The Environment Chronicle

An ExxonMobil pipeline that runs under the Yellowstone River near Billings in south-central Montana ruptured and dumped between 31,500 and 42,000 gallons of crude oil into the waterway, prompting temporary evacuations along the river on 2 July 2011.

The German Bundestag, approved the government's historic phase-out of nuclear energy on 30 June 2011, four months after the disaster at the Fukushima nuclear plant in Japan intensified Germans' opposition to nuclear energy. The governing center-right coalition of the Christian Democratic Union and the Free Democrats convinced the opposition Social Democrats and Greens to vote for the bill, giving it a wide majority of 513 "yes" votes and 79 "no" votes. Eight lawmakers abstained. Only the Left party voted against the bill, arguing for an even faster timeline. The bill gradually turns off Germany's nuclear power plants, and immediately shuts down the eight oldest operating plants. The last plant would shut down in 2022.

On 27 June 2011 the UNESCO declared the Hamburg Wadden Sea National Park a World Natural Heritage Site. The Hamburg Wadden Sea National Park is part of the much larger Wadden Sea National Park, which extends into the German states of Lower Saxony and Schleswig-Holstein, as well as the Netherlands. Those parts of the park were awarded heritage status in 2009.

A raging forest fire threatened the Los Alamos nuclear laboratory in New Mexico on 27 July 2011 and led to the evacuation of thousands of nearby residents. The fire started in Santa Fe national forest on Sunday and has so far burnt 200 sq km (78 sq miles).

The grace period for application of PFOS-based fire extinguishing foams ends on 27 June 2011. PFOS, or perfluorooctanesulfonic acid, is an extremely persistent chemical. This acid accumulates in organisms and is toxic. The chemical can be traced in every ecosystem, even in remote regions such as the Arctic and the animals that inhabit it. The EU ban on the use of PFOS in fire extinguishing agents takes effect on 28 June 2011, ending the grace period that started throughout the EU in 2006. In the meantime the signatory states to the Stockholm Convention have taken it up on the POPs (Persistent Organic Pollutants) List and thus signaled its phase-out worldwide.

In a vote on 26 June 2011, residents of the German North Sea archipelago of Helgoland voted against a land reclamation plan that would have reunited the main island with a smaller neighboring island. Island inhabitants voted by a majority of 54.7 percent against the project aimed at boosting tourism, while 45.3 percent supported it.

On 24 June 2011 the Conference of the Parties to the Rotterdam Convention, meeting in Geneva, decided to list endosulfan, alchlor and aldicarb under annex III to the Convention.

On 23 June 2011 a new analysis of the global power plant market launched by Greenpeace International in Amsterdam. The study shows that since the 1990s, installations of wind and solar grew faster than any other power plant technology. In addition, renewable energy expanded rapidly, to reach its biggest market share in 2010 and providing enough capacity to supply electricity to the equivalent of one third of Europe. The Silent Energy Revolution report shows that between 2000 and 2010, 26% of all new power plants worldwide were renewables – mainly wind – and 42% gas power plants. So, two-thirds of all new power plants installed globally are gas power plants and renewables, with close to one-third as coal. Nuclear remains irrelevant on a global scale with just 2% of the global market share.

On 25 June 2011 the World Heritage Committee inscribed the Ancient Beech Forests of Germany as an extension to the World Heritage site of Primeval Beech Forests of the Carpathians (Slovakia, Ukraine) on UNESCO’s World Heritage List. The Ancient Beech Forests of Germany, represent examples of on-going post-glacial biological and ecological evolution of terrestrial ecosystems and are indispensable to understanding the spread of the Fagus beech in the Northern Hemisphere across a variety of environments. The new inscription represents the addition of five forests totaling 4,391 hectares that are added to the 29,278 hectares of Slovakian and Ukranian beech forests inscribed on the World Heritage List in 2007. The tri-national property is now to be known as the Primeval Beech Forests of the Carpathians and the Ancient Beech Forests of Germany (Slovakia, Ukraine, Germany).

