Tag Archives: rivers
More than half of Chinese rivers have “disappeared” since 1990s
Times: About 28,000 rivers have disappeared from China’s state maps, an absence seized upon by environmentalists as evidence of the irreversible natural cost of developmental excesses. More than half of the rivers previously thought to exist in China now appear to be missing, according to the 800,000 surveyors who compiled the first national water census, leaving Beijing fumbling to explain the cause. Continue reading
EPA: The nation’s rivers are in sad shape
Mother Nature Network: From the largest urban rivers to the tiniest undisturbed creeks, nearly 2,000 locations in rivers and streams across the country were sampled by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in 2008 and 2009. The findings, published in the National Rivers and Streams Assessment 2008–2009, paint a dismal picture of the state of the nation’s waterways. The study found that more than 55 percent of our rivers and streams are in poor condition, posing health risks to fish, other wildlife and humans Continue reading
In Drought-Stricken Heartland, Snow is No Savior
New York Times: After enduring last summer’s destructive drought, farmers, ranchers and officials across the parched Western states had hoped that plentiful winter snows would replenish the ground and refill their rivers, breaking the grip of one of the worst dry spells in American history. No such luck. Continue reading
English Heritage launches study into effect of bridges on floods
Guardian: Ancient stone bridges with water pouring over the parapets, their narrow arches choked by fallen trees and debris washed down swollen rivers, have been recurring images in reporting the myriad floods of the past sodden years – and the bridges have often been blamed for damming the rivers’ flow and causing misery to nearby communities. As torrential rains wash away the snows, causing more floods in many parts of the country, English Heritage is launching a pilot study to establish whether the 7,000… Continue reading
English Heritage launches study into effect of bridges on floods
Guardian: Ancient stone bridges with water pouring over the parapets, their narrow arches choked by fallen trees and debris washed down swollen rivers, have been recurring images in reporting the myriad floods of the past sodden years – and the bridges have often been blamed for damming the rivers’ flow and causing misery to nearby communities. As torrential rains wash away the snows, causing more floods in many parts of the country, English Heritage is launching a pilot study to establish whether the 7,000… Continue reading
Utah board backs first US oil sands project
Associated Press: Utah gave its final approval Wednesday for the nation’s first commercial tar sands project, handing a victory to a Canadian company that aims to start producing 2,000 barrels of oil next year in the start of what could grow into a much larger operation. Continue reading
Utah board backs first US oil sands project
Associated Press: Utah gave its final approval Wednesday for the nation’s first commercial tar sands project, handing a victory to a Canadian company that aims to start producing 2,000 barrels of oil next year in the start of what could grow into a much larger operation. The Utah Water Quality Board upheld the decision of state regulators and turned back an appeal from a Moab-based environmental group that vows to take up its fight in the state courts. Living Rivers has fought the project every step of the way,… Continue reading
As Arctic Ice Melts, So Does The Snow, And Quickly
National Public Radio: Arctic sea ice is in sharp decline this year: Last week, scientists announced that it hit the lowest point ever measured, shattering the previous record. Continue reading
Activists form network to fight Sarawak dam-building spree
Mongabay: Last October indigenous groups, local people, and domestic NGOs formed the Save Sarawak’s Rivers Network to fight the planned construction of a dozen dams in the Malaysian state on the island of Borneo. The coalition opposes the dam-building plans, known as the Sarawak Corridor of Renewable Energy (SCORE) initiative, due to its impacts on indigenous and river communities, the destruction of pristine rainforest, and the degradation of the state’s rivers. “At the moment, there is no coordinated… Continue reading
