memories appeared first on The World from PRX.

Artificial intelligence is a game changer across many fields these days and mathematics is no exception. Yet, the rapid acceleration of its ability to solve some of arithmetic's most challenging proofs has left many a mathematician wondering how they fit into future equations. The World's Host Marco Werman spoke to one such human mathematician, Daniel Litt, at the University of Toronto. The post AI is rapidly changing math, and mathematicians are defining their role in the equation appeared first on The World from PRX.

An agreement between the US and Zimbabwe, under which the US would send health aid directly to the country, has collapsed. The Zimbabwean government rejected the deal over concerns about data sharing and sovereignty. The World's Host Carolyn Beeler speaks with Stephen Morrison of the Center for Strategic and International Studies. The post Health aid pact between US and Zimbabwe collapses appeared first on The World from PRX.

No, not the scary Terminator-like ones beloved of science fiction writers … We’re talking about the cute, helpful ones designed to help out in school. And, yes — this really is a thing.  A Norwegian company is already successful in 17 countries with a small robot that can represent absent pupils in the classroom. DW’s […] The post Not quite The Terminator, these robots still look human-like and perform tasks appeared first on The World from PRX.

The once-dominant phone giant is now becoming known in other areas of media and tech. The post Nokia is back appeared first on The World from PRX.

In East Africa, the vast majority of cars are imported from other countries. But a group of engineers in Kenya is working to change that by developing the country's first-ever locally-assembled electric vehicle. The post In Kenya, there's a quiet push for an electric car revolution appeared first on The World from PRX.

Guy De Launey, from our partners at DW, Deutsche Welle's, program Inside Europe, reports on Serbia's vast lithium reserves and the challenges facing companies trying to access them. The post Serbia tries to access its lithium reserves amid local opposition appeared first on The World from PRX.

Deutsche Welle's Shant Shahrigian reports on a $500 million AI factory planned for Armenia in one of the latest projects from chip-making titan NVIDIA. The post A multi-million dollar AI data center is slated for Armenia appeared first on The World from PRX.

Self-driving cars and electric vehicles tend to dominate global headlines, but some of the most consequential innovations in transportation are happening in far humbler machines. In Shenzhen, China, driverless delivery vans, autonomous sanitation robots, surveillance drones and other experimental vehicles are already operating in public spaces, offering a view of how cities may function in the coming decades. The post In China, the future of transportation is already here appeared first on The World from PRX.

Forty years ago, Shenzhen, China, was little more than a cluster of villages, home to a few hundred thousand people. Today, it holds roughly 20 million residents and ranks among the world's fastest-growing megacities. Yet, unlike other urban centers that have ballooned at similar speeds — Mumbai or Lagos, for example — Shenzhen has largely sidestepped the air pollution, overcrowding and failing infrastructure that often accompany rapid expansion. In the second of a five-part series, The World's Jeremy Siegel explores how the city has been able to avoid the problems typically associated with megacities. The post Lessons from the world's most thriving megacity appeared first on The World from PRX.

Sean Powers, from the "Click Here" podcast, reports on the lone coder trying to bring back the Uyghur web. The post Saving the Uyghur internet appeared first on The World from PRX.

Dina Temple-Raston, the host of the “Click Here” podcast, reports on the erasure of Ekpar Asat, who wanted to build a digital space for his Uyghur community. The post The disappearance of Ekpar Asat appeared first on The World from PRX.

Dina Temple-Raston, the host of the “Click Here” podcast, reports on the shift in China's surveillance tactics of its Uyghur population. The post The curious case of UyghurEdit++ appeared first on The World from PRX.

Last week, several Nobel laureates and high-profile celebrities cautioned that the threat of artificial intelligence is real, particularly regarding what's known as artificial superintelligence. Max Tegmark, head of The Future of Life Institute and a professor doing AI research at MIT, spoke to The World's Host Marco Werman about why experts — including him — are calling for urgent action. The post Nobel laureates sound the alarm over artificial superintelligence appeared first on The World from PRX.

The UN estimates revenues from scam centers in Southeast Asia, mostly Myanmar, to be nearly $40 billion. The sheer number of people being conned into working for them has overwhelmed police. So, one man tried to step in, rescuing dozens of people from being trapped. The post Freeing victims from criminal enclaves in Myanmar, one TikTok at a time appeared first on The World from PRX.

In the wake of federal funding cuts that threaten scientists' jobs in the US, programs have emerged across Europe to attract those worried American scientists. The World's Gerry Hadden reports from a university in southern France where incoming Americans are referred to as “scientific refugees.” The post Europe wants to attract American scientists appeared first on The World from PRX.

Especially these days, traveling can be chaotic. Now, a trio of American YouTubers has devised a fun way to make it all less stressful through a video series that turns travel chaos into a competition. The post These YouTube streamers have turned the stress of travel into a game appeared first on The World from PRX.

Latam-GPT, a Chilean-led artificial intelligence project, promises to center Latin American languages and cultures. The post An AI that speaks the languages of Latin America appeared first on The World from PRX.

Dina Temple-Raston, the host of the "Click Here" podcast from Recorded Future News and PRX, reports on North Korean workers applying for remote IT jobs around the world. The post Meet the ‘Kyles’ — North Korea's secret IT warriors appeared first on The World from PRX.

Almost 1 in 4 Brazilians have been victims of cybercrime, making the country number one in the world for phishing via WhatsApp. The post How Brazil became one of the epicenters of cybercrime appeared first on The World from PRX.

Ben Bathke from our partners DW, Deutsche Welle, reports on what European nations can learn from Estonia's digital government services. The post Estonia serves as a digital pioneer for European governments appeared first on The World from PRX.

