Dirtiest River on Earth

 The Citarum River
 
Once upon a time, the Citarum River was rich in fish and wildlife. Local villagers caught fish and used river water to irrigate rice paddies and vegetable plots.  They bathed, cooked and drank the river water.

In the 1980s, textile factories started operations. Now, more than 500 factories line the banks of the 200-mile river, many of them leaking chemicals into the water.

Polluted Beyond Belief

The Citarum River in West Java in Indonesia is a living (or dying) example of how much damage humans seem to be willing to cause to their environment.
 

 Beneath the Trash is the Citarum River

The river remains as the sole source of both drinking and irrigation water for millions of people, including those living along the river. There are three hydroelectric power plants with dams along this river. The river is also a garbage dump, sewer system and industrial waste disposal facility for the region.

Villager in boat collects recyclable items from Citarum River  

(AP Photo/Kusumadireza)

Today the Citarum River has the reputation of being one of the most polluted river in the world!  Villagers who can no longer catch fish in it, pick through the pollution that carpets it, to try to earn a living by recycling materials pulled from the river.

This is what happens when nine million people throw their trash and corporations dump hazardous waste in a river.  The Citarum River in West Java.  Indonesia is choked with plastic, loaded with chemicals and human waste.

Dead fish, poisoned by mercury, unable to survive in the polluted water.

The water from Citarum River is treated for human consumption in the larger town and cities. In small villages, they may wrap a towel or sock around the waterspout. The villagers use this water to bathe, wash and cook. Luckily, the villagers will boil the water before drinking it. Boiling will take care of bacteria, but boiling is useless against heavy metals and toxic chemicals.

River Clean Up Possible

In December 2008, the Asian Development Bank (ADB) granted a US$500 million loan to the government for clean-up operations. Over a 15-year period, the ADB money should allow the government to rehabilitate the entire river basin.

However, the People’s Alliance for Citarum (ARUM), an NGO, is concerned about corruption in the allocation of the ABD funding, and the project’s effectiveness.As well they should be concerned: Java is known for its corruption.

 

Until consensus on how the money will be spent is reached, the river of garbage will continue to flow and the people will continue to suffer the consequences.

Climate Change is Already Affecting Birds

A 2009 report from the Audubon Society analyzed decades of Christmas Bird Count (CBC) data and determined  that 58 percent of bird species had shifted their winter ranges northward. More than 60 species were found to be nesting 100 miles north of their historical range.

The problem becomes more dramatic when you take into account high altitude nesters, such as Bicknell's Thrush. If the tree line moves up and conifers no longer grow, the thrush will have no place to nest.  Luckily, the thrush does range to Canada, so will survive for a few more years.

The study conducted by ecologist Dr. Nicholas Rodenhouse of Wellesley College, looked at the Bicknell's Thrush and observed the Black-throated Blue Warbler, a small songbird that nests in northeastern US and southeastern Canada.  While not as fragile as to changes in the nesting environment, the warbler thrives in a mix of hardwords with understory shrubs in which natural prey live.

A warmer climate spells disaster for all birds as there would be a serious reduction in habitat.

Dr. Peter Marra, of the Smithsonian Migratory Bird Center, stated:

. . .if you want to understand how climate change might influence birds in the future, you need to understand their exposure throughout the annual cycle. . .

 Both the Bicknell's Thrush and Black-throated Blue Warbler winter primarily in the Caribbean.  What is happening there is drought, which may extend for 30-50 years. Birds suffering from dehydration and malnutrition due to the drought, may have difficulty in the breeding cycle.

Climate change threatens in unexpected ways. The Gray Jay, a bird of the boreal forests of North America, caches food in the winter and depends on that food in the spring. In warmer temperatures the food might rot, which means the jay may be less successful in the spring breeding cycle.

Common Loons have always left the freshwater lakes before they molt, which leaves them without flight. As temperatures rise, the loon may stay too late and have to overwinter in harsh unfamiliar habitats.

Sources:

National Audubon Society
http://bna.birds.cornell.edu/bna/species/087/articles/introduction

Sherry, T.W., and R.T. Holmes. 1995. Summer versus winter limitation of populations: conceptual issues and evidence. Pp. 85-120 in Ecology and management of Neotropical migratory birds: a synthesis and review of critical issues (T. Martin and D. Finch, Eds.). Oxford University Press, New York.

The Birds of Norther America Online http://bna.birds.cornell.edu/bna/species/087/articles/introduction

Stop the Canadian Oil Sand Madness Now

Historically, surface mining has been used to extract tar sands and this method has produced at much CO₂ as all the cars in Canada.
The tailings, what are left when the bitumin has been extracted, are being stored in ponds. In the tailings pond, the sand, clay and water separate out. The water is sent back to the plant to be reused. Even so, the huge amounts of water needed threatens the world's third largest watershed.

Mining is the oldest technique for removing the bitumin from oil sands.  Today, 80% of the bitumin is recovered in situ, which means the operators drill from oil pads to access the bitumen before bringing into surface.  They drill two horizontal safety wells called steam-assisted gravity drainage well.  Steam in injected into the top layer, liquifying the bitumen so that it may flow and be processed.

Between the ever increasing air pollution and the poisons and heavy metals built up in the tailing ponds that may now been seen from space, there has been a rise in certain cancers and syndromes since oil sand production ramped up in 2005.