Baikal Blues. Is Russia’s greatest national treasure under threat?

According to a World Health Organisation report, a 1/3 of the world’s population lives without access to proper toilets. This causes natural water reserves to become contaminated with human waste, which in turn causes disease. India is just one of many countries in which rural populations suffer acutely as a direct result of poor, or no sanitation.

For three decades, the picturesque and fertile land in the foothills of Italy’s Mount Vesuvius has been contaminated by toxic waste, illegally buried and burnt here by mafia gangs. The resulting pollution caused a dramatic increase in cancer among the local population, including children.

14 women on a sail boat, but this is no pleasure cruise. The Sea Dragon is taking them on a scientific expedition to the Caribbean. On a mission to explore the extent of plastic pollution in the Atlantic Ocean, their main focus is the proliferation of micro-plastic that poisons fish and can harm humans. They also hope to educate children about how to reduce the use of plastic.

All across the USA people are rising up against fracking. They don’t believe the process is safe and think it causes wide-scale land contamination. Ever more extraction sites are being approved and developed with new plant being built in once idyllic landscapes. 

The city of Flint in Michigan, US, has a water crisis. It’s been going on since 2014 when residents were switched to a cheaper supply but it took a year before the authorities admitted there was a problem. As a result, thousands were exposed to lead poisoning, carcinogenic chemicals and legionella bacteria.