Dams and drought portend grim future for Mekong Delta – River level lowest in 50 years

Upstream and lower dams could render the Mekong Delta unviable, and China’s intransigence in building them and refusing to share information about their operations will negatively impact the lives of more than 60 million people. “China has plans to construct up to eight dams in total, some sources say the number could rise to fourteen. […]

Image of the Day: Wasting of Lake Nakuru, Kenya

Lake Nakuru National Park, Kenya: One of thousands of dead flamingos on the dry lake bed. The number of flamingoes living on the lake has declined dramatically, a number of factors have been blamed including the receding waters of the lake, and pollution. Kirsty Wigglesworth / AP World Water day gallery Technorati Tags: drought,freshwater depletion,agriculture,Kenya,Africa,global […]

On Plains, concern about another Dust Bowl

By Brian Winter, USA TODAY MULESHOE, Texas — James Wedel remembers seeing thunderheads on the horizon and thinking: “Oh good, we’re finally gonna get some rain.” One problem: Those weren’t rain clouds. “The wind started blowing, the dust started blowing, and you could hardly see in front of your face,” Wedel says. “Static electricity was […]

Hobet coal mine: Then and now

Caption by Rebecca Lindsey Below the densely forested slopes of southern West Virginia’s Appalachian Mountains is a layer cake of thin coal seams. To uncover this coal profitably, mining companies engineer large—sometimes very large—surface mines. This pair of images shows the growth of one of the largest surface mines in West Virginia during the past […]

All set for Maasai Mau evictions as survey ends

By SATURDAY NATION CorrespondentPosted Friday, April 9 2010 at 21:00 Survey of the Maasai Mau block of the Mau Forest Complex ended on Friday, setting the stage for the third phase of the restoration of the country’s biggest water tower. The chairman of the interim coordinating secretariat, Mr Hassan Noor Hassan, said the evictions would […]

Image of the Day: Translocation of Wild Zebras

Wild Zebras stand in a container to be loaded onto waiting trucks by Kenya Wildlife Service officers, KWS, at Soysambu conservancy in Nakuru, Kenya for their translocation to Amboseli national park on February 10, 2010. Kenyan game rangers began rounding up thousands of zebras to be moved to a reserve where starving lions have been […]

Australia farmers stranded as irrigation supply cut off

By PETER KERApril 5, 2010 THEY are enthusiastic young farmers with an eye on the latest technology and a belief that Victoria must modernise its farming sector to survive. They want to help feed the masses for decades to come, and hope one of their four sons – all younger than eight – will one […]

Fishermen left high and dry fear for Mekong River’s future

By Staff WritersVientiane (AFP) April 4, 2010 Fisherman Phimmalang Sengphet paddles his boat to the sandy banks of the Mekong River in Laos and inspects his meagre haul. “We can’t even catch enough to feed ourselves,” he says wearily. The 38-year-old was able to net more than 10 kilos (22 pounds) of fish a day […]

China says dams not to blame for low Mekong levels

By Ambika Ahuja, Editing by Alan Raybould and Ron PopeskiHUA HIN, ThailandMon Apr 5, 2010 8:41am EDT (Reuters) – China on Monday denied that its dams were reducing water levels on the Mekong River and blamed problems along the river on unusually dry weather, but it also offered to share more data with its neighbors. […]

China attempts inducing rain for drought

By Staff WritersBeijing (UPI) Mar 30, 2009 In an attempt to bring relief to drought-stricken southwestern China, the government fired cannons and launched rockets loaded with cloud-seeding chemicals throughout the weekend. Results ranged from drizzle to moderate rain to downpours in 11 cities and prefectures, yet meteorologists said the induced rain would have a limited […]

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