The Netherlands, which was once a religious country, saw a dramatic decline in religiosity after WWII. Recently though, there's been a small but significant increase in people turning to faith. One reason is efforts made by Gen Z — but not through traditional churches. The post In one of the world's most secular countries, some Gen Z Christians are finding faith again — but not at church appeared first on The World from PRX.

As record-breaking heat hits parts of Europe, France is trying to adapt. Paris is now expanding its district cooling system. The World's Host Carolyn Beeler speaks with Raphaelle Nayral, the head of the company operating the network about the initiative. The post Amid rising heat, Paris expands a network of pipes to keep cool appeared first on The World from PRX.

The Trump administration has made it a priority to eliminate DEI programs across the United States and even overseas. It's put some private companies on notice and warned businesses working with US embassies and consulates to renounce their inclusion policies. But many of these groups are resisting and fighting back. The post Trump administration cuts funding to Barcelona library over DEI policies appeared first on The World from PRX.

Cases of the recently identified Covid-19 variant NB 1.8.1. are rising. Some have dubbed the variant "razor blade throat" for one of its notably painful symptoms. The World Health Organization says it's monitoring the variant. The World's Marco Werman spoke to Michael Mina, an epidemiologist and immunologist based in Boston. The post Here's what to know about the new COVID variant ‘razor blade throat' appeared first on The World from PRX.

In France, 25 people were recently charged over a series of kidnappings and attempted abductions. The post A bizarre crimewave is taking place in the French capital appeared first on The World from PRX.

Summer is in full swing in India, and many cities are experiencing scorching heat, fueled in part by climate change. And in India's bustling cities, as the sun sets and the worst of the day's heat subsides, a sinister threat emerges: high nighttime temperatures. But some low-tech solutions may help address the problem.  The post Hot nights are worsening India's heat crisis. But low-tech solutions show some promise. appeared first on The World from PRX.

As part of The Big Fix series, Host Carolyn Beeler speaks with Chris Bataille, a fellow at the Center on Global Energy Policy at Columbia University's School of International and Public Affairs, about the state of small modular nuclear technology and Ontario's plans to construct four of these new reactors. The post Ontario approves $15 billion plan to build small modular nuclear reactors appeared first on The World from PRX.

A Soviet spacecraft is expected to come hurtling back to Earth after being stuck in orbit for more than 50 years. The Kosmos 482 probe was intended to reach Venus, however, it never got to its destination. Instead, it's been circling Earth since 1972, and gradually descending. The post A Soviet spacecraft is expected to make a crash landing on Earth this week. But nobody knows where — yet. appeared first on The World from PRX.

Spain is testing new artificial intelligence technology that will change the speed limit based on weather conditions, traffic, time of day and road conditions. The government hopes the system will help alleviate gridlock and increase safety on one of the country's busiest highways. The post Spain tests AI-based speed limit system appeared first on The World from PRX.

Since the COVID-19 pandemic began, owners have been training their dogs to “tell” them what they want by mashing buttons with their paws to express words in various human languages. A UCSD study began to explore the practice further and now includes participants in dozens of countries around the world. The post A new global study allows dogs to ‘talk' to their owners by pressing buttons that say human words appeared first on The World from PRX.

“Maybe Happy Ending” is an intimate science fiction story that has been performed many times in Seoul, South Korea. Now, its adapted version is playing on Broadway. The story, about a pair of robots, sheds light on the human condition in this digital age. The post Can robots fall in love? A sci-fi musical from South Korea is now a hit on Broadway. appeared first on The World from PRX.

Colombian architects are turning to older building techniques to reduce the carbon emissions associated with construction. The post Earth homes make a comeback in a Colombian town appeared first on The World from PRX.

WhatsApp, used by millions of people around the world, says its users were hacked by the Paragon Solutions spyware company. The World's Host Marco Werman speaks with John Scott-Railton, a senior researcher at Citizen Lab, about the continuing threat of sophisticated spyware. The post WhatsApp identifies dozens of users hacked by Paragon spyware company appeared first on The World from PRX.

In Russia, the Kremlin has been steadily cracking down on the internet. Surveillance and censorship have increased, especially since Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine. The Kremlin has cut off access to many of the most popular websites and apps. The latest target is YouTube. The post Kremlin's internet crackdown is taking on YouTube appeared first on The World from PRX.

Since the start of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, people have been evacuating and safeguarding Ukrainian works of art and museum pieces. Now, a team of conservators and students are also creating permanent, 3D records of buildings and objects that can't be moved in case they are damaged or destroyed. The post Conservators scan Ukraine's wooden churches to help preserve them appeared first on The World from PRX.

