In 1992, Germán Galindo bought a modest apartment in a housing complex surrounded by leafy promenades and Bogotá’s 160-acre (65-ha) La Conejera wetland. Galindo, an organic-farming consultant, thought the place so perfect for his wife and two small children that he bought it after only a one-hour tour. On the first day in their new home, Galindo and his family sat in the living room listening to the cries of Bogotá Rails (Rallus semiplumbeus), Yellow-Hooded Blackbirds (Agelaius icterocephalus) and a host of ducks, wrens and songbirds. But that night, they were blasted by an overpowering stench of sewage, organic gases and garbage. The family taped the windows shut and put towels under the doors. Within a week, they began feeling... [Log in to read more]