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Bachmann, Jasmine. “Power from the Danube – Can It Be Sustainable?” Power from the Danube – Can It Be Sustainable? | ICPDR - International Commission for the Protection of the Danube River, July 2015, www.icpdr.org/main/publications/power-danube-can-it-be-sustainable.

Cline, Ernest. Ready Player One. Broadway Books, 2018.

Castillo, Juan. “25 Longest Rivers In The World.” List25, 23 Mar. 2017, list25.com/25-longest-rivers-in-the-world/5/.

International Commission for the Protection of the Danube River. (2015). ICPRD/IKSD Retrieved February 22, 2018, from ICPDR: http://www.icpdr.org/main/

Klestil-Platz, Thomas. “Freudenau Danube Power Plant | Hydropower | Energy Generation | Energy Supply | About Us | Wien Energie.” Www.wienenergie.at, 2012, www.wienenergie.at/eportal3/ep/channelView.do/pageTypeId/67860/channelId/-51618.

Kling, F. &. (2012). Runoff conditions in the upper Danube basin under an ensemble of climate change scenarios. Journal of Hydrology, 264-277.

Mauser, W. (2008). Climate Change and water resources: Scenarios of low-flow onditions in the Upper Danube River Basin. IOP Conference Series: Earth and Environmental Science. 4. IOP Conference Series.

Morgensztern, Ouriel. “Climate Change in the Danube Region.” Climate Change in the Danube Region | ICPDR - International Commission for the Protection of the Danube River, 9 Oct. 2017, www.icpdr.org/main/climate-change-danube-region.

National Geographic Society. “Conflict on the Danube.” National Geographic Society, 7 Aug. 2015, www.nationalgeographic.org/lesson/conflict-danube/.

Nikolova, N. &. (2011). Observed changes in precipitation in the Danube river lower basin in the context of climate change. Forum Geografic, 10(1), 117-121.

Secretariat1. “Plants & Animals.” ICPDR, 2000, www.icpdr.org/main/issues/plants-animals.

Secretariat2. “Agriculture.” ICPDR, 2000, www.icpdr.org/main/issues/agriculture.

Secretariat3. “Countries of the Danube River Basin.” ICPDR, 2000, https://www.icpdr.org/main/danube-basin/countries-danube-river-basin.

Secretariat4. "The Fight to Save Danube Sturgeons." ICPDR, 2010, https://www.icpdr.org/main/publications/fight-save-danube-sturgeons

Suici, Radu. “Danube River.” WWF, wwf.panda.org/about_our_earth/about_freshwater/freshwater_problems/river_decline/10_rivers_risk/danube/

Than, Ker. “Toxic Mud Spill Latest Insult to Danube River Water.” National Geographic, 10 Oct. 2014, news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2010/10/101012-toxic-spill-hungary-danube-river-water

World Wide Fund for Nature. (2017). Danube. Retrieved February 23, 2018, from World Wide Fund for Nature Global: http://wwf.panda.org/about_our_earth/about_freshwater/rivers/danube/

Zweimuller, I. Z. (2008, February26). Effects of climate change on nitrate loads in a large river: The austrian Danube as example. Hydrological Processes, 2008(22), 1022-1036.

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The International Commission for the Protection of the Danube River (ICPDR) is an organization consisting of 14 different countries who have made it their mission to protect and serve the Danube River. The commission began in 1998 and deals with reserving all of the basin's resources including, but not limited too drinking water, ground water, and tributaries ((International Commission for the Protection of the Danube River).

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The Danube is the second longest river in Europe, making it one of its prize possessions. It doesn't even make the list of the 25 largest rivers in the world (Castillo, Juan). As a whole, the river covers 10 entire countries and 97 different cities, 4 of which are major capitols (World Wide Fund for Nature, 2017).

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To meet the goals of the Danube Strategy, sturgeon experts, NGOs and representatives of national governments and the ICPDR established the Danube Sturgeon Task Force (DSTF) in 2012.  The DSTF aims to mobilize support for sturgeon conservation across the entire catchment area. While efforts in the Middle and Lower Danube focus on preserving the remaining wild individuals and their key habitats and restoring river connectivity at the Iron Gates and Gabcikovo dams, iin the Upper Danube the focus is on habitat restoration and building functional fish passes to allow migrants to reach their historical habitats (Secretariat4).

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As the River's population around it continues to grow, it is important that there are efforts being made to preserve the natural beauty, wildlife, and under water life of the Danube. While humans have had the most drastic impact on the Danube, they too are working hard to restore it (International Commission for the Protection of the Danube River.).

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Changes to the river profile and width, water depth and flow velocity following the construction of dams, dikes, weirs and canals massively disturb the aquatic environment by disconnecting animals from their spawning grounds or otherwise degrading their habitat. Migratory species such as the sturgeons cannot reach their spawning grounds and their habitats in the middle and upper Danube, due to river continuity and habitat interruption. Furthermore, the River Inn caused the collapse of a major commercial fishery in 1921. To this day, only 2 types of fish can regularly reproduce; before 1921, 31 types of fish lived in this area (Secretariat1).

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The Danube River is an important breeding ground for species of flora and fauna, some that are unique to the area. They help regulate the activities of the basin by sustaining populations of living organisms, both in the river, the series of wetlands - which are particularly prolific - and the rest of the surrounding territories (Secretariat2). The species include remarkable groups of insects, amphibians, fish, birds, and other animals, and abundant plants (Secretariat1).

