Home/Posts Tagged ‘Germany’
Posts Tagged ‘Germany’
Climate Change, Politics, Pollution, May 23rd, 2012,
Since the earthquake and tsunami-induced meltdowns in Japan last year, nuclear power has experienced a significant dip in global popularity. In parts of the globe, anyway. Japan itself is currently nuclear-free in terms of energy production, with an ambitious plan to clean up its air and water as well as increase the development of renewable power sources. The East Asian economic powerhouse is home to 54 nuclear reactors, not one of which is online. Public outcry in Germany following the events at Fukushima immediately resulted in 8 plant closures, with all remaining nuclear facilities to be closed by 2022. This…
Tags: energy, Fukushima, Germany, japan, nuclear, power
Animals, Videos & Documentaries, Wildlife & Flora, Feb 17th, 2012,
A French bulldog in Berlin, Germany has stepped up to the plate and adopted 6 wild boar piglets after their mother was killed by a hunter. The bulldog, named Baby, has previously been a surrogate mother for rabbits, kittens and a raccoon. The piglets were found alone in a forest. Berlin has ample woodland and is home to an estimated 10,000 wild boar, whose population has made a resurgence in recent years. From the Guardian: The piglets were brought into the Lehnitz animal sanctuary outside Berlin on Saturday, three days old and shivering from cold. Baby ran over and snuggled…
Tags: Berlin, bulldog, French, Germany, piglets, wild boar
Animal Rights, Animals, Feb 6th, 2012,
The practice of having sex with animals is becoming an epidemic in Germany. “There are even animal brothels. The abuse seems to be increasing rapidly and the internet offers an additional distribution platform”, said Madeleine Martin, the animal protection official for Hessian state government. The law needs to be changed to make it possible to prosecute and punish these animal abusers. “It is punishable to distribute animal pornography, but the act itself is not”, Madeleine Martin told the ‘Frankfurter Rundschau’. Sex with animals was illegal until 1969 and according to animal rights activists, this kind of animal abuse is no…
Tags: animal abuse, Germany, zoophilia
Climate Change, Green living, Videos & Documentaries, Jan 15th, 2012,
A solar powered tourist boat, energy efficient office buildings, solar and wind power projects; and greener transport plans are just some of the reasons that Hamburg, Germany has won the title for European Green Capital of 2011. But does this industrial European port city have what it takes to live up to the eco-city image it promotes? Hamburg has scooped up the title European green capital for 2011. The northern German port city convinced the jury by presenting itself not as a green oasis but rather as a thriving industrial metropolis which has risen to the challenge of…
Tags: 2011, eco-city, European Green Capital, Germany, Hamburg
Climate Change, Politics, Pollution, Dec 15th, 2011,
According to Yale University’s 2010 Environmental Performance Index (EPI) Canada ranked as the 46th greenest country in the world, a shameful and sudden drop from #12 in 2008. Why? Mostly due to Canadian ‘tar sands’ or ‘oil sands’ in the province of Alberta, where huge petroleum reserves lie in the form of bitumen, a heavy black form of crude that is energy intensive, highly polluting and more greenhouse gas intensive than conventional oil extraction. And now Canada has pulled out of the Kyoto Treaty, citing that it would be too expensive. Canadian environment minister Peter Kent claims that it would…
Tags: Africa, Canada, energy, Germany, Solar
Pollution, Science & Technology, Sep 27th, 2011,
Can a world with a growing, increasingly industrialized population be fed by organic farming? As the world population approaches 7 billion, there are rising uncertainties about the Earth’s capacity to sustain this unprecedented amount of humanity. Conventional approaches on international and national governmental levels have been along the lines of the Green Revolution, which increased food production in some developing countries like Mexico, India and the Philippines, with the use of pesticides, chemical fertilizers and other technological advances in agriculture. Criticisms of the Green Revolution include concerns about pollution caused by pesticides and industrial fertilizers, as well as a belief…
Tags: agriculture, Germany, Green Revolution, industrial, industrialized, Löwenstein, organic farming
Green living, Aug 3rd, 2011,
In San Francisco, California and Berlin, Germany, urban farms and gardens are popping up like weeds. In the San Francisco Bay area, which includes cities such as Oakland and Berkley, farming regulations are being modernized to include legal provisions for urban agriculture. Rooftops, derelict plots and median strips are being transformed into gardens by progressive new local government directives. Berkeley soon will take up a measure to allow residents to sell raw agricultural products from home without a costly permit. And Oakland has pledged to one-up its neighbors by tackling the raising of backyard animals as a personal food…
Tags: Berlin, gardening, Germany, San Francisco, urban agriculture, urban farms
Health, Aug 1st, 2011,
Luxury pet products are a huge growth industry. Many of us have seen “accessory” dogs wearing jeweled collars and being carried in designer Louis Vuitton bags by members of the botox set. Often the idea with high-end food and gear for pets is just to show off. No dog worth its canines cares if the diamonds around its neck are real or cubic zirconia. Likewise – as with human food – nutritional value doesn’t always correspond with price. Nevertheless, a lot of people like to “pamper” their pets and it’s not just vacuous Americans. In Germany the trend is…
Tags: australia, dogs, Germany, Hendra, pets, strays
Climate Change, Politics, May 31st, 2011,
Climate change is back in the news and on the global political agenda. Sort of. It isn’t trumping nuclear power, but these two issues are related. Germany is planning to phase out its nuclear plants and ramp up its already strong renewable energy sector, though this has much more to do with the disaster in Fukushima than with climate change. Across the Atlantic, however, German support is crucial to a fund that seeks to preserve Ecuadoran rainforest land rather than exploiting the area for oil and pushing off indigenous peoples. From Deutsche Welle: Chief negotiator Yvonne Baki and a delegation…
Tags: australia, carbon tax, Climate change, Ecuador, emissions, Germany, nuclear
Politics, Pollution, May 24th, 2011,
Four major power companies warned that the post-Fukujima backlash against nuclear power in Germany country could result in future winter blackouts. These blackouts would ostensibly occur if Germany decides to decommission all its nuclear power stations. The companies claim that solar and wind power could not meet demand in the case of insufficiently windy or sunny weather. Chancellor Angela Merkel recently signaled she would support closing all of Germany’s 17 nuclear power stations by 2022. Seven nuclear power stations have been off-grid ever since Merkel announced in the immediate aftermath of the Fukushima disaster a “three-month moratorium” on her controversial…
Tags: blackouts, earthquake, Fukushima, Germany, Green Party, japan, Merkel, nuclear, plants, power, reactors, tsunami
Weird Stuff, Wildlife & Flora, Apr 18th, 2011,
The Bombodrom is an area of heath in the former East Germany which was used by the Soviets as a testing ground for explosives during the old days of the Eastern Bloc. Though some 1.5 million munitions are planted in the grounds of the Bombodrom, the fields now lie fallow and have become home to more gentle activities, like the grazing of endangered moorland sheep. Luckily none have trod on any landmines, but there are some other threats on the wiley, windy moors. At night, they are herded into an enclosure to protect them from a burgeoning wolf population…
Tags: Bombadrom, Germany, Nature, Reserve, Soviet, wild
Politics, Pollution, Videos & Documentaries, Mar 28th, 2011,
In an election many consider to be a referendum on the German government’s nuclear energy policy, Chancellor Angela Merkel’s Christian Democratic Union experienced a significant loss over the weekend. The CDU was defeated in the traditionally conservative state of Baden-Württemberg by the Green-Social Democratic Party (SPD) coalition, making way for a likely Green state premier. This would be the first time in Germany for a state to have a premier from the Green Party. From Deutsche Welle: The Social Democrats (SPD) polled 23.1 percent, and gives a “green-red” coalition of the Greens and the SPD a majority. As predicted, the…
Tags: Baden-Württemberg, CDU, Germany, Green Party, Merkel, nuclear, SPD
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
Green living, Pollution, Science & Technology, Nov 7th, 2010,
A CASTOR (cask for storage and transport of radioactive material) train transport of nuclear waste entering Germany from France caused massive protests and riots between German police and activists earlier today. The train is on its way to a nuclear waste plant in the northern part of Germany. The police reported that activists where trying to stop the train by blocking the station and train rails, and that it had to intervene, removing the activists by force. According to the police, at least 10.000 activists had gathered together in the town of Gorleben, in North Germany, where the train would…
Tags: activists, castor transport, Germany, Gorleben, nuclear energy, nuclear waste
Green living, Health, Videos & Documentaries, Oct 5th, 2010,
According to a recent survey by food and grocery analyst IGD, 18% of consumers in Germany expect to buy more organic groceries in the future. FreshPlaza reports that despite the economic downturn of 2009, organic farming grew in the country: Taking into account the total agricultural area, the organic agriculture has a percentage of 5.6%. 5.6% of all farming companies are also organic farmers. –Freshplaza.com Since Germany’s reunification, most organic farmers – hitherto unheard of in the DDR – have moved to the former East and consumers in German cities are especially keen on buying organic. See the following Deutsche…
Tags: agriculture, Germany, grocery, organic, produce
Climate Change, Politics, Pollution, Oct 2nd, 2010,
Germany’s cabinet has voted to extend nuclear power use in the country by an average of 12 years. According to legislation passed in 2002 by the Social Democratic-Green Party coalition, all nuclear power stations in Germany were to be decommissioned by 2022. Not any more. German Chancellor Angela Merkel of the Christian Democratic Party, which rules as part of a center right coalition, sees the extension as a way to generate tax income, while meeting greenhouse gas emission reduction goals and transitioning to renewable energy sources. But nuclear energy is not popular in Germany and the decision to extend the…
Tags: atomic, energy, extension, German, Germany, Green, Greenpeace, Merkel, nuclear, power, protest
Green living, Politics, Sep 30th, 2010,
Stuttgart, Germany is a prosperous European industrial city, home to Daimler-Benz and Porsche, among others. It is also the center of a political conflict over the partial demolition of the city’s old railway system in favor of an underground rails and the construction of ‘carbon neutral’ neighborhoods. Sounds like something the Green Party would support, right? It isn’t, though Germany’s other principle political parties do back the project, as well as business groups. A large majority of Stuttgart’s population, however, does not. The project, dubbed Stuttgart 21, is not as environmentally friendly as it might sound. According to campaigners opposing…
Tags: German, Germany, Green, party, political, rail, Stuttgart, Stuttgart 21
Politics, Videos & Documentaries, Sep 28th, 2010,
Nuclear power is a hot issue in Germany. Only last month German chancellor Angela Merkel decided to delay the nuclear phase out legislation passed by the preceding Social Democratic-Green coalition government, extending the deadline by another 10-15 years. Merkel cited the country’s energy needs while undergoing a transition to renewable power sources and reducing greenhouse gases. But what about nuclear weapons? Old arguments of nukes as a deterrent are still alive and well in some German defense circles, though anti nuke sentiments run strong amongst Germany’s public. From Deutsche Welle: Almost a year ago, US President Barack Obama pledged to…
Tags: German, Germany, Merkel, nuclear, nuke, power, weapons
Politics, Videos & Documentaries, Sep 27th, 2010,
In Germany, fair trade cafés and fair trade boutiques, known as ‘world shops’ are growing in popularity. There are over 30 world shops in the Berlin-Brandenburg area alone. Fair trade doesn’t just mean coffee or chocolate. There are around 1,000 fair trade products available in the country. Germany’s ‘Fair Trade Week’ highlights the benefits of socially responsible goods, including better wages for producers in poor countries, which in turn means that consumers and businesses must be willing to pay higher prices. FA!R 2010 (September 23-25), a fair trade expo, took place in Dortmund during Fair Trade Week and included some…
Tags: coffee, fair trade, France, German, Germany, goods, UK, world shops
Green living, Science & Technology, Sep 16th, 2010,
In Stuttgart, Germany, electric motorbike company ELMOTO manufactures zippy E-Bikes that are designed for getting around in cities, much like their combustible-engined cousins. E-Bikes are high-tech scooters, but some models physically resemble smallish dirt bikes. They are lightweight and run almost silently. I can only hope they catch on for this reason alone, as I live next to a busy road often used by teenagers on noisy mopeds. Alas, their high price tag at the moment – around €4,000 ($5,000) – will prohibit most teenage mopedists from going electric. ELMOTO’s E-Bikes can reach speeds of 45 km per hour (30…
Tags: e-bike, electric, ELMOTO, German, Germany, moped, scooter
