Home/Posts Tagged ‘Europe’
Posts Tagged ‘Europe’
Conservation, Politics, Jun 13th, 2012,
Fisheries ministers from around the European Union have agreed to ban the practice of throwing unprofitable, but edible, catches back in the sea. This extremely wasteful custom has been legal in Europe for the past 40, threatening fish stocks and the survival of some species. Delays and exceptions in implementing the ban are viewed by experts as extremely dangerous, perhaps a case of too little too late for some of the EU’s fish stocks. Currently, European fishermen can reach their quota for a certain species, but continue fishing for others, as long as they don’t bring more than their quota…
Tags: discards, EU, Europe, fisheries
Climate Change, Health, Wildlife & Flora, Apr 25th, 2012,
It’s coming some time and maybe… The Asian tiger mosquito originates in hot and muggy South East Asia. But international trade, tourism and (increasingly) climate change will enable the tropical disease-carrying insect to establish itself in northern Europe, including the UK. Reports last September from the US told of how the smaller, but more aggressive Asian tiger mosquito was causing problems in the states of California, Texas, Florida and Hawaii; and cities including Memphis, New Orleans and Washington DC. In Europe, the Asian tiger has already encroached upon parts of Italy, Spain, southern France, the Balkans and even The Netherlands….
Tags: Asian Tiger, dengue, Europe, mosquito
Climate Change, Politics, Pollution, Feb 20th, 2012,
The oil reserves of the Canadian province of Alberta are second in size only to those of Saudi Arabia. They are also more polluting and expensive to extract. In response to the European Union’s plans to label oil imports from Alberta’s tar sands as ‘highly polluting’, which they are, Canada has threatened a ‘trade war’ with Europe. Recent revelations of collusion between the UK and Canadian governments with fossil fuel companies who source their oil from the tar sands show plans to use underhanded tactics to mitigate any damage to the ‘Canadian brand’ of oil. In short, they’d like to…
Tags: Alberta, Canada, EU, Europe, oil, pipeline, tar sands
Green Cars, Science & Technology, Feb 2nd, 2012,
Folding bikes are great. I’ve owned two inexpensive models and even used one of them in the snow. You can park them everywhere, keep them indoors in your apartment or house so they aren’t at risk of being stolen and take them on trains and buses. Germans are often spotted on them on holiday. I guess they bring them on boats or in their cars. A folding car, however, makes me think of the Jetsons or some other comical view of the future as envisioned in the 1950s during the Space Race. But now the folding car has become a…
Tags: Barroso, Basque, electric, Europe, folding car, Hiriko, Spain
Climate Change, Politics, Pollution, Nov 2nd, 2011,
Growing anti-nuclear sentiment in Europe has reached another milestone. Following Germany’s move to close all of its nuclear power plants by 2022, Belgium has decided to shut its own starting in 2015 and completing by 2025, according to a Reuters report. Much like the companies that run Germany’s nuclear stations, Belgium’s energy operator, Electrabel, warned of blackouts, environmental pollution and a decrease in energy independence as a result of the imminent shut down of the country’s 7 atomic power plants. From AFP: Already a net importer of electricity, Belgium could become increasingly dependent on its neighbours, increase its carbon footprint…
Tags: atomic, Belgium, Climate change, coal, energy, Europe, Fukushima, Lynas, nuclear, plant, power
Politics, Oct 13th, 2011,
A couple of days ago I posted about why the Occupy Wall Street action is Green, quoting various articles by luminaries of both the environmentalist and anti-globalization movements. Besides specific environmental issues being addressed at OWS and other similar protests around the world, the logic is plain: economic and political models based on unrestrained growth, consumerism and unregulated finance and industry are not only unfair and undemocratic, but clearly ecologically disastrous. From dirty tar sands in the North, to dams and deforestation in the South, it’s all connected. Political power in the hands of corporations, rather than people, spells bad…
