Environment

When the US officially handed over the Panama Canal to the Republic of Panama last December, the historic transfer was praised as the beginning a new bilateral relationship between the two countries. But in at least one important area – the environment – nothing has changed. The US no longer controls the canal, but its imperial legacy is evident in Panama in the unexploded shells, grenades, and other munitions left by the military after decades of training and arms testing. More than 110,000 pieces of undetected ordinance may be laying on the ground, or buried under the jungle canapŽ covering 7000 hectares of land, according to figures released by the US. read more

The economic and social costs of the US’s failed War on Drugs are well known. Violence is endemic in Mexico, Colombia, and other countries at the war’s epicenter, while drug-related corruption is now a global phenomenon involving the highest official levels in every nation touched by the drug trade. Meanwhile, hundreds of thousands of people are dependent on the drug trade for their livelihood, and are helping to supply the many unfortunate individuals hooked on a wide variety of drugs being marketed to meet the huge demand. read more

The sun rises over a vast expanse of prairie. The wind blows and the wild grass sways, as if to music. With its seeming endless repetition and aching beauty, the great prairie has captured the American imagination for generations. The image is peaceful, a scene of tranquillity and rhythm, a place to dream.

But the western plains aren’t as tranquil as they appear. A war is being waged against the short and mixed grass prairie, and the most brutal battle centers on the prairie dog, arguably the ecosystem’s cornerstone. read more

On the road to Puerto Cabezas, the cowboy country of Nicaragua’s central mountains slopes into the lush lowlands of the Miskito Rainforest – what’s left of it. For centuries, this region was an impenetrable jungle which protected the Miskito and Mayangna Indians from conquest. Just a few years ago, there was no road to the Caribbean coastal town. Now, Central America’s largest rainforest is shrinking faster than ever, and the Indians find themselves the guardians of what once was their protector. read more