Desperate to restore the Chao Praya River to a pristine state, an abbot in the Thai capital began recycling in his temple. Now he has a floating ally in his efforts to clean up the river
Photographs by Lauren DeCicca
“Once upon a time this river was filled with fish; now, nothing swims in it any more,” says Wat Chak Daeng temple’s abbot, Phra Mahapranom Dhammalangkaro, as he looks out over Bangkok’s Chao Praya River.
As a novice monk in the 1980s, he remembers seeing children playing in the river and people scooping up handfuls of water to drink. But when he became abbot of Wat Chak Daeng more than 25 years later, those bucolic images were a thing of the past. Instead, when he arrived at the 240-year-old temple, he was saddened by the sight of the dirty river and the rubbish-strewn grounds surrounding it.
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Breaking Waves: Ocean News
08/05/2024 - 00:00
08/05/2024 - 00:00
Restoration of Pleasure Boat Inn on edge of Hickling Broad makes charity the first wildlife trust to own a pub
It was a much-loved endangered species that desperately needed saving, but it was still a surprise when the Norfolk Wildlife Trust stepped in to revive it.
The nature conservation charity has become the first wildlife trust to own a pub after restoring the Pleasure Boat Inn on the edge of Hickling Broad, a national nature reserve in the Broads national park.
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08/04/2024 - 19:02
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‘Never been a fairytale’ for Brittany Higgins, her lawyer tells Linda Reynolds’ defamation trial
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For more on this, Daniel Hurst looked into the issue yesterday. A spokesperson for the communications minister, Michelle Rowland, had said the government was “firmly committed to minimising harms from online wagering”.
The government continues to engage with stakeholders regarding the recommendations from the online wagering inquiry as we formulate our response.
I hope that’s not the case. I hope the long consultation is because the government’s actually going to do the right thing and make gambling ads history, just like we did with tobacco. We live in hope it’s not too late, but the rumors are not encouraging.
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08/04/2024 - 18:01
Though tiny compared with rivals, English wine trade is thriving as climate crisis fuels flood of new capital from investors
The largest English vineyards increased their revenues by 15% last year, as wine investors respond to the climate crisis by planting more vines.
While the UK still languishes well down the list of the largest wine-producing nations, below countries such as Uzbekistan and Tunisia, the industry’s output has soared in recent years, rising by 77% last year to 161,960 hectolitres, equivalent to 21.6m bottles.
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08/04/2024 - 10:00
Trend also reflects concerns over range and a lack of charging infrastructure affecting purely electric vehicles, experts say
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Australians are buying more cars than ever but are increasingly choosing hybrid vehicles over petrol-powered cars due to rising costs at the bowser, new data by the Australian Automobiles Association shows.
Quarterly vehicle sales data released on Monday revealed a further uptick in demand for hybrid vehicles, a trend the industry believes reflects both the rising cost of living, as well as range anxiety and concerns over a lack of charging infrastructure affecting purely electric vehicles.
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08/04/2024 - 08:00
As Americans worry about inflation and ‘no planet B’, some look to the trash for answers
When Annemarie Cox drives around San Diego, she scans the urban landscape for one thing that the rest of the population likely ignores: dumpsters. Where other people see trash, she sees possibilities – quirky secondhand clothes, collectible antiques, even family heirlooms and photographs that have been casually discarded.
On one recent Tuesday in southern California, the mid-morning sun already beating down, Cox’s usual quest was under way. She paid a visit to one of her favorite local dumpsters, first resting her forearms comfortably on the sides and then reaching barehanded towards whatever was at the bottom. Other than a broken TV atop a huge stack of cardboard boxes, there wasn’t much to find this time around.
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08/03/2024 - 08:30
Air conditioning isn’t always enough to keep you safe – but people across the US have hacks to handle extreme heat
Another heatwave is sweeping much of the US this week, with millions under heat advisory. The blistering and potentially life-threatening temperatures come as much of the western US faces devastating wildfires and the north-east endures “apocolyptic” floods.
Scientists agree such conditions would be virtually impossible without the climate crisis. Last week saw the four hottest days ever recorded on the planet, and 2024 is expected to be the warmest year on record.
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08/03/2024 - 07:00
Campaigners say rare grassland on former firing range in Essex was mowed, killing the birds and their chicks that nest on the ground
The song of the skylark has filled poets’ hearts for centuries, from Shelley’s “blithe spirit” to Wordsworth’s “ethereal minstrel”. But there is little that is poetic about a row over the birds that has blown up in Colchester.
Campaigners seeking to save Middlewick Ranges, a former Ministry of Defence firing range in Essex, are furious that some of the 76 hectares of rare grassland were mowed last month, an act that they believe has killed skylarks and their chicks, which nest on the ground.
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08/03/2024 - 03:42
Rescue body says dolphin spotted on Thursday may be further disoriented by human interference
People have been urged to stay away from a dolphin spotted in the River Thames.
The common dolphin had been seen several times near Putney Bridge, south-west London, on Thursday, and had appeared to be “struggling with the tide”, but had not been seen since.
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08/03/2024 - 01:00
Centuries-old Montrose golf links falling into the sea and town at risk of flooding as coastal erosion accelerates
A beach in north-east Scotland is eroding rapidly owing to climate change, leaving a town at risk of flooding and its centuries-old golf links crumbling into the sea.
The Dynamic Coast report in 2021 studied the rate of erosion at Montrose and predicted that 120 metres would be lost over 40 years, an average of 3 metres a year.
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