Infrastructure
The ‘Power of Aridity’ is Bringing a Colorado River Dam to its Knees
Deep in the bowels of the Glen Canyon Dam, an awful lot stays the same. Under the mass of concrete it’s pleasantly cool all year long, even when the Arizona sun beats down above. As the decades march on, the machinery inside remains unchanged, too. The dam’s innards are a time capsule of 1960s engineering. […]
Read MoreBill threatens more oil extraction, roads in Guatemala’s protected forests
FLORES — One of Guatemala’s most under-threat protected areas may face future oil and gas development, as lawmakers consider whether to expand extractive activities in the region and the construction of additional pipelines. A bill in Guatemala’s congress would not only renew a contract for the current oil and gas pipeline that already operates in […]
In Brazilian Amazon, mining harm comes from beyond just the mines, study shows
Opening up protected areas to mining in the Brazilian Amazon could have an even bigger impact than previously thought, according to a study published in Nature Sustainability earlier this year. The study focused on the nine protected areas that make up most of the National Reserve of Copper and Associates (RENCA) in the Amazonian states […]
Tunnel collapse at dam project in orangutan habitat claims yet another life
JAKARTA — A second tunnel collapse this year at a controversial dam construction site in Indonesia has killed another Chinese worker, bringing the toll from the project to 17 in just two years. The worker, identified as Wan Shui, 35, was severely injured in a tunnel cave-in on Nov. 9 and rushed to hospital, where […]
‘They paid for it with misery’: Q&A with Chile dam critic Jose Marihuan Ancanao
SANTA BÁRBARA, Chile — The Bío Bío River is the second-longest in Chile, forming in the Andes near the Argentine border and running 380 kilometers (240 miles) northwest before emptying into the Pacific. The river passes through rural, sometimes uninhabited, mountains and foothills, making it seem ideal for hydroelectric development. But other areas are home […]
Avocado farming is threatening Colombia’s natural water factory
“We always grew native products that come from here, like corn, beans, potatoes or lulos,” says Don Danilo, a longtime farmer near Sonsón, a small municipality in the Colombian state of Antioquia. But since losing the land he was cultivating, he has switched to beekeeping and fish farming. Don Danilo is just one of the […]
Africa wants its climate money. Will rich countries pay?
In just over a month, the world will gather in Egypt for the United Nations’ annual climate summit. This will be the 27th Conference of Parties, or COP, which has met every year since 1995 to negotiate international climate action. Once attended mostly by meteorologists and other scientists, as the impacts of climate change have […]
Climate change hits northern Mexico, as officials look to solve water crisis
In northern Mexico, it’s become common to see tankers delivering thousands of gallons of water to local middle and high schools. People wait in long lines outside of convenience stores to purchase water jugs. And in some cases, armed men intercept delivery trucks and take water back to their own neighborhoods for distribution. Water has […]
No time to keep vultures out of danger as new Nepal airport set to open
KATHMANDU — Conservationists in Nepal have expressed concern over the opening of a new airport in the tourist town of Pokhara, renowned as a bird paradise, at the start of next year. The opening of the $216 million facility has been delayed several times already. In the latest announcement, Jeevan Ram Shrestha, the minister for […]
‘Cursed’ dam project in orangutan habitat claims 16th life in less than 2 years
JAKARTA — Indonesian police are investigating possible negligence in the death of a Chinese construction worker at the site of a controversial hydroelectric dam in the only known habitat of the critically endangered Tapanuli orangutan. The victim, identified as 52-year-old Wang Jian, died on the morning of Aug. 21 when the tunnel he was working […]