Aid groups have stopped using a new sea route to get aid to Gaza after an Israeli strike on the World Central Kitchen convoy that killed seven workers on Monday, April 1. Ships had been leaving from the Mediterranean island of Cyprus. Cyprus is a popular vacation destination, and for thousands of years, it has been a center of commerce and migration. National Geographic Explorer Paul Salopek walked the length of the island in 2014. He was and still is on a 24,000-mile walk, retracing the first human migration out of Africa.Salopek caught up with The World's Carolyn Beeler to discuss the juxtapositions of Cyprus' past and present. Carolyn Beeler: Paul, you got to Cyprus on a modern diesel-powered ship. But how did the first inhabitants of that island get there?Paul Salopek: Yeah, they arrived by sea also, of course. From what we know about the archeology of Cyprus, they were some of the earliest settlers to make villages, making this transition from hunter-gatherers to being settled. When they got to Cyprus, way back 12,000 years or so ago, there were miniature hippopotamuses and elephants on the island, and they ate them all. And then they settled down and started farming.In one of your dispatches, you wrote that Cyprus is one of the oldest inhabited islands on earth. What do we know about those early inhabitants other than that they barbecued pygmy hippopotamuses?Well, they eventually became very powerful as the centuries rolled by because they started to discover that they controlled a very valuable resource, which was copper. And so, leading into the Copper Age, which led into the Bronze Age, they were sitting on top of a giant bank account. And as a consequence, what's happened to Cyprus, it's interesting, even in today's news, given the tragedies that are happening in the Middle East right now, is that it became invaded and overrun by so many different civilizations. Back to, you know, the Phoenicians, the Egyptians, the Assyrians, Persians, Byzantines, Arabs, Ottomans, just the list goes on and on. It's just been washed over, as if by waves, by different groups of people. Two faiths: earthly vs. cosmic rewards, Famagusta, northern Cyprus. Join the journey at outofedenwalk.org.  Credit: Paul Salopek/National Geographic  You can see that by looking at a map of Cyprus. Nestled in the eastern Mediterranean, it's so close to Africa, Europe, and Asia. How much does its location and those waves of conquest factor into the island's culture today?I think that that kind of DNA imprint has got to be there. You know, it's kind of a layer on layer on layers in the many thumbprints of the people who've been there. And I suspect it'll continue today because of the instability in Israel and neighboring Lebanon. They just got 2,000 migrants who showed up on boats trying to escape that area, as the war started to spread into Lebanon. So, the waves continue.Going back to your crossing of the island on foot, what was that like? Can you tell me about it? Well, it was unique in this long, crazy journey of mine because normally, I walk with what I call walking partners. It's just baked into the DNA of the project that I walk with local people who act like the cultural interpreters of the landscapes they call home, making the storytelling much better. But because I was in a rush to reach the next country, Turkey, and because Cyprus is relatively small, I decided to hoof it across the island alone.How did that impact your experience of the place not having those local partners?Cyprus was unique. I've gone through, I think, 20 countries so far. Cyprus is the only one that I walked through alone because I was in a hurry. I had an appointment to kind of reach a walking partner waiting in Turkey, so I hoofed it eight days across the island, up through these beautiful mountains covered with kind of carob trees, olive trees, hay-colored fields and white chalky roads. And I could get by [speaking] English because the most recent wave of nomads to come through Cyprus are tourists. And so there's a tourist industry there. Into the layered foothills of the Troodos Mountains, Cyprus. Join the journey at outofedenwalk.org.  Credit: Paul Salopek/National Geographic I'm curious. We've been discussing this place being a draw for people from all over. So, what kind of languages did you hear while walking across the island?It was like walking into a polyglot bazaar, where I saw African stevedores speaking North African languages. A little bit further on, they were Indian workers plowing the fields, listening to sitar music on their earbuds. And there Russian tourists laid out, you know, in pink ranks, baking under the sun. It was a very polyglot place. Empty rooms with a view. The hulks of old war-emptied hotels overlook Varosha's fabled beach, northern Cyrpus. Join the journey at outofedenwalk.org.  Credit: Paul Salopek/National Geographic Speaking of Cyprus, which is famously divided between Greek and Turkish areas, you crossed the line from one jurisdiction into the other. What was that like?This was another continuation of how borders figure into this walking project across the world. Sometimes, they stop me. I have to turn left or right and walk around whatever country is not letting me in. This was a case where that border — which had been militarized, they've been on the front line because of a war in Cyprus, between ethnic Greeks and ethnic Turks —  it was like a front line. It's called the Green Line. There were sandbags. There was kind of no man's land. But it was open. And trade was going back and forth. And when I talked to both the Cypriots on the Greek side and the Cypriots on the northern Turkish side, I said, "How are you guys living with this? It's been, you know, almost 50 years." They said, "Paul, we are more like each other than we are like Greece or Turkey." It was a kind of classic border culture, like the US-Mexico border. They have more in common with each other, this kind of hybrid zone of cultures, than they do with the big countries that border there.But you were just easily waved through this border, which seems very porous. It's interesting to reflect that that border is getting much more porous, whereas so many others worldwide are being hardened. Migration is trying to be prevented.That's absolutely right. That's kind of the high spots of that border, is that going from a front line that was mined and that would have been deadly to cross a few decades ago? It's actually kind of a bit blurry now. And let's see what happens. It's been in this cold, frozen war stasis condition, patrolled by the UN and whatnot. The hope I heard from the people on both sides was that there would be some weight to make that border go away altogether. Waiting. Sinan Pasha mosque, the converted 14th-century church of Saints Peter and Paul. Join the journey at outofedenwalk.org. Credit: Paul Salopek/National Geographic  It is, of course, still there. And there is a deserted resort straddling the line between Greek and Turkish zones. You called it Europe's ghost city. What was it like walking through that?There was this abandoned city. It used to have, apparently, 39,000 people or so in it. It was one of the most famous resorts in the Mediterranean. Big movie stars in the '70s, [like] Paul Newman and Sophia Loren, would go there for a holiday. Five-star hotels. And because it was on the front line and remains contested, it's been sitting and rotting under the Mediterranean sun. Empty. Seagulls live in those five-star suites now because there are no windows. The beaches are empty. It's been fenced off by the Turkish army. It was very bizarre like a Dresden-like ruin sitting on this beautiful, jewel-like beach setting.Parts of this interview have been lightly edited for length and clarity.Writer and National Geographic Explorer Paul Salopek has embarked on a 24,000-mile storytelling trek across the world called the “Out of Eden Walk.” The National Geographic Society, committed to illuminating and protecting the wonder of our world, has funded Salopek and the project since 2013. Explore the project here. Follow the journey on X at @PaulSalopek, @outofedenwalk and also at @InsideNatGeo.

