Berlin aims to become solar powerhouse

Planet 2025, October 5, 2008

Berlin wants to become a world leader in the solar energy field, both as a user of the sun's rays for energy and as a pioneer in solar technology despite its northern, cloud-covered location, its economy minister said. "You don't necessarily have to have the best natural geographic conditions to be a solar power capital," Harald Wolf told Reuters in an interview, referring to the German capital's 52-degree north latitude and its cloud cover for about two-thirds of daylight hours. Read more...

Europe hopes world will follow mercury ban

EurActiv, September 25, 2008

EU Ministers in the Competitiveness Council yesterday (25 September) adopted a regulation banning all exports of mercury from the EU in 2011, wrapping up a key part of a European strategy to limit emissions of the toxic heavy metal into the environment. Read more...

Norway's Efforts to Contain Greenhouse Gases Move Forward -- and Backfire

The Wall Street Journal, September 30, 2008

In 1991, Norway became one of the first countries in the world to impose a stiff tax on harmful greenhouse gas emissions. Since then, the country's emissions should have dropped. Instead, they have risen by 15%.
Although the tax forced Norway's oil and gas sector to become among the greenest in the world, soaring energy prices led to a boom in offshore production, which in turn boosted overall emissions. Read more...

Δυσοίωνη η ευρωπαϊκή έκθεση για τις επιπτώσεις από την άνοδο της θερμοκρασίας

ΤΑ ΝΕΑ, 30 Σεπτεμβρίου 2008

Η Ευρώπη θερμαίνεται γρηγορότερα από τον υπόλοιπο κόσμο και η λήψη μέτρων για τους κατοίκους της είναι απαραίτητη, τονίζεται σε έκθεση της Ευρωπαϊκής Υπηρεσίας Περιβάλλοντος. Οι προβλέψεις δεν είναι καθόλου καλές και για την Ελλάδα: ξηρασία, πλημμύρες, πυρκαγιές και... τροπικές νύχτες θα γίνουν κομμάτι της καθημερινότητάς μας. Διαβάστε περισσότερα...

Διαβάστε την έκθεση: Impacts of Europe's changing climate - 2008 indicator-based assessment

Brazil unveils deforestation plan

BBC News, September 26, 2008

The Brazilian government has pledged to end net deforestation by 2015.
It is one of the key commitments in a draft climate change plan, which stops short of setting specific targets for reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
The plan - setting out how Brazil will help prevent climate change, and how it will adapt to it - was promised nearly a year ago by President Lula. Read more...

Read also: Brazil government 'worst logger'

Spain expects 3,000 MW in solar plants by 2010

ENN, September 26, 2008

Spain's government said its new and less generous subsidy scheme, due to take effect shortly, foresees solar power plants reaching a capacity of 3,000 megawatts by 2010, or about double the present total. Read more...

World's common birds 'declining'

BBC News, September 22, 2008

The populations of the world's common birds are declining as a result of continued habitat loss, a global assessment has warned. The survey by BirdLife International found that 45% of Europe's common birds had seen numbers fall, as had more than 80% of Australia's wading species. Read more...

Πρόστιμα 1,4 εκατ. ευρώ σε 22 ρυπαντές

ΥΠΕΧΩΔΕ, 24 Σεπτεμβρίου 2008

Πρόστιμα συνολικού ύψους 1,4 εκατ. ευρώ επιβλήθηκαν με απόφαση του υπουργού ΠΕΧΩΔΕ κατόπιν ελέγχων από τους επιθεωρητές περιβάλλοντος. Διαβάστε περισσότερα...

EU energy chief backs Arctic drilling

EurActiv, September 22, 2008

Despite environmentalists' warnings against drilling for oil and gas in such a fragile ecosystem, EU Energy Commissioner Andris Piebalgs said guaranteeing Europe's energy security justified further exploration of the North Pole.
"You even need to go into hostile environments […] You can't say 'this is a sanctuary' because it will not work […] Otherwise, where will we get energy from?," he said, speaking at a debate organised by Friends of Europe on Friday (19 September). Read more...

11 αρκούδες νεκρές σε 13 τροχαία

Ελευθεροτυπία, 23 Σεπτεμβρίου 2008

SOS «Αρκτούρου» προς το ΥΠΕΧΩΔΕ για τις τελευταίες αρκούδες της δυτικής Μακεδονίας. Η περιβαλλοντική οργάνωση ζητεί τη λήψη μέτρων προστασίας, καθώς έχουν σημειωθεί 13 τροχαία ατυχήματα με θύματα αρκούδες, από τα οποία τα 11 θανατηφόρα. Διαβάστε περισσότερα...

