Snow covers photovoltaic panels at a solar park in Meuro, northeastern Germany. In spite of the snow layer, the plant situated on an old lignite mine is producing energy. Picture: BERND SETTNIK/AFP/Getty Images (via Pictures of the day: 22 February 2013 - Telegraph)
Posts tagged germany.
The U.S. vs. Germany on solar energy
Hilarious.
Also, Media Matters is fantastic…
Fox News says: The future for solar power in the U.S. is “dim” because we don’t get as much sunlight as Germany.
Reality: The U.S. gets far more sunlight than Germany. Unfortunately our solar policies don’t harness that energy nearly as well as they do.
Nele Azevedo’s ice people, via Flavorwire
Brazilian artist Nele Azevedo’s ice people: 1,000 small sitting figures made from ice. The Berlin installation, intended to draw attention to climate change in the Arctic, lasted until his last figure melted in the heat of the day.
These six little piggies are ridicutelous.
When VICE Germany sent us some footage of the Lehnitz animal asylum, we weren’t sure how cute it was going to be. Little did we know, boar piglets live there! These little rascals were found in the woods and love to eat, sleep, play, and hang out with their surrogate mom, who’s a dog. We’re pleased to present Spots, Nesti, Diva, Borstel, Ernie, and Bert!
(via vicemag)
During WW-II, battling Russian and German troops agreed to a temporary truce to join forces and kill packs of wild Wolves. The wolves, numbering in the hundreds, were attacking the troops on the front lines because they had no food. Troops used poison, machine guns, and grenades to kill the wolves. Once the wolves were dealt with, the troops went back to killing each other. The aristocrats!
Climate Change Adaptation in Germany, Poland, and the Baltic States
This short movie features different perceptions, approaches, and solutions in regard to climate change adaptation in Germany, Poland, and the Baltic States. The footage was recorded during a workshop series in Szczecin, Gdansk, Klaipeda, and Riga from 24 to 28 October 2011. Scientists and local stakeholders from Germany, Poland, Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia comment on climate change and climate adaptation. Local problems and solutions in the different countries are described, and the advantages of an international exchange of experience are emphasized.
The workshops were organized by Ecologic Institute, Berlin, with the support of the Helmholtz Center Geesthacht. The effort was a cooperation of the RADOST project (Regional Adaptation Strategies for the German Baltic Sea Coast) with BALTADAPT and Circum Mare Balticum (Regional availability of climate knowledge in the Baltic Sea region).
Monsanto's Roundup Found in People's Urine ›
Looks interesting, though it could be lefty anti-Monsanto panic - stuff I try to avoid posting here. I do not know if glyphosate is all that dangerous, nor what levels would be OK to consume. Wikipedia has a clear article on glyphosate, which points to an article that states impacts on humans is not known. The Wiki entry has a short lawsuit section covering Monsanto’s key ingredient herbicide, but again these are related to regulation rather than impacts.
A recent study conducted by a German university found very high concentrations of Glyphosate, a carcinogenic chemical found in herbicides like Monsanto’s Roundup, in all urine samples tested. The amount of glyphosate found in the urine was staggering, with each sample containing concentrations at 5 to 20-fold the limit established for drinking water. This is just one more piece of evidence that herbicides are, at the very least, being sprayed out of control.
Zoos: the environmentalist’s conundrum. On the one hand, they’re great for educating the public and the animals are treated OK. And from a conservation standpoint, they give species a last chance at survival. The Hellabrunn Zoo seems particularly humane. On the other hand, there’s just no way to shake the gut feeling that zoos are rotten to the core. Here’s an activist argument in three pages. It argues that zoos are a Victorian concept modified to seem like conservation/educations centers. The American Veterinary Medical Association (which has a financial interest in zoo operations) argued that zoos and aquariums are in fact ethical.
A herd of elephants say goodbye to Lola the dead elephant calf at Hellabrunn Zooin Munich, Germany. A baby elephant who tragically died at a German zoo was brought back to her herd so they could say goodbye. Lola, a three month old elephant, died on 21 January during a CT scan ahead of an operation to fix a serious heart defect. Lola’s body was brought back to the herd so that her mother, Panang (22), could say farewell. Afterwards the herd gently nuzzled the lifeless body with their trunks and took their leave of her.
Picture: Animal Press / Barcroft Media (via Pictures of the day: 24 January 2012 - Telegraph)
I’m headed to Copenhagen for a month starting tomorrow. Suggestions? I’ve been there a bunch before, now I’m looking for interesting and obscure lil’ nooks. I’ve seen Christiania, Nyhavn, the palace, Strøget, Tivoli, etc… Do you have any tips? Food? Art? Museums? Sights? People?
Meanwhile in Poland. Someone used a robo-helicopter to film riots that broke out during Poland’s Independence Day November 11. The riots are not related to OWS or income inequality. It’s two groups, right and left, fighting against each other for socio-political reasons.
Steam billows from the cooling towers of Vattenfall’s Jaenschwalde brown coal power station on a lake near Cottbus, eastern Germany in 2009.
Photograph by Pawel Kopczynski.
(via minusmanhattan)
Update: The Kyoto Protocol is set to expire in 2012. Will countries sign again at the COP17?
Shakes Magic 8-Ball “Outlook not so good.” In a devastating policy outlook update, Derek Spence of the IISD, offers perspective on the upcoming COP17, which will be held this December in Durban, South Africa.
Recall that recent climate commitments achieved at the COP15 in Copenhagen, and the COP16 in Cancun were discussed just a few weeks ago at the Bonn Climate Conference held in Germany (a summary of the Bonn conference is here).
The COP17 is seen as the end point for the Kyoto Protocol, signed in 1997 by 191 of the world’s 193 countries. Recall the US refused to sign Kyoto.
Spence writes that countries are more than reluctant to re-up on Kyoto. This is interesting, since many countries have agreed to dedicate billions to various emissions reduction and adaptation projects that were finalized at the previous COP15 and COP16. Are world leaders experiencing a sort of moral hazard, or false sense of security as a result? In other words, since these policies are in place, perhaps leaders do not see the need to re-up on Kyoto. (Note: A summary of the commitments are in the article.)
Still, Spence is clear that his pessimism lies in the suspicion that developed countries are not serious about their emissions reductions commitments:
Prospects for agreement in Durban: Poor.
Can Durban Seal a Comprehensive New Deal?
Even an ambitious second commitment period under Kyoto will not deliver the type of emissions reductions needed to keep the lid on climate change. Some industrialized countries have been vocal in calling for a comprehensive global agreement that includes all major emitters. Only an ambitious treaty covering all key players could possibly limit global temperature rise to 2°C or less.
The concern on the part of developing countries is that such a treaty could blur the lines between the obligations of developed and developing countries. Under Kyoto, developed countries undertook to take the lead in combating climate change. This is a condition the South wants honored, and explains why they continue to press hard for a second commitment period.
Source: IISD Policy Update, “What Can a Deal in Durban Deliver?”
Climate Adaptation
by Michael Cote
I want to punch climate change in the face.
A blog about the interactions between the built environment, people, and nature.
I'm a climate change consultant specializing in climate adaptation, environmental law, and urban planning based in the U.S. In addition to traveling and hiking, I research, publish, and lecture on how cities can adapt to climate change.
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