It was in the ancient city of Petra, in 2013, when National Geographic Explorer Paul Salopek said he came upon a crossroad filled with antiquity, fabulous monuments, palaces and grand avenues chiseled into a sandstone canyon far above the rift valley of Jordan. After walking for the better part of a year through the desolate deserts of the Horn of Africa and then into the almost equally desert and empty landscape of Saudi Arabia, Salopek said he was welcomed into  Jordan by a Bedouin musician named Qasim Ali. Qasim Ali sings the blues, Bedouin style, at Petra, the ancient heart of the Nabatean empire. Join the journey at outofedenwalk.org. Credit: Paul Salopek/National Geographic Ali sang the blues while playing the Rababa, an ancient stringed instrument. Salopek described it as a dramatic setting.“It kind of became the backdrop music for stepping from nomadism into millennia of settlement, into this highly contested, many-chambered heart that we call the Levant,” he said.The World's Marco Werman talked more with Salopek about his journey through Jordan and into the Israeli-occupied West Bank, following in the footsteps of the first humans out of Africa. Marco Werman: Your walk through Jordan was a kind of transition from the world of Bedouin herders and nomadic life to a world of farms and villages where early people first put down roots. How did walking it on foot help you appreciate human history?Paul Salopek: Well, it was kind of almost a schizophrenic reality, Marco. There was kind of walking through every day at three miles an hour out of the empty desert, and suddenly tomato farms started to appear. Irrigation canals … the whole infrastructure of modern-day farming. But at the same time, my project is about deep, deep history and the people I'm following, when they walked through, none of that was there. But something happened when we first migrated out of Africa, through this part of the world. As one archeologist told me, we finally sat down. We stopped moving so much. We settled. We invented agriculture. We started piling rocks on top of each other. We smelted metal. And this era, called the Neolithic, is the one, essentially, that we're still inhabiting today. A city-based, urban, settled lifestyle. This was one of the corners of the world where it began. Ghawarna women dye wool using oxide-rich mud. Modaita, the yawning camel is unimpressed. Join the journey at outofedenwalk.org.  Credit: Paul Salopek/National Geographic  You crossed a border in May of 2014, the Jordan River, and you walked into the West Bank through Israeli army checkpoints. Give us a sense of life in the Palestinian West Bank in 2014.Back at that time, it was a time of, relatively speaking, calm, right? I mean, there's always tension in this corner of the world, but there was no open warfare that I saw. But this, this was a foretaste, again, of this extraordinary maze of the Middle East, of the West Bank, which is partitioned, as you probably know, into three different administrative sectors: Israeli, Palestinian, and then mixed administrative control. There were checkpoints everywhere. There were barriers everywhere. For somebody coming from almost a year on foot, out of kind of relatively open horizons, it was dizzying. It was just a bit surreal. I was walking at the time with my Palestinian walking partner Bassam Almohor, and he said, “Paul, this is my life. I have to kind of change personality every time I cross one of these checkpoints.” And he was a walker, Marco. He was one of the founders of a walking club based in Ramallah. His philosophy was “My piece of Earth. This place I call home is so small that walking makes it big. This is how I keep my sanity.” Bullet on the road to Bethlehem. Join the journey at outofedenwalk.org.  Credit: Paul Salopek/National Geographic  Wow. Well, we know that things had been tense and violent in the West Bank before 2014 when you were there. Your journey also took you into the ancient city of Jerusalem. You walk the same paths as the ancient Egyptians, Jews, Greeks, Romans, early Christians and Muslims. How much did that sense of history color your view of the modern state of Israel?It was inescapable. I mean, there are just so many layers. Again, I deal with historians and archeologists. These are the people that I talk to to advise me on what compass bearing to move on as I pass along these ancient pathways of dispersal out of Africa. Another archeologist based in Jerusalem said, “Paul, Jerusalem was a village, a settlement that was prehistoric.” You know, it started to kind of appear in the consciousness of that inhabited landscape around the Bronze Age. I measured history, recorded history, from the time of that settlement to today, there had been 700 or more wars. But everybody that I met in that highly conflicted, highly contested, very small corner of the world has their own ways of trying to keep life good. And he said, “Paul, I focused not on those 700 wars but on the spaces of peace in between.” In Bethlehem, the Church of the Nativity. Join the journey at outofedenwalk.org.  Credit: Paul Salopek/National Geographic  So, as you follow the news from the Middle East today, what jogs your memories of walking the Holy Land on foot?This part of the world was new to me. I never covered it as a journalist, and I'd covered some pretty big episodes of mass violence among humans in Africa. I covered, for example, the Congo Civil War, which was one of the bloodiest and most devastating at the time in the early 2000s. The numbers there are staggering. In Central Africa, almost 5 million people died in that conflict. And so here I am, coming from out of Africa into the Middle East, where it's tiny, by African standards. And I was astonished at the amount of attention that was focused on it. It was like there was this global stadium built around this quadrant of the world, where the whole world was looking down on these conflicts among villages, among cities, among invisible lines. To be perfectly candid, I was kind of scratching my head. I said, “Why is this corner of the world getting so much attention when the rest of the world has far larger, gaping wounds, in terms of just bloodshed?” If you want to use a metric of human blood. But now, looking back from 13 years later, seeing what's happening now, I think that was a measure, sort of my naivete, of the fact that I was comparing human suffering to human suffering ... which is always a dangerous thing to do. And what we're seeing now is just how incredibly deep — it may be small, Marco — but how incredibly deep these fissures run. Yuval Ben-Ami at the Separation Barrier in East Jerusalem. Erected by the Israeli government to thwart terror attacks, it cleaves some Palestinian neighborhoods in half. Join the journey at outofedenwalk.org.  Credit: Paul Salopek/National Geographic  It struck me when you said you'd been in Africa for that long. You actually started in the Out of Eden Walk. You've kind of followed, in a way, the Levantine Corridor that humans left many thousands of years ago into the Middle East. I wonder how, on foot, that changed how you see this tense modern world.When you walk for very long periods – and I'm talking months and years – across horizons ... you kind of enter a mental state where you look at the surface tensions of the world. You look at the cities, the conflicts, the way we've treated the planet, the way we've subjugated and, in many ways, destroyed nature. And I'm not saying that it makes you fatalistic, but there's a sense of equanimity that comes with it. A sense of, “God, this is all going to be scraped away.” Everything we say is going to be scraped away during the next glaciation. And all of our monuments, all of our heroes, all of our statues are going to be kind of in the moraines of these glaciers, 12,000 years from now. That doesn't make me feel fatalistic. It doesn't make me shrug. It gives me a sense of, sort of, I don't know, of … patience, if you will, with this troublesome species that we are — both so very good and very bad.Parts of this interview have been lightly edited for length and clarity.Writer and National Geographic Explorer Paul Salopek has embarked on a 24,000-mile storytelling trek across the world called the “Out of Eden Walk.” The National Geographic Society, committed to illuminating and protecting the wonder of our world, has funded Salopek and the project since 2013. Explore the project here. Follow the journey on X at @PaulSalopek, @outofedenwalk and also at @InsideNatGeo.

