Solar lamp wins award for helping developing countries

BBC News, July 02, 2010

The developers of a solar lamp that aims to replace kerosene-burning lights in developing countries have won a prestigious environmental award. D Light Design says its lanterns, which sell for around $10 (£7), contribute to the reduction of carbon emissions. One of the runners-up for the Ashden Award for Sustainable Energy was the Rural Energy Foundation (REF) for promoting solar energy in Africa. More than 70% of sub-Saharan Africa has no access to electricity. Read more...

Antarctic Sea Ice Paradoxically Growing

ENN, June 18, 2010

While Arctic sea ice continues to shrink as the world warms, the ice around Antarctica is actually growing, thanks to the influence of the ozone hole over the southernmost continent, scientists have reported.But the south polar growth won't be permanent, they warn. Though they are headed in opposite directions, the current conditions at both poles are affected by human impacts on the climate, said John Turner of the British Antarctic Survey, who presented these findings to the International Polar Year (IPY) conference held last week in Oslo, Norway. Read more...

Take a look at your water environment

EEA, June 23, 2010

What are the nutrient levels in your coastal waters or nearby lake? Do you live in an area where urban waste water treatment fails to meet the EU requirements? The European Environment Agency (EEA) provides the answers through its interactive maps, which have been updated with new water quality data. Read more...

Indonesia's plan to save its rainforests

ENN, June 15, 2010

Late last year Indonesia made global headlines with a bold pledge to reduce deforestation, which claimed nearly 28 million hectares (108,000 square miles) of forest between 1990 and 2005 and is the source of about 80 percent of the country's greenhouse gas emissions. President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono said Indonesia would voluntarily cut emissions 26 percent — and up to 41 percent with sufficient international support — from a projected baseline by 2020. Last month, Indonesia began to finally detail its plan, which includes a two-year moratorium on new forestry concession on rainforest lands and peat swamps and will be supported over the next five years by a one billion dollar contribution by Norway, under the Scandinavian nation's International Climate and Forests Initiative. Read more...

Green Revolution's diet of big carbon savings

BBC News, June 14, 2010

The Green Revolution of the 1960s raised crop yields and cut hunger - and also saved decades worth of greenhouse gas emissions, a study concludes. US researchers found cumulative global emissions since 1850 would have been one third as much again without the Green Revolution's higher yields.Although modern farming uses more energy and chemicals, much less land needs to be cleared.The study is published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Read more...

New Emissions Measurements Show "Green" Consumerism Failing

WorldChanging, June 07, 2010

Has "green consumerism" reduced climate emissions? Not according to John Barrett. Last week Barrett (from the Stockholm Environment Institute's York (England) office) gave a talk in Seattle titled "A Sustainable Consumption and Production Approach to Climate Change Mitigation.” Barrett presented his team’s latest research on consumption-based, community-scale greenhouse gas emissions inventory methods, policy implications, and lessons learned from his work with the United Kingdom government and over 40 local governments throughout Europe. Read more...

Νερό-δηλητήριο σε όλη την Ελλάδα

Ελευθεροτυπία, 06 Ιουνίου 2010

Τοξικά βαρέα μέταλλα σε πόσιμο νερό, ποτάμια, λίμνες και υπόγεια ύδατα, σε συγκεντρώσεις που υπερβαίνουν κατά πολύ τα ανώτατα επιτρεπτά όρια που έχει θέσει η Ε.Ε. ή σε τιμές δυνητικά επικίνδυνες για την ανθρώπινη υγεία, ανιχνεύονται σε πολλές περιοχές της χώρας. Επιστήμονες εκφράζουν φόβους ότι νερό «δηλητήριο» σε Αττική, Βοιωτία, Εύβοια, Πτολεμαΐδα, νησιά Β. Αιγαίου, Πηνειό και αλλού επηρεάζει την αγροτική παραγωγή και θεωρούν επιτακτική την ανάγκη δειγματοληψιών, κυρίως σε τρόφιμα-στόχους όπως οι βολβοί, προκειμένου να διερευνηθούν ενδεχόμενοι κίνδυνοι από την κατανάλωσή τους. Την έρευνα διεπιστημονική επιτροπή από το Γεωπονικό και το Πανεπιστήμιο Αθηνών για λογαριασμό του ΕΦΕΤ και παραδόθηκε τον Σεπτέμβριο του 2009 στην πολιτική ηγεσία του υπουργείου Αγροτικής Ανάπτυξης και Τροφίμων. Διαβάστε περισσότερα...

