Growing cities, overuse of fertilizers and factory wastewater have degraded China's water supplies to the extent that half the nation's rivers and lakes are severely polluted. China aims to spend $850 billion to improve filthy water supplies over the next decade, but even such huge outlays may do little to reverse damage caused by decades of pollution and overuse in Beijing's push for rapid economic growth. Photo: Fishermen row a boat in the algae-filled Chaohu Lake in Hefei, Anhui province, June 19, 2009. (Photo by Jianan Yu/Reuters)

A freediver uses weights, yoga and camera tricks to create the illusion of walking underwater for a film which took three years to shoot and was completed in 2013 in El Hierro, Canary Islands. Like a scene from a Hollywood science-fiction movie, this trick footage shows a man apparently walking on water. The underwater film was shot by biologist Armiche Ramos and brothers Armando and Francisco del Rosario, who used their expertise in freediving to create the illusion. No computer graphics were involved in the production, with the team relying solely on their own skills – and a few hidden secrets. (Photo by Ocean Brothers/Barcroft Media/ABACAPress)

These incredible images capture the immense detail of waves beautifully crashing into the serene waters of Hawaii. (Photo by Bryce Groark/Caters)

Gunung Leuser National Park is a national park covering 7,927 km² in northern Sumatra, Indonesia, straddling the border of North Sumatra and Aceh provinces. The national park, named after Mount Leuser (3,381 m), protects a wide range of ecosystems. An orangutan sanctuary of Bukit Lawang is located inside the park. Together with Bukit Barisan Selatan and Kerinci Seblat national parks it forms a World Heritage Site, Tropical Rainforest Heritage of Sumatra.

Parc Astérix is a theme amusement park in France, based on the stories of Asterix (by Albert Uderzo and René Goscinny). Situated approximately 35 km (22 mi) north of Paris and 32 km (20 mi) from Disneyland Resort Paris, in Plailly in the département of Oise, it opened in 1989. The park is operated by Compagnie des Alpes.

Twiggy the Water-Skiing Squirrel is an animal novelty act, featuring a squirrel who skis around a heated pool. The act began in 1979 by Chuck and Lou Ann Best and started with an appearance on Real People. It has been featured on numerous television shows, newspaper articles, and websites.

Ricardo Azevedo rides his Honda NX 200 motorbike, which he converted to be powered by water, in Salto, northwest of Sao Paulo, Brazil, August 6, 2015. The Sao Paulo civil servant built the motorbike, which can cover up to 500 kilometres (311 miles) fuelled by just one litre of water. Dubbed “Moto Power H2O” the bike is powered by the process of electrolysis, which breaks the water molecule down into its constituent elements. (Photo by Nacho Doce/Reuters)

A ceramic dog sleeps next to the gravesite of “Moses” at the Aspin Hill Memorial Park in Aspen Hill, Maryland August 25, 2015. Established in 1921, Aspin Hill contains the graves of more than 50,000 animals, from movies stars to WWI heroes to the dogs of former FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover. National Dog Day is celebrated in the United States on August 26. (Photo by Gary Cameron/Reuters)