Tag archives for freshwater
A Swami’s Hunger Strike Ends Mining on a Stretch of the Ganges River
Posted by Dan Morrison of National Geographic News Correspondent in Water Currents on December 9, 2011 
An 11-day hunger strike by the swami of a small ashram ended on Monday night when the northern Indian state of Uttarakhand banned stone and sand mining from the Ganges riverbed near the city of Haridwar pending an environmental impact statement.
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Jordan’s first and only “true ecolodge” tries to leave a minimal footprint on its desert ecosystem, while a visionary hotelier has won international accolades for making his company’s five Jordanian resorts and hotels models of sustainability. These are two examples of how the Middle East country is trying to make its tourism industry friendly to the environment.
Science and Conservation Gets a Boost from Google
Posted by Jeff Wells on October 28, 2011 The latest technology from Google coupled with a partnership that blends science, technology and activism has resulted in a coast-to-coast virtual tour of Canada’s boreal forest.
New Generation Returns to an Ancient Place
Posted by Andrew Howley of NG Staff on September 23, 2011 
The Nature Conservancy’s M. Sanjayan spearheads an expedition to one of the most remote places on Earth, paddling with a group of young members of the Dene First Nation as they travel for the first time to the Dene’s traditional caribou hunting grounds.
The Healing Journey Continues…
Posted by Andrew Howley of NG Staff on August 18, 2011 
NG Fellow Jon Waterhouse’s Healing Journey brings him and his team along the Yukon River to meet people living more closely connected to nature, and to inspire kids to learn those ways and keep them alive, all while taking hi-tech scientific readings on the health of the river. Follow his journey here on Nat Geo NewsWatch.
Salmon in all their varieties are a great resource for humanity. But for the Peoples of the North Pacific the iconic fish also represent a critical heritage that goes back thousands of years. Plagued by overfishing, industrial pollution, and contamination of rivers, salmon are in trouble across their ancient habitat.
Trading Rush Hour for the River
Posted by Andrew Howley of NG Staff on August 10, 2011 Two visitors join NG Fellow Jon Waterhouse’s “Healing Journey” and experience the life of people along the Yukon River as few outsiders do. See how they were inspired and refreshed by the sights, smells, and human relationships in the region.
Healing Journey 2011: Back to Alaska
Posted by Andrew Howley of NG Staff on July 26, 2011 
Jon Waterhouse was told by native elders and tribal leaders around the Yukon watershed to “go out, take the pulse of the river.” Four years later, he returns to do more hard science and cultural renewal.
Up-Close Look at Louisiana’s Disappearing Marshes
Posted by Andrew Howley of NG Staff on June 29, 2011 
In the second installment of the Journey OnEarth film series, NG Emerging Explorer Roshini Thinakaran takes a closer look at Louisiana’s marshes and examines the cost of losing them.
Will we ever heed the lessons of the futility of trying to manage the Mississippi? In The Mississippi And The Making of a Nation, a National Geographic book written by historians Stephen Ambrose and Douglas Brinkley ten years ago, the authors had some prescient things to say about the Mississippi and its floods.
How Will Lima Slake its Growing Thirst?
Posted by Daniel Grossman of Environmental Journalist, News Watch Contributing Editor on May 19, 2011 Lima is one of the cities of the world most immediately threatened by global warming. The capital of Peru was built on the edge of a desert, one of the driest in the world. And its primary source of water is a small river, the Rimac. The Rimac’s water trickles off glaciers high in the Andes which, unfortunately for Limeños, are rapidly melting. Peru has lost about 30 percent of its glacial ice in the last 40 years.
Mississippi Floods Can Be Restrained With Natural Defenses
Posted by Sandra Postel of National Geographic's Freshwater Initiative in Water Currents on May 3, 2011 
As the Mississippi River threatens to deliver devastating floods (again), it’s time to enlist wetlands to reduce future flood risks.
