Η Σανζ Ελιζέ θα γίνει... κήπος

ΤΑ ΝΕΑ, 28 Απριλίου 2010

Το βράδυ της 22ας Μαΐου, της Παγκόσμιας Ημέρας της Βιοποικιλότητας, μία από τις ωραιότερες λεωφόρους του κόσμου θα μεταμορφωθεί σε γιγάντιο κήπο: μέσα σε μια νύχτα, στη λεωφόρο των Ηλυσίων Πεδίων του Παρισιού, από την Αψίδα του Θριάμβου ώς το Ρον Πουέν, θα ανθίσουν 150.000 δένδρα. Διαβάστε περισσότερα...

Australia shelves key emissions trading scheme

BBC News, April 27, 2010

The Australian government has put plans for a flagship emissions trading scheme on hold until 2013 at the earliest. The move comes after the scheme was rejected twice by the Senate, where Prime Minster Kevin Rudd's government does not have a majority.
Mr Rudd, who came to power promising tough climate action, blamed opposition obstruction and slow global progress on emissions cuts for the plan's delay. Read more...

US fears ease over major oil spill from sunken rig

BBC Nes, April 23, 2010

The US Coast Guard says that no oil appears to be leaking from a rig that sank off Louisiana on Thursday. Crews will continue to monitor the rig closely amid concerns over a possible environmental disaster. Read more...

UPDATE: BBC News, 28/4/2010): US to set fire to oil rig leak as efforts to stem it fail

Οι λίμνες πνίγονται στα τοξικά

TA NEA, 19 Απριλίου 2010

Σήμα κινδύνου για τη ρύπανση των επιφανειακών υδάτων της Ελλάδας εκπέμπουν οι ειδικοί, καθώς διαπιστώνονται υψηλές συγκεντρώσεις επικίνδυνων ουσιών. Χαρακτηριστικό είναι το γεγονός ότι πρόσφατη μελέτη αναφέρει πως 16 στις 18 ελληνικές λίμνες βρίσκονται σε μέτρια έως κακή οικολογική κατάσταση. Από στοιχεία που παρουσιάστηκαν στην Επιτροπή Περιβάλλοντος της Βουλής προκύπτει ότι υπερβάσεις μολύβδου, νικελίου, υδραργύρου και τοξικών ενώσεων έχουν καταγραφεί σε μεγάλους ποταμούς και λίμνες. Διαβάστε περισσότερα...

Turtles killed 'in millions' by fishing gear

BBC News, April 06, 2010

Millions of marine turtles have been killed over the past two decades through entrapment in fishing gear, according to a global survey. Described as the first global synthesis of existing data, the study found especially high rates of "bycatch" in the Mediterranean and eastern Pacific. Six of the seven sea turtle types are on the Red List of Threatened Species.
Writing in the journal Conservation Letters, researchers advocate much greater use of gear safe for turtles. Read more...

Canadian Cement Plant Becomes First to Capture CO2 in Algae

ENN, April 06, 2010

A Canadian company called Pond Biofuels is capturing CO2 emissions from a cement plant in algae — algae the company ultimately plans on using to make biofuel.
It’s no secret that the process of manufacturing cement is both energy intensive and dirty. Global cement production alone emits roughly five percent of greenhouse gas emissions annually, both as a byproduct of limestone decarbonation (60%) and from the burning of fossil fuels in the cement kilns (40%). Read more...

UK sets up Chagos Islands marine reserve

BBC News, April 01, 2010

The UK government has created the world's largest marine reserve around the Chagos Islands. The reserve would cover a 545,000-sq-km area around the Indian Ocean archipelago, regarded as one of the world's richest marine ecosystems.
This will include an area where commercial fishing will be banned. But islanders, who were evicted to make way for the US air base on the island of Diego Garcia, say a reserve would effectively bar them from returning. Read more...