BISE and baseline: new tools to combat biodiversity loss in Europe

EEA, June 01, 2010

At the opening session of the Green Week conference in Brussels, the European Commission and the European Environment Agency (EEA) unveiled two new tools to combat biodiversity loss: BISE (the Biodiversity Information System for Europe) and 'Biodiversity baseline'. BISE is a web portal centralising information about European biodiversity in a single location. The baseline offers a comprehensive snapshot of the current state of biodiversity and will be used to monitor progress in the renewed efforts to halt biodiversity loss. Read more...

EU greenhouse gas emissions: more than half way to the '20 % target by 2020'

EEA, June 02, 2010

The European Union's greenhouse gas (GHG) inventory report, compiled by the European Environment Agency (EEA), shows that emissions have not only continued their downward trend in 2008, but have also picked up pace. The EU-27's emissions stood 11.3 % below their 1990 levels, while EU-15 achieved a reduction of 6.9 % compared to Kyoto base-year levels.

'The GHG inventory report shows that the EU is well on track to meet its emission reduction targets with domestic policy measures only. Our policies and tools seem to be working' said Professor Jacqueline McGlade, Executive Director of the EEA. Read more...

A New Source Of Dioxins: Anti-Bacterial Soap Combining with Chlorine in Wastewater Sewage Plants

ENN, May 25, 2010

Manufacturers have been adding the germ fighter triclosan to soaps, hand washes, and a range of other products for years. But here's a dirty little secret: Once it washes down the drain, that triclosan can spawn dioxins. And, before you ask: No one knows how toxic triclosan's dioxins are. Read more...

Tax Fraud Plagues Carbon Trading Program

ΕΝΝ, May 20, 2010

According to Bloomberg New Energy Finance, tax fraud is the carbon trading market’s most egregious form of cheating, affecting about seven percent of this $125 billion market in 2009. In August 2009, seven people were arrested near London for not paying tax on the sale of carbon permits, for a total of £38 million (about U.S. $63 million). The taxes were levied as part of the European Union Greenhouse Gas Emission Trading System, created in January 2005 and based on Directive 2003/87/EC, which was enforced beginning Oct. 25, 2003. Read more...

ENN, May 18, 2010

Lake Tanganyika is an African Great Lake. It is estimated to be the second or third largest freshwater lake in the world by volume, and the second deepest, after Lake Baikal in Siberia. It is situated in the Great Rift Valley. Geologists led by Brown University have determined the east African rift lake has experienced unprecedented warming during the last century, and its surface waters are the warmest on record. That finding is important, the scientists write in the journal Nature Geoscience, because the warm surface waters likely will affect fish stocks upon which millions of people in the region depend. Read more...

Στα 750 εκατ. ευρώ το κόστος της πετρελαιοκηλίδας για την ΒΡ

OIKO, 28 Μαΐου 2010

Η διαρροή στην πλατφόρμα πετρελαίου Deepwater Horizon στον Κόλπο του Μεξικού έχει στοιχίσει στην εταιρεία περισσότερα από 750 εκατομμύρια ευρώ, ανακοίνωσε σήμερα η BP, που ευθύνεται για τη χειρότερη διαρροή πετρελαίου στην ιστορία των Ηνωμένων Πολιτειών. Σύμφωνα με τη διευθύντρια του Αμερικανικού Ινστιτούτου Γεωλογικών Ερευνών (USGS), από την πετρελαιοπηγή της BP διέρρεαν στον Κόλπο του Μεξικού από 12.000 έως και 19.000 βαρέλια πετρελαίου την ημέρα (2 με 3 εκατομμύρια λίτρα), τα οποία έχουν ήδη μολύνει περισσότερα από 160 χιλιόμετρα στην ακτογραμμή της Λουιζιάνα, καταστροφή χειρότερη και από αυτή που είχε προκαλέσει το τάνκερ Exxon Valdez στην Αλάσκα, τo 1989. Διαβάστε περισσότερα...

