Algunas personas les gusta pasar sus vacaciones en un spa de lujo con aire acondicionado, un buffet interminable y una piscina con cloro que no alcanzan a pisar pero se encuentra a su alrededor. Eso está bien, pero muchos de nosotros preferimos un enfoque más natural, vacaciones de volver a la naturaleza, como ir de campamento. La experiencia de un buen viaje de campamento es incomparable. El ir a dormir bajo las estrellas y despertar con los pájaros y el aire fresco hace que realmente aprecie la naturaleza.
Pero apreciar la naturaleza no les da a los campistas un pase libre para faltarle al respeto. Muchas veces cuando la gente va de campamento se olvidan de que ellos no son los únicos que viven allÃ. Al acampar, es importante tomar medidas sostenibles y limitar su impacto. Tenemos que respetar la naturaleza si queremos que las generaciones futuras puedan disfrutar de ella.
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The Democratic Republic of Congo is seeking a billion dollars for a plan to protect up to 9 million hectares of rainforests, reports the Financial Times. In a presentation given at the Houses of Parliament on Tuesday, DR Congo Minister of Environment Bavon N'sa Mputu Elima said his country needed foreign assistance to protect forests. He cited Indonesia as a precedent for such an approach.
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Subglacial lakes in Antarctica might have nutrient-rich groundwater flowing into them, say scientists investigating the origin of the water in ice streams.
Ice streams are huge, fast-flowing glaciers that meander across Antarctica. They are responsible for nearly all of the Antarctic's contribution to sea-level rise, yet scientists have little understanding of where the water flowing through them comes from. This means that the contents of the subglacial lakes which lie underneath these streams is also a mystery.
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A new system for cleaning soils contaminated with industrial toxins harnesses the power of White rot - a common fungus that decays fallen wood in forests. Research in Finland shows it can also destroy dioxins and poly-aromatic hydrocarbons.
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China's national legislature has adopted sweeping changes to the country's Environmental Protection Law, revisions that have been hailed as major steps toward saving China's environment from rampant degradation. The authorities will now have stronger enforcement powers, including the right to detain persistent violators for up to 15 days and to fine polluters more heavily than before. Some legally registered civil-society organizations will now be able to initiate public-interest litigation as well.
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