September 23 is Earth Overshoot Day

Planet 2025, September 16, 2008

September 23 this year marks an unfortunate milestone: the day humanity will have used all the resources nature will generate this year, according to data from Global Footprint Network, a research organization that measures how much nature we have, how much we use and who uses what. Beyond that day, we move into the ecological equivalent of deficit spending, utilizing resources at a rate faster than what the planet can regenerate in a calendar year. Read more...

Baltic states fail to protect damaged sea

Planet 2025, 09 September 2008

Nine Baltic sea states all scored failing grades in an annual WWF evaluation of their performance in protecting and restoring the world’s most damaged sea. The assessment, presented today at the Baltic Sea Festival, graded the countries on how well they are doing in six separate areas - biodiversity, fisheries, hazardous substances, marine transport and eutrophication - and on how they have succeeded in developing an integrated sea-use management system. Read more...

SΟS για τους τελευταίους δράκους

ΤΑ ΝΕΑ, 09 Σεπτεμβρίου 2008

Οι Δράκοι του Κόμοντο είναι γιγάντιες σαρκοβόρες σαύρες που τρέφονται με μεγάλα ζώα και απειλούνται με εξαφάνιση, καθώς το οικοσύστημά τους καταστρέφεται με ραγδαίους ρυθμούς. Oι δράκοι, οι οποίοι φθάνουν σε μήκος τα τρία μέτρα και ζυγίζουν ώς και 165 κιλά, ζουν μόνο στο Κόμοντο και σε λίγα ακόμη γύρω νησιά της Κεντρικής Ινδονησίας. Έχουν ήδη χαρακτηριστεί απειλούμενο είδος, εξαιτίας της καταστροφής του οικοσυστήματός τους και των κυνηγών που τους στερούν τα θηράματά τους. Διαβάστε περισσότερα...

Sea level rise limited to two metres

ENN, September 5, 2008

What is the maximum amount that sea levels could rise by 2100? Much attention has been given to the numbers issued by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change in 2007, and the fact that they are absolute minimums.
Now, a team of researchers has said that there may be a way of nailing the fixed upper limit — a rate of sea-level rise which physically could not be surpassed by the end of the century. That level, they say, is 2 metres: sea levels are unlikely to rise more than 2 metres by 2100. Read more...

Germany leads 'clean coal' pilot

BBC News, September 4, 2008

Beneath the gargantuan grey boiler towers of Schwarze Pumpe power station which pierce the skies of northern Germany, a Lilliputian puzzle of metal boxes and shining canisters is about to mark a moment of industrial history. This mini power plant is a pilot project for carbon capture and storage (CCS) - the first coal-fired plant in the world ready to capture and store its own CO2 emissions.
Next week the pilot - an oxyfuel boiler - will be formally commissioned. Read more...

Φορο-μπόνους για απόσυρση

TA NEA, 4 Σεπτεμβρίου 2008

Απόσυρση των παλαιών και ρυπογόνων αυτοκινήτων σε δύο φάσεις, από το 2010 έως το 2015, με την παροχή φορολογικών κινήτρων αλλά και αντικινήτρων, ετοιμάζουν για περίπου 1,5 εκατ. σαραβαλάκια τα υπουργεία Οικονομίας, Περιβάλλοντος και Μεταφορών. Διαβάστε περισσότερα...

New report loosens noose around Albatross’s neck

ENN, September 2, 2008

The survival chances of the albatross, now officially the most threatened seabird family in the world, have been improved following a new report released by WWF-South Africa. Read more...

ICELAND: Filling Up on Hydrogen

ENN, August 28, 2008

REYKJAVIK, Aug 28 (IPS) - Earlier this year, the Icelandic whale-watching boat Elding was fitted with a hydrogen-powered generator that fuels its lighting system, electric equipment and navigation machinery. It is the first of its kind in the world. Read more...

Microsoft Recycling Program Halves Redmond HQ’s Waste

Environmental Leader, August 27, 2008

Microsoft announced that its new recycling program is helping to cut its Redmond headquarters’ waste in half. [..] In July, the company announced that its employee incentives to improve energy efficiency saw a 22 percent improvement in the energy efficiency of its data centers from 2004 to 2007. Read more...

Νεκρή βρέθηκε η τελευταία αρκούδα στον Όλυμπο

In.gr, 28 Αυγούστου 2008

Ούτε οι 12 θεοί του Ολύμπου κατάφεραν να προστατέψουν από ασυνείδητους ανθρώπους την τελευταία αρκούδα που κατοικούσε στο βουνό και βρέθηκε νεκρή, πιθανότατα από δηλητηριασμένο δόλωμα ή όπλο. Διαβάστε περισσότερα....

