Entries by Christian Thorsberg

FRESH, February 7, 2023: Development Planned for Greater Toronto Would Require a Controversial Water Shake-up

In Ontario, a plan to develop York Region includes what many say is a detrimental — and illegal — water transfer from Lake Huron watersheds to Lake Ontario. 

The Stream, February 1, 2023: US Government Restores Protections for Alaska’s Tongass Forest

Millions of acres of Alaska’s Tongass forest, the world’s largest intact temperate rainforest, will once again be federally protected from road-building and timber harvests.

The Stream, January 25, 2023: Sediment Buildup Will Shrink Reservoir Storage, UN Study Shows

A new United Nations study suggests that by 2050, sediment buildup could cause thousands of the world’s largest dams to lose a combined 26 percent of their storage capacity.

The Stream, January 18, 2023: The Killing of Two Water Defenders in Honduras Prompts Calls for Justice

Two water defenders, protesting an open-pit iron oxide mine in Carlos Escaleras National Park, are killed in Honduras.

The Stream, January 11, 2023: Proposed Hydropower Project Threatens Sacred Yakama Nation Food-Gathering Lands

In south-central Washington state, a pumped-water storage project threatens a First Foods gathering area, a sacred place for the Yakama Nation.

The Stream, December 28, 2022: Mercury Pollution of Waterways Spoils Bolivia’s Gold Mining Boom

Activists are calling on Bolivia to regulate their mining industry’s use of mercury, which continues to pollute biodiverse watersheds, rivers, and drinking water.

The Stream, December 21, 2022: In Global Biodiversity Agreement, Freshwater Protection and Restoration Are Prominent

At the UN biodiversity summit, roughly 190 countries pledge to protect 30 percent of the world’s lands and waters by 2030.

The Stream, December 14, 2022: Scrutinizing Mexico’s Tourist Train, UN Raises Concerns about Cultural and Environmental Damage

In Mexico, the rushed development of a tourist train across the Yucatan peninsula threatens biodiverse rainforests and Indigenous communities, drawing UN attention.

The Stream, December 7, 2022: England’s Water Industry Mostly Owned by Private Foreign Interests, Report Reveals

The vast majority of England’s water industry is owned by foreign firms and businesses, a Guardian investigation reveals.

HotSpots H2O: ‘Global Indigenous Agenda’ Calls for Water, Land, and Resource Governance at 2021 IUCN World Congress

The newly released “Global Indigenous Agenda for the Governance of Indigenous Lands, Territories, Waters, Coastal Seas and Natural Resources,” authored by the IUCN Indigenous partner organizations, outlines five goals that together seek to strengthen the relationship between Indigenous land rights and sustainable environmental conservation.

HotSpots H2O: Flash Floods and Landslides Devastate Western Venezuela

Torrential rain fell relentlessly this past week in western Venezuela, producing floods that destroyed over 1,200 buildings and displaced thousands of people.