Airline in first biofuel flight

BBC News, February 24, 2008

The first flight by a commercial airline to be powered partly by biofuel has taken place.
A Virgin Atlantic jumbo jet has flown between London's Heathrow and Amsterdam using fuel derived from a mixture of Brazilian babassu nuts and coconuts. Read more...

'Doomsday' vault opens its doors

BBC News, February 26, 2008

Leading dignitaries have attended the official opening of a 'doomsday' seed vault built 130m (426ft) inside a mountain on a remote Arctic island. The vault, designed to withstand all natural and human disaster, will house samples of all known food crops. Read more...

Το ΥΠΕΧΩΔΕ συμμορφώνεται προς τας υποδείξεις Ε.Ε.

Καθημερινή, 22/02/2008

Συμμορφώνεται τελικά το ΥΠΕΧΩΔΕ με τις υποδείξεις της Ευρωπαϊκής Επιτροπής, αναφορικά με τις εκπομπές αερίων του θερμοκηπίου από τη χώρα μας. Στο 2ο Εθνικό Σχέδιο Κατανομής Δικαιωμάτων Εκπομπών, η Ελλάδα αναγκάστηκε τελικά να δεχθεί μείωση 6,4 εκατ. τόνων για την περίοδο 2008-2012, έναντι αύξησης 4,3 εκατ. τόνων που είχε αρχικά ζητήσει. Διαβάστε περισσότερα...

Κι όμως τα δάση της χώρας αυξάνονται!

Καθημερινή, 26/02/2008

Τα τελευταία 35 χρόνια, όπως δήλωσε ο ομότιμος καθηγητής του ΑΠΘ κ. Σπύρος Ντάφης, στις ορεινές περιοχές της Βόρειας Ελλάδας παρατηρείται μια σημαντική αύξηση της φυσικής αναγέννησης σε ποσοστό που ξεπερνά το 25%. «Αν εξαιρέσουμε τις πρόσφατες πυρκαγιές, τα ορεινά δάση, όσο κι αν φαίνεται περίεργο, κερδίζουν διαρκώς περισσότερες πράσινες εκτάσεις και γίνονται πιο πυκνά», επισήμανε στην «Κ» ο κ. Ντάφης. Διαβάστε περισσότερα...

Norway mall offers shoppers greenhouse gas credits

ENN, February 19, 2008

OSLO (Reuters) - The Stroemmen Storsenter shopping centre outside Oslo began selling the certificates on Saturday, at 165 Norwegian crowns ($30.58) per tonne, to people who feel bad about contributing to cliamte change .
By midday on Monday, its second day of offering the U.N.-approved Certified Emissions Reductions, it had sold more than a third of the 1,000 CERs on offer and would consider buying more if they sell out, the mall's managers said. Read more...

Kenya's Elephants Signify Gains, Highlight Uncertainty

ENN, February 18, 2008

NAIROBI, KENYA — International bans on the ivory trade and efforts to control poaching have helped Kenya's elephant population rebound, wildlife authorities say. In the Tsavo/Mkomazi area -- a conservancy in the larger Tsavo area in southern Kenya -- the elephant population grew from 10,397 in 2005 to 11,696 in 2008, according the Kenya Wildlife Service.
The elephant population had fallen to a meager 5,000 in the 1980s, from five times that in the 1970s. Read more...

Carmaker Porsche challenges London gas guzzler tax

ENN, February 19, 2008

By Jeremy Lovell

LONDON (Reuters) - Luxury carmaker Porsche may legally challenge London mayor Ken Livingstone's decision to tax gas guzzling cars driving in the city centre to help fight global warming.
Porsche said on Tuesday the 25 pound ($48.74) daily charge was unfair, would not cut emissions of climate warming carbon dioxide and would deter businesses from moving to the city. Read more...

Swimmers' Sunscreen Killing Off Coral

by Ker Than for National Geographic News January 29, 2008

The sunscreen that you dutifully slather on before a swim on the beach may be protecting your body—but a new study finds that the chemicals are also killing coral reefs worldwide. Read more...

Green Mobile Phone: Stylish and Sustainable

ENN, February 15, 2008

NOKIA has unveiled ReMade, a revolutionary mobile phone made of 100% recycled materials.
The idea behind the “remade” concept was to see if it was possible to create a device made from nothing new. It has been designed using recycled materials that avoid the need for natural resources, reduce landfill, and allow for more energy efficient production. Read more...

EU launches 'Clean Sky' research project for low-carbon aircraft

EurActiv, February 6, 2008

European Research Commissioner Janez Potočnik yesterday launched a seven-year, €1.6 billion public-private partnership aimed at helping the aviation industry to develop environmentally friendly technology.
Through the 'Clean Sky' Joint-Technology Initiative launched in Brussels on 5 February, industry hopes to develop technology that will allow aircraft noise to be cut by half and emissions of CO2 and NOx to be slashed by 50% and 80% respectively by 2020. Read more...

