Travel & Nature

Photo by Suthep Kritsanavarin

A hydropower dam project planned for the lower Mekong River is getting greater attention from conservationists as it nears the final stages of an approval process. The project would cut off the migration route for the Mekong giant catfish, an iconic fish within the culture, severing off the spawning grounds located upriver in northern Thailand and Laos. The species is already critically endangered due to overfishing and poor water quality. The dam would also impact three other species of the world's top ten largest, as well as cut off sediment flow from the river to the delta which provide nutrients to one of the world's most productive regions for fisheries and agriculture.

TH Exclusives

Here we go again... a pipeline owned by Enbridge Energy Partners has leaked 800,000-840,000 gallons of oil into a creek flowing into the Kalamazoo River near Battle Creek, Michigan. On a more positive note, the Zephyr solar plane finally landed this week at the US Army's Yuma Proving Ground in Arizona after 14 days and 24 minutes, setting a new record. In BP oil spill news, a new report by The Center for Public Integrity reveals that, in the hours after the Deepwater Horizon oil rig caught on fire, the US Coast Guard failed to follow its own internal firefighting procedures, potentially causing the rig to sink and the riser pipe to rupture. Catch up on the rest of this week's green headlines in our news in review image gallery:

Science & Technology

Image via Unplggd

While back we showed you an iPhone app that lets you customize nature sounds to chill out to. You could choose a basic theme, like the ocean, and boost up the crashing waves or tone down the seagull calls to get just the right mix to create a personalized relaxing soundscape. For those of us who aren't iPhone users, we now have a similar free tool for our computers thanks to Nature Sounds.

Cars & Transportation

Image from londoncyclist

Today is the big day: London's new bicycle rental system is being launched. Called Barclays Cycle Hire, after the bank which is a corporate sponsor to the tune of £25M, the system is high in Canadian content.

Modelled after Montreal's Bixi, the 6,000 bicycles have been built at Devinci Cycles in Batgotville Quebec. Many have bemoaned the fact that they are not British-made, but as a result of Montreal's experiences, these cycles are built to last.

Travel & Nature

Photo via Tom Nord

The planet is short one centenarian this week after Hector, the world's oldest condor, passed away in Algeria at the ripe old age of 100. Experts say Hector's long life was quite a feat considering that the scavenging birds generally don't live past 50. But as impressive as his longevity was, Hector's entire species of condor has a place in the record books, too, for having the longest wingspan of any land bird on the planet. Perhaps those magnificent wings came in handy as Hector slipped the surly bonds of Earth to fly towards that great rotting carcass in the sky.

Culture & Celebrity

Photo: Youtube

Something's Not Right With This Campaign
Not long ago, many celebrities got together to make a PSA for the "Be The One" campaign, urging people to sign a petition to save the Gulf of Mexico on the website RestoreTheGulf.com (very similar to the government's website at RestoreTheGulf.gov, which might have caused confusion). This all seems good, until you look at the fine print and dig below the surface... Which is what DeSmogBlog did. It turns out that the campaign's sponsors are "America's WETLAND Foundation", a front group for oil companies (Shell, BP, Chevron, ExxonMobil, etc), and "Women of the Storm", a Louisiana group with strong ties to America's WETLAND (the founder of the former is married to the chairman of the latter). Read on for more details.

Business & Politics

Watch the full size video on Planet Green

Today, on Planet 100, Coal Magnate David Koch argues the merits of a hotter, drier planet, Hollywood's first solar-powered blockbuster hits theaters, and top chefs give up endangered bluefin tuna.

Travel & Nature

The Galapagos Islands are among the most stunning places on earth. The unparalleled biodiversity and spectacular wildlife makes it a travel destination the world over. But it's also in big trouble. When I traveled there two years ago, I saw firsthand how a number of factors are putting the islands' delicate ecosystems in danger: invasive species threaten the local animal populations, more and more tourists are tromping through, and a burgeoning immigration from the mainland is straining the natural resources there and producing unmanageable waste. The islands were considered a Site in Danger by the World Heritage Committee since 2007. So it was surprising to many, myself included, to see the Galapagos whisked off the list this year, leaving the question -- is it too soon?