A person is shown in shadow walking on the fabric of a blue and green hot air balloon.

The Big Fix

Earth homes make a comeback in a Colombian town

The Big Fix

Colombian architects are turning to older building techniques to reduce the carbon emissions associated with construction.

How climate change is strengthening hurricanes, and what communities can do

Is Europe ill-prepared for flood disasters?

Residents in Spain’s Valencia region reeling from record-breaking floods

In Bangladesh, warning systems help prevent storm casualties

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Morocco reckons with drought to stave off disaster

As Morocco enters a seventh straight year of drought, the country is pouring resources into adapting to the drier new reality of the future.

Worsened by climate change, Morocco’s 7-year drought threatens food stability

Across much of North Africa, a punishing drought is now entering its seventh year. In Morocco, wheat, a staple of people’s diet, is withering. Livestock are dying. Scientists say climate change is making the normally dry region much drier, and that things will worsen as global temperatures continue to rise. 

Why a megacity in India is reviving the humble water well

Environment

In the Indian tech hub of Bengaluru, water has become a precious commodity. One initiative leverages an age-old, well-digging technique to help residents tap into a forgotten source. 

Firefighters test out new tool as Brazil’s Pantanal wetlands burn

Record-setting wildfires are raging in the Pantanal region in Brazil. In a densely vegetated rural area the size of England, it can be hard for firefighters to find and reach the blazes to combat them. That’s why one nonprofit is training local fighters to use drones to pinpoint the exact location and size of fires, and scope out roads to reach them. 

facade of one-story home

New project seeks to solve housing crisis using mushroom byproduct and troublesome weed

The Big Fix

In Namibia, MycoHAB is hoping to solve two issues for the price of one: make use of a pesky plant known as the encroacher bush and deal with the country’s housing crisis. By harvesting the water-intensive weeds that encroach on farmland and combining them with a mushroom byproduct known as mycelium, MycoHAB founder and architect Chris Maurer creates bricks to build homes. The World’s Carolyn Beeler spoke to Maurer to learn more.

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