Tags: Europe, Greece, Ireland, occupy wall street, Portugal, protest, Spain, UK
Green living, Sep 12th, 2011,
I stopped driving when I moved to Europe over ten years ago. I’ve never really missed it as it hurts my back. I also don’t miss traffic jams, paying for gas/petrol, insurance and general vehicle upkeep. Soon after relocating I got into cycling. No, not skin-tight lycra clothing and titanium water bottles, just getting from A to B on a standard velocipede. I’ve got no time for trendy fixed gears or expensive, masturbatory mountain bikes. Some bastard will just steal them anyway. These last ten years my no-car-guy persona has become set in his ways. I’m thrifty to the point…
Tags: Berlin, bike, car, copenhagen, cycle, cycling, denmark, Europe, lane, traffic
Climate Change, Jul 26th, 2011,
The premise is pretty simple: There are places in the world where the wind blows fairly strong. This free, natural source of power has been used for centuries to grind grain and now it’s increasingly being harnessed by turbines to generate electrical power. Renewable, basically free electricity. Who could possibly have a problem with that. OK, fossil fuel companies might not like clean energy moving in on their business. And then there are those wealthy folk who flee the noise, congestion and pollution of the big cities in search of a bucolic idyll. They don’t like wind turbines spoiling their…
Tags: australia, energy, Europe, power, Romania, wind, wind farm
Nature, May 23rd, 2011,
Though it is not predicted to have the kind of paralyzing effects that Eyjafjallajökull meted out over one year ago, another of Island’s volcanoes, Grimsvotn, sent a huge ash plume into the sky when it erupted on Sunday. According to the BBC the ash cloud has reached heights of up to 19km (12 miles). Authorities have urged those in affected areas of Iceland to stay indoors and farmers are taking measures to protect their livestock. Most Icelandic flights were grounded after the eruption and in the ensuing days the ash cloud has grown. It is predicted to spread towards northern…
Tags: Air traffic, air travel, ash cloud, Europe, Eyjafjallajokull, Grimsvotn, Iceland, plume, Scotland, UK
Climate Change, May 9th, 2011,
As the climate changes and parts of the Earth get hotter, drier summers, while others flood, what really worries me is how this heat will affect my wireless internet connection. Death, destruction, crop failures, horrible diseases and sinking islands will not matter if I can’t get a good wi-fi signal. This is the spin given in a piece for the Telegraph regarding a recent speech by UK Environment Secretary Caroline Spelman: She warned of intense rainfall, droughts and heatwaves in the next 50 to 100 years because of man-made global warming. The signal from wi-fi cannot travel as far when…
Tags: Caroline, Climate change, Europe, global warming, IPCC, report, Spelman, UK, wi-fi
Politics, Recycling, May 5th, 2011,
There used to be jokes about going “condom fishing” in dirty city canals, but now an ambitious EU plan aims to encourage professional fishermen to haul recyclable plastics from Europe’s suffering seas as part of their catch. This could mean a significant shift in the normally environmentally harmful behavior of commercial fishing. EU fisheries chief Maria Damanki unveiled bold plans to eliminate the practice of fishing boats throwing back unprofitable, yet edible, catch. Smaller, younger fish or less valuable species are routinely thrown back in the ocean, usually dead. In some areas 2/3 of the catch is simply tossed overboard….
Tags: Damanki, EU, Europe, fishermen, fishing, plastic, Recycling
Videos & Documentaries, Wildlife & Flora, Apr 28th, 2011,
Check out this video on Velebit national park in Croatia from the Guardian. Velebit encompasses majestic mountain peaks and a wide variety of untamed flora and fauna. It is one of Europe’s most pristine and lesser-known natural areas. The Velebit Mountains are part of the Dinaric Alps and the highest range in Croatia. The park contains many species of plant that are unique to the area, as well as local varieties of wolf, marten, bear and lynx.
