Commission Refers the Czech Republic to Court over a Shipment of Toxic Waste to Poland

26.08.2016

The European Commission is referring the Czech Republic to the Court of Justice of the EU for its failure to take back 20,000 tonnes of hazardous waste, which was shipped to Katowice, Poland, by a Czech operator in late 2010 and in early 2011.

The case forms part of a dispute involving two Member States, Poland and the Czech Republic, on the classification of a waste shipment. The Polish authorities refused to accept the shipment on the grounds that it was shipped in breach of the Waste Shipments Regulation (Regulation (EC) No 1013/2006). The waste shipped should have been subject to the procedure of prior written notification and consent. As it had taken place without this notification, the shipment in question is considered to be an ‘illegal shipment’, and the Czech authorities should take the necessary measures to repatriate the shipment. The Czech Republic would have breached EU rules by not taking the required measures.

The Czech authorities, however, refused to take the shipment back by arguing that the material in question – a mixture of acid tar from petroleum refining, coal dust and calcium oxide – was not waste but a product registered in accordance with the REACH Regulation (Regulation (EC) No 1907/2006).

Following a complaint, the Commission has stepped in to resolve the dispute between the two Member States. A reasoned opinion was sent to the Czech Republic in November 2015, rejecting the Czech arguments for classifying the shipment as a product and urging it to take it back. As the Czech authorities still refuse to take the waste back, the Commission has now referred the case to the Court of Justice of the EU.

Source: europa.eu

Energy Department Announces Dates and New Contests for Solar Decathlon 2017 in Denver, Colorado

26.08.2016

The U.S. Department of Energy Solar Decathlon 2017 student design competition, which challenges collegiate teams to design, build and operate solar-powered houses that are cost-effective, energy-efficient and attractive, will take place October 5 – 15, 2017, in Denver, Colorado, Energy Department and Denver officials announced today.

The 14 collegiate teams competing in 2017 will focus on creating high-performance houses that reflect current market conditions, innovative building and the best in sustainable living.

Student teams will provide free public tours of their energy-efficient houses featuring cutting-edge technologies on these dates:

Thursday, Oct. 5–Monday, Oct. 9, 2017

Thursday, Oct. 12–Sunday, Oct. 15, 2017

“The U.S. Department of Energy Solar Decathlon challenges and inspires students to become our next green energy industry leaders,” said Under Secretary of Energy for Science and Energy Dr. Franklin Orr. “The students in the Solar Decathlon competition gain invaluable hands-on experience on appealing designs, sustainable materials and cutting-edge technologies. Denver’s passion to create eco-friendly developments serves as a model for communities throughout the country and the world.”

“Denver is proud to work with the U.S. Department of Energy to host this fun and engaging academic competition in our city,” said Mayor Michael B. Hancock. “This opportunity not only further elevates the Denver metro area’s leadership in energy efficiency, but also allows us to spotlight our burgeoning solar energy industry.”

The 2017 competition has been enhanced with challenging new contests to motivate students and boost the public’s interest in accessible, sustainable living. The upcoming event is designed to present solutions for today’s clean energy marketplace, with emphases on innovation in all areas of sustainable living; water use and re-use strategies; smart energy use and market potential.

The competition will retain emphases on cost-effective architectural design; energy-efficient heating and cooling systems, appliances and electronics; occupant health and comfort; and communications.

For the first time, teams are eligible for cash prizes. Each team that successfully builds a solar house at the site and finishes the competition will receive $100,000. The third-place finisher will receive $150,000, the second-place finisher $225,000, and the first-place finisher will receive $300,000.

The Solar Decathlon 2017 is a true public-private partnership, bringing together the U.S. Department of Energy; Energetics, Inc., the program administrator for the event; the City of Denver; Denver International Airport (DIA); and private corporate sponsors to facilitate a dynamic event in the Denver metro region.