On 23 June 2011 twelve nations and the European Union added their signatures to a United Nations treaty on the equitable sharing of the planet’s genetic resources in a ceremony at UN Headquarters. Representatives from Austria, Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Sweden, United Kingdom and the European Union signed the Nagoya Protocol on Access and Benefit Sharing, which calls for “fair and equitable sharing” of the utilization of genetic resources. The protocol, adopted 2010 in Nagoya, Japan, will enter into force 90 days after the fiftieth country ratifies it.

The Environment Council adopted Council conclusions on biodiversity and water strategy, on 21 June 2011 in Luxembourg.

On 17 June 2011 the head of Greenpeace International and another activist were arrested after they climbed the Leiv Eirikson oil rig off Greenland's west coast in an attempt to stop the Scottish oil company Cairn Energy from deepwater drilling in Arctic waters. Before leaving the Esperanza for the race to the Leiv Eiriksson he said:“For me this is one of the defining environmental battles of our age, it’s a fight for sanity against the madness of a mindset that sees the melting of the Arctic sea ice as a good thing. As the ice retreats the oil companies want to send the rigs in and drill for the fossil fuels that got us into this mess in the first place. We have to stop them."

The regal Arabian Oryx (Oryx leucoryx), which was hunted to near extinction, is now facing a more secure future according to the latest update of the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species™. Its wild population now stands at 1,000 individuals. The Arabian Oryx, a species of antelope found only on the Arabian Peninsula, is locally known as Al Maha. It is believed the last wild individual was shot in 1972. This year, thanks to successful captive breeding and re-introduction efforts, the oryx has finally qualified for a move from the Endangered category to Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List—the first time that a species that was once Extinct in the Wild has improved by three categories.

Brussels, 16 June - The Commission is asking Germany to comply with two pieces of EU environmental legislation. Despite earlier warnings, Germany has failed to inform the Commission about the transposition of legislation on water quality standards, which should have been in place by 13 July 2010, and about a strategy to protect its seas, which should have been in place by 15 July 2010. On the recommendation of Environment Commissioner Janez Potočnik, the Commission has decided to send Germany a reasoned opinion, giving it two months to respond. If Germany fails to comply, the Commission may refer the cases to the EU Court of Justice and ask the Court to impose financial sanctions already at this stage, without having to return to the court for a second ruling.

The moratorium on nuclear power announced by Chancellor Angela Merkel ended on 15 June 2011.

The report – The Integrated Assessment of Black Carbon and Tropospheric Ozone was released on 14 June 2011 in Bonn, Germany during a meeting of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). UNEP, in conjunction with WMO, undertook an assessment of the impacts of these so-called Short-Lived Climate Forcers (SLCFs) on the earth’s climate and on health and vegetation/crop damage across the world.

On 10 Juni 2011 the Aquarius/SAC-D spacecraft launched from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California, kicking off a mission to measure ocean surface salinity to understand how the ocean interacts with the atmosphere to influence climate. The joint U.S./Argentinian Aquarius/Satélite de Aplicaciones Científicas (SAC)-D mission will map the salinity—the concentration of dissolved salt—at the ocean surface, information critical to improving our understanding of two major components of Earth's climate system: the water cycle and ocean circulation. By measuring ocean salinity from space, Aquarius will provide new insights into how the massive natural exchange of freshwater between the ocean, atmosphere and sea ice influences ocean circulation, weather and climate.

On 8 June 2011 the Swiss Parliament voted in favor of step-by-step plan to shut down the country's five nuclear reactors by 2034.

On 6 June 2011 the Federal Environment Ministry in Germany celebrated its 25 anniversary in Berlin.

