This year's global climate summit is taking place in Germany, but it's being led by the Pacific island nation of Fiji. Here's what half a dozen Fijians think about hosting the conference and life in the cross-hairs of climate change.
Until last year, citizens of the island nation of Tonga were connected to the world via slow, expensive satellite Internet. Now a new and seemingly unlikely fiber optic network has boosted business and firmed up connections with the widespread Tongan diaspora.
One of the more potent reasons for saving species and the environment is that nature is where we find our most powerful medicines. For three decades, a hunt's been underway on land and sea for molecules that could help fight cancer. That hunt is winding down now in the coral reefs of Palau.
The practice of catching sharks and cutting off their fins for soup and other products is lucrative business, and regulated. But illegal "finning" is tough to stop: Exhibit A is Costa Rica, which claims to be a global leader in environmental sustainability.
Before slamming into the Philippines, Typhoon Haiyan blew across the northern part of the Pacific island nation of Palau, wreaking havoc and elevating concerns about climate change.
After decades of dreaming and scheming, companies say they're finally ready to start mining the bottom of the world's oceans for valuable minerals.