The event will take place near the 61st & Peña “smart stop” on the new commuter rail A-line connecting Denver International Airport to downtown Denver, within 10 minutes of DIA and 40 minutes of downtown Denver. Denver, DIA, Panasonic and Xcel Energy are collaborating on a transit-oriented, sustainable development at this rail station. The development will be built out to emphasize sustainable, vibrant urban living, linking employment opportunities with new housing choices along Denver’s eastern corridor.

The U.S. Department of Energy Solar Decathlon 2017 competition will feature several additional activities:

The Solar Decathlon Competition and Public Exhibit — Free of charge, the public is invited to tour the competition homes, learn about energy efficiency and sustainability, and engage with student teams. Opening celebrations, contest awards and a final competition awards presentation will allow attendees each day to share in the competition’s excitement. Activities are being planned for consumers and professionals of all ages, promising to engage a wide demographic around sustainability topics.

Community Festival —Food trucks, pavilions and family activities will create a festival atmosphere.

Sustainability Expo — Forward-thinking companies and nonprofits will share strategies, products and technologies that can be incorporated into homes today and in the future.

Professional Development and Consumer Workshops— Organizers and sponsors will host workshops featuring an array of green building and sustainability topics for professionals and consumers.

Education Days — Multiple field trips are planned for K-12 students with dedicated educational activities and tours of the teams’ houses, as well as professional development for teachers.

Source : energy.gov

Iran Says Will Cooperate with OPEC to Stabilize the Oil Market: IRNA

26.08.2016

Iran’s oil minister said today that Tehran will cooperate with Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) to stabilize the world market, but expects others to respect its rights, the ministry’s news agency SHANA quoted him as saying.

Asked about an oil output freeze plan, Bijan Namdar Zanganeh also said that Iran supports any effort to bring stability to the market.

“Iran will cooperate with OPEC to help the oil market recover, but expects others to respect its natural rights,” he added.

Source: cnbc.com

EU – Funded Project Demonstrates Powerful Onshore Wind Turbines

25.08.2016

wind-energy — Photo-illustration: Pixabay

An EU-funded project, 7MW-WEC-BY-11, has demonstrated super powerful 7.5 MW onshore wind turbines at a wind farm in Estinnes, Belgium.

Per given wind park area these 198 metre turbines are 131% more powerful than the standard 2 MW onshore turbines used in many wind farms across Europe.

7MW-WEC-BY-11 also developed new power conversion technology and improved wind forecasting to stabilize the electricity grid.

During the construction phase of the project, the world’s first giant crawler crane was used to lift the turbine’s nacelle which can weigh as much as a fully-fuelled jumbo jet.

Using mega powerful turbines can mean that fewer wind turbines are installed in a wind farm but the power output is higher.

The total cost of the project is €6 170 217 including €3 270 285 in EU funding.

This project will help drive innovation in wind energy technology forwards, keeping the EU on track to achieving its renewable energy goals.

Source: ec.europa.eu

Duke Energy Receives new 30-year Operating License for Keowee-Toxaway Hydroelectric Project

25.08.2016

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) has issued a new 30-year operating license for Duke Energy’s Keowee-Toxaway Hydroelectric Project, which will allow the company to continue operating the Jocassee Pumped Storage Hydro Station, Keowee Hydro Station and associated lakes.

“The project provides clean, renewable hydroelectric power generation, supports regional public drinking water needs and provides high-quality recreational opportunities for the region,” said Steve Jester, Duke Energy’s vice president of water strategy, hydro licensing and lake services. “This license ensures the availability of these resources for future generations.”

The Keowee-Toxaway Hydroelectric Project begins with Lake Jocassee in North Carolina and South Carolina. It flows into Lake Keowee then downstream to the Army Corps of Engineers’ Lake Hartwell Project.

The Keowee-Toxaway project is made up of two reservoirs with two powerhouses, spans approximately 25 river miles and encompasses approximately 480 miles of shoreline. It provides 868 megawatts of hydropower generation and cooling water for Oconee Nuclear Station, which has the capacity to generate approximately 2,500 megawatts of energy.

The new license takes effect Sept. 1, 2016, and represents a culmination of nearly a decade of collaboration among governmental and community stakeholders.