Τα δολώματα αφανίζουν τα πουλιά

ΤΑ ΝΕΑ, 06 Απριλίου 2010

«Πολλοί αετοί, γύπες και άλλα αρπακτικά πεθαίνουν στις φωλιές τους ή σε απρόσιτες ορεινές περιοχές χωρίς ποτέ να τους ανιχνεύσουμε», λέει στα «ΝΕΑ» ο δρ Σταύρος Ξηρουχάκης από το Μουσείο Φυσικής Ιστορίας του Πανεπιστημίου Κρήτης. «Ειδικά οι γύπες που μεταφέρουν τη λεία τους στον πρόλοβο (τον μικρό σάκο κάτω από τον λαιμό), επιστρέφουν στη φωλιά τους και ταΐζουν πολλές φορές τους νεοσσούς τους με δηλητηριασμένη τροφή. Αυτό έχει ως αποτέλεσμα να πεθάνουν μαζί με τα μικρά τους ύστερα από μερικές ώρες». Διαβάστε περισσότερα...

New Aggressive National Fuel Economy Standards Set for Passenger Cars and Light Trucks

ENN, April 01, 2010

No fooling, the DOT and EPA, in response to one of the Obama Administration's top priorities, have jointly established aggressive new federal rules that will significantly increase the fuel economy of all passenger cars and light trucks sold in the United States. They have also established new federal rules that would for the first time ever, set national greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions standards for these vehicles. The new rules are forecast to save the average buyer of a 2016 model year car $3,000 over the lifetime of the vehicle. EPA estimates that nationally, it has the potential to conserve about 1.8 billion barrels of oil and reduce nearly a billion tons of GHG emissions over the lives of the vehicles. Read more...

Ρεύμα από ανεμογεννήτριες για 3.500 κατοίκους του Δήμου Νικηφόρου στη Δράμα

TA NEA, 01 Απριλίου 2010

Ενεργειακά ανεξάρτητοι από τη ΔΕΗ θα είναι σύντομα οι περίπου τρεισήμισι χιλιάδες κάτοικοι του Δήμου Νικηφόρου Δράμας, μιας αγροτικής περιοχής που θα αποτελέσει πρότυπο πάρκο ανεμογεννητριών και φωτοβολταϊκών, μοναδικό για τα ελληνικά δεδομένα. O «πράσινος» Δήμος Νικηφόρου εντάχθηκε μαζί με άλλους 13 δήμους από την Ελλάδα και άλλες πέντε χώρες- μέλη της Ευρωπαϊκής Ένωσης στο πιλοτικό πρόγραμμα Rurener που στοχεύει στην εξοικονόμηση ενέργειας και την ενεργειακή ουδετερότητα. Διαβάστε περισσότερα...

UN body to look at meat and climate link

BBC News, March 24, 2010

UN specialists are to look again at the contribution of meat production to climate change, after claims that an earlier report exaggerated the link.
A 2006 report concluded meat production was responsible for 18% of greenhouse gas emissions - more than transport. The report has been cited by people campaigning for a more vegetable-based diet, including Sir Paul McCartney. But a new analysis, presented at a major US science meeting, says the transport comparison was flawed. Read more...

Peruvians harvesting fog

ENN, March 23, 2010

Catching fog with nets is the solution to water scarcity for people who live beyond the reach of utility lines in this sandy hillside shantytown overlooking Peru's capital, Lima.
Lima, which along with Cairo is one of the world's two driest capitals, gets only a few drops of rain each year. But thick fog from the Pacific Ocean blankets the coastal hills surrounding the city for eight months a year as hot tropical sun mixes with cold waters of the Humboldt current. Using nets similar to those used in volleyball, residents condense fog, drip-by-drip, into drainage pipes running down the hill into tanks that store hundreds of liters of water for irrigation, bathing and cooking. Read more...

Scotland gets serious about sea power

ENN, March 22, 2010

cotland has approved ten marine energy projects that leaders predict could provide electricity for one-third of the nation’s homes by 2020 and make Scotland the world leader in wave energy. The government awarded leases to companies to construct six wave energy projects and four tidal projects off the Scottish coast in what experts say would be the first developments of their kind on a large commercial scale. Construction would cost £4 billion ($6.1 billion) and require another £1 billion ($1.53 billion) in government funding to upgrade the national electric grid. Read more...

