One of the twenty-first century’s greatest — and most controversial — engineering feats in terms of tourism, the Qinghai Railway from Xining in China to Lhasa in Tibet, faces an added threat because of global warming, which may melt the permafrost on which nearly half the 1,956-kilometer railway is built. The railway, ostensibly built by […]
Depletion of the Brazilian rainforest has long been known to affect climate change, and preserving this lush area is a major issue for many environmentalists — but rarely does the spotlight shine on the relationship between the native and non-native Brazilians who call this area (the least populated in Brazil) their home. That changed in […]
Long a Shangri-la for freedom-questing European hippies, the sandy white beaches of Goa have gradually attracted a more upmarket clientele — and in the process turned away hordes of Olive Ridley marine turtles, which have used the beaches for nesting purposes for centuries. Marine turtles are among the most threatened species in the world: only […]
The United States, a former whaling power, and Japan, a historical and current harvester of the species, are again at odds over whaling regulations. In March, the International Whaling Commission met in Rome to discuss a whaling deal presented by IWC Chairman William Hogarth — appointed by former President Bush — and the IWC Small […]
The struggle against global warming took a new turn recently as climate change experts discovered that soot emissions are the second-biggest contributor to rising global temperatures, after carbon dioxide (CO2). Also known as “black carbon,” soot is responsible for 18 percent of global warming, while carbon dioxide is responsible for 40 percent. However, unlike reducing […]
With only an estimated 3,500 to 7,000 snow leopards left in the wild, conservation programs are necessarily enlisting the help of local communities to increase the species’ chances of survival. Founded in 1981, the International Snow Leopard Trust, which monitors the movements of the solitary cat in China, India, the Kyrgyz Republic, Mongolia, and Pakistan, […]
Tibet was once again sealed off to tourists as the 50th anniversary of the failed Tibetan uprising approached in March 2009. The Chinese government’s fear of reprisal from last year’s riots and demonstrations–which left at least 19 people dead (according to Chinese government statistics) and hundreds arrested–has made security tighter and tensions higher in Tibet. […]
A report jointly released by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and the Asian Institute of Technology (AIT) warns that hundreds of millions of people in South Asia are at risk from increasing water scarcity as water supplies in three of the region’s largest river basins become increasingly vulnerable. Although one-fourth of the world’s population […]
Developers in Badagry, Nigeria, are planning a controversial luxury resort with a slavery theme park in the hope of attracting more tourists to the African nation, especially African-Americans who want to learn about their ancestry while enjoying a relaxing vacation. The ambitious $3.4 billion venture is being led in part by Michael Jackson’s brother and […]