Shareholders Vote for Climate Change Resolutions in Record Numbers

ENN, August 26, 2008

2008 was a good year for enviros in the boardroom. A record 57 climate related shareholder resolutions were filed this year—a figure that has doubled over the past 5 years. Support for these measures averaged more than 23% among shareholders-- another all time high. These figures come from Ceres, a leading coalition of investors and environmental groups. Read more...

Bats: Gone With the Wind

Science, August 25, 2008

Batman has the Joker; real bats have wind turbines. The energy-generating machines kill bats the world over, yet the exact cause has remained as mysterious as the plot of a movie thriller. Now, a new study appears to have solved the riddle.
For decades, researchers have noticed that mangled birds litter the ground surrounding the machines, and recently they've found that dead bats actually outnumber the birds, by as many as four times in some places. Read more...

Denmark's approves 400 MW offshore windmill park

ENN, August 25, 2008

COPENHAGEN (Reuters) - Denmark's parliament on Monday approved the construction of a 400 megawatt (MW) offshore wind turbine park in the Kattegat arm of the North Sea between Jutland and the island of Anholt in 2012. "The park will be the biggest offshore park in Denmark and provide electricity for about 400.000 homes," the Danish climate and energy ministry said in a statement. Read more...

Water Footprints Make A Splash

ENN, August 22, 2008

If the full water requirements of a morning roast are calculated - farm irrigation, bean transportation, and the serving of the coffee - one cup requires 140 liters of water. This notion of a product's "water footprint" is gaining traction. Defined as the total volume of freshwater required to produce a nation's goods and services, the tool tracks domestic water demand and the impact of consumption on water resources across the globe. Read more...

Japanese Govt Launching Carbon Label Program

Environmental Leader, August 21, 2008

About 30 Japanese companies will voluntarily start carrying carbon footprint labels on food packaging and other products beginning in April 2009, Guardian reports. Japan’s trade ministry has drawn up a uniform method of labeling carbon emissions to avoid fears among some firms that their competitors may use in-house calculations and produce the lowest possible emissions data. Read more...

Λίμνη Κορώνεια: Ούτε μια σταγόνα νερό

Ελευθεροτυπία, 12 Αυγούστου 2008

Ερημος είναι πλέον η λίμνη Κορώνεια. Ούτε σταγόνα νερό δεν έχει απομείνει σήμερα στην περιοχή, που παλιά ήταν «η λίμνη Κορώνεια». Κι ενώ η λίμνη δεν υπάρχει πια, διάφορες πλευρές ασχολούνται μόνο με το να εκτοξεύουν η μία στην άλλη τις ευθύνες για την καθυστέρηση των έργων, που στόχο είχαν τη διάσωσή της. Οταν εξαγγέλθηκε το περιβόητο «μάστερ-πλαν για τη διάσωση της λίμνης Κορώνειας», το βάθος της λίμνης ήταν 1,5 μέτρο. Σήμερα, απλά δεν υπάρχει καθόλου νερό! Διαβάστε περισσότερα...

Mixed fortunes for world's whales

BBC, August 12, 2008

The latest global assessment of cetaceans shows that the marine mammals throughout the world's oceans have experienced mixed fortunes.
The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species reveals that some large species, like humpbacks, have seen numbers increase. However, it warns that smaller species, including river dolphins, have declined as a result of human actions. Read more...

Extinction 'by man not climate'

BBC, August 11, 2008

The extinction of many ancient species may be due to humans rather than climate change, experts say. Large prehistoric animals in Tasmania may have been wiped out by human hunting and not temperature changes, a team of international scientists argue. This pattern may have been repeated around the globe on islands such as Great Britain, the scientists say. Read more...

Almost half of monkeys and apes under threat

ENN, August 8, 2008,

Almost half the world's monkeys and apes are facing a worsening threat of extinction because of deforestation and hunting for meat, an international report showed on Tuesday.
"We have solid data to show that the situation is far more severe than we imagined," said Russell Mittermeier, president of Conservation International and head of the International Union for Conservation of Nature's (IUCN) primate specialist group. Read more...

Read also: Huge boost for lowland gorillas

Carbon Emissions: Continuing Growth Despite International Efforts

World Watch Institute, August 8, 2008

Between 2000 and 2007, carbon emissions from fossil fuel combustion worldwide increased 22 percent to an estimated 8.2 billion tons, according to the latest Vital Signs Update. China accounted for a staggering 57 percent of the growth during this period, while India contributed 8 percent and the United States and Europe contributed 4 and 3 percent, respectively. But, despite the dramatic rise in China's emissions, Americans still outpace the Chinese more than 4 to 1 in per capita carbon emissions. Read more...

