A nurse helps khun Khao Jaiwang, 68, breathe with the help of an oxygen tank at Mae Moh district hospital. He has been diagnosed with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease. Environmental activists and villagers in the Mae Moh area believe that emissions from the Mae Moh power plant are the principal cause of respiratory disease in this area. An abnormal number of villagers in vicinity of the power plant are dying of respiratory related illnesses. Mae Moh district in northern Thailand's Lampang province is home to Southeast Asia's largest lignite fired power generating facility. Villagers in the area have long complained that the plant, which supplies north and northeast Thailand with power, is contaminating the surrounding area and poses a hazard to their health as well as damaging agricultural land. The Mae Moh Power Plant, as it is known, began operations about 30 years ago and, despite being dogged by accusations of excessive pollution and evidence that locals are suffering respiratory problems as a result of burn-off from the plant, has continued to expand production. Environmental activists in Thailand and elsewhere see the plant as an example of unclean power technology that should not be repeated in other countries. Proponents of coal and lignite plants say it offers cost effective energy with relatively little impact on the environment.
A group of Greenpeace activists hang a huge banner from the Rama IX bridge in the Thai capital Bangkok. About 14 activists took part in the demonstration, including six climbers who abseiled down from the bridge to hang a banner which read 'Don't Trade Away the Planet'. The move was designed to remind delegates at the CITES conference, which closes in Bangkok today, to actively implement and enforce the positive decisions that were taken at the convention. Greenpeace has emphasised the need to end unregulated trade in endangered species. The action was coordinated by Greenpeace's Southeast Asia office. Illegal trafficking in wild animals remains a serious problem in Southeast Asia.
Factory chimneys spewing smoke and pollution into the atmosphere on the outskirts of Ulan Bator.
Activists from the environmental group Greenpeace staging a protest at a processing and storage facility owned by the Thai Plastic and Chemicals Plc (TPC), which contains the highly toxic and carcinogenic chemical Vinyl Chloride Monomer (VCM). The activists climbed onto a storage tank to hang a banner “Cancer Starts Here”. Greenpeace is demanding that TPC's factory operations be shut down after finding evidence that wastewater containing a chemical that can cause cancer and pose threats to the environment are being discharged by the company into the Chao Phraya River.
Toxic pollution pours from the huge chimney stacks of the Mae Moh power plant, Southeast Asia's largest lignite fired power generating facility. Villagers in the area have long complained that the plant, which supplies north and northeast Thailand with power, is contaminating the surrounding area and poses a hazard to their health as well as damaging agricultural land. The Mae Moh Power Plant, as it is known, began operations about 30 years ago and, despite being dogged by accusations of excessive pollution and evidence that locals are suffering respiratory problems as a result of burn-off from the plant, has continued to expand production. Environmental activists in Thailand and elsewhere see the plant as an example of unclean power technology that should not be repeated in other countries. Proponents of coal and lignite plants say it offers cost effective energy with relatively little impact on the environment.
Khun Duong Panyaraew lies on a hospital bed in Mae Moh district. He has been diagnosed with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease. Environmental activists and villagers in the Mae Moh area believe that emissions from the Mae Moh power plant are the principal cause of respiratory disease in this area. An abnormal number of villagers in vicinity of the power plant are dying of respiratory related illnesses. Mae Moh district in northern Thailand's Lampang province is home to Southeast Asia's largest lignite fired power generating facility. Villagers in the area have long complained that the plant, which supplies north and northeast Thailand with power, is contaminating the surrounding area and poses a hazard to their health as well as damaging agricultural land. The Mae Moh Power Plant, as it is known, began operations about 30 years ago and, despite being dogged by accusations of excessive pollution and evidence that locals are suffering respiratory problems as a result of burn-off from the plant, has continued to expand production. Environmental activists in Thailand and elsewhere see the plant as an example of unclean power technology that should not be repeated in other countries. Proponents of coal and lignite plants say it offers cost effective energy with relatively little impact on the environment.
Freshly cut logs piled up ready for transportation. Illegal logging is a major problem in Cambodia where the rate of deforestation is a serious concern to environmentalists. This scene was on the road north to Mondolkiri not far from Kompong Cham.
