Sam Eaton

A dry brown patch of land is dotted with trees

A 'Third Way' to save the Amazon: make the standing forest itself more valuable

Brazil’s leading climatologist wants to change the way businesses view the Amazon. If standing trees become more valuable than cleared land, the forest can recover and continue to absorb greenhouse gases.

A 'Third Way' to save the Amazon: make the standing forest itself more valuable
A muddy river runs through a green landscape. On one side are trees and a dense forest; the other is bare.

'Our wealth is the forest': Indigenous tribes are the last best hope for the Amazon

'Our wealth is the forest': Indigenous tribes are the last best hope for the Amazon
Fields growing soybeans for the global market have replaced dense rainforest along the Brazilian Amazon’s 'arc of deforestation.'

For illegal loggers in the Brazilian Amazon, 'there is no fear of being punished'

For illegal loggers in the Brazilian Amazon, 'there is no fear of being punished'
Two trees are covered in instruments strapped to their bases

The Amazon used to be a hedge against climate change. Those days may be over.

The Amazon used to be a hedge against climate change. Those days may be over.
Women on the street

These Indian women said they could protect their local forests better than the men in their village. The men agreed.

These Indian women said they could protect their local forests better than the men in their village. The men agreed.
At the tip of Sagar Island where it meets the Bay of Bengal battered earthen dikes no longer keep the sea at bay.

Climate change-linked 'everyday disasters' are displacing the world’s poorest people

We tend to think of climate change these days in terms of big disasters like storms and droughts. But in many coastal regions, the impact is less dramatic but no less devastating. Sam Eaton reports on the slow drowning of communities in a crowded, low-lying part of India called the Sundarbans.

Climate change-linked 'everyday disasters' are displacing the world’s poorest people

Tanzania has figured out a way to make charcoal and save trees at the same time

In a country where millions use charcoal for cooking fuel and its trade supports more than a million jobs, a new project aims to produce the stuff without decimating forests.

Tanzania has figured out a way to make charcoal and save trees at the same time
Ninety five percent of urban Tanzanians use charcoal for cooking fuel, and the trade supports more than a million jobs. But charcoal production is taking a massive toll on the country's forests. After a failed attempt to ban the trade the country is now t

Tanzania is trying to turn the charcoal trade from an enemy to a friend of the forest

The illegal charcoal trade is a big contributor to deforestation in countries like Tanzania. After trying and failing once to curb the business, the country is now trying a new approach. The World's Sam Eaton has the story.

Tanzania is trying to turn the charcoal trade from an enemy to a friend of the forest
Sundarban1

After the floods come the human traffickers, but these girls are fighting back

India's low-lying Sundarbans are rife with human trafficking as the effects of climate change leave families poor and vulnerable. But a new program from Save the Children India is helping kids band together to ward off traffickers, while also getting them to stay in school. Even if it means they also learn to roll cigarettes to support their families.

After the floods come the human traffickers, but these girls are fighting back
Fourteen year-old Nuru Sheha studies at night in the light of solar-powered LED lights at home in the village of Matemwe, on the Tanzanian island of Zanzibar. He family's first electrical system was installed by one of Zanzibar's 13 "solar mamas," illiter

Zanzibar's 'Solar Mamas' flip the switch on rural homes, gender roles

On the Tanzanian island of Zanzibar, hundreds of households too poor and remote to have access to the electrical grid are getting low cost solar power for the first time, from a group of local female engineers trained by and Indian NGO. It's the first of several "solar mamas" projects planned for parts of rural Africa, and it's turning some traditional gender roles on their head.

Zanzibar's 'Solar Mamas' flip the switch on rural homes, gender roles
A baboon stakes out a walkway near the entrance of Tanzania's Udzungwa National Park. With human settlement at the base of the still wild Udzungwa Mountains growing fast, humans and wild animals are coming into ever more frequent contact, creating what on

To prevent the next Ebola, scientists try to catch new viruses before they break out

With the Ebola outbreak not yet behind us, global health workers are already scrambling to prevent what could be the next big outbreak of an emerging disease caused by a virus that jumped from animals into humans. In Tanzania, an organization is trying a new approach to tracking these new viruses and preventing another pandemic.

To prevent the next Ebola, scientists try to catch new viruses before they break out
eaton lead

'God commanded' family planning, says this Muslim leader in flood-ravaged Malawi

Into the 1990s, Malawi banned not only birth control, but sex education and even miniskirts. Now, attitudes toward contraception are changing under the pressure of climate change and rapid population growth.

'God commanded' family planning, says this Muslim leader in flood-ravaged Malawi
Some of the nearly 250,000 Malawians displaced by recent flooding in the southern part of the country sit for a photo at a school where they've taken refuge. Far from the epicenter of international flood relief efforts, the 4,220 people in this isolated c

Here's what happens when increasingly severe weather meets deforestation

Massive flooding in Malawi have forced nearly a quarter-million people from their homes, and many say they will never go home. Where will they go?

Here's what happens when increasingly severe weather meets deforestation
Malawians evacuated after devastating floods in late January wait out another deluge at a makeshift shelter. As many as 200,000 people have been displaced and crops were destroyed by what the country's president says is the worst flooding in its history.

The flood of the half-century — and you probably haven't heard about it

The flooding has displaced nearly 200,000 people in Malawi, destroyed crops and brought fears of disease. In a region already prone to flooding, the future may hold even worse.

The flood of the half-century — and you probably haven't heard about it

Vertical lunch: To increase food production, crowded Singapore looks up

A new super-efficient vertical farming system is helping increase food security and reduce the climate impact of food production for the 5 million residents of crowded Singapore.

Vertical lunch: To increase food production, crowded Singapore looks up