NG Explorer Produces Short Film on Gulf Spill Anniversary
Posted by Andrew Howley of NG Staff on April 28, 2011 National Geographic Emerging Explorer Roshini Thinakaran is a documentary filmmaker who has focused mostly on war and its aftermath. One year after the BP Gulf oil spill however, she has turned her lens to the stories of individuals and families working to bring Louisiana’s coast back to normal, and to document the extent of ongoing…
From an Evening of Sustainable Seafood Tastings by Chef and NG Fellow Barton Seaver “Avocado Soup with Dill and Smoked Trout” is a delicious way to start a conversation about how we need to save the ocean. Cool and refreshing, with a richness from the fish, it instantly wakes you up and makes you appreciate…
Canada’s boreal forest is one of the last, great storehouses of our global freshwater supply. The values of this impressive wealth of fresh water and wetlands go beyond its sheer volume. Boreal waterways play a critical role in both Arctic and climatic health.
By Jordan Schaul As flooding continues to cripple Eastern Australia and take lives, I wonder what impact this natural disaster has had on the human-wildlife interface. The floods have now damaged and forced the evacuation of skyscrapers in Brisbane, Australia’s third largest city, but the untold destruction of rural areas and small towns and the…
The ongoing deluge has wreaked severe damage and hardship in Australia. (Photos: Unprecedented, “Biblical” Floods Inundate Australia.) But when the waters subside, writes Deborah Tabart, the Chief Executive Officer of the Brisbane-based Australian Koala Foundation, the thirsty continent’s water table will be replenished, the trees will have had their fill, and Australia will be beautiful…
Crossing the Mera La (5400 m) into the Hongu valley. Photo by Daniel Byers Cut off from the world while crossing treacherous mountain passes in deep snow was all in a day’s work for a father-and-son team determined to trek through the remote Hongu Valley in the Himalaya Mountains of Nepal. Alton Byers, mountain geographer…
Gil Grosvenor: The Freshwater Crisis
Posted by Ford Cochran on November 20, 2010 During Geography Awareness Week 2010, which focuses on “Freshwater” as its theme, National Geographic Chairman of the Board Gil Grosvenor shares his view that access to clean freshwater for drinking, cooking, and hygiene is the paramount challenge facing humanity today. By Ford Cochran Gilbert M. Grosvenor, past editor of National Geographic magazine and president and…
Three National Geographic Explorers–Albert Yu-Min Lin, Sandra Postel, and Roshini Thinakaran–joined a lineup of more than two dozen speakers on the theme “What If?” at today’s TEDxMidAtlantic event in Washington, D.C. In case you weren’t in the audience at Sidney Harman Hall or glued to your laptop watching the live stream, here’s some of what…
After witnessing the world’s greatest wildlife migration along Kenya’s Mara River, the author reflects on the role of rivers in nurturing entire ecosystems. This post is part of a special National Geographic news series on global water issues. By Mark Angelo As an avid paddler and long-time river enthusiast, I’ve always marveled at the ability…
This post is part of a special National Geographic news series on global water issues. From Leon Marshall in Johannesburg Awareness of the world’s mounting freshwater troubles has bubbled to the top of South Africa’s political agenda. Briefings by experts on the over-use and abuse of the country’s water supplies have so alarmed some…
As dams come down in different parts of the world, exciting opportunities are opened to restore lost habitats and cultural sites sacred to indigenous peoples. This post is part of a special National Geographic news series on global water issues. By Mark Angelo As a river advocate and paddler for several decades, I’ve seen many…
Update: Dangerous Trek Begins, October 21, 2010 From Alton Byers: We just arrived in Lukla and head out to the the Hongu valley tomorrow, and will be out of touch for three weeks. Once we enter the valley over the 4200 m Mera La pass, we’ll trek up valley, climb to and film the dangerous…
An innovative new initiative aims to better protect a stretch of the Fraser River, one of the most productive stretches of river anywhere in the world. By Mark Angelo This post is part of a special news series on global water issues. The Fraser River is British Columbia’s largest and most ecologically diverse waterway. At…
