From the editor.

• Position: Editorial

As we continue to explore the beauty and diversity of our hemisphere, in this issue of Americas we also look at one of the urgent challenges ahead--climate change. Alejandro Balaguer's striking photos and his conversations with environmental experts point to serious symptoms already in evidence, ranging from melting Andean glaciers that imperil water supplies to rising sea levels that threaten coastal towns in the Caribbean.

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

In these unsettling times, a visit to the Inca citadel of Machu Picchu reminds us of ageless mysteries that continue to stir the imagination. This is the second in our series on the three sites in the Americas that were voted among the New Seven Wonders of the World.

Two richly illustrated stories in this issue view nature through historical eyes. Heidi Reidell tells us about a Dutch scientist named Maria Sibylla Merian, who landed in Suriname more than three centuries ago to study tropical insects. And Louis Werner shows how American ginseng has been a coveted botanical resource throughout the history of North America.

We also accompany journalist Gerardo Ferro Rojas to the barrios of Cartagena, Colombia, where families who have been displaced by violence are finding new hope for the...