Διαβάστε ακόμα: The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has extended the boundaries of the closed fishing area in the Gulf of Mexico

Οταν η Σανζ Ελιζέ µεταµορφώθηκε σε πράσινο λιβάδι

ΤΑ ΝΕΑ, 25 Μαΐου 2010

ΤΙΠΟΤΕ ΑΠΟ τον συνήθη εαυτό της δεν θύµιζε τις δύο τελευταίες ηµέρες η Λεωφόρος των Ηλυσίων Πεδίων, στην καρδιά του Παρισιού. Εκατοντάδες χιλιάδες άνθρωποι την περπάτησαν - αυτό δεν άλλαξε - αντί για τις βιτρίνες, όµως, χάζευαν χωράφια φυτεµένα µε σιτάρι, φασόλια, αµπέλια, µπανάνες, ανανάδες και εκατοντάδες άλλα είδη δηµητριακών, φρούτων και λαχανικών, όπως επίσης και αρκετές κατσίκες, αγελάδες και άλλα ζώα.
Πίσω από την πρωτοβουλία Νature Capitale και τη διήµερη έκθεση µε το ίδιο όνοµα βρισκόταν η ένωση Νέοι Αγρότες, που εκπροσωπεί περίπου 55.000 γάλλους αγρότες κάτω των 35 ετών. Διαβάστε περισσότερα...

«Πράσινα» όλα τα κτίρια από το 2020

ΤΑ ΝΕΑ, 19 Μαΐου 2010

ΟΥΔΕΤΕΡΟ ισοζύγιο (διοξειδίου του) άνθρακα θα πρέπει να έχουν όλα τα καινούργια κτίρια που θα κατασκευάζονται στην Ε.Ε. μετά το 2020 σύμφωνα με τα νέα ενεργειακά πρότυπα που ενέκρινε χθες το Ευρωπαϊκό Κοινοβούλιο. Η ευρωπαϊκή εντολή για κτίρια με «σχεδόν μηδενική κατανάλωση ενέργειας» θα τεθεί σε εφαρμογή για όλα τα νέα δημόσια κτίρια στην Ε.Ε. από το 2018 και για όλες τις νέες κατοικίες και τα γραφεία δύο χρόνια αργότερα. Διαβάστε περισσότερα...

Ε.Ε: Περιορίζεται ο αριθμός των πειραμάτων σε ζώα

Καθημερινή, 11 Μαΐου 2010

Τα ζώα μπορούν να χρησιμοποιούνται, επισημαίνεται, μόνον για πειράματα που έχουν στόχο την πρόοδο της έρευνας για τον άνθρωπο, τα ζώα και τις ασθένειες. Οι εκπρόσωποι των 27 χωρών μελών της ΕΕ ενέκριναν ευρωπαϊκό νομοσχέδιο που προβλέπει τη μείωση του αριθμού των ζώων που χρησιμοποιούνται για επιστημονικούς σκοπούς. Το νομοσχέδιο αυτό θα εξεταστεί από το Ευρωπαϊκό Κοινοβούλιο το Σεπτέμβριο προτού υιοθετηθεί οριστικά. Διαβάστε περισσότερα...

How big is the Deepwater Horizon oil spill?

BBC News, May 7, 2010

Thousands of tonnes of oil have poured into the Gulf of Mexico after the disaster at the Deepwater Horizon oil rig over two weeks ago. But how does this leak compare with the largest offshore spills on record? The current size of the Deepwater Horizon spill is hard to measure exactly, but attempts can be made to estimate it.Based on oil flow calculations from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Dr Simon Boxall, a marine pollution expert, says a total current spill can be estimated at about 7,000 to 10,000 tonnes of oil. (See factbox below for how this was worked out.) Read more...

Historic election night for UK Greens

The Green Party, May 07, 2010

Greens all over the UK were celebrating this morning as the news was announced that party leader Caroline Lucas had won the Brighton Pavilion seat.
The election of the first ever Green to Parliament represents a truly historic moment. Hundreds of thousands of Green voters across the country now have, for the first time, a voice in Parliament. Read more...

Environmental Cancer Risk

ENN, May 06, 2010

There is a body of evidence linking general environmental exposures to cancer. A report was released today by the President's Cancer Panel which finds that the true burden of environmentally induced cancer is underestimated. The Panel's report, "Reducing Environmental Cancer Risk: What We Can Do Now," concludes that while environmental exposure is not a new front on the war on cancer, the harm from this group of carcinogens has not been addressed adequately by the National Cancer Program. Read more...

Solar industry divided over EU toxic substances law

EurActiv, April 30, 2010

Solar panel manufacturers are fighting to be excluded from EU legislation restricting the use of dangerous chemicals in electronic products. But some voices are calling for greater scrutiny of the industry, illustrating a technology war between rival companies.
The European solar industry has begun a campaign to exclude photovoltaic solar panels from the recast directive on the restriction of certain hazardous substances (RoHS), which is currently being debated by the EU institutions. Read more...