Half of the world’s 500 major rivers are seriously depleted or polluted by industrial, agriculture and human waste.
Ohio’s Cuyahoga River, infamous for catching fire in 1969, has been subsequently removed from the EPA’s National Priority List due to collaborative cleanup efforts.
Industrial pollution, garbage and human waste have fouled the Congo River, yet those who live near its shores have no choice but to use it for their most basic needs — hydration, sanitation and transportation. In the poorest parts of Kinshasa, residents wind their way through mounds of garbage to obtain enough water to bathe and cook.
Per-Anders Pettersson, Getty Images
Money contributed by the leading industrial nations of the world has helped preserve the natural lifestyles of Indians living on their ancestral homelands in the Amazon. Concerned about the destruction of the rainforest, G8 countries set up a program that allowed 160 tribes in the region to mark and preserve their own territories. Non-indigenous people are required to have special permits to be in the area. Here, a Waipi family takes advantage of the fresh running water of the Amazon.
62 Blue Planet Run
Gerd Ludwig
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