CNN
Brian Byrnes
Tigre, Argentina

Famed conservationist Dr. Jane Goodall made her first trip to Argentina and attended the forestry congress. When I sat down with her for an exclusive interview, she was optimistic about the future -- she works hard to educate kids around the world with her Roots and Shoots program -- but didn't have many good things to say about how leaders are dealing with climate change.

"I think we are doing an absolutely lousy job, to be honest. The forests are continuing to disappear, whether it's from poverty and people desperate to grow food or having exhausted their own land, chopping down the last of the trees creating a desert," Goodall told me.

On the river in Tigre, most seem to agree that the situation needs to improve if bamboo is going to continue to thrive here. Changing the way this life-giving plant is cultivated will be a logistical and cultural challenge, but as far as I can tell, the locals seem to be up to the task. Read on.