Blue Fin Tuna Decline and Fall

ENN, March 17, 2010

The Atlantic blue fin tuna is one of the largest, fastest, and most gorgeously colored of all the world’s fishes. Their torpedo shaped, streamlined bodies are built for speed and endurance. Their coloring (metallic blue on top and silver white on the bottom) helps camouflage them from above and below. They have an average size of 6.5 feet and 550 pounds. Unfortunately for them they are also delicious and may be on the brink of extinction due to overfishing. European Union ambassadors agreed to propose protecting blue fin tuna as an endangered species on March 10, a move that would effectively ban international trade in the species. Read more...

Read also: EU countries block bluefin tuna ban

Natural Gas drilling chemicals a concern

ENN,. March 11, 2010

President Barack Obama's top environmental adviser urged the natural gas industry on Tuesday to disclose the chemicals it uses in drilling, warning that the development of massive U.S. shale gas reserves could be held back otherwise.
Joseph Aldy, special assistant to the president for energy and the environment, said concerns about water contamination from drilling chemicals could lead to states requiring disclosure and that could deter additional investment. Read more...

Attention Bikers - Google Maps is for you!

ENN, March 10, 2010

At long last, Google Maps has routes specifically for bikes.
With the click of a mouse, the new feature allows you to plot the best (and flattest!) ride from Point A to Point B. Several cities, including New York, Minneapolis, San Francisco and Portland, Oregon, have bike-specific mapping sites. But Google is rolling it out in 150 cities nationwide and announcing it Wednesday at the 10th Annual Bike Summit in Washington, D.C. Read more...

Environmental Performance Reviews: Greece

OECD, March 15, 2010

This report examines Greece’s progress since the previous OECD Environmental Performance Review in 2000, and the extent to which the country has met its national objectives and international commitments regarding the management of the environment and natural resources. It also analyses Greece’s achievements in strengthening the environment-economy integration and environmental-social linkages. The report also contains 44 recommendations to encourage further environmental progress in Greece. Read more...

Πυρηνικά με εγγύηση Ομπάμα

Ελευθεροτυπία, 07 Μαρτίου 2010

Επρεπε να περάσουν 31 χρόνια από το ατύχημα στο Three Mile Island, στην Πενσιλβάνια, όταν κυριολεκτικά έλιωσε ένας πυρηνικός αντιδραστήρας, για να δοθεί το πράσινο φως από αμερικανό πρόεδρο προκειμένου να κατασκευαστούν νέα πυρηνικά εργοστάσια παραγωγής ηλεκτρικής ενέργειας. Και είναι μάλλον παράδοξο να είναι ο Μπαράκ Ομπάμα -ο πιο «πράσινος» αμερικανός πρόεδρος- αυτός που προωθεί το πιο φιλόδοξο και εκτεταμένο πρόγραμμα κατασκευής πυρηνικών σταθμών. Διαβάστε περισσότερα...

Ivory and bluefin tuna top agenda at UN wildlife summit

BBC News, March 13, 2010

Sales of ivory and a possible ban on trading bluefin tuna top the agenda for the two-week CITES meeting that opens this weekend in Doha, Qatar. CITES - the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species - will set a precedent if it votes to ban trading in a lucrative fish such as bluefin. The US and EU back the proposal, but Japan is set against.
Conservation groups are also hoping for increased protection on sharks, coral, polar bears, lizards and amphibians. Read more...

Σε 100 χρόνια σκοτώσαμε τις μισές φάλαινες

ΤΑ ΝΕΑ, 13 Μαρτίου 2010

Ήταν οι κυρίαρχοι των ωκεανών. Ζούσαν κατά εκατοντάδες χιλιάδες σε κάθε γωνιά του υδάτινου περιβάλλοντος. Και πριν αρχίσει το συστηματικό τους κυνήγι, οι πληθυσμοί κάποιων ειδών ήταν έως και 20 φορές μεγαλύτεροι από ό,τι είναι σήμερα. Τα τελευταία χρόνια, πολλοί ερευνητές προσπαθούν με τη βοήθεια αρχειακών δεδομένων να εκτιμήσουν πόσες φάλαινες ζούσαν στους ωκεανούς πριν από 100 ή 150 χρόνια. Διαβάστε περισσότερα...