Environment

• 13 January 2022

  Friends Turn Plastic Waste Into Cash, Clean Up In Kyrgyzstan

  Three friends in Kyrgyzstan's capital hated seeing the pollution caused by plastic waste, so they decided to take matters into their own hands.

• 01 December 2021

  Poisonous Ruins: Russian Town Struggles With Toxic Lead Legacy

  It was once ranked among the most polluted places on Earth, but Rudnaya Pristan in Russia's Far East, about 500 kilometers north of Vladivostok, has cleaned up its act since the closure of its lead smelting plant. Local fish populations benefited from cleaner water but are threatened by overfishing.

• 29 November 2021

  'We Had It Coming With Methane': How 51 People Died In A Siberian Coal-Mine Tragedy

  According to witnesses to last week's Siberian coal-mine disaster, lax safety standards meant it was an accident waiting to happen. Fifty-one people died in Russia's worst mine tragedy since 2010.

• 12 October 2021

  Return To Coal: Kyrgyzstan Goes Back To Dirty Fuel To Cope With Hydroelectric Shortage

  Kyrgyzstan is forcing homes and businesses to go back to using coal as a severe drought has reduced output at the country's lone hydroelectric plant, which usually produces 40 percent of the country's electricity. Other energy-saving measures include switching off street lights and neon advertising.

• 20 August 2021

  The Antlers Of Altai: Siberia's Controversial Harvest

  Russians living in Siberia’s Altai mountains make a living by cutting the antlers off Maral deers. The dried antlers are sold for more than $300 per kilogram to China and South Korea where people believe they help boost libido and longevity. But animal rights groups call the practice cruel.

• 02 August 2021

  This Remote Island Is Not Quite Ready To Be A 'Window To Asia'

  Bolshoi Ussuriysky Island, an outpost on the Amur River in the Far East, was disputed by Russia and China for decades, but it has now been divided almost equally between the neighbors. The Chinese call it Heixiazi Island.

• 30 July 2021

  Kyrgyz Heavy Metal: Inside The Mercury Mine Of Aidarken

  The huge mercury mine at Aidarken in Kyrgyzstan once supplied the entire Soviet Union. It now produces a fraction of its former output, with many of its shafts still filled with floodwaters that took it out of service from 2009 to 2019.

• 15 July 2021

  Kamchatka: Mysterious Land Of Volcanoes, Bears, And Secret Military Bases

  The Kamchatka Peninsula in Russia's Far East is one of the world's wildest places, where researchers keep watch over active volcanoes and hunters come in search of big game. It's also home to a secretive military facility where ballistic missile tests disturb the pristine environment.

• 07 July 2021

  LUKoil Says It Cleaned Up Its Oil Spill. Russian Environmentalists Say The Contamination Continues.

  In May, a leaking pipeline spilled oil into a river and across a large area of the Komi region in northern Russia. Local officials and the LUKoil energy company said the cleanup work is now finished, but local environmentalists say the impact is greater than the company admits.

• 07 July 2021

  LUKoil Says It Cleaned Up Its Oil Spill. Russian Environmentalists Say The Contamination Continues.

  In May, a leaking pipeline spilled oil into a river and across a large area of the Komi region in northern Russia. Local officials and the LUKoil energy company said the cleanup work is now finished, but local environmentalists say the impact is greater than the company admits.

• 02 July 2021

  Ukraine's Garbage Becomes Hungary's Problem As It Flows Down The Tisza River

  The Tisza River, a major tributary of the Danube, flows from Ukraine into Hungary -- and brings with it thousands of tons of garbage each year. Hungary has urged Ukraine to deal with its trash before it becomes an international issue, but there's no easy solution in sight.

• 11 June 2021

  Rivers On Fire: Russia's Oil Industry Threatens Indigenous Land And Livelihoods

  Half of Russia's oil is produced in the Khanty-Mansi Autonomous District of Siberia, but the lucrative industry has meant nothing but trouble for the region's indigenous people.

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