To commemorate TIME’s Heroes of the Environment, a whirlwind tour of some of the wildlife and ecosystems most endangered by global warming
Shifting Sands
A worker carrying hay in the Maowusu Desert in China. Barriers are being built to stabilize sand dunes and prevent desertification.MICHAEL REYNOLDS / EPA
Piling Up
Garbage collectors at a dump in China's Hainan province. Growing populations and booming economies are threatening ecosystems throughout East Asia.Andy Gao / REUTERS
Barely Hanging On
One of an endangered species, a Black and White Ruffed Lemur clings to a branch near Pletteberg Bay in South Africa.Mike Hutchings / REUTERS
High Tide
A Bangladeshi family wades through the flooded Jamuna river.ABIR ABDULLAH / AP
Waiting for Rain
A dead tree stands on a drought-ravaged property in the far west of New South Wales, Australia.Greenpeace / REUTERS
Wise Eye
Beaulah the elephant takes in the surroundings at the Dutchess County Fair in Rhinebeck, N.Y.Darryl Bautista / AP
Tomorrow’s Riviera
Climate activists "sunbathe" on the edge of a frozen fjord in the Norwegian Arctic town of Longyearbyen.Francois Lenoir / REUTERS
Caps Off
A NASA satellite image from September 16, 2007 shows Arctic summer sea ice at its lowest level, shattering a record set in 2005.NASA / REUTERS
Bear Pause
Giant pandas eat at the China Panda Protection and Research Center in Wolong, China.China Daily / REUTERS
Smoke Signals
Exhaust from a factory in Thailand. Scientists project a big rise in temperatures this century due to greenhouse gases released by the use of fossil fuels.Sukree Sukplang / REUTERS
Melting Away
The LeConte Glacier in southeast Alaska has retreated 2.5 miles since 1887.Klas Stolpe / AP
Hazy Future
An Indonesian man burns coconut shells to make charcoal. The government has announced a plan to rank cities based on air quality.MAST IRHAM / EPA
Brilliant Swarm
Thousands of fusulier fish swim on the edge of a coral reef in the Ras Mohammed protection area near Sharm el-Sheikh in Egypt.TARIK TINAZAY / AFP / GETTY
Dry Land
A worker takes a rest on the chapped land in a dried resevior in Minqin, in northwest China's Gansu Province.HAI YING / EPA
Visibility Decreasing
A gigantic cloud of dust known as "Haboob" advances over Khartoum in April 2007.AFP / Getty
Out of their Depth
One of two dolphins, who are usually found in warmer waters, sighted in the Baltic Sea near Germany in September.BUNDESPOLIZEI SEE / EPA
