What we're writing

Ryan Lenora Brown Maleloko Fokotsale with her “keyhole” garden in Lesotho.

Often steps that address environmental concerns also bring side benefits. As parts of Africa need food aid amid one of the worst droughts in a century, strides are being made toward drought-resistant farming. These new methods can lighten a major burden for women, carrying water, even as they make crops more resilient. // Story and photo, from Lesotho, by Ryan Lenora Brown

A number of schools and states have taken fresh steps to test for lead in water at schools. But more action is still needed, experts say. // Stacy Teicher Khadaroo

A closer look at a much-discussed (and politically charged) slowdown in temperature rise from 1998 to 2012. Researchers have independently replicated NOAA's recalibration of sea surface data from that period. // Eva Botkin-Kowacki

More-intense rains increase mudslide risks in a region known for its steep terrain. Possible responses include preserving lemon groves and testing an early-warning system. // Nick Squires

The island nation has little water of its own but is determined to shed a reliance on water imports. One key is water recycling, alongside desalination and catchment. // Tom Benner

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What we're reading

Scientists and others offer some perspectives on how they plan to think and act regarding climate change in 2017. // Yale Climate Connections

It's hard to predict these things precisely, but a rewrite of Louisiana's 50-year coastal plan (including nurturing wetlands) is geared to save huge sums in potential storm-surge damage. // New Orleans Times-Picayune

New research concludes that ocean currents, which distribute nutrients and influence climate, are at greater risk than prior estimates have allowed. // Hakai Magazine

It's just one tea leaf, but the electric-car champion has a positive takeaway from talks with the president-elect. // Elektrek

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What's trending

"There are now many indications that certain events – such as persistent weather systems or storms bringing torrential rain and hail – are more likely to occur in certain regions as a result of climate change." // Peter Hoeppe of reinsurance firm Munich Re, quoted by Reuters

"What I saw with the president-elect was a laserlike focus on jobs.... I think he was intrigued” that carbon capture might save coal jobs. // Sen. Heidi Heitkamp (D) of North Dakota, quoted by The New York Times