Tags: Croatia, Europe, national park, Velebit
Conservation, Wildlife & Flora, Apr 6th, 2011,
Last fall I had the opportunity to visit Europe’s last remaining primeval forest, the Białowieża forest in northeastern Poland. This is one of the few remaining places on the continent where nature can be observed as it once was, before the drastic reshaping of human activity. It is home to animals such as elk, wild boars, wolves, wizent (European bison), lynx, eagles and wild horses. But there is a sharp cleavage between business interests and those who wish to preserve the forest by expanding the national park to encompass the entire Polish portion of Białowieża (the rest lies in bordering…
Tags: Białowieża, Europe, forest, Poland, primeval
Politics, Pollution, Videos & Documentaries, Mar 19th, 2011,
The debate over nuclear energy has heated up in Europe. Though always controversial, the events post earthquake and tsunami in Japan have brought the issue to the forefront in the media and political arenas in some European countries. In May a government safety review of nuclear plants in the UK will be released, taking account of the events at Fukushima nuclear power plant in Japan. For more on this story see this article from BBC News. In Germany, where nuclear power is always especially controversial, the issue has sparked political action of late. From Deutsche Welle: The governing CDU/FDP coalition…
Tags: debate, earthquake nuclear, Europe, Germany, japan, plant, power, tsunami, UK
Health, Pollution, Mar 9th, 2011,
Diesel engines and heating systems produce fine particle pollution, which shortens life expectancy in European cities, according to a study by the Aphekom project. The study measured air pollution and human health in 25 cities in Europe, with Bucharest, Romania scoring worst and Stockholm Sweden as cleanest, the latter’s pollution measuring just below targets set by the World Health Organization. The air in Bucharest, on the other hand, is so bad that it is estimated to reduce life expectancy by two years. The study then focused on 10 cities including Barcelona, Brussels and Rome, and, for the first time, took…
Tags: Bucharest, Europe, european cities, Pollution, Romania, Stockholm, study, Sweden
Climate Change, Politics, Mar 1st, 2011,
In return for casting their votes with European nations, poor Pacific island states will receive 90m euros ($124m US) to help with climate change adaptation. Pacific island nations, like Vanuatu – which is due to host a climate conference on EU-Pacific cooperation – are considered to be on the front lines of climate change due to rising sea levels and violent tropical storms. The cash is relatively small in European terms, but significant for small developing nations. The funds – which according to the commission are redeployments of existing development funds rather than new sources of climate financing as many…
Tags: Climate change, EU, Europe, funds, island states, Pacific, Vanuatu
Pollution, Science & Technology, Feb 28th, 2011,
25 years after the worst nuclear accident in history, hundreds of millions of euros are needed to encase Chernobyl nuclear power plant in Ukraine amid fears of another potentially disastrous radiation leak. European and Ukrainian officials are trying to drum up hundreds of millions of euros to complete the project of encasing the site in steel. According to the Independent, the EU has contributed around €500m so far, but another €740 is needed: In recent years, the structure has become extremely unstable, with experts warning that if it collapses, a catastrophic amount of radiation could be released into the atmosphere….
Tags: accident, chernobyl, disaster, Europe, nuclear, plant, reactor
Climate Change, Pollution, Science & Technology, Feb 22nd, 2011,
More and more goods are being shipped from China to Europe in an unstoppable relationship based on cheap production and ever-increasing consumption. This means more energy and greenhouse gas emissions. But freight companies are also developing and implementing ways to become more energy efficient and lower their emissions. Danish shipping giant Maersk has ordered 10 new mega ships (with an option for 20 more) to be used between China and Europe. These floating blocks of skyscrapers can carry 20% more than the largest freighters currently at sea and are too big to be used at ports in the Americas. Ocean…
Tags: China, emissions, Europe, freight, Gottard, Maersk, ocean, rail, shipping, trains, trucks, tunnel
Videos & Documentaries, Feb 16th, 2011,
With Valentine’s Day, 2011 already on the books, we saw some recent press attention being given to the impact of the rose industry on Kenya’s ecology. The rush to buy flowers on Valentine’s Day in Europe basically sucks up huge amounts of Kenya’s water – an increasingly scarce resource in the East African nation. For more on that story see the Valentine’s Day article in the Guardian. While Europe’s flower basket is Kenya, the US mainly sources its blossoms from Colombia, though the South American country is increasing its market in Spain and the UK. From an AFP report: The…
Tags: Colombia, Europe, fair, flower farms, flowers, Kenya, roses, trade, Valentine's Day
Climate Change, Politics, Dec 2nd, 2010,
Earlier this week I told you about the European position towards the COP16 Climate Conference and the important steps the EU is trying to make in order to fight climate change and it’s consequences. I also told you that since the U.S. as been more of a blocking factor than anything else during the previous climate talks, it might be better if they would not participate in the conference at all, especially considering that even if they would agree on any of the proposed measures the U.S. Senate would never allow president Obama to sign a worldwide climate treaty. Anyway,…
Tags: cancun mexico, Climate change, climate conference, cop16, Europe, global warming, U.S. delegation, united nations
