pollution

Brazil’s polluted bay

Brazil’s polluted bay

16 Photos

The day is still dark when Edmo Rodrigues da Costa sets out in his 20-foot fishing boat, carefully maneuvering around clumps of trash and mounds of putrid sludge in the sewage-infested waters of Rio de Janeiro’s Guanabara Bay.

For 30 years, Costa has trolled the bay that will host Olympic sailing events in 2016, setting his nets by the pink dawn light, hoping to catch sea bass, Atlantic bigeyes and shrimp.

But slowly, year after year, the catches have diminished.
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Severe water pollution in China

Severe water pollution in China

40 Photos

Growing cities, overuse of fertilizers and factory wastewater have degraded China’s water supplies to the extent that half the nation’s rivers and lakes are severely polluted. China aims to spend $850 billion to improve filthy water supplies over the next decade, but even such huge outlays may do little to reverse damage caused by decades of pollution and overuse in Beijing’s push for rapid economic growth.

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Heavy smog hits China as pollution crisis continues

Heavy smog hits China as pollution crisis continues

36 Photos

China continues to suffer a pollution crisis, with Beijing shrouded in acrid smog. Authorities have introduced anti-pollution policies and often pledged to clean up the environment but the problem has not eased. In October 2013, clouds of smog blanketed Harbin in China’s Heilongjiang province. According to reports, visibility was cut to 33 feet.

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