The World's Jason Margolis reports on the Sierra Gorda Biosphere in central Mexico. The biosphere was set up with the goal of preserving the forests that local farmers were cutting down for sale as timber. Now the biosphere's leaders are hoping Americans will pay to encourage local farmers to leave their trees standing, as part of a carbon offset program.

Anchor Lisa Mullins has details on the United Nations climate change conference in Bali, Indonesia. It entered its final stage today.

Ethiopians are celebrating the return of text messaging. The service was shut down two years ago during violent election protests. Anchor Lisa Mullins tells us how it's back...and even better.

Anchor Lisa Mullins speaks with author Elizabeth Little, who took her obsession with language and turned it into a book. It's called "Biting the Wax Tadpole--confessions of a language fanatic."

Some in the Arab world are pressing the Palestinian rivals Hamas and Fatah to resolve their differences. It's not clear, though, whether the West wants the same thing. The World's Aaron Schachter reports.

The World's Quil Lawrence tells us why tempers are flaring among some Israeli settlers after a meeting between Israelis and Palestinians today. They're upset over what the United States said about a proposed settlement in East Jerusalem.

See what listeners are predicting as the stories they'll see in 2008. Also, find out what Daniel Franklin of The Economist says of the issues that will face the presidential candidates next year.

Anchor Lisa Mullins speaks to the BBC's Beirut correspondent Jim Muir about today's deadly bombings in Lebanon and Iraq, and the one earlier this week in Algeria. Different groups carried out the attacks, but the result is an entire region on edge.

Entire program - December 12

The answer to today's Geo Quiz is a meteor shower that scientists say will be blazing this week in the northern hemisphere. The answer is the Geminid Meteor Shower.