Tehran’s Milad Tower — Photo: Hamed Saber Tehran’s northern suburbs, in the foothills of the Alborz mountains, used to be a summer refuge from the heat of downtown Tehran, mainly for their numerous gardens and abundant trees. The rich used to live there before 1979, and some still do. But over the past 20 years […]
Tag: environment
-Analysis- MUNICH — As the Volkswagen scandal continues to unfold, you can either look behind or look ahead. How has this historic German auto giant with 12 brands and 600,000 employees worldwide found itself spiraling downward in a bottomless pit since revelations that it manipulated emission measurements from its diesel models? How was it possible […]
AIX-EN-PROVENCE — Over the past two days, Hervé Pighiera has picked up 118 cigarette butts, 60 cigarette packs, 69 plastic bottles and 7.75 kilos of non-classifiable garbage, including a little dollhouse armchair made of wicker and plastic. Pighiera is on a mission to clean roadsides. On July 12, this smiling fellow in a straw hat, […]
CERRO DE PASCO — More than 2,000 children in Peru’s Pasco region have blood lead levels far higher than what the World Health Organization says is a safe range for children, and at least 70 of them are suffering from resulting physical illnesses and disabilities, Lima-based daily El Comercio reports. The culprit is mining, and […]
SAUDI ARABIA ORDERS STAMPEDE PROBE Saudi Arabia’s King Salman ordered a swift investigation and safety review after yesterday’s stampede during the annual Hajj Islamic pilgrimage to Mecca left at least 717 people dead and 863 hurt, Al Arabiya reports. VERBATIM Photo: Ron Sachs/CNP/ZUMA “Why are deadly weapons being sold to those who plan to inflict […]
More than 3 million people die prematurely each year from dirty air. But researchers can now trace what exactly causes the bad air in different locations. A way to begin to fix it.
TEL AVIV — From the beautiful beach of Palmachim, on the Israeli coast, it’s hard to picture what’s happening below your feet, where 624,000 cubic meters of sea water are being sucked up every day by two enormous pipes and transported more than two kilometers inland to be transformed into drinkable water. Welcome to Sorek, […]
Latin American governments have shown scant interest in restricting cars and improving public transport. But some citizens in smoggy Bogotá have chosen a different path.
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Desert Relentlessly Advances In Iran
TEHRAN — Iran is increasingly “becoming a desert” thanks to decades of wasted water supplies and a dry climate exacerbated by climate change, Tehran daily Arman-e Emruz reported Thursday. Water resource specialist Mohammadreza Fatemi told the newspaper that the state environmental agency has mismanged water resources for at least 20 years, destroying the environment in […]
Ordinary citizens, the media and politicians make so much noise about ideology and petty politics, but quietly carry on in the face of massive mining pollution.
The MIT-educated activist and scientist travels the world to condemn the effects of multinationals on the environment. Her recent project in Bern was the 3D modeling of oceans.
HEARTBREAKING IMAGES SHOW HORROR OF MIGRANT CRISIS Shocking photographs of the body of a Syrian toddler, whose body had washed up on a Turkish beach after his family’s failed attempt to reach Europe, are sparking global outcry. The first of the images shows a Syrian boy identified as Aylan Kurdi, 3, face down on the […]
Despite huge amounts of food still being wasted every day in the world, initiatives in various countries demonstrate growing public awareness about this modern-day abomination.
After Colombian Energy Giant Mansarovar announced plans for oil exploration around one of Colombia’s natural reserves, local farmers asked Pope Francis to intervene.
KATHMANDU — It’s not yet 7 a.m., but already there are tens of thousands of people gathered along the banks of the Bagmati river that runs through Kathmandu. This is the 100th week of an informal campaign to clean up the vital waterway. “In the world, we are proud of Mount Everest, and we are just as ashamed of our Bagmati River,” Bhanu Sharma, one of the leaders of campaign, says over a loud speaker. “It’s our responsibility to save Bagmati and help rid the country of the shame of this polluted river.” 

The crowd joins hands. Participants include senior […]
Protecting the environment is not about “reconciling” man and nature, it’s about giving each their due space. In large part, this means concentrating people in cities.
Overrun with prisoners sentenced for their roles in the country’s 1994 genocide, Rwanda had to find a way to deal with its massive prison waste and reduce energy costs. It managed both with a biogas system.
