Bangladesh's Sundarbans forest, home of incredibly rich biodiversity, is under unprecedented threat, writes ASMG Kibria. The recent oil tanker capsize on the Shela river puts the forest at risk of widespread biodiversity loss, but just this week, the authorities re-opened the Shela river to shipping with no restrictions on hazardous cargoes.
… As rivers re-open to shipping, oil threat to … The recent oil tanker capsize on the Shela river puts the forest at risk of widespread … week, the authorities re-opened the Shela river to shipping with no restrictions on …
America's expanding oil production threatens the pristine Pacific Northwest region of the country with a rash of new oil terminals along the coast, writes Valerie Brown, and hugely expanded traffic of freight trains loaded with hundreds of cars of crude oil heading for California refineries.
… Washington, just across the Columbia River from Portland. Unique ecosystem at risk … such terminal in the region. The Columbia River is the lifeblood of the Pacific … coal trains must pass through the Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area , a protected …
Parliament has recommended it, Sainsbury’s has tried it and Tesco is doing it, but what is the future for sustainable transport along the UK’s inland waterways?
… showed ‘freight moves faster on the river than on Central London’s roads’ and that … which oversees a 2,000-mile network of rivers and canals, foresees the rebirth of … Carbon World’ was any reference to canals or rivers. Its authors chose instead to focus on …
Football fans around the globe have their eyes set on Curitiba, Brasil this year, the site of the 2014 World Cup. But as Brian Barth reports, eco-savvy urban planners have been studying Brasil's seventh largest city for decades ...
… facility. In most cities, a massive river like the Iguacu would be channelized … park system was designed to preserve the river's meandering course. During heavy rains the river backs up and spreads out into the …
A planned east-west railroad and highway network threaten the the conservation 'jewel in Nepal's crown' - the Chitwan National Park. Bhrikuti Rai and Sunir Pandey report from Chitwan.
… north side of the Park along the East Rapti river, a trbutary of the Narayani. "There is … Kasara in 2001. Two years later, the Rapti River flooded the bordering Jagatpur VDC … a contract for a bridge across the Narayani River inside the reserve for the road, but …
As worldwide stocks of plutonium increase, lightly-armed British ships are about to carry an initial 330kg of the nuclear bomb metal for 'safekeeping' in the US, writes Paul Brown. But it's only the tip of a global 'plutonium mountain' of hundreds of tonnes nuclear power's most hazardous waste product.
… of Charleston and onwards to the Savannah River site in South Carolina. Tom Clements, … of the public interest group Savannah River Site Watch , has condemned this import … He sees it as further evidence that Savannah River is being used as a dumping ground for an …
The Arctic is a special place, teeming with life, but it is under threat like never before, writes Robert Spicer - not just from climate change, but from oil drilling, industrial fishing and shipping, as receding ice creates now commercial opportunities. We must designate an Arctic Sanctuary where nature can reign undisturbed.
… Back then the upper reaches of the Colville River were crystal clear and the water, … across the tundra and the rippling of the river were the only sounds - there was no …
Roads, mines, dams, power lines, pipelines and other infrastructure projects are fast eating into the world's 'core forests', writes Bill Laurance. These rare and precious places where wildlife and ecological processes can flourish undisturbed must come before the evanescent gains of 'development'. To save what's left, governments and funders must learn the word 'No!'
… the 12 dams planned for Brazil's Tapajós River are expected to increase Amazon … planned for the Congo Basin and Mekong River will also cause big problems, with …
Activists have taken to the trees to halt HS2 construction that threatens to fell tracts of north-London nature reserve.
… of a towering willow on the banks of the river Colne in Buckinghamshire, Larch is … said that the number of insect larvae in the river have plummeted – possibly because of …
What's needed to pull the world's economy out of recession? According to the G20, it's a massive wave of 'infrastructure' development worth as much $70 trillion, writes Bill Laurance. But all the roads, mines, dams, pipelines and 'development corridors' will inflict massive damage on wildlife populations and natural havens, not to mention local communities that stand in the way.
… The 12 dams planned for the Tapajós River, a major tributary of the Amazon, will … Instead, workers use helicopters or traverse rivers to reach the site. Encourage lenders …
More than 25 million Americans live within an 'oil train blast zone', writes Ralph Nader. But as volumes of tar sands and shale oil carried by train soar, the oil cars identified as a 'substantial danger to life, property, and the environment' in 1991 remain in use. We must ban those dangerous railcars - and put an end to all 'extreme oil'.