Solar Powered Air Conditioner Released

ENN, August 11, 2008

A company called GreenCore Air has released an air conditioner than can be powered by a single 170 watt solar panel. The GreenCore air conditioning unit can heat and cool a 600 square foot room. It runs on DC power, so there is no need to put an AC inverter between the solar panel and the air conditioner. This eliminates the power losses associated with converting AC to DC. Read more...

New $27 million project will protect key pollinators for food security and biodiversity

ENN, August 8, 2008

A new project worth $26.45 million has been launched by the Global Environment Facility to better protect bees, bats and birds that are essential to the world’s crop production.
The unique five-year project “Conservation & Management of Pollinators for Sustainable Agriculture through an Ecosystem Approach”, which will be implemented through the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), will help ensure food security through the protection of the key pollinator species. Read more...

US now world leader in wind power production

ENN, August 7, 2008

US wind capacity is expected to increase 45% in 2008 although Congress' failure to extend the production tax credit (PTC) for the renewable energy industry threatens to derail further development, according to the American Wind Energy Association (AWEA).
Total US installed wind power capacity now stands at 19,549MW, up 2,726MW from the end of 2007, making the US the world leader in wind electricity generation, according to the AWEA's second quarter 2008 market report. Read more...

Tourists offered website to spot polluted beaches

EurActiv, July 29, 2008

'Water Watch - Eye on the Earth', an internet site developed by the European Environment Agency, will allow holidaymakers to freely verify whether the beaches they plan to bathe at are clean or polluted.
The website, launched today (30 July), provides up-to-date information on the quality of bathing water of thousands of beaches in Europe, with an easy 'traffic-light' system displaying a red light for polluted waters, a green light for clean ones and a yellow light for areas not sufficiently monitored. Read more...

Road transport remains Europe’s single largest air polluter

EurActiv, July 28, 2008

Despite marked improvements since 1990, emissions from cars and trucks continue to be the main source of health-damaging air pollutants, according to a new report by the European Environment Agency (EEA).
The report, published on Monday (28 July), shows that road transport remains the single most important source of sulphur oxides (SOx), carbon monoxide (CO) and non-methane volatile organic compounds (NMVOCs) in the EU-27. Read more...

Read the report: Annual European Community LRTAP Convention emission inventory report 1990-2006

New rainforest species revealed

BBC News, July 30, 2008

An expedition to the rainforests of Guyana has discovered species new to science. A team of researchers and wildlife film-makers spent six weeks searching the pristine forest as part of a BBC documentary.
The group believes it has revealed two fish species, one frog species and a number of bat flies that have not been described previously. Read more...

Southern African wetland region to become world’s largest protected freshwater site

ENN, July 28, 2008

An area of the Democratic Republic of Congo containing the largest body of fresh water in Africa has been added to the Ramsar Convention’s list of Wetlands of International Importance, making it the largest region ever to be designated as such.
At more than six-and-a-half million hectares (approx. 65 thousands square kilometers) , the Ngiri-Tumba-Maingombe area is twice the size of Belgium and has one of the highest concentrations of biodiversity anywhere in the world. It is also a major carbon sink. Read more...

Toronto Pays Citizens Hefty Grants For Projects Reducing Carbon Footprint

ENN, July 28, 2008

The Canadian city of Toronto is paying citizens for going green. What’s been named the 'Live Green Toronto program', launched recently, has $20 million available over the next five years for citizen-driven carbon savings projects. The funding, in the form of subsidies, will go to projects that will help the city make good on its target of reducing its carbon footprint by 6% by 2012. Read more...

Νέο ρεζιλίκι για τα αδέσποτα

ΤΑ ΝΕΑ, 29 Ιουλίου 2008

ΝΕΑ ΔΗΜΟΣΙΕΥΜΑΤΑ γερμανικών και σκανδιναβικών εφημερίδων περιγράφουν την Κρήτη ως «κόλαση» για τα αδέσποτα, επισημαίνοντας τόσο τις κακοποιήσεις και τα βασανιστήρια των ζώων όσο και τις άσχημες συνθήκες ζωής. Διαβάστε περισσότερα....

GM crop trials 'should be secret'

BBC News, July 28, 2008

Senior researchers have called for the location of small open-air trials of GM crops to be kept secret. The researchers say that vandalism of GM crop trials is holding back research in the area.
Current legislation requires the exact location of GM crop trials to be publicly available. Read more...