As sunset approached, a colorful feast was underway at Hugo Losada's home. Twenty blue and gold macaws flew into his garden to feed on sunflower seeds and fruits.One of the parrots perched on Losada's head like a big hat and fed on a banana that he held in his hand.“These birds just fill me up with joy,” said Losada, who has been feeding macaws for the past two years. “You can even go on vacation, and they'll sort out how to get their own food.” A group of blue and gold macaws flies around Caracas, Venezuela in search of food. The birds were initially brought to the city as pets, but now hundreds of them roam around the city freely.  Credit: Manuel Rueda/The World Every day, hundreds of macaws fly around Venezuela's capital city in search of food, dazzling residents with their bright colors and peculiar calls.The birds are not native to Caracas. And they were brought to the city under dubious circumstances. But now, they roam the city freely and have formed a special relationship with its people. Hugo Losada feeds a group of blue and gold macaws that visit his garden every afternoon. The doctor says the birds bring him joy and relaxation.  Credit: Manuel Rueda/The World “The macaws distract me and pull me away from negative thoughts,” said Lucy Cortez, a graphic designer who works from home.Every day, she feeds a group of blue and gold macaws that fly up to her apartment and perch on a small ledge where she also has some plants. “I don't know if there's any other place in the world where you can interact with macaws from your window.”Lucy Cortez, graphic designer in Caracas“It's very special,” Cortez said. “I don't know if there's any other place in the world where you can interact with macaws from your window.” Lucy Cortez feeds macaws that fly up to her apartment in Caracas. She says the macaws provide her with a welcome break from her job as a graphic designer.  Credit: Manuel Rueda/The World Macaws were first brought to Caracas in the 1970s by people who bought them in rural areas of southern Venezuela and smuggled them into the city as pets.They were kept in cages in people's homes. But they were noisy, and eventually, some people got tired of them and let them fly away.Maria Lourdes Gonzalez, a biologist who studies these birds, said that the macaws found palm trees where they could make nests. And several tree species, like mango trees, provided them with food.The birds reproduced successfully over the years thanks to the city's mild weather and its abundant sources of food, and also because Caracas lacks the predators that hunt macaws in South America's rainforests, like monkeys and eagles.“In the wild, their survival rate is like one nestling for every two nests,” Gonzalez said outside her office at Simon Bolivar University, where macaws can be easily spotted in the afternoon. “Here, in Caracas, they lay three eggs and all of them will survive.”According to Gonzalez there are at least 600 macaws flying around the city that have descended from pets, including the blue and gold macaws, and also scarlet macaws that are native to the Amazon. These birds mingle with the one native species of macaw, a small apple-green one known as the maracaná or Ara Severus. But only the macaws that descended from pets seem to have little fear of humans. The apple green macaw known as the maracaná is native to Caracas. Unlike the blue and gold macaws that descend from pets, maracanas tend to avoid contact with humans.  Credit: Manuel Rueda/The World “They teach their nestlings to come to humans to get food,” Gonzalez said. “And they love to be in contact with us because we give food to them.”As the birds become easier to spot, they have become a symbol of Caracas, where they appear on murals and souvenirs. Some locals also run Instagram accounts dedicated to the birds.Karem Guevara runs an account with more than 100,000 followers. She leaves food for the birds on the ledges of her apartment's windows and films them as they eat and play.“There are people who have left Venezuela and miss seeing these birds,” she said. “And for them, this account is like a window so that they can continue to enjoy this spectacle.”The city's small tourism industry has also embraced the trend, with some agencies offering macaw-spotting tours.In the busy neighborhood of Las Mercedes, the Ololo Hotel attracts the birds to its terrace every morning by leaving out a tray with sunflower seeds. That way the guests can take photos with the birds while they're having breakfast.“The macaws sort of bring tourists to us,” said Jean Paul Simon, the hotel's owner. “We have guests who just come here to have some breakfast and, even though they're not staying with us, they just come here to see the macaws.”But even though the birds are popular with the city's residents, the macaws' future in Caracas isn't guaranteed. Blue and gold macaws are native to the Amazon. They were initially smuggled into Caracas as pets. Credit: Manuel Rueda/The World Biologist Maria Lourdes Gonzalez explained that the birds only nest in old palm trees, whose trunks have been hollowed out by a local insect. Old palm trees don't have leaves, and the city government has been removing some of them because they're not pretty. “Now, we have a huge population [that needs] to reproduce and, each year, there are less and less spaces to reproduce,” Gonzalez said.So far, there hasn't been an outcry to save the macaws' habitat. Gonzalez said that if city workers continue to knock down the old palm trees, some of the birds might try to migrate to nearby cities that are 20 or 30 km away.She said that, ultimately, the future of these birds depends on the humans who brought them to the city in the first place.“This is an introduced species,” she said. “It's a decision from the people if this population stays in Caracas or has to leave.”Related: ‘Birds are everywhere!' Women bird guides in Uganda set a global example

