Cautious optimism in the Amazon

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Fewer trees were cut down in the Amazon rainforest this past year. Climate scientists say Brazil has done well, but deforestation is more than one nation’s problem. Marco Werman talks with Dr William Laurance of the Smithsonian Institution who has studied the Amazon for 15 years. (photo: Alex Gallafent) Download MP3

• The Smithsonian Tropical Research Institution (STRI)
• Alex Gallafent’s Amazon stories (2008)

Scottish scientists begin earthworm count

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Next week, representatives of most of the world’s countries will gather in Bangkok, Thailand to start negotiating the text of a possible new climate treaty. One item that’s probably not the agenda in Bangkok is the humble earthworm. But in some parts of the world, worms may be a good harbingers of the effects of climate change. To that end, scientists in Scotland have begun an earthworm count. We speak with Roy Neilson of the Scottish Crop Research Institute (SCRI) in Dundee. Download MP3

• SCRI Homepage
• BBC: More on the earthworm count
• Dig deeper into the importance of the earthworm

US-China cooperation on global warming

US Energy Secretary Steven Chu and US Commerce Secretary Gary Locke are in China. They’re meeting with their Chinese counterparts to discuss combating global warming. The World’s Mary Kay Magistad reports. Listen

China, global warming savior or sinner? Join the World Science Forum discussion