Mexico

Activities associated with cocaine trafficking threaten two-thirds of the most important landscapes in Central America for 196 forest bird species, including 67 migratory species. This is the key takeaway from a study that colleagues and I published in June 2024 in the journal Nature Sustainability. Our findings suggest that there is real potential for drug-related deforestation to negatively affect populations of migratory birds. Many of these species are unusually concentrated in winter in Central America, which has a comparatively smaller area than their summer breeding regions in North America. For 1 in 5 migratory species that travel to Central American forests annually, including familiar birds like the Baltimore oriole, more than 50% of their global population winters in areas that are becoming more attractive to traffickers. For half of migratory species, at least 25% of their populations winter in these areas. Baltimore orioles...

Consumers’ love for avocados in the United States seems to know no bounds. From 2001 through 2020, consumption of this fruit laden with healthy fats tripled nationwide, rising to over 8 pounds per person yearly. On average, 90% of those avocados are grown in the southwest Mexican state of Michoacán. As with other foods that have become trendy, such as acai berries, or widely used, such as palm oil, intensive avocado production is causing significant environmental damage. My research on 20th-century Latin American environmental history examines how the transnational movement of people, foods and agricultural technologies has changed rural landscapes in Latin America. Currently, I’m writing a book on the development of a global avocado industry centered in Michoacán, the world’s largest avocado-growing region. Michoacán has a large Indigenous population and an economy based on agriculture, fishing and ranc...

In dozens of archaeological discoveries around the world, from the once-successful reservoirs and canals of Angkor Wat in Cambodia to the deserted Viking colonies of Greenland, new evidence paints pictures of civilizations struggling with unforeseen climate changes and the reality that their farming practices had become unsustainable. Among these discoveries are also success stories, where ancient farming practices helped civilizations survive the hard times. Zuni farmers in the southwestern United States made it through long stretches of extremely low rainfall between A.D. 1200 and 1400 by embracing small-scale, decentralized irrigation systems. Farmers in Ghana coped with severe droughts from 1450 to 1650 by planting indigenous African grains, like drought-tolerant pearl millet. Ancient practices like these are gaining new interest today. As countries face unprecedented heat waves, storms and melting glaciers, some farmers and international development organizations are rea...

Acapulco wasn’t prepared when Hurricane Otis struck as a powerful Category 5 storm on Oct. 25, 2023. The short notice as the storm rapidly intensified over the Pacific Ocean wasn’t the only problem – the Mexican resort city’s buildings weren’t designed to handle anything close to Otis’ 165 mph winds. While Acapulco’s oceanfront high-rises were built to withstand the region’s powerful earthquakes, they had a weakness. Since powerful hurricanes are rare in Acapulco, Mexico’s building codes didn’t require that their exterior materials be able to hold up to extreme winds. In fact, those materials were often kept light to help meet earthquake building standards. Otis’ powerful winds ripped off exterior cladding and shattered windows, exposing bedrooms and offices to the wind and rain. The storm took dozens of lives and caused billions of dollars in damage. A US$130 million lu...

Tropical Storm Hilary made landfall on Mexico’s Baja peninsula, and its damaging wind and heavy rainfall moved into Southern California on Aug. 20, 2023. For the first time ever, the National Hurricane Center had issued a tropical storm watch for large parts of Southern California. Forecasters warned of a “potentially historic amount of rainfall,” and the governors of California and Nevada declared states of emergency. Hurricane scientist Nick Grondin explained ahead of landfall why the storm, with help from El Niño and a heat dome over much of the country, could bring flash flooding, wind damage and mudslides to the region. How rare are tropical storms in the Southwest? California had only one confirmed tropical storm landfall in the past. It was in September 1939 and called the Long Beach Tropical Storm. It caused about US$2 million dollars in damage in the Los Angeles area – that would be about $44 million today. A hurricane in 1858 came close bu...