“Receiving the license allows us to implement operational, environmental and recreational resource enhancements that will result in many benefits to the community and the environment for decades to come,” Jester said.

These benefits include improvements to existing public recreational areas on Lake Jocassee and Lake Keowee. The company will also implement a Habitat Enhancement Program in the watershed and conserve approximately 2,900 acres of property adjoining the lakes to preserve and protect ecologically and culturally significant resources.

The project was originally licensed in 1966 for 50 years. Duke Energy filed the application to relicense the project in August 2014.

The license application evaluated the impacts of Duke Energy’s operation during the next license term and includes a relicensing agreement signed by Duke Energy and 16 other stakeholder organizations.

It also includes a new operating agreement Duke Energy negotiated with the Army Corps of Engineers and the Southeastern Power Administration to improve operational coordination between Duke Energy’s project and Army Corps of Engineers’ projects downstream.

Duke Energy will carefully review the terms and conditions of the new license during the 30-day review period and file any items requiring clarification or rehearing with the FERC.

Source: news.duke-energy.com

Radiography of Drought Periods in Spain from the last 318 years

25.08.2016

The Mediterranean Basin has been witness to increased droughts for at least five decades, but has this always been the case? A research team has been successful in reconstructing, for the first time, the droughts from 1694 to 2012 based on the precipitation index and the study of tree growth rings. According to the study, the twelve months leading up to July 2012 were the driest.

In the Mediterranean Basin, droughts are a recurring phenomenon that negatively impacts society, economic activities and natural systems. No one seems to doubt the fact that temperatures all over the world have risen in recent decades. However, this trend does not appear to be perceived as clearly when it comes to precipitation (for which data from 1950 onwards is available). Thus, up until now, the study on the recurrence and severity of droughts in Spain has been based on information from weather stations, with sufficient data only as of the mid-twentieth century.

To test the evolution of the droughts, scientists from the Department of Geography at the University of Zaragoza utilised indirect information, such as the study of tree growth rings, to reconstruct the climate of the Iberian Range as far back as 1694 and to analyse dry periods using the Standardised Precipitation Index (SPI). The researchers collected 336 samples and 45,648 growth rings from five different species (P. sylvestris, P. uncinata, P. nigra, P. halepensis, and Pinus pinaster) from 21 locations in the province of Teruel, in the east of the Iberian Peninsula, at an average altitude of 1,600 metres.

The results, published in the ‘International Journal of Biometeorology’, made it possible to evaluate droughts from the last three centuries; they reveal that the twelve months leading up to July 2012 were the driest over the entire period studied. “We have been able to successfully identify seven especially dry periods and five wet periods since the end of the 17th century,” says Ernesto Tejedor to Sinc, the main author of the study.

The driest periods

According to the researchers, in addition to these periods there have been 36 extremely dry years and 28 very wet years since the end of the 17th century. “Some of these dry years, such as 1725, 1741, 1803 and 1879, are also identified in other drought reconstructions in Romania and Turkey, thus demonstrating the larger-scale coherence of the extreme deviations and their relationship with increasingly global atmospheric processes,” adds Tejedor.

Many of these extreme events are associated with catastrophic historical and cultural changes from the last three centuries. In fact, 1725 is known as ‘The year without a harvest’ in Monegros. These events are reflected in historical documents as the ‘pro-pluvia’ rogations, “since the intense droughts led to bad harvests with serious consequences for society,” comments Tejedor.

The reconstruction of droughts using dendrochronology does not make it possible to directly predict extreme future events, although these reconstructions are indeed used to validate future climate change models. “What we are seeing from the 20th century, and what we have seen so far in the 21st, is an increase in the recurrence of extreme phenomena, including both wet and dry years,” stresses the researcher to Sinc.

For the expert, predictions for precipitation variability and trends are not yet reliable like those for temperature, as other factors which are still being studied also play a role.

Source: sciencedaily.com

Clean air takes centre stage at Sarajevo Film Festival

25.08.2016

Second annual Enviro Day sees the UN Environment Programme and Sarajevo Film Festival join forces to raise awareness of the importance of clean air in Bosnia and Herzegovina – home to some of Europe’s most polluted cities.

