From a hillside trail, Daniel Firer surveys a swath of this island nation’s interior. In every direction, trees lie toppled like matchsticks, overgrown with vines. What few trees stand upright are completely bare. Firer, who is studying the medicinal uses of plants at Grenada’s St. George’s Medical School, points to a waterfall tumbling down the opposite hillside. Before Hurricane Ivan scored a direct hit on Grenada in September of last year, he notes, vegetation here was so thick that the waterfall could be heard from the trail, but not seen. Says Firer: “You had no idea where it was.” Such sights are understandably overshadowed by the destruction and suffering caused recently by hurricanes Katrina and Rita on the U.S. Gulf coast. But they underscore how... [Log in to read more]