Ganga, the holiest of holy rivers in the Indian sub-continent is also one of the most polluted rivers in the region. Last year, after much lobbying, Ganga was declared the National River of India owing to its religious as well as environmental significance. However, just that could never have been enough for cleaning a river on which millions of Rupees have already been spent.
Now, the Union Environment Minister of India Mr. Jairam Ramesh, who had previously unveiled the National Ganga River Basin Authority (NGRBA), has put the NBRBA on a “mission mode” to clean the river by 2020. And his indicator for success is not clear blue waters but the return of the Gangetic dolphins that were once sighted in the river in plenty!
Croatia and Hungary signed an agreement yesterday to protect a major biodiversity area that crosses borders along three rivers. The agreement is being called a “Trans-Boundary UNESCO Biosphere Reserve” and has resulted in the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) awarding the two countries with a “Leaders for a Living Planet” award.
The reserve will preserve several endangered species, among other environmental jewels. There is also the possibility of the reserve expanding several times over into neighboring countries in the future.
Imagine that:Walking through a network of trails from our Wissahickon Farms Country Inn, a rustic private cabin nestled in the woods, to grab dinner in town more than a mile away where the restaurant, Indian Creek Orchard Winery and Grille, features mostly local ingredients to prepare their Elk burgers and homemade sauces and soups.We started our hike on the 98-mile Gandy Dancer State Recreational Trail which passes through an edge of the 30-acre Country Inn property, a property certified by Travel Green Wisconsin.
Given the bears in the area, my son and I had quite the adventure: he made a “bear stick” to defend ourselves on the rare chance we might encounter one.After dinner, we wandered down to Overlook Park, featuring the River Spirit sculpture, before continuing along the riverfront on yet another trail to the St. Croix National Scenic Riverway Visitors Center – spotting a bald eagle soaring overhead along the way. Ecopreneurial enterprises filled up many of the storefronts we peaked into downtown.
Getting around town without touching a car is completely possible in St. Croix Falls, Wisconsin, rightfully earning its moniker, “the city of trails.”While some places aspire to be something they’re clearly not, nor ever have been, St. Croix Falls is a place that features what they have in abundance: their network of walking, jogging, biking and hiking trails – and nature.
In St. Croix Falls’ historic downtown area, you can park the car and spend the rest of the time on foot or bike as you discover a segment of the 1,000-mile Ice Age National Scenic Trail or the more than 10 miles of hiking trails in the Interstate State Park.Thanks to the spectacular St. Croix River, stunning coulees and “dalles” (ancient rock outcroppings), the community has emerged from its extractive history as a logging town and fur trading post to one of the premier places in the Midwest for the enjoyment of the outdoors, on foot, bike or in a kayak on the river.
If you ever find yourself near Redding California, especially on June 21st, you should make an effort to visit Santiago Calatrava’s pedestrian bridge, which spans the waters of the Sacramento River. In addition to being a stunning functional work of art that attracts thousands of pedestrians, families, bicyclists and nature lovers, every year on the summer solstice the beautifully designed structure also functions as an accurate sundial.
Pete Seeger has been an incredibly important inspiration not only in my life, but also for countless others throughout the entire planet. He has accomplished so much and continues to be an unbelievably hopeful, powerful and influential activist and musician.
Democracy Now covers Seeger’s 90th birthday party concert in New York that benefited Clearwater, the environmental nonprofit that Pete and Toshi Seeger founded in 1969; the organization’s mission [...]
The shocking incident occurred in 2007, when Chlorine escaped from a Thames Water sewage treatment works, killing most of the fish along a 3 mile stretch of one of the city’s most iconic urban rivers. Local residents tried to save some of the distressed fish by transferring them from the river into buckets of clean water, but they were too late. One man rescued a large number of eels, but found they were bleeding from the gills and they all later died.
A high profile Congressional committee investigation has revealed that, since 2006, the outgoing Bush administration has dropped or stalled enforcement actions on more than 500 cases of severe water pollution.
Most scientists are now in agreement that global warming is happening, and that, in the not too distant future, we may all have to get used to living in a world of mass species exctinctions, population explosion, resource scarcity and rising oceans. The question on many people’s lips is, how will mankind adapt to this drastically different future world?
One possible solution to this dilemma has come from a collective of New York based artists, who have proposed a mass shift towards a waterborne, nomadic existence. In May 2009, the team will launch a new work called Waterpod, a floating eco-habitat designed to support a fully sustainable community (more pics after the jump).
A couple of years back, when I was in Delhi, the city seemed abuzz with the activity for developing nearly a new township–a tall apartment building, a walking path along the water, and state of the art stadiums–on the bank of Yamuna. With the deadline of 2010 Commonwealth Games that the city had set for itself, such complete transformation would need much activity. Actually, I should say hyper-activity. The end-result seemed very attractive: I started dreaming of the Italian and French Rivieras.
At the heart of this vision (that I was dreaming up for Yamuna’s development) was a deep, rich and salubrious river–a river healthy enough to support varied marine life. Marine flora and fauna would not only help keep the waters clean but would also make the river (and rides on it) more attractive. The vision called for navigation on the river–like boat tours on the Seine or the Amstel rivers among other–to make the area more touristy and attractive. At a distance from denser areas, abandoned stretches of Yamuna could be developed as a marina or even a boat house park, to offer a very different lifestyle to Delhiites. It called for promenades along the length of the river: promenades sheltered by pretty trees; promenades traced alongside by seasonal flowerbeds; promenades that enabled a healthier lifestyle. The promenades would bifurcate to lead people into shopping and eating areas: after all, these are integral parts of any fun activity for Indians (as borne out by the burgeoning chowpatti culture of India). And while at it, I thought why not make the most of such intense development work and expenditure by providing ultra-luxe apartments with beautiful water-views that might help the public budget recoup some of the money.
Much serious thought needs to be devoted to and find a holistic solution to Yamuna’s pollution problem. Greater ingenuity is required to tackle the contradiction with fundamental beliefs of the people.
The environment and interior ministries in Peru have announced plans to set up a special task force to safeguard forests and monitor the rivers in the Amazon basin. The special force will be made up of around 3,000 officers to be known as the Environment Police.