Poor air quality is responsible for 44,000 years of life being lost in Bosnia and Herzegovina every year, according to the European Environment Agency. It costs the country $7.23 billion, or 21.5 per cent of national GDP annually, says the World Health Organization (WHO).

“Air pollution is an invisible killer and a hidden limiting factor to the GDP growth of Bosnia and Herzegovina,” said UN Environment Regional Director for Europe Jan Dusik.

“Yet solutions stemming from district heating, public transport systems and energy efficiency in general are easily available and can boost the local economy while improving the quality of life of Bosnians. This partnership with the Sarajevo Film Festival is vital in spreading this message among the general public and local population,” he said.

The Enviro Day held at the Sarajevo Film Festival will see experts from UN Environment, WHO and the Federal Hydrometeorological Institute present the latest scientific knowledge on Sarajevo’s air quality and on ways to improve it.

Experts will also perform a live demonstration of instruments used to monitor pollution in the city’s air. Finally, Cantonal Prime Minister Elmedin Konakovic will attend a photo exhibition on efforts to measure air pollution throughout history, organized by the European Union Delegation.

Earlier in 2016, UN Environment opened two new air quality monitoring stations in Bosnia and renovated two others. The two new facilities are located in the cities of Gorazde – where the safe threshold for solid particles has been exceeded 19 times since 8 December 2015 – and Prijedor. The two renovated stations are in Ivan Sedlo and Banja Luka.

As a result, accurate data is available in real-time to monitor climate change and announce pollution alerts to the general public, as well as to measure the impact of policy measures to improve air quality.

The latest data from the stations shows that air quality is currently at safe overall levels, yet last winter – when pollution levels are seasonally higher – WHO pointed to the Bosnian cities of Zenica, Banja Luka, Sarajevo and Tuzla as one of the most polluted in Europe.

Two cities in Bosnia and Herzegovina have meanwhile joined the UN Environment-led Global District Energy in Cities Initiative. Banja Luka and Sarajevo form part of the programme, which supports national and municipal governments in their efforts to develop, retrofit or scale up district energy systems – one of the biggest sources of greenhouse gas emissions in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

A project launched by Banja Luka with UN Environment in January will modernize the city’s heating network and could reduce fuel consumption by 27 per cent, leading to a reduction of 20,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide each year and 4.5 million euro in fuel cost savings.

The installation of ‘smart’ solar benches in Sarajevo by UNEP and the United Nations Development Programme at last year’s edition of the film festival is meanwhile already bearing fruits. The six benches – sponsored by the Swedish Embassy – have since used solar energy to charge mobile phones 17,520 times, equivalent to saving 44kg of carbon dioxide emissions.

The main culprits behind Bosnia’s air pollution are emissions from traffic, household stoves and local heating using heavy fuel oil, and high-intensity energy used to power industry.

Last December, heavy smog caused schools in the country’s capital to close early for the winter break. Air pollution has since been identified as one of the two greatest health threats in the pan-European region together with climate change by UN Environment’s sixth Global Environment Outlook report.

Note to editors The Sarajevo Film Festival is one of Europe’s biggest. The theme for this year’s Enviro Day – organized by the festival and UN Environment for the second consecutive year – is ‘U Zdravom Tijelu Zdrav Vazduh,’ or ‘Clean air for a healthy body’.

Over 44,000 years of life are lost in Bosnia and Herzegovina each year due to particulate matter, nitrogen dioxide or ozone pollution, states European Environment Agency data. View the latest data from air quality monitoring stations opened by UN Environment here.

The sixth Global Environment Outlook report for the pan-European region, issued in June 2015, found that outdoor and indoor air pollution are among the two greatest health threats for the region, and analyses policies undertaken to address them.

UN Environment has acted to improve air quality in Bosnia following Resolution 7 of the first United Nations Environment Assembly (UNEA-1), which mandated it to support governments through capacity building, data provision and assessments of progress.

