Ozone layer depletion levelling off

European Space Agency, September 21, 2009

By merging more than a decade of atmospheric data from European satellites, scientists have compiled a homogeneous long-term ozone record that allows them to monitor total ozone trends on a global scale – and the findings look promising. Read more...

River Deltas Sinking

ENN, September 21, 2009

A new study led by the University of Colorado at Boulder indicates most of the world's low-lying river deltas are sinking from human activity, making them increasingly vulnerable to flooding from rivers and ocean storms and putting tens of millions of people at risk. The study concluded that 24 out of the world's 33 major deltas are sinking and that 85 percent experienced severe flooding in recent years. Read more...

Solar Heating Industry Review 2009

Renewable Energy World.com, September 21, 2009

In 2008, solar thermal heating and cooling solutions gained favour in more and more countries,’ says European Solar Thermal Industry Federation (ESTIF) president Olivier Drücke. ‘The solar thermal market in the EU and Switzerland grew by over 60% to 3.3 GWth of new capacity, that is 4.76 million m2 of collector area,’ he adds.
Indeed, the latest ESTIF annual statistics on European solar thermal markets show that while demand for solar thermal technologies increased strongly in Spain, Italy and France, the biggest push came from the German market, which more than doubled from 0.7 GWth to 1.5 GWth of newly installed capacity in 2008. Read more...

Δημοτική Αστυνομία με ηλεκτρικά οχήματα

Η ΚΑΘΗΜΕΡΙΝΗ, 25 Σεπτεμβρίου 2009

Ενισχύθηκε χθες ο «στόλος» της Δημοτικής Αστυνομίας Αθηνών με δέκα ευέλικτα ηλεκτρικά οχήματα, δωρεά της Τράπεζας Πειραιώς. Από σήμερα, οι περιφερόμενοι ένστολοι του δήμου θα μπορούν να περνούν από πεζοδρόμους, λόγω του περιορισμένου τους όγκου, και θα εξυπηρετούνται πολίτες χρήζοντες βοηθείας (έγκυες, άτομα προς αιμοκάθαρση, κ.ά.). Tα οχήματα είναι μικρά, φορτίζονται με ηλεκτρικό ρεύμα στο γκαράζ και σε συγκεκριμένες πλατείες, όπου έχουν τοποθετηθεί πρίζες. Εχουν αυτονομία 50 χιλιομέτρων, είναι απολύτως οικολογικά και μπορούν να εισέρχονται ακόμη και σε πολύ στενούς δρόμους. Διαβάστε περισσότερα...

EU lists industries exempted from carbon trading

EurActiv, September 21, 2009

Experts from the 27-member bloc agreed on a list of industries ranging from plastics manufacturing to iron and food processing that will be largely exempted from CO2 trading after 2013 for fears that their inclusion would move production abroad.
National experts agreed on a list of 164 sectors deemed to be at risk of relocating their activities to foreign countries that have not adopted greenhouse gas emission restrictions similar to the EU's. The threat is dubbed "carbon leakage" because industries and their related polluting emissions would simply move abroad without any benefit for the environment. Read more...

Croatia and Hungary to establish Europe´s largest river protected area

ENN, September 17, 2009

Croatia and Hungary signed today a declaration to establish a Trans-Boundary UNESCO Biosphere Reserve that will protect their shared biodiversity hotspot along the Mura, Drava and Danube Rivers. This paves the way to create Europe’s largest river protection area. Read more...

Half Of Fish Consumed Globally Is Now Raised On Farms, Study Finds

ScienceDaily, September 08, 2009

Aquaculture, once a fledgling industry, now accounts for 50 percent of the fish consumed globally, according to a new report by an international team of researchers. And while the industry is more efficient than ever, it is also putting a significant strain on marine resources by consuming large amounts of feed made from wild fish harvested from the sea, the authors conclude. Their findings are published in the Sept. 7 online edition of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS). Read more...

Lost world of fanged frogs and giant rats discovered in Papua New Guinea

ENN, Spetember 09, 2009

A team of scientists from Britain, the United States and Papua New Guinea found more than 40 previously unidentified species when they climbed into the kilometre-deep crater of Mount Bosavi and explored a pristine jungle habitat teeming with life that has evolved in isolation since the volcano last erupted 200,000 years ago. In a remarkably rich haul from just five weeks of exploration, the biologists discovered 16 frogs which have never before been recorded by science, at least three new fish, a new bat and a giant rat, which may turn out to be the biggest in the world. Read more...

U.N. Reports on Developing Nations’ Energy Needs

The New York Times, September 1, 2009

It will cost between $500 billion and $600 billion every year for the next 10 years to allow developing nations to grow using renewable energy resources, instead of relying on dirty fuels that worsen global warming, according to a United Nations report released Tuesday.
That astronomical estimate, far higher than any previously suggested by the United Nations, comes at a time when developed and developing nations are still deeply divided over who bears the responsibility for shouldering the expense of deploying cleaner energy resources, much less what the actual amount might be. Read more...

Παρελθόν οι λαμπήρες πυρακτώσεως

TA NEA, 02 Σεπτεμβρίου 2009

Από χθες απαγορεύθηκε στην Ευρωπαϊκή Ένωση η παραγωγή και η εισαγωγή των λαμπτήρων πυρακτώσεως. Εκτός από το ενεργειακό και οικονομικό όφελος που θα προκύψει, η Ελλάδα θα εκπέμπει 1,63 εκατομμύρια τόνους διοξειδίου του άνθρακα λιγότερους ετησίωςόσο σχεδόν παράγουν μηνιαίως δύο μεγάλοι θερμοηλεκτρικοί σταθμοί της ΔΕΗ. Διαβάστε περισσότερα...