The Amazon rain forest is a crucial player in the global climate system. For one thing it's a massive store of carbon. The World's Alex Gallafent climbs a scientific tower in the Brazilian Amazon to explore another function: rainmaking.

Rice paddies across Asia are being replaced by golf courses and luxury hotels. And workers are leaving the fields for factory jobs. Rebecca Henschke reports on an endangered species - the rice farmers of Indonesia.

Host Marco Werman speaks with authorJoe Jackson about bio-piracy in the Amazon rainforest. Jackson is the author of "The Thief at the End of the World: Rubber, Power and the Seeds of Empire."

The answer to today's Geo Quiz is Manaus -- a city in the middle of the Amazon that was built by 19th century rubber barons. They sought to fill the city with their creature comforts -- like an opera house. The World's Alex Gallafent reports from Manaus.

Anchor Lisa Mullins talks with Cynthia Rosenzweig, the lead author of a new study on climate change. Rosenzweig finds compelling evidence that climate change is already having a profound impact on eco-systems around the globe.

Kenyan farmers are troubled by their newest neighbors -- elephants. A growing elephant population is destroying crops and creating violent confrontations. Jessica Partnow reports on a plan to reign in the pachyderms.

Anchor Lisa Mullins speaks with energy analyst and author Michael Klare about the global appetite energy economy. Klare's new books is titled, "Rising Powers, Shrinking Planet: The New Geopolitics of Energy".

Burma's mangroves have buffered the country from the worst effects of natural disasters. Now that the mangrove forests have been cleared away to make way for shrimp and fish farms, cyclones like the one that struck days ago are even more devastating. Anchor Lisa Mullins gets details from Jeffrey McNeely, the chief scientist for the International Union for the Conservation of Nature.

Host Lisa Mullins speaks with food journalist Michael Pollan who explains how the food we eat makes the journey from the field to our kitchens.

The World's Jeb Sharp reports on how the global food crisis and the rise in oil prices are affecting American farmers.