Source: unep.org

Czech Organic Waste Fed Biogas Subsidies Approved by EU Commission

24.08.2016

The Czech Republic’s plans to provide financial support for biogas installations which use at organic waste feedstocks, have been approved by the European Commission as being in-line with EU state aid rules.

The decision that means that anaerobic digestion plants of up to 500 kW, and which are fed by feedstocks consisting of at least 70% animal by-products, barnyard manure or biodegradable waste.

The total budget for the biogas fund will be CZK 522 million (€19 million), with a further CZK 218 million (€8 million) being made available for hydro projects of up to 10 MW.

The two measures are planned to encourage the deployment of renewable energy installations and help the Czech Republic achieve its 2020 renewable energy targets.

The Commission said that it assessed the measures under its 2014 Guidelines on state aid for environmental protection and energy, which allow Member States to support the production of energy from renewable sources under certain conditions.

All biogas installations will receive a fixed premium for the heat they produce.

Both schemes were said to minimise the potential distortion of competition brought about by the public financing by ensuring that these payments do not exceed the minimum level necessary to achieve the schemes’ objectives.

The biogas scheme is also expected to assist the Czech Republic in meeting its targets for restricting the landfilling of biodegradable waste under the Landfill of Waste Directive.

Source: waste-management-world.com

What can we learn from electric-car owners in Norway (more than 100K of them)?

24.08.2016

Thanks to a combination of government incentives and public enthusiasm, electric cars make up a higher portion of new-car sales in Norway than in any other country. As of May, there were more than 105,000 plug-in electric cars registered in the Scandinavian country of 5 million people. That makes Norway possibly the best place in the world to study the habits and preferences of electric-car owners. Some interesting insights were indeed gleaned by a recent survey of around 8,000 vehicle owners in Norway conducted by the country’s Institute of Transport Economics (via Charged EVs).

The survey included responses from 3,111 battery-electric car owners, 2,065 plug-in hybrid owners, and 3,080 owners of non-hybrid gasoline and diesel cars. One of the main findings was that there is significant overlap between some of these categories, with the majority of electric cars being part of two-car households.

Of the electric-car owners surveyed, 71 percent also owned a gasoline or diesel car, 4 percent also owned a plug-in hybrid, and 4 percent owned a second electric car. The electric-car model most in single-car households was the Tesla Model S, which was twice as likely to be the only vehicle in a household.

The survey also found that owners of all-electric cars and plug-in hybrids had different transportation needs, although both were at least somewhat motivated by economic and environmental considerations.

In addition, electric-car owners value the incentives and perks—such as exemption from road tolls—that come with those vehicles, according to the survey. They also tend to be younger, have more children, and own more cars than owners of other vehicle types.

Despite continuing concerns over range anxiety in most markets, the survey also showed that electric-car drivers actually travel slightly more per year than owners of plug-in hybrid, gasoline, or diesel cars.

Electric cars averaged 15,500 kilometers (9,631 miles) per year, compared to 15,200 km (9,444 mi) for plug-in hybrids and 15,000 km (9,320 mi) for gasoline and diesel cars. Those electric-car drivers averaged 20 percent less range than official ratings in the summer, and 30 percent less in the winter. Plug-in hybrids, meanwhile, were found to drive on electric power 55 percent of the time.

Finally, when it comes time to buy a new car, it seems the majority of Norway’s electric-car drivers are happy to stick with plug-ins. Only about 2 percent of plug-in hybrid buyers said they would not buy a plug-in car again, while the attrition rate or all-electric cars was less than 1 percent.

Source: greencarreports.com

Land and sea warmest in 2015: ‘State of the Climate’ report

24.08.2016

climate change — Photo-illustration: Pixabay

Last year was the warmest year on record for land and sea, partly because seasonal El Nino climate patterns prevailed year-round, and melting ice pushed sea levels to the highest ever, a study based on the work of more than 450 scientists worldwide confirmed on beginning of this month.

The State of the Climate report, published by the American Meteorological Society, followed a report by two U.S. government agencies which found 2015’s global average temperature was the hottest ever by the widest margin on record.

