Against our nature

Published April 27, 2013
A cheetah is pictured at the private game reserve of French Damien Vergnaud in Inverdoom, 200 kms north east of Cape Town. The cheetah, the world's fastest land animal, survived mass extinction during the last ice age 10,000 years ago. But it has taken just the last few decades for man to place the hunter on the endangered species list, with experts warning it could disappear from the wild by 2030.—Photo by AFP
A cheetah is pictured at the private game reserve of French Damien Vergnaud in Inverdoom, 200 kms north east of Cape Town. The cheetah, the world's fastest land animal, survived mass extinction during the last ice age 10,000 years ago. But it has taken just the last few decades for man to place the hunter on the endangered species list, with experts warning it could disappear from the wild by 2030.—Photo by AFP
People watch television near their tents after last Saturday's earthquake in Longmen township of Lushan county, Sichuan province.—Photo by Reuters
People watch television near their tents after last Saturday's earthquake in Longmen township of Lushan county, Sichuan province.—Photo by Reuters
The earthquake has left 196 dead, 21 missing and more than 11,000 injured, according to Xinhua News Agency.—Photo by Reuters
The earthquake has left 196 dead, 21 missing and more than 11,000 injured, according to Xinhua News Agency.—Photo by Reuters
A man repairs a makeshift tent in front of a damaged house after last Saturday's earthquake in Longmen township of Lushan county, Sichuan province.—Photo by Reuters
A man repairs a makeshift tent in front of a damaged house after last Saturday's earthquake in Longmen township of Lushan county, Sichuan province.—Photo by Reuters
A man collects water from Las Canoas dam, some 59 km north of the capital Managua. A large area of the dam has been dry since last February, as most of its water have been used by rice farmers for their crops, affecting around hundreds of peasants living in the area, according to local media.—Photo by Reuters
A man collects water from Las Canoas dam, some 59 km north of the capital Managua. A large area of the dam has been dry since last February, as most of its water have been used by rice farmers for their crops, affecting around hundreds of peasants living in the area, according to local media.—Photo by Reuters
A cow drinks water on cracked ground at the Las Canoas dam, some 59 km  north of the capital Managua.—Photo by Reuters
A cow drinks water on cracked ground at the Las Canoas dam, some 59 km north of the capital Managua.—Photo by Reuters
A calf walks on cracked ground at the Las Canoas dam, some 59 km north of the capital Managua.—Photo by Reuters
A calf walks on cracked ground at the Las Canoas dam, some 59 km north of the capital Managua.—Photo by Reuters
An unemployed fisherman smokes a cigarette on the shores of "Caleta Infiernillo", a small fishing bay near Concepcion city, some 500 km south of Santiago. A rapidly declining stock of sardines and anchovies for the first time in 30 years due to overfishing and climate change has threatened livelihoods in the local artisanal fishing industry, affecting more than 6,000 people. Authorities are seeking ways to help fishing unions in the Bio Bio region tide over their losses this year, which have amounted to about $12 b
An unemployed fisherman smokes a cigarette on the shores of "Caleta Infiernillo", a small fishing bay near Concepcion city, some 500 km south of Santiago. A rapidly declining stock of sardines and anchovies for the first time in 30 years due to overfishing and climate change has threatened livelihoods in the local artisanal fishing industry, affecting more than 6,000 people. Authorities are seeking ways to help fishing unions in the Bio Bio region tide over their losses this year, which have amounted to about $12 b
An Indian fisherman pulls in his net from a skiff over the Yamuna river in Allahabad. Indian consumers feel the most guilty about their environmental impact even though they have a smaller average footprint than consumers in wealthy countries, according to a survery released last year.—Photo by AFP
An Indian fisherman pulls in his net from a skiff over the Yamuna river in Allahabad. Indian consumers feel the most guilty about their environmental impact even though they have a smaller average footprint than consumers in wealthy countries, according to a survery released last year.—Photo by AFP
Amber, 5, sports a bee painted on her nose as she joins her mother at a protest in Parliament Square to urge Britain's government to ban the use of pesticides containing neonicotinoids, in central London. EU governments failed last month to agree a ban on three widely used pesticides linked to the decline of honeybees, but the European Commission is threatening to force such a ban through unless member states agree a compromise.—Photo by Reuters
Amber, 5, sports a bee painted on her nose as she joins her mother at a protest in Parliament Square to urge Britain's government to ban the use of pesticides containing neonicotinoids, in central London. EU governments failed last month to agree a ban on three widely used pesticides linked to the decline of honeybees, but the European Commission is threatening to force such a ban through unless member states agree a compromise.—Photo by Reuters