The European REACH Regulation obliges companies to register substances of very high concern with the European Chemicals Agency starting 1 June 2011. President Jochen Flasbarth of the Federal Environment Agency (UBA) is calling upon companies to carry out an exacting review of their product range. Anyone seeking to avoid contact with substances of very high concern can make use of his right to information. REACH places the onus of providing information on traders upon a request from concerned citizens as to whether a certain product contains such substances. Businesses or producers must answer the enquiry within 45 days’ time. The obligation to provide information does not require purchase of any given product.

On 1 June 2011 the Brazilian Institute of Environment and Renewable Natural Resources decided to allow construction of the Belo Monte plant on the Xingu River in the Brazil state of para.

On 31 May 2011 a new campaign to stop waste practised by the European Union's fishing fleet was launched in Brüssel. The EU Fisheries Commissioner Maria Damanaki backs the campaign Fish Fight. Fish Fight has been launched in the United Kingdom in October 2010 by journalist Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall, to raise awareness about the issue of sustainable fishing and how to stop discarding of fish. The initiative has been supported by more than 675.000 people so far and "Hugh's Fish Fight" won the British Academy of Film and Television Arts 2011 award for best feature film.

On 30 May 2011, the German Government announced plans to completely phase out nuclear energy by 2022. In March, Merkel announced a temporary shutdown of seven older nuclear plants. The new timeline would keep those seven plants offline permanently plus Krümmel reactor. Six more would be shut down in 2021, and three would stay on until 2022 to ensure no disruption to power supply.

On 25 May 2011 Swiss Federal Council decided to phase out nuclear power by 2034 after the Japan disaster shook public confidence in the industry, but said it will not shut any existing power plants prematurely. The Federal Council agreed to build no more nuclear reactors once the current power plants reach the end of their lifespan, with the oldest set to come offline in 2019, while the newest would remain in operation until 2034.

The operator of the troubled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power complex said on 24 May 2011 that meltdowns are assumed to have occurred in the cores of the Nos. 2 and 3 reactors in addition to the meltdown already confirmed at the No. 1 reactor, but stressed that it believes the melted fuel is being kept cool at the bottom of the pressure vessels.

On May 25th, the Project “Canal de Castilla”, designed and managed by Fundación Global Nature Spain, received the prestigious award “Best of the Best LIFE Projects in Europe”. The project “Canal de Castilla” was finished in 2010 and aimed at recovering and preserving more than 30 small wetlands that surround this important water canal built in the 18th century. Most of these wetlands are declared Nature 2000 site but in spite of that proper protection is still lacking. The restoration program is a part of a holistic wetlands conservation action plan that Fundación Global Nature is implementing in the North of Spain (Castile). The LIFE Program is the most important European financial instrument and provides funding to hundreds of nature conservation activities throughout the whole European Union.

The European Union (EU) funded project ECO2 to evaluate the potential impact of sub-seabed carbon dioxide (CO2) leakage from storage sites on marine ecosystems has now been launched. 27 project partners from nine nations will study existing sub-seabed storage sites in the Norwegian North Sea and the Barents Sea as well as natural seeps at the seafloor to assess the safety of storage sites and the impact of potential CO2 leakage on the marine ecosystem. The project is coordinated at Kiel, Germany by the Leibniz Institute for Marine Sciences (IFM-GEOMAR). The EU has allocated €10.5 Mio. to the ECO2 project to evaluate the likelihood of leakage, the possible impacts on marine ecosystems, and the potential economic and legal consequences of leakage from sub-seabed storage sites.

The Stockholm Memorandum was signed by Nobel Laureates on May 18th 2011 and handed over in person to the UN High-level Panel on Global Sustainability, which is preparing the 2012 UN Conference on Sustainable Development in Rio de Janeiro (Rio +20). The Stockholm Memorandum concludes that the planet has entered a new geological age, the Anthropocene. It recommends a suite of urgent and far-reaching actions for decision makers and societies to become active stewards of the planet for future generations.

The Federal cabinet adopted the Government Programme for Electric Mobility on 18 May 2011. The government programme builds on many recommendations for action given in the Second Report by