🌿 Paraguay’s greatest gift — or its curse

Thursday

Dec 08 2022

Paraguay is one of only three countries on Earth where Ilex Paraguariensis grows naturally in abundance. The tree, a kind of holly, is known in the indigenous Guaraní language as ka'a, and its leaves hold power — both cultural and economic. The plant yields the beverage yerba mate, known today in the western world as a health-boosting brew that has ample caffeine and vitamins and minerals. It also holds a ceremonial and social significance for the people who grow the plant and drink its bounty. But despite such power, the plant's increasing popularity could also be a curse, spurred on by the climate crisis. For subsistence farmers in Paraguay, the yerba mate fields are a blessing — and a battle ground.

That's today's top story. Keep scrolling for more incredible tales of growing forests on Mars, a hidden ancient ecosystem, and more.

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Culture

Why yerba mate may be one of Paraguay’s greatest gifts — or its curse

To Ireno Vega and his wife, Zulma Chávez Bustamante, the existence and knowledge of how to grow and prepare yerba mate, an ancient Guaraní tea, represents more than a means to make a living.

“It means survival,” says Vega, a 60-year-old subsistence farmer with a wind-whipped face and a Hemingway beard. “And hope.”

Yerba mate is the key to the success of their community, an agricultural cooperative called Oñoirũ made up of some 130 families. Vega and Bustamante helped found the unique community, nestled in a rural part of southeastern Paraguay called “Kilometer 47,” with their four children in the 1970s. The region is part of what is called the Southern Cone — spanning southern Paraguay, northern Argentina, and western Brazil. It’s the only place on Earth — despite failed efforts— where the tree that yerba mate comes from, a kind of holly, is successfully cultivated.

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Audi

New holiday tradition: plug into a better future

Ah, holiday tech traditions: connecting to grandma’s ethernet port, going on an early-morning replacement phone charger run, and helping dad set up the smart TV (again). This time, ring in the new year with technology that brings a sense of optimism. With over 100 years of experience on the cutting edge, Audi has been manufacturing vehicles for premium mobility since day one. Fully electric motors housed in an elegant design rivals any family heirloom: That’s what makes Audi instantly recognizable.

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Written and directed by James Cameron, the original sci-fi epic Avatar — set in a lush garden world called Pandora, home to wild beasts and towering blue aliens — encompasses complex but universal themes, from the careless greed of imperialism to love transcending cultural barriers. Its technical artistry is equally intricate. For his movie, Cameron strove to inch past the bleeding edge of cinema to bring Pandora to life. In doing so, the director and his army of artists paved the roads other filmmakers traveled for over a decade.

Read the full interview

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Science

Groundbreaking 2-million-year-old DNA discovery could hint at the future of Earth

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Space

Science

This ecologist has an audacious plan to build forests on Mars

A century from now, people on Mars might stroll through forests filled with juniper trees, kudzu vines, and heath shrubs. Maybe.

Ecologist Paul Smith of the University of Bristol suggests that long-term residents of Mars, whether they’re settlers or astronauts at research outposts, could build small nature preserves, shielded from the harsh Martian environment by clear domes or layers of Martian crust. But they’re not going to look quite like any forest on Earth.

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Gaming

The Game Awards 2022 are tonight — here’s how to watch

Invariably one of the biggest shows in gaming, The Game Awards enjoys a stature previously enjoyed only by E3.

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🌿 Paraguay’s greatest gift — or its curse

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