An idyllic spot near Puerto Vallarta, Mexico where a mountain river meets the sea has long been loved for its wildlife and natural beauty. But a recent move by a local company to allegedly “dam up” the Los Horcones river sparked outrage and activism that went far beyond the town.   

Local reside...

They may be simple little images of local wildlife from Brazil’s Amazon rainforest but for those who sell them -- and for the tourists who buy them -- they’re more than just a trinket. These little figurines are helping feed hundreds of families -- while giving visitors an endearing memory of the...

One of the strongest earthquakes in Mexican history rocked the country in 2020. The epicenter was in the southern state of Oaxaca, an impoverished region where the damage was extensive.
The timing couldn’t have been worse, coming in the middle of a pandemic that has
devastated the Mexican econom...

The Atlantic Hurricane season runs from June through late November. In 2019 Hurricane Dorian left hundreds dead or missing in the Bahamas. The economic toll – more than 3 billion dollars. Our John Zarrella met with the person who was in charge of managing emergencies in the U-S for a decade. T...

Patagonia for over 20 years -Kris Tompkins gave it all back to Chile and Argentina, countries that had expanded their national parks. Correspondent Joel Richards profiled the woman behind one of the largest land donations in history. 

More than a million residents in California -most of them Latino farm workers that make up the backbone of the agricultural workforce- don’t have safe drinking water in their homes and schools. 

Scientists say the water is tainted with unsafe levels of arsenic and harmful pesticides such as 123 ...

As water scarcity becomes a growing concern around the world, community leaders and scientists in Colombia are leading the way in preserving water resources.

In 1990, the country ranked fourth with the greatest resources of freshwater in the world.

At the time, Colombia had more than 700,000 di...

Some of the poorest communities in the Western hemisphere are located in Central America. For years, severe droughts have been causing widespread hunger. The COVID-19 pandemic made things worse when shutdowns severely cut back on economic growth. It's a situation that's repeated across Latin Amer...

As the pandemic continues to rage around the world, nature, it seems, hasn’t noticed much of a difference.
While human society lives through the upheaval of the global COVID-19 pandemic, nature has continued here unperturbed.
And when it comes to massive migrations, perhaps none is more impressi...

The accumulation of plastic debris on our oceans and rivers has led to the formation on garbage patches and floating islands non-biodegradable waste in open waters. In the Americas one of the worst cases happens out of the coast of Guatemala and Honduras. Harris Whitbeck reports.

Earlier in 2021, nearly 8,000 migrants from Honduras tried to cross into Guatemala to join more Central Americans in a caravan attempting to reach the United States.
They were escaping the economic effects of a lockdown due to the COVID-19 pandemic. But that was only made worse when twin hurrican...

They serve as a treasure trove to scientists and a paradise for nature tourists. The Galapagos Islands.

Located 1000 kilometers off the coast of Ecuador, they feature plant and animal life found nowhere else in the world. On these islands, tourism has been the main industry for the 30,000 people...

When we talk about climate change we tend to focus on the quality of air, the weather and even the tides. We rarely think about what’s in the ground. Mike Kirsch went to Columbus, Ohio to meet with a scientist most knowledgeable about soil. 

It's the third largest coral reef in the world but it’s the closest to a high-density population that can potentially cause coral disease. But a group of scientists from Miami University and the Florida Aquarium are embarking on a two-day restoration effort to monitor previously transplanted cora...

A group of young adults in their early 20s and late teens have set in motion a youth movement focused on climate activism. Americas Now went to meet four members of Jovenes por el Clima -Youth for Climate.
Since that day, the group has been growing rapidly. They have members across the country an...

Between the COVID-19 pandemic, climate change and high food prices, more and more people are rethinking the way they eat and produce. In fact, many in the city have been turning their backyards and balconies into urban gardens. Joel Richards explains how this trend is growing in Argentina.

Brazil is trying to accelerate its food production without causing damage to the Amazon. A small town in the country’s northern region has become a prototype to follow. The town uses Asian farming techniques applied over a century ago. Maria Valls reports.

Not so in Latin America. For years, it has been one of the world’s deadliest regions for environmental activists. Colombia usually tops this tragic list. Mexico is not far behind, with 18 activists assassinated in 2020. This year, Mexico is on track to surpass that grim record. Americas Now cor...

Mexico is one of the world’s most biodiverse countries, with arid deserts and steamy jungles, raging coastlines and soaring mountain peaks. And in the Yucatan peninsula, a region home to the Mayan culture for millennia, local environmental activists are working to protect their unique subaquatic ...

Florida brands itself as “The Fishing Capital of The World.” But in some areas, the “Sunshine State” is starting to see a depletion of its fish. John Zarrella went to the famous Florida Keys to find out why catching fish is harder now.

Wildfire season in the U.S. normally runs from June to November. But this year began with frightening numbers and some very destructive activity early on. Mike Kirsch deployed to what has become ground zero for wildfires. The state of California.   

An alliance of indigenous forest dwellers around the world has committed to curbing carbon emissions. Harris Whitbeck went to Panama to meet with some guardians of the rainforests fighting against climate change.  

The Parana River in South America is the second-longest river. It runs almost 5 thousand kilometers through Brazil, Paraguay, and Argentina. But the Parana is at its lowest levels since the 1940s. Joel Richards reports on the economic and social impacts.