The annual study, led by the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration, would likely add fuel to the ongoing debate over global warming policies such as the international agreement forged in Paris in December.

The record heat in 2015 was driven by a combination of long-term global warming and one of the strongest El Nino climate patterns in at least half a century, it said. El Nino brings unusually warm water in the Pacific Ocean after late December and can cause catastrophic weather conditions.

Last year was the first time that Earth was 1.0 degree Centigrade (1.8 degrees Fahrenheit) warmer than preindustrial times, the report said.

“This ‘annual physical’ of Earth’s climate system showed us that 2015’s climate was shaped both by long-term change and an El Niño event,” Thomas Karl, director of the NOAA’s National Centers for Environmental Information, said in a statement.

“Last year’s El Niño was a clear reminder of how short-term events can amplify the relative influence and impacts stemming from longer-term global warming trends.”

El Nino is likely to have an even greater impact on global surface temperatures in 2016, setting the stage for another record-breaking warming year, the report said.

The global sea level rose about 70 mm (2¾ inches) above the 1993 average, it added. Over the past two decades, the level has risen at an average of 3.3 mm (0.15 inch) per year, with the highest gains in the western Pacific and Indian Oceans.

Greenhouse gas concentrations were also the highest on record, exceeding 400 parts per million for the first time at the Mauna Loa observatory in Hawaii, the report said.

Global surface and sea temperatures were the highest since at least the mid-to-late 19th century, when detailed records were first kept.

The report found that Arctic land surface temperatures were the highest in 2007 and 2011 since record keeping began in the early 20th century, reducing sea ice and affecting marine animals.

Source: reuters.com

Norway and UN Environment Sign New Agreement for Enhanced Cooperation

24.08.2016

UN Environment and the Norwegian Government signed a framework agreement for development cooperation yesterday that lays new ground for future collaboration in development and environmental sustainability.

UN Environment and the Norwegian Government signed a framework agreement for development cooperation last week that lays new ground for future collaboration in development and environmental sustainability. The agreement was signed by the head of UN Environment, Erik Solheim, and Norway’s Ambassador to Kenya, Victor Conrad Rønneberg.

Solheim said, “This is another example of what has long been an excellent and fruitful relationship between Norway and UN Environment. We at UN Environment look forward to continuing to work together with Norway to achieve our many common goals in environment and development.”

Ambassador Rønneberg said, “This new framework agreement enables a more holistic and efficient partnership between UNEP and Norway, and I hope that the agreement will contribute to enhancing our long-standing collaboration.”

Source: unep.org

Despite the Current Decline, Oil Market on the Path to Rebalancing

24.08.2016

“Higher oil demand is expected in the 3rd and 4th Quarters”, HE Dr Mohammed Bin Saleh Al-Sada, Qatar’s Minister of Energy and Industry and current OPEC President said, expressing positive sentiments in a brief released from OPEC.

He added that, since February of this year, the oil price had experienced a steady improvement following a decline in crude oil production, supply outages and a decrease in oil inventories, while the global demand for oil improved in that period.

Dr Al-Sada said that the recent decline observed in oil prices and the current market volatility is only temporary. These are more of an outcome resulting from weaker refinery margins, inventory overhang – particularly of product stocks, timing of Brexit and its impact on the financial futures markets, including that of crude oil.

The Minister said, the economies of major oil consuming countries are expected to improve which in turn would augment oil demand in the coming quarters, especially in preparation for the approaching winter season in the Northern Hemisphere. This expectation of higher crude oil demand in 3rd and 4th Quarters of 2016, coupled with decrease in availability is leading the analysts to conclude that the current bear market is only temporary and oil price would increase during later part of 2016.

He reminded that investment is needed not only to meet the growth in demand but also to stem the natural decline of oil production from operating wells. He alluded to the expected decline in the oil supply vis-à-vis the demand and tightening of the markets in the period ahead, due to the unprecedented drop in capital expenditure in the Oil & Gas projects across the globe during 2015 and 2016 leading to curtailment of investments which were scheduled to be undertaken over the next four years.

