Environment

TAIZHOU, China- As the weather continues to warm up a thick blanket of fog has engulfed many cities in the Eastern portion of Central China. The gray-yellow miasma began moving in over Jiangsu, Hunan, Hubei, and Anhui provinces around a week ago, and it is sometimes so thick that it is not possible to see [...]

Vagabondjourney.com reported in August of 2010 that an international community of doners have agreed to pay Ecuador 3.6 billion dollars to not extract oil from the Yasuni Biosphere preserve that lies within their borders. This was at once a ground breaking initiative as well as a controversial one: some environmentalists think that this could be a new [...]

Over 1,000 previously unknown species have been found in the Mekong basin in the past decade. In 2010 alone, scientist have found 100 plants, 28 reptiles, 25 fish, and seven amphibians that were previously unknown to science. The Mekong river and its surrounding watershed is one of the most bio-diverse regions on the globe. Though [...]

The Mekong River is currently under siege by a proposal for a major dam on the river’s main stream in northern Laos. Recently, Laos, Thailand, Cambodia, and Vietnam agreed to put construction of the Xayaburi Dam on hold until an official impact assessment can be made of the potentially adverse environmental, social, economic, and food security effects of [...]

Construction of the Xayaburi Dam, the first of eleven dams planned for the Mekong River, was postponed on December 8th, as Cambodia, Laos, Thailand, and Vietnam concurred that more data is needed on the potentially adverse environmental and social impacts of the project. Many environmental and social groups working in the region applaud the decision, [...]

Evan Carson, a biologist at the University of New Mexico who specializes in the evolution genetics of desert fishes, has been conducting research in the the Cuatro Cienegas Basin in the north of Mexico since 1998. He refers to this pocket of unique bio-diversity as being, “without question, one of the most remarkable natural systems on Earth.” The pools, springs, and rivers of the Cuatro Cienegas basis give life to an ecosystem that does not have a compliment anywhere else in this world.

Cuatro Cienegas, a unique oasis in the Chihuahuan desert in the north of Mexico is drying up and dying. The reason: aquifer depletion. Mexico City has sank over 30 feet in the past century. The reason: aquifer depletion. One thing that many of the world’s largest cities have in common with the most far flung [...]

A one of a kind oasis teeming with ancient life is on the verge of permantly drying up in the desert of northern Mexico, taking dozens of endemic aquatic species and potentially useful microbes down with it. Researchers say that time is running out for the Cuatro Cienegas Basin, as its water levels are receeding at an alarming rate, and parts of it have already vanished. “The Cuatro Cienegas Basin is probably the most diverse site on the microbial world,” stated the molecular biologist, Valeria Souza, in an interview with vagabondjourney.com

A recent study by researchers at UC Berkeley, shows that bushmeat — game — taken from forests in many locations around the world is an essential part of the diets of the people who live there, and even helps to prevent anemia in children. The study was conducted in the Makira Protected Area of Madagascar, which is a global hot spot for biodiversity, and the findings have created a ripple between conservation efforts and human health initiatives.