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Biodiversity efforts in the area continuously focus on its conservation and the reduction in disturbances or damages that would undermine the varieties and numbers of species in the ecosystem. Systems of research, monitoring, and protection are in place to evaluate and mitigate pressures on natural dynamics and uphold its principles (International Commission for the Protection of the Danube River.).

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In the book, there are "stacks" to live in from where the world has become so over-populated and over-used that it is falling apart. The stacks are mobile homes that have been stacked upon one another and held together with wire to create more space for others to live (Cline, Ernest). The humans in the book were practically living like the animals in the Danube. They are constantly seeking shelter and hoping that maybe things will get better. the only difference is, in both the Danube and the book, the loss of homes is the humans fault.

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Agricultural pollutants, mainly nitrogen from fertilizers, do not just affect fish in a river system.  The entire nitrogen cycle in the river ecosystem can be disrupted by increased pollutant levels, and plant uptake, nitrification and de-nitrification are among these processes that are being impacted.  Adding to the significance of the impact of climate change, these factors relating to the nitrogen cycle are all temperature dependent, and the process rates increase as temperatures increase (Zweimuller, 2008).

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These projected changes will have far reaching effects on the inhabitants of the Danube river ecosystem.  Most of the organisms that inhabit river systems are specifically adapted to the regular cycles of their habitat, and are vulnerable to changes in these patterns.  Fish that spawn in the summer months such as trout and salmon, both inhabitants of the Danube river, will be affected by both the decreased flow and increased presence of agricultural pollutants (Zweimuller, 2008).

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One factor that directly affects runoff volumes in the Danube river is precipitation.  In the lower Danube river basin, the summer season has the highest average precipitation, representing 30-35% of the annual total.  Precipitation totals in spring and fall seasons are similar, around 25% each, and the winter season is the lowest, counting for 20% of the annual total (Nikolova, 2011).

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The large river, its many species, and its ability to navigate through 90 cities are all different reasons that the Danube River has been in the political spotlight. Long ago, many chose not to venture through the Danube, not because of the narrow passages, but because of the pirates. Many people have died and/or been killed on the Danube when piracy was still big and this was a major hiding place for the pirates. Following that, Adolf Hitler took much interest in the Danube River. Not only because of its ability to get him into many small towns and cities, but because he believed it would give him incredible power. More recently, the river became incredibly hard to navigate during the Kosovo war in 1998-1998 because of the NATO bombings of bridges in and near Serbia (National Geographic Society).

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Many animals call the Danube home.
-2,000 vascular plants -more than 5,000 animal species
-over 40 mammals
-about 180 breeding birds -about 100 fish species
-a dozen reptiles and amphibians
(Secretariat1)

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Recently in 2010, the river was severely contaminated when The Ajkai Timfoldgyar aluminum-processing plant burned down, allowing waste products such as mercury and arsenic to fill the waters (Than, Ker). This burn down also caused a large red-mud slide, adding to the contaminants in the water (Than, Ker).

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The river has been broken into three sections: upper, lower, and middle. The upper section is from spring to Devin Gate at the boarder of Austria and Slovakia. Until this portion of the river reaches Passau, it has all the characteristics of a typical mountain river. The middle section stretches from Devin Gate to Iron Gate, at the border of Serbia and Romania. Finally, the lower section is from Iron Gate to Sulina, completing the length of the river (Secretariat 3)

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Changes in climate are affecting nutrient level runoff and runoff volumes in the Danube river, which in turn have consequences for many organisms that rely on the river as an integral part of their life cycle (Kling, 2012) .

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The river current has a drainage volume of about 315,000 square miles. It has 300 tributaries, of those, 30 are navigable (World Wide Fund for Nature).

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Not only are the animals struggling because of the deforestation, but so is the water.
The animals are losing their homes and the water is becoming even more polluted because of the constant need to take down all the trees (Secretariat2).

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On top of its agricultural uses, the water is used for hydroelectric power plants. It currently contains 3 hydroelectric power plants that provide much of Serbia and Romania’s energy source (Klestil-Platz, Thomas). This has been an incredible use for these countries and assisted in helping them build stronger economies (Bachmann, Jasmine).

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Run off is considered a Non-Point Pollution. You can't ever really identify where it comes from. However, in the case of the Danube River- mostly animal feces, fertilizers, and all the pesticides sprayed for agriculture.

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As mentioned, the Danube is insanely over-populated.
The typical agriculture practice in the region is the use of pesticides, fertilizers, and insecticides. It has caused a deathly amount of pollutants to take to the water. While it hasn’t been drained for farmlands, yet, it has been overly used and abused because of others desire to make money, more than their desire to keep clean water- Tragedy of Commons.

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The Danube is over-populated and over-used- almost to its max.
Its main use to its nations is agriculture (International Commission for the Protection of the Danube River, 2015). The countries around it thrive on its seemingly endless supply of water.

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The Danube was once ruled by the Roman Empire. Its length gives it great desire from many countries, as it is seen as a sign of power.
The Danube is considered a blessing to the Indian culture and its poor quality concerns their culture, on a very religious level.

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The Danube River originates in Germany, at the confluence of the Breg and the Brigach rivers in Germany and it flows its way through central and southeastern Europe until its terminus, emptying into the Black Sea as one of the most diverse rivers- in the world (World Wide Fund for Nature, 2017) . How incredible!

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This story begins in a land, very distant from Washington State. A land where Europe's second largest river covers 10 different countries (World Wide Fund for Nature, 2017). The Danube River is roughly 1,175 miles long or about 2857 kilometers (Castillo, Juan) .