Work starts on Gulf 'green city'

BBC News, February 10, 2008

Abu Dhabi has started to build what it says is the world's first zero-carbon, zero-waste car-free city.
Masdar City will cost $22bn (£11.3bn), take eight years to build and be home to 50,000 people and 1,500 businesses. The city will be mostly powered by solar energy and residents will move in travel pods running on magnetic tracks. Read more...

Financing the Transition from a Brown to a Green Global Economy

ENN. February 11, 2008

Nairobi/Monaco, 11 February 2008 - The biggest gathering of environment ministers to take place since the climate change breakthrough in Bali will be happening in Monaco later this month under the theme "Mobilizing Finance for the Climate Challenge".
More than 100 ministers from across the globe are scheduled to attend the Global Ministerial Environment Forum (GMEF) - the world's forum for environment ministers -alongside senior figures from industry and economics; science; local government; civil society, trades unions and intergovernmental bodies. Read more...

Unilever ends the use of shark products in its cosmetics

ENN, February 10, 2008

Madrid -- Oceana, the international marine conservation organisation, has received notice that Unilever, a multinational company famous for many brands of food, personal care and household products, has decided to remove shark squalene from its cosmetic brands, including Pond’s and Dove, and will replace it with a plant-based version. According to Unilever, the new production will begin early this year and new formulations are expected to appear on market shelves beginning April 2008. Read more...

Wall Street Shows Skepticism Over Coal

The Wall Street Journal, By JEFFREY BALL, February 4, 2008; Page A6

Three of Wall Street's biggest investment banks are set to announce today that they are imposing new environmental standards that will make it harder for companies to get financing to build coal-fired power plants in the U.S.
Citigroup Inc., J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. and Morgan Stanley say they have concluded that the U.S. government will cap greenhouse-gas emissions from power plants sometime in the next few years. The banks will require utilities seeking financing for plants before then to prove the plants will be economically viable even under potentially stringent federal caps on carbon dioxide, the main man-made greenhouse gas. Read more...

London launches world's largest 'low-emission zone'

EurActiv, February 4, 2008

Trucks driving around the UK capital will be fined up to £200 per day if they are found to be over EU pollution standards in an attempt to improve the city's poor air quality. The initiative will be closely watched in Brussels as the Commission is currently considering action to 'green' transport in Europe's cities. The scheme, which begins on 4 February 2008 and will run 24 hours a day, seven days a week, will initially apply only to large diesel trucks weighing over 12 tonnes. Read more...

Study suggests pesticides 'crucial' for EU food supply

EurActiv, February 6, 2008

Overly stringent EU rules on pesticides will lead to a decline in European agricultural self-sufficiency resulting in ever-increasing food prices and job losses in the agri-food sector, warns a recent industry-funded study. The findings were immediately rejected by environmental activists, who derided the study as "professional scaremongering" by "lobbyists behaving like a posse of corporate cowboys.". Read more...

«Καταδίκη» από Ε.Ε. της χώρας μας για τους υδάτινους πόρους

Καθημερινή, 01 Φεβρουαρίου 2008

Νέα καταδίκη από το Ευρωπαϊκό Δικαστήριο για τη (μη) προστασία του περιβάλλοντος «εισέπραξε» χθες η Ελλάδα, αυτήν τη φορά για το πάντοτε επίκαιρο ζήτημα των ποταμών και των υδάτινων πόρων τους. Συγκεκριμένα, η χώρα καταδικάσθηκε για εκπρόθεσμη εφαρμογή της νομοθεσίας περί προστασίας της λεκάνης απορροής των ποταμών, με άλλα λόγια όλης της περιοχής από τις πηγές μέχρι τις εκβολές που επηρεάζονται άμεσα από το υδάτινο σύστημα του ποταμού. Διαβάστε περισσότερα...

Brazil unable to curb Amazon destruction

ENN, January 31, 2008

BRASILIA (Reuters) - Brazil's government is unwilling and unable to halt destruction in the Amazon rainforest despite emergency measures it announced last week to curb rising deforestation, environmental experts say.
High commodity prices and increased land use elsewhere in Brazil are driving ranchers and farmers deeper into the Amazon in search of cheap land, environmentalists say.
Between August and December last year, 7,000 square km (2,703 square miles), or two-thirds the annual rate, were chopped down. Read more...

Free Reusable Bags at Whole Foods

ENN, January 31, 2008

Whole Foods Markets from New Jersey to Virginia began giving away one free reusable bag per customer yesterday to encourage shoppers to “BYOB” — Bring Your Own Bag.
The bag had already caught my eye, not only because it’s so cheerful and colorful, but also because it’s made from 80% post-consumer waste. Plus, it’s got a washable surface and actually seems more ample inside than the standard paper grocery bag. Read more...