CAIRO — Interested in planting summer vegetables such as pepper, zucchini or molokhia? Now is just about the right time of year to plant, says Hany El Khodary, head of urban farming company Green Zone Egypt. Even city dwellers with no outdoor space apart from a small balcony can grow small gardens or recycle some […]
-Essay- SAO PAULO — It’s the future here, writing with a warning to brace yourself. How I would love to tell you that in 35 years you’ll be able to go back in time, fix your mistakes and change history. Sadly, you won’t be able to do that. The United Nations Climate Change Conference in […]
MAMBURAO — In partnership with the World Wildlife Fund (WWF), those who fish the waters here in the town of Mamburao are using traditional handlines rather than large trawler nets in the deep waters off Mindoro Strait, in a bid to position the area as a Philippine hub of sustainable tuna fishing. With traditional handlines, or kawil, they catch only the mature and high-quality tuna. “We go out there into the Mindoro Strait, about 300 fishermen in several boats,” says the Tuna Fisheries Association’s Roberto Cueto. “When we’re not catching much, we stay there for days.” But Cueto, who started […]
MINQIN — Here, where the sand threatens to encroach, China is waging a long-term war against desert expansion. Just a few steps beyond the cultivated fields, the desert stretches as far as the eye can see. Minqin is menaced by the Tengger Desert to the west and by the Badain Jaran Desert to the east, […]
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Lake Burullus, the country’s second-largest natural lake, which yields a third of all the fish sold in Egypt, is slowly being ruined, as are family businesses.
Time for a major ecological awakening in the world’s most populous nation. The planet is at stake.
Caribbean states are aware of the environment’s crucial value for tourism and their overall economies. Still, much of the investment is in upgrading high-end hotels and resorts.
FORT MACKAY — Figuring out which way the winds are blowing is a piece of cake in the hamlet of Fort MacKay, Canada. Just follow the direction of the fumes. On this cold February morning, with temperatures below -20 °C (-4 ºF) in the northern part of Alberta, the columns rising from the chimneys of […]
With the Panama Canal set to expand and Nicaragua planning its own huge canal, the Caribbean is bracing for big shifts in shipping traffic. On the French islands of Guadeloupe and Martinique, hard questions from both fishermen and environmentalists.
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-OpEd- BOGOTA — As unlikely as it may sound, many of the countries we closely associate with planning and foresight are turning their attention to Colombia for inspiration on how to address the parallel problems of industry pollution, energy production and food security. The South American country boasts enviable geographical and climatic conditions, exceptional biodiversity and above all, a varied and preponderant farming sector. Together these factors are sparking talk about what some call the “new economy” or “bioeconomy.” This new way of looking at economic growth may help rectify the serious environmental harm done by the excesses of the […]
Here is a preview of our exclusive newsletter to keep up-to-date and stay inspired by Smart City innovations from around the world.
Here is a preview of our exclusive newsletter to keep up-to-date and stay inspired by Smart City innovations from around the world.
For years Beijing has said it’s working to provide safe drinking water to people in the countryside, but experts say the goal is far from being realized.
Here is a preview of our exclusive newsletter to keep up-to-date and stay inspired by Smart City innovations from around the world.
Greeks are used to making history, and they’re at it again. What will last month’s election victory of Alexis Tsipras and his anti-austerity Syriza party mean for the future beyond Greece? And more specifically, could it mark a turning point for the urgent global issue of environmental change? A not-so-subtle fil rouge exists between economic […]
For months now the southeastern region of Brazil has been experiencing the most severe drought in living memory. The already crippling water crisis was made worse by a mercilessly scorching summer that saw record high temperatures in São Paulo, Brazil’s most populous city. The suffocating heat has complicated matters further still by prompting people to […]
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Little House On The Fjord
In 1960, I was able to afford a trip to faraway Norway, because I’d just won the first prize at a radio show trivia contest — 1,280 new francs, the currency that had just been introduced in France at the beginning of the year. Of course we went there by car, in our robust Peugeot […]
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Tiananmen Transportation
Twenty years ago, Beijing was already dealing with monstrous pollution — and since then, China has surpassed all other countries in vehicle sales. So cyclists in the capital must have a harder time navigating Tiananmen Square … and breathing along the way.
KUCHING — For eight years now, Irwan and his buffalo have worked through the neat rows of palm trees at the United Plantation in Teluk Intan, a town three hours drive north of Kuala Lumpur that overlooks the Straits of Malacca. For just less than 450 euros a month, he collects large clusters of oil-rich […]
Another so-so summit on the climate, and another set of tepid, if not useless, commitments to curb emissions. If the governments can’t get it together, the people must act on their own.
BRAGANÇA PAULISTA — Brazilians are very serious about their Christmas trees. And the different fortunes of two unusual ones is proof of just how strict the standards of what is and isn’t acceptable as decoration can be in this festive Catholic country. A few weeks ago, the city of Rio de Janeiro started the holiday […]