OPEC continues to monitor developments closely, and is in constant deliberations with all member states on ways and means to help restore stability and order to the oil market. An informal meeting of OPEC member countries is scheduled to take place on the sidelines of the 15th International Energy Forum which will take place in Algeria from 26 to 28 September 2016.

Source: opec.org

French emissions report omits Renault discrepancy

23.08.2016

A French government report published last month omitted significant details about Renault cars emitting nitrogen oxides at levels 9 to 11 times higher than EU limits. “The report was ultimately written by the state and they decided what would remain confidential,” Charlotte Lepitre, of France Nature Environment who sat on the commission, told the Financial times.

Renault denied using software to cheat emissions testing.

Source: euobserver.com

Helping Kenya introduce county-level energy planning based on renewable resources

23.08.2016

Participants from 33 counties attended a training course on sustainable energy, organized by the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) at the Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology in the capital of Kenya, Nairobi.

The five-day course was supported by the Kenya Council of County Governors. It demonstrates the shift in energy delivery responsibility from the national Government to counties as stipulated under the new constitution.

“Taking into consideration the urgent need to build institutional capacity of the counties, UNIDO introduced this course in order to develop sustainable energy plans and oversee their subsequent implementation,” said Jossy Thomas, who manages the project at UNIDO.

Speaking at the opening ceremony, Governor Mandago, who heads the Infrastructure and Energy Committee at the Council of Governors, highlighted Kenya’s enormous renewable energy potential, saying that locally available renewable energy resources can bring down the cost of modern energy services in rural areas. In addition, this would also contribute to the efforts of mitigating global warning, he said.

The training course introduced three main components of renewable energy planning at county level.

The first one is the current usage of energy within the county, the nature of the users, the existing sources, such as fossil fuels and unsustainable biomass, and also the utilization technologies available. The second component relates to available local renewable energy sources and the possible conversion technologies and programmes county planners can identify, as well as potential renewable energy projects for specific counties. Lastly, the scope and rank of potential projects.

“At the heart of such planning are four clear benefits that each county stands to gain from renewable energy. They include increased household access to clean and affordable energy and services; greater business competiveness; improved county economics; and concrete environmental benefits,” said Thomas.

This training course was organized under a UNIDO project funded by the Global Environment Facility (GEF), titled “Sustainable conversion of waste to clean energy for greenhouse gas emissions reduction in Kenya” and finished on 12^th August.

Source: unido.org

Trees are saving more than 850 human lives a year

23.08.2016

Šuma, Drveće — Foto-ilustracija: Pixabay

U.S. Forest Service scientists and collaborators calculated in a study recently published in Environmental Pollution, that trees, by removing air pollution, are saving more than 850 human lives and preventing 670,000 incidents of acute respiratory symptoms a year. This is the first broad-scale estimate within the United States.

NRS writes in their press release: “While trees’ pollution removal equated to an average air quality improvement of less than 1 percent, the impacts of that improvement are substantial. Researchers valued the human health effects of the reduced air pollution at nearly $7 billion every year in a study published recently in the journal Environmental Pollution.

The study by Dave Nowak and Eric Greenfield of the U.S. Forest Service’s Northern Research Station and Satoshi Hirabayashi and Allison Bodine of the Davey Institute is unique in that it directly links the removal of air pollution with improved human health effects and associated health values. The scientists found that pollution removal is substantially higher in rural areas than urban areas, however the effects on human health are substantially greater in urban areas than rural areas.”

Source: journals.elsevier.com

UNESCO seeks to protect natural wonders in the high seas

22.08.2016

UNESCO is proposing adding sites in the high seas to the World Heritage List. These natural wonders are in international waters. Heritage status could help protect them against pollution and overfishing.

Many people might think there is nothing down there in the oceans but rocks, darkness and a lot of water. In fact you find a whole new world, full of life – stretching as far as the eye can reach.

Most of these unique places, though, cannot be protected, because they belong to what is known as the “high seas”.