… caught fire, exploded and poisoned the river in Lynchburg, West Virginia, last May. … and then out of sewers, and into the nearby river. Firefighters from across the region …
Seoul, host of this year's G20, is well on the way to achieving its goal of becoming one of the world's most eco-friendly cities. But, as Anna Sheldrick reports, there may be room for improvement elsewhere in South Korea
… of the flood-control banks on the Han river, which runs through Seoul. These … systems, it has developed the Four Major Rivers restoration project, which the … dredging of 600km of South Korea's four major rivers, and the destruction of acres of …
Roads are responsible for massive environmental damage around the world, writes Bill Laurance - yet they also bring huge benefits. His solution? A new atlas that shows where the 'goods' of roads outweigh the 'bads', so that developing countries can harness the prosperity new roads can bring, without the destruction.
… into virtual moonscapes and polluting entire river systems with the toxic mercury they use to separate the gold from river sediments. The first cut is the …
Two things are new in the Pacific Northwest, writes Stephyn Quirke: abnormally hot, dry weather that has even killed Chinook salmon on their run upriver to spawn; and 'bomb trains' a mile more long carrying thousands of tonnes of oil, with just a single sleep-deprived driver on board. What could possibly go wrong?
… has even killed Chinook salmon on their run upriver to spawn; and 'bomb trains' a mile more … of oil, with just a single sleep-deprived driver on board. What could possibly go wrong? … raised temperatures in the Willamette River above 70 degrees, recently killing C …
Opponents say the controversial bypass will damage ancient woodlands, disturb wetland birds and impact on protected areas - and it's just one of 22 similar schemes currently awaiting approval. Jan Goodey investigates
… described as one of the finest undeveloped river valleys in the South-East. 'It … 'This government sees transport as a key driver of growth nationally and in the regions. …
The government's 'misclassification' of an eight-lane M25 road bridge over the river Thames East of London as a 'rural road' meant they did not have to report the illegal levels of pollution found there, writes Keith Taylor - getting off the UK off the hook for a 17th breach of EU air quality standards. What an unfortunate error!
… of an eight-lane M25 road bridge over the river Thames East of London as a 'rural road' … readily acknowledges EU law as the driver of positive air quality action in the …
Airports around the world are waging a war on birds, writes Rose Bridger. It's meant to prevent aircraft bird strikes. But in fact, fatal (for people) collisions are rare - and even killing thousands of birds does little to reduce the number of strikes. Best fly less, and keep airports away from birds!
… successfully ditching the plane in the Hudson River. Collisions with aircraft are almost …
Work on Nicaragua's rival to the Panama Canal rival has begun amid growing fears over its human and environmental impacts, writes Maya Collombon - and a host of unanswered questions about China's role in the project and what benefits, if any, it will bring to ordinary people.
… over some 278 miles, traversing several major rivers and also Lake Nicaragua, the largest …
As China pursues a startling array of energy, mining, logging, agricultural, transport and other infrastructure projects on virtually every continent, it is having an unprecedented impact on the planet, writes William Laurance. It's not that China is any worse than historic colonial powers - the difference is in the sheer scale and pace of environmental destruction, and the total lack of oversight under which Chinese mega-corporations operate.
… tropical forests, biodiversity, and the drivers of land use and climate change. I've … the Grand Inga dam project on the Congo River, a series of dams that could become the … biggest importers of palm oil - a major driver of tropical deforestation - the Chinese …
Sustainable transport offers not only a golden ticket out of our pollution- and traffic-choked cities, but also a means of improving the health and well-being of travellers and society alike.
… to increased levels of runoff into canalised river systems and increasing the risk of … widths, eliminating road signs and forcing drivers to respond to the urban environment …
A second canal joining the Pacific and Atlantic oceans is planned for Nicaragua, writes Nathan Wood. But the gigantic project is raising growing fears due to a grossly unfair contract, glaring failures of process, close links to the Chinese government, and its enormous - but uncosted - ecological impacts.
… latter of which is dependent on the San Suan River, which itself would need to be dammed to …
The European Commission has launched legal proceedings against the UK for persistent air pollution problems - specifically its failure to cut toxic oxides of nitrogen, known as 'NOx'.
… plant and animal life in forests, lakes and rivers, and harming buildings and historical …