On a recent day in the Cardamom Mountains of southwest Cambodia, a local resident steered a boat along a calm waterway, pointing out plants grown by community members: durian, banana, jackfruit, avocado. This area has seen increased patrolling by the Cambodian military, environmental officials and staff of the New York-based nonprofit Wildlife Alliance, according to the man, who asked to remain anonymous out of fear of retribution. “All of this farmland belongs to people. Starting from the border of the forest, that's where people have enjoyed farming every year for a long time,” he said. “We've done farming here for many years already before they came to do conservation.” Cambodia's monsoonal wet season drenches Toap Khley village in the Southern Cardamom National Park's Areng Valley. Credit: Anton L. Delgado/Southeast Asia Globe The small farms dotting the riverbank are part of a protected area that is now being enforced through a forest carbon offset project known as the Southern Cardamom REDD+ Project. A new report from Human Rights Watch found that the project had violated the rights of Indigenous Chong people who live here, documenting forced evictions, arrests and harassment. The project brought in more than $18 million by 2021 through carbon credit sales. Companies including Delta Air Lines, Stella McCartney, McKinsey and Boeing bought the credits in an attempt to reduce their overall carbon footprint, in this case, by supporting a project that patrols a conservation area to prevent deforestation. The industry has faced a slew of critical coverage in the last few years, with accusations that projects have overstated their climate benefits. The research from Human Rights Watch indicates that these projects can also harm local and Indigenous groups in the name of conservation.  A sign in Chamnar village, the furthest community in Areng Valley, indicates that a new water tower was supported by the Southern Cardamom REDD+ project within the national park. Credit: Anton L. Delgado/Southeast Asia Globe Empty boats line one side of the riverbank, as the Chong Indigenous fishers and farmers are restricted from crossing over to cultivate their crops, the resident explained.The local people support conservation of forested areas, he said, but want to continue cultivating crops in areas that have long been agricultural plots. Instead, members of his community have been arrested for collecting sustainable forest products, had their crops destroyed and huts burned down, according to the report.“People are farming on land that they have customarily thought belongs to them but the interpretation of the project is that this farming amounts to an environmental crime,” said Luciana Téllez Chávez, senior researcher at Human Rights Watch and the lead author of the report. “Some people have also been jailed for basically just performing the activities that have formed the core of their livelihoods for generations.”Luciana Téllez Chávez, senior researcher, Human Rights Watch“Some people have also been jailed for basically just performing the activities that have formed the core of their livelihoods for generations.” A bathroom, supported by the Southern Cardamom REDD+ Project within the national park, is visible from the rain-drenched gate of a home in Samraong village. Credit: Anton L. Delgado/Southeast Asia Globe This carbon offset project was able to sell credits at higher prices because it received additional certifications reserved for projects that specifically benefit local and Indigenous communities. But Human Rights Watch found that the process of obtaining "free, prior and informed consent" from residents did not begin until 2 and 1/2 years after the project had already started. “I cannot imagine a more egregious problem than reversing free, prior and informed consent. If you say that happened and the opposite happened, why should I trust anything you say anywhere else?” said Danny Cullenward, a climate economist and lawyer. For Cullenward, the report findings are made even worse by the fact that some of the issues were documented in the project's own audits years before the investigation. The auditing firm SCS Global Services, for instance, noted that the free, prior and informed consent meetings with residents began 31 months after the January 2015 project start date, but still determined that the project was “in conformance” with certification requirements. “Every single party in this transaction has a financial interest in there being more credits issued,” Cullenward said. “It's a lose-lose situation here because, either one of the parties has really screwed up at its job or the rules are so weak, you really don't want to have any confidence in their application elsewhere.”The credits are certified by the US nonprofit Verra, the world's leading carbon credit certifier, which is meant to confirm that the projects produce certain environmental and social benefits. Verra began its own investigation of the project after Human Rights Watch shared its preliminary findings in June. Joel Finkelstein, Verra's senior director for media and advocacy, told The World that the allegations are appalling. He believes Verra's auditing system is something the organization can really stand behind.“It's a system designed to get to meaningful, credible, high-integrity climate impact and ethical processes in these projects,” he said. “If that was not the case here, our investigation will find that out and there will be censures for that, too.”Verra would not provide a timeline for when its investigation will be completed, and said its policy is to not provide commentary while an investigation is ongoing. SCS Global Services said in an email that its policy was to not comment on ongoing reviews. Cambodia's Environment Ministry did not respond to multiple requests for comment. Wildlife Alliance said in a statement that the Human Rights Watch report “fundamentally distorts the reality of the project.” A local resident walks down the red road to Chamnar Village in the Areng Valley of the Southern Cardamom National Park. Credit: Anton L. Delgado/Southeast Asia Globe At his family home, a Chong Indigenous man in his late 50s said the rangers and officials carrying out the carbon offset project have cut down crops grown by his community. "They should be protecting only the forest, not [patrolling] the plantations and trees that people have planted for years,” the man said, who also asked to remain anonymous for fear of retaliation from the Wildlife Alliance. He still farms in the area despite the patrols, but is afraid of being spotted. He doesn't earn enough for his family's daily living expenses, and had to take out private loans for $150."I only ask the companies that gave to [Wildlife Alliance] and the REDD+ Project to review the map that overlaps with people's land,” he said. “Do not hurt the people anymore."The authorities don't go after people who have excavators, he said, but they come for people with small farms like him. Additional reporting and translation by Phon Sothyroth.

It's so hot in the middle of the day in Dubai, in the United Arab Emirates, Karis Magnin said, she would never go to Kite Beach when the sun's out. But by 11 p.m., the temperature drops to around 88 degrees Fahrenheit, and the humidity also decreases a little. The beach is open all night. “It's comfortable, and the breeze is nice,” Magnin said as she sipped her iced tea and ate bratwurst at a table near the sand, with her friend, Ashley Taylor Smith, on a recent night.The two weren't alone — the beach was packed, and the boardwalk was abuzz.Scientists say 2023 was the hottest year on record, and that it was hotter than it's been in thousands of years. Cities and towns all over the world have been affected, and many, like Dubai, have started to find ways to adapt to the hotter new reality. In May of 2023, the municipality of Dubai designated several night beaches — open 24 hours and free to access — to make the city more attractive, improve quality of life and boost tourism, according to a government video posted on X. Dubai Municipality produced a video, which it posted on X, about its night beaches. Credit: Dubai Municipality on X In the face of the region's extreme weather, night beaches are one way to appeal to more people, it adds.The beaches in Dubai are uniquely equipped for the adjustment. They have floodlights, digital screens projecting safety information, late-night dining options, games, jogging areas and rides. And the lifeguards remain on duty into the wee hours of the morning to counter the risks of swimming at night.EJ Yco, who runs the iced tea stand at Kite Beach, said he generally opens at 2 p.m., but that people don't usually start showing up until 7 p.m. or 8 p.m. Before then, it's just too hot and humid.“You cannot stay outside or you're going to burn up,” he said. “So, the people like to come at night.”Melissa Finnecane, a behavioral scientist and also the vice president of science and innovation at the Union of Concerned Scientists, said that coastal communities all over the world have been scrambling to find ways to deal with the effects of climate change. Families play on a public beach with the Burj al-Arab hotel behind them in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, Friday, May 29, 2020.  Credit: Jon Gambrell/AP In Fiji, resorts have started offering more indoor activities for guests who need a break from the heat or shelter from storms; the coastal town of Montauk in New York has created a plan to relocate part of the community inland; and in the Maldives, the government has built an artificial island to make up for land lost to sea-level rise.  “We do have to think about adaptation strategies,” she said, adding, “We really are going to be struggling more and more.”  Finnecane said that the most-important consideration is still preventative measures, such as reducing carbon emissions. But mitigating the effects of climate change is not just an engineering challenge.“Social infrastructure, meaning the places people gather to spend time and build strength as a community,” are also important, she emphasized. Like at Kite Beach — where Magnin and Smith looked out at the gulf waters illuminated by floodlights. “This is great,” Smith said. “It just feels really relaxed. You can make a day out of it” —  or a night.

These days, the Horn of Africa and the Red Sea region are known for being conflict zones. But 60,000 years ago, they were pathways out of Africa for our oldest ancestors. National Geographic Explorer Paul Salopek has been following the migration routes of early humans from their origins in Africa, across the globe, to the southern tip of South America since 2013.He began in Ethiopia and then continued his journey through Djibouti, a small East African country that borders Eritrea, Ethiopia and Somalia."I crossed into Djibouti across a border that was desert on one side, desert on the other. Just unchanging dryness," Salopek told The World. "Temperatures [would go] up to 120 degrees during the day. There was a drought, so there had been no rain for a year." My chapeau gets a long overdue washing by Houssain Mohamed Houssain—in boiling sulfur water. Delousing was included. Join the journey at outofedenwalk.org. Photograph by Paul Salopek, National Geographic Credit: Paul Salopek/National Geographic But the extreme weather conditions weren't what haunted him most. "I was literally walking in many places, the same corridors of dispersal, of early humans, literally on top of their bones, in some cases going through ancient fossil fields." Silver Sea. The finish line for the African leg of the walk: the Gulf of Tadjourah, Djibouti. Join the journey at outofedenwalk.org. Photograph by Paul Salopek, National Geographic Credit: Paul Salopek/National Geographic He was stirred by the past's connection to current world events and the fact that migrants still walk the same ancient trails today."I wish it were being propelled by positive forces. But as we all know, it's often negative reasons for leaving. It takes enormous pressure to get people to uproot and move. And I think we need to remember that as we deal with these very complex issues of mobile populations."Listen to the full interview by clicking on the blue player above to learn more about Paul Salopek's experiences in Djibouti and his journey on the Red Sea. Writer and National Geographic Explorer Paul Salopek has embarked on a 24,000-mile storytelling trek across the world called the Out of Eden Walk. The National Geographic Society, committed to illuminating and protecting the wonder of our world, has funded Salopek and the project since 2013. Explore the project here. Follow the journey on X at @PaulSalopek, @outofedenwalk and also at @InsideNatGeo.

