A Spanish Island’s Quest to Be the Greenest Place on Earth

When an innovative wind-power system goes online at the end of 2011, El Hierro, the easternmost of Spain’s Canary Islands, will turn into the first inhabited landmass in the world to become completely energy self-sufficient, using nature’s gifts: wind and sea water. And that’s just the first step in a plan that may make the island the most sustainable place on Earth.

Turkey to build huge waterway to bypass Bosphorus

Turkey plans to build a canal connecting the Black and Marmara seas as an alternative to the congested Bosphorus Strait, the main objectives being to reduce traffic through the Bosphorus and minimise the environmental threat.

Nauru use UN spotlight to confront developed world over climate change

The smallest nation in the UN is about to take the AOSIS chair at a time when low-lying coastal countries are gravely threatened. Nauru is among the islands most threatened by rising sea levels and its economy has been almost wholly dependent on phosphate, which has led to environmental catastrophe on the island, with 80% of the nation’s surface having been strip-mined.

Mangroves excel at storing climate-warming carbon

Mangroves store two to four times the carbon that tropical rainforests do. Part of the reason for mangroves’ efficiency in keeping carbon locked away lies in their location in tidal zones, where their roots are often covered with sea water.

Islands off the Croatian Coast

Along the coast of Croatia lies a multitude of islands of varying shapes and sizes. Archaeological finds indicate that some of the islands have been inhabited since the Stone Age and have supported trade routes since the sixth century BC.