“Half of our planet is beyond national jurisdiction,” Fanny Douvere, coordinator of the World Heritage Marine Programme, told DW. “It’s ocean, and belongs to nobody. So it is very much the wild west: Everybody can go there and extract resources.”

Douvere says that some two thirds of these amazing places so far off in the oceans are already suffering from unsustainable fishing.

UNESCO’s World Heritage Centre wants to change that – by starting to inscribe those spots on the World Heritage List. That would bring international recognition of their protection status.

Up to now, adding sites in the high seas is not possible, as countries themselves have to apply for one of their national sites to be added to the list.

“Mind-blowing”

In a report launched this week, UNESCO’s World Heritage Centre and the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) propose five sites that they think are definitely worthy of World Heritage status. Some of them were discovered just a few years ago.

“These places are just absolutely phenomenal, they are the Grand Canyons of the high seas,” Douvere enthused. “They include some of our biggest volcanoes and some of our most fantastic wildlife gathering points – it is mind-blowing.”

Douvere can tell, because she was lucky enough to see one of these places herself: the Sargasso Sea around the islands of Bermuda. A marine biologist, she went there with a submersible – down to a depth of 200 meters – deeper than any scuba diver can go.

Still, many places on the list are even deeper down in the ocean, down to 5,000 meters.

“It is an entirely different kind of life,” Douvere says. “Some of these things are not even driven by the light of the sun.” Yet even in those remote locations, there is lots of life.

The five spots UNESCO and IUCN experts say stand out from many other wonders in the ocean are two places in the Atlantic Ocean, two in the Pacific and another one in the Indian Ocean.

They include a sunken coral island, floating underwater rain forests, undersea volcanoes and a favorite meeting point for Great White sharks.

“It makes no sense to not include these places on the World Heritage List, because they are so evidently part of our human heritage,” Douvere says, adding that our children and granddchildren should be able to experience them in the same way as we are doing today.

he UNESCO World Heritage Program was created in 1972. Today, it lists 1052 sites, 203 of them natural, such as the Great Barrier Reef in Australia, the Galapagos islands and the Wadden Sea in Germany.

Adding sites in the high seas, though, is “an idea whose time has come,” UNESCO says.

The status of a World Heritage Site would be “the best mechanism to protect these unique places,” in Douvere’s view, as nearly every country in the world has ratified the World Heritage Convention.

What next?

The report published jointly by UNESCO and IUCN comes to the conclusion that adding high sea sites to the World Heritage List would be possible and “does not require any change in the definitions of natural and cultural heritage.”

What is still unclear, though, is the procedure for the inscription and later protection of such areas. The report suggests three legal options: a ‘bold’ interpretation of the 1972 World Heritage Convention, an amendment outside the terms of this convention or the negotiation of an optional protocol.

“It is now up to the World Heritage members, that is the groups of countries, to come up with ideas on how it can be done,” Douvere told DW.

The first step, though, has already been taken. The experts have taken a look at the other half of the planet not covered by the World Heritage Program as yet, to assess what is out there.

“We want to connect these far-off places where people think there is nothing there with places that people do cherish, like the Serengeti in Africa and the Great Wall of China,” Douvere says. “Everybody finds it common sense to protect those places.” And that is what UNESCO would also like people to think when it comes to floating rainforests deep down in the ocean.

Source: dw.com

1...382383384...405 Page 383 of 405

Newsletter

Calendar of events

2025 May

Events for 31 May

Events for 1 June

Events for 2 June

Events for 3 June

Events for 4 June

Events for 5 June

Events for 6 June

Events for 7 June

Events for 8 June

Events for 9 June

Events for 10 June

Events for 11 June

Events for 12 June

Events for 13 June

Events for 14 June

Events for 15 June

Events for 16 June

Events for 17 June

Events for 18 June

Events for 19 June

Events for 20 June

Events for 21 June

Events for 22 June

Events for 23 June

Events for 24 June

Events for 25 June

Events for 26 June

Events for 27 June

Events for 28 June

Events for 29 June

WRITE US