When dispatch rider Efo Pascal recently returned to Accra on his motorbike from one of his delivery rounds, he came back with a dusty black sweater and helmet. “Since the whole of last week and this week, the dust is too much, and it is really bad. This is my first delivery today yet, see how dirty I look,” he said.Ghana is in the grip of this year's harmattan season — characterized by dry, dusty winds between the end of November through March — as winds from the Sahara desert reach West Africa.Since December, the skyline in Accra has been hazy with excessive dust flying in the air.Last week, Accra's air quality was labeled hazardous by the Ghana Meteorological Agency, the Environmental Protection Agency and other air quality monitoring platforms. The harmattan season is not new to Ghana, but experts say climate change is intensifying these harsh weather conditions and leading to increased health hazards. Pascal said that driving at night has become dangerous due to visibility problems. And his health, too, is taking a hit. He said he's already been to the hospital twice in the past two weeks due to breathing problems. “Breathing was really hard for me, especially at night."Efo Pascal, dispatch rider, Accra, Ghana“Breathing was really hard for me, especially at night. I had pains in my chest, and I was coughing,” he said as he pulled medicine out of his pocket. “The doctor said I had some infections from the air. That's why they gave me antibiotics,” he said.Yet he still struggles with his breathing. Last August, a team of scientists published new research indicating a substantial correlation between air pollution and antibiotic resistance, resulting in about 480,000 premature deaths in 2018.Pascal said he fears his health may deteriorate. And he's not the only one. Patience Denu, a teacher at the Fountain Basic School in Accra, said the current dry weather is making some children sick. Inside the school courtyard, children usually run around or chat with friends during recess — but the weather is taking a toll. “They [the children] are always complaining of headaches."Patience Denu, teacher, Fountain Basic School, Accra, Ghana“Their faces, all dry, their lips are breaking and all that. Because of that, they are always like, ‘My head…I'm feeling tired…' They are always complaining of headaches,” she said. Patience Denu is a teacher at Fountain Basic School in Accra, Ghana.   Credit: Ridwan Karim Dini-Osman/The World Denu said the situation is making schoolwork tedious. When the children don't feel well, she said the children have to spend a few days at home. The school may shut down if the situation does not improve, she added.  Emmanuel Osei Waziri is dropping off his children at school. He said he's concerned about Accra's worsening air quality. Emmanuel Osei Waziri, who recently dropped off his children at school, said he's worried. “The dust is everywhere, and it's hard to shield them from it. How do I even tell if it is not already affecting their lungs? We are still monitoring whether we may have to keep them at home for some time until the air becomes normal,” he said.Surge in respiratory illnessesSome hospitals are now seeing a surge in respiratory tract infections among children.At the Child Health Emergency unit of the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital in Accra, Mabel Okine said her 2-year-old has been coughing excessively and having breathing difficulties in the last two weeks.“This is the third time I am bringing her to the hospital. We have tried prescriptions and even home remedies, but she is still not getting better. I sell water by the road and usually strap her on my back. So I think the air has entered her system,” she said.Pediatrician Dr. Frank Owusu Sekeyere said they are recording 30 respiratory tract infection cases per day compared to just six cases every two months before the harmattan season started. “So, the children are coming in with either a runny nose or they are snorty, coryza [acute mucous] and then, they are also coughing. And then sometimes, they also come with signs of respiratory tract infections."Dr. Frank Owusu Sekeyere, Korle Bu Teaching Hospital, Accra, Ghana “So, the children are coming in with either a runny nose, or they are snorty, coryza [acute mucous], and then, they are also coughing. And then sometimes, they also come with signs of respiratory tract infections. What we also see is that fine particles in the air are worsening preexisting conditions. The situation is quite disturbing,” he said.'Health effects of climate change are very real'Accra now sits alongside Delhi, in India, as one of the most highly polluted cities in the world. The fastest-growing African city of 4 million people sees a daily influx of 2.5 million business commuters. And the city is already grappling with the effects of climate change due to rapid urbanization and industrialization.Selina Amoah, head of environmental quality at the EPA, said this year's harmattan season is worse than years prior. “From our monitoring locations along the roadside, we realized that the pollution levels are high — and this is largely due to climate change. Rising temperatures, changing wind patterns, and increased desertification have all contributed to the severity of the weather,” she said. Selina Amoah is head of environmental quality at the Environmental Protection Agency in Ghana.  Credit: Ridwan Karim Dini-Osman/The World The expansion of desert areas has led to an increase in dust that is then carried by the harmattan winds. Amoah said climate change can influence the intensity and duration of the harmattan season, potentially leading to more severe dust storms or altered patterns of dust transport. This can also have a detrimental impact on air quality.“The only thing we can do now is to take precautions to stay safe."Selina Amoah, head of environmental quality, Environmental Protection Agency, Accra, Ghana“The only thing we can do now is to take precautions to stay safe,” Amoah said. They are encouraging people to stay indoors and wear a mask if they must go outdoors. They are also asking the public to refrain from burning garbage outside and to use water to douse their surroundings in dusty areas.Dirty air results in 4 million deaths annually around the world. In Ghana, this translates to at least 28,000 premature deaths every year. Yet, just 1% of global development aid is spent on tackling air pollution.Akosua Kwakye, with the World Health Organization office in Ghana, said that air pollutants and greenhouse gasses often come from the same sources — coal-fired power plants and diesel-fueled vehicles.“What we are experiencing in Ghana shows that the health effects of climate change are very real."Akosua Kwakye, World Health Organization, Accra, Ghana“What we are experiencing in Ghana shows that the health effects of climate change are very real. There's evidence to indicate that issues like respiratory infections, cardiovascular diseases and even some cancers are attributable to the events of climate change,” she said. Akosua Kwakye is with the World Health Organization office in Ghana. She wants air pollution and climate change to be addressed collaboratively.   Credit: Ridwan Karim Dini-Osman/The World In 2022, the World Bank disclosed that global health-related damages linked to outdoor air pollution reached $8.1 trillion, equivalent to approximately 6.1% of the global gross domestic product. And the burden disproportionately affects low- and middle-income countries like Ghana.Experts like Kwakye say that Ghana should begin to embrace green initiatives to include cleaner, renewable energy sources, phase out subsidies that promote use of polluting fuels, and plant more trees. But Emmanuel Appoh, an environmental scientist at the University of Ghana who inspects sensors at an Air Quality Evaluation facility, said the latest data shows no signs of improvement any time soon.“The current state of air quality is very unhealthy, and you have a lot of dust in the atmosphere. It is not encouraging at all. Hopefully, this does not lead us into a public health crisis,” he said.