Vladimir Samsonov, 59, a resident from the Siberian town of Zheleznogorsk and a member of the Cryophil winter swimmers club, sunbathes as he sits on an ice floe on the Yenisei River in Krasnoyarsk.—Photo by Reuters
Vladimir Samsonov, 59, a resident from the Siberian town of Zheleznogorsk and a member of the Cryophil winter swimmers club, sunbathes as he sits on an ice floe on the Yenisei River in Krasnoyarsk.—Photo by Reuters
A worker sorts waste plastic bottles at a recycling centre in the outskirts of Beijing. China's National Development and Reform Commission announced that in an attempt to develop a circular economy, it will increase the annual output value of its resource recycling industry to 1.8 trillion yuan ($287 billion) by 2015, according to Xinhua.—Photo by Reuters
A worker sorts waste plastic bottles at a recycling centre in the outskirts of Beijing. China's National Development and Reform Commission announced that in an attempt to develop a circular economy, it will increase the annual output value of its resource recycling industry to 1.8 trillion yuan ($287 billion) by 2015, according to Xinhua.—Photo by Reuters
Filipino Architect Rodelon Ramos, left, and Iliac Diaz hold a recycled plastic mineral water container and another container equipped with an inexpensive solar powered bulb respectively that can both be used to light homes for as long as five hours at the launch of a Solar Pavilion at the Rizal Park in Manila, Philippines. Diaz launched the "Liter of Light" nationwide campaign Wednesday to rally at the grassroots level to "address the pressing issues of environmental destruction, using resources in a sustainable ma
Filipino Architect Rodelon Ramos, left, and Iliac Diaz hold a recycled plastic mineral water container and another container equipped with an inexpensive solar powered bulb respectively that can both be used to light homes for as long as five hours at the launch of a Solar Pavilion at the Rizal Park in Manila, Philippines. Diaz launched the "Liter of Light" nationwide campaign Wednesday to rally at the grassroots level to "address the pressing issues of environmental destruction, using resources in a sustainable ma
French National Assembly Speaker Claude Bartolone, wearing a protective suit, holds a frame with bees during the arrival of the bee colony for the three beehives installed on the roof of the National Assembly in Paris. The roof of France's National Assembly is ready to buzz with activity after the arrival of three large bee hives as part of a project to promote pesticide-free honey. The bees should produce up to 150 kg of honey a year and help pollinate flowering plants around the capital at a time of worldwide dec
French National Assembly Speaker Claude Bartolone, wearing a protective suit, holds a frame with bees during the arrival of the bee colony for the three beehives installed on the roof of the National Assembly in Paris. The roof of France's National Assembly is ready to buzz with activity after the arrival of three large bee hives as part of a project to promote pesticide-free honey. The bees should produce up to 150 kg of honey a year and help pollinate flowering plants around the capital at a time of worldwide dec
Wearing polar bear costumes Greenpeace activist take part in a staged show against Norwegian oil and gas group Statoil's planned drilling in the Arctic, outside Statoil's office in Moscow. The yellow banner  (top) reads: "Arctic is more valuable than oil!"  According to Greenpeace the staged show was aimed to draw attention to the threats of the catastrophic climate and  environment consequences of Arctic oil drilling.—Photo by AFP
Wearing polar bear costumes Greenpeace activist take part in a staged show against Norwegian oil and gas group Statoil's planned drilling in the Arctic, outside Statoil's office in Moscow. The yellow banner (top) reads: "Arctic is more valuable than oil!" According to Greenpeace the staged show was aimed to draw attention to the threats of the catastrophic climate and environment consequences of Arctic oil drilling.—Photo by AFP
Saunders Island and Wolstenholme Fjord with Kap Atholl in the background is shown in this picture taken during an Operation IceBridge survey flight in April 2013. Sea ice coverage in the fjord ranges from thicker, white ice seen in the background, to thinner grease ice and leads showing open ocean water in the foreground. 

In March 2013, NASA's Operation IceBridge scientists began another season of research activity over Arctic ice sheets and sea ice. IceBridge, a six-year NASA mission, is the largest airborne sur
Saunders Island and Wolstenholme Fjord with Kap Atholl in the background is shown in this picture taken during an Operation IceBridge survey flight in April 2013. Sea ice coverage in the fjord ranges from thicker, white ice seen in the background, to thinner grease ice and leads showing open ocean water in the foreground. In March 2013, NASA's Operation IceBridge scientists began another season of research activity over Arctic ice sheets and sea ice. IceBridge, a six-year NASA mission, is the largest airborne sur

"You are nothing but a number of days, and whenever a day passes away, a part of you passes with it", spoke Hasan Al-Basri. This is a gallery that shows the alarmingly accelerating decline of our surroundings and our universal birthright, nature. —Images by Agencies

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