Stories by Barbara Fraser

A leading Brazilian scientist discusses the challenges faced by the country, which has the world’s third-highest number of COVID-19 cases

The gold-mining boom in southeastern Amazon is driving high levels of mercury contamination

A recent rupture of Peru’s 39-year-old northern crude oil pipeline has terrified Kukama villagers along the Marañón River

Three out of four children in remote communities have blood lead levels higher than those considered excessive in the U.S.

The Peruvian Amazon struggles to adapt to a warmer, drier future

The mud used to make adobe homes soaked up centuries of mercury emissions and scientists are trying to determine if the walls pose a health hazard

The trees and vegetation of the Peruvian Amazon are adapting to a warmer, drier future--but can they adapt fast enough?

Black-carbon emissions from newer stoves, designed to be safer, were higher than those from traditional fire hearths, a new study finds

Scientists used to think the Amazon was too wet to burn, but a warming Atlantic Ocean is drawing moisture away from the rainforest

Thousands of dead or dying dolphins have washed ashore in Peru since January, a marine mystery potentially caused by a combination of stress, pollution and disease

Merchants, townspeople in Peru face similar risks to gold miners

Melting sacred glaciers and other fundamental changes confront the Andes's Quechua-speaking farmers

In Peru, as glaciers decline and droughts increase, conflict and tension rise