Read also: Security becomes main cost in UK GMO crop trials

California First State to Adopt Green Building Code

ENN, July 21, 2008

The California Building Standards Commission announced on Friday the unanimous adoption of a statewide 'green' building code, the first in the nation.
The new standards will call for a 20% improvement in water use efficiency for both residential and commercial plumbing fixtures as well as target a 50% increase in conservation for water used in landscaping. Read more...

Commission delays water saving obligations for farmers

Euractiv, July 16, 2008

The Commission has rejected the notion that farmers should implement river basin management schemes in exchange for agricultural subsidies, despite increasing fears over water shortages and droughts.
As part of the so-called "health check" of the EU's Common Agricultural Policy (CAP), the Commission proposed a number of amendments to the rules governing how farmers can receive subsidies. Among these are a number of cross-compliance measures whereby in order to receive direct payments, farmers have to meet certain environmental, food safety, animal health and welfare standards. Read more...

Πόσα χρόνια χρειάζονται για να διαλυθούν στην θάλασσα;

Environmentalists block Australia coal port

ENN, July 14, 2008

SYDNEY (Reuters) - Environmental protesters in Australia brought the world's biggest coal terminal to a standstill on Sunday by blocking railway lines and chaining themselves to rail cars.
Police said they arrested about 37 people who chained themselves to a train and rail tracks at the port in Newcastle, 100 kilometres (60 miles) north of Sydney to protest over the impact of burning coal on climate change. Read more...

Greens Nominate Cynthia McKinney for President

ENN, July 15, 2008

The USA Green PArty has made a good deal of history this weekend.
The party has nominated a former member of Congress for the presidency, a coup for the party that itself has yet to elect a U.S. representative or senator. Read more...

Spanish parliament grant rights to apes

Reuters, June 25 2008

MADRID (Reuters) - Spain's parliament voiced its support on Wednesday for the rights of great apes to life and freedom in what will apparently be the first time any national legislature has called for such rights for non-humans. Parliament's environmental committee approved resolutions urging Spain to comply with the Great Apes Project, devised by scientists and philosophers who say our closest genetic relatives deserve rights hitherto limited to humans. Read more...

Condemned to single-sex life by climate change

ENN, July 2, 2008

Rising temperatures look set to produce male-only offspring in the tuatara, condemning the ancient reptile species to extinction by 2085, computer modelling predicts.
Researchers studying tuatara (Sphenodon spp.) — the ancient relatives of which once roamed the world alongside dinosaurs more than 200 million years ago — made their doomsday prediction using digital terrain maps detailing the consequences for the reptiles' nesting sites of a 4°C hike in average temperature. Read more...

State workers in Utah shifting to 4-day week

ENN, July 2, 2008

Utah this summer will become what experts say is the first state to institute a mandatory four-day work week for most state employees, joining local governments across the nation that are altering schedules to save money, energy and resources. Gov. Jon Huntsman, a first-term Republican, says he's making the change to reduce the state's carbon footprint, increase energy efficiency, improve customer service and provide workers more flexibility.
"The reaction (from the public) has been very much a willingness to give this a go," he says. Read more...

New EU waste legislation approved

Waste Management World, June 25, 2008

A new directive has been put in place following the decision of MEPs to adopt amendments to EU waste legislation. Member states will now be required to draw up binding waste disposal and recycling targets and adhere to them. Waste prevention targets will be considered by the European Commission in future, and incineration of waste will be classified as a recovery operation providing it meets certain energy efficiency criteria. Read more...

Read also: Watered-down waste directive gets MEPs' green light

Supreme Court slashes Exxon's punitive damages for Valdez oil spill

Grist, July 1, 2008

ExxonMobil is off the hook for billions in punitive damages related to the 1989 Exxon Valdez oil spill. In 1994, the oil giant was ordered to pay $5 billion in punitive damages. In 2006, that amount was cut to $2.5 billion. Last week, the Supreme Court slashed the amount once again, to $507.5 million. By a 5-3 vote (Exxon stockholder Samuel Alito sat out), the court reasoned that punitive damages should not exceed what the company paid to victims for economic losses. Since the accident, Exxon has paid $3.4 billion in various fines, penalties, cleanup costs, claims, and other expenses. The $507.5 million will be divvied up among 32,677 commercial fisherfolk, seafood processors, landowners, native Alaskans, and small business owners. Exxon, which posted a record-breaking annual profit of $40.6 billion in February, makes $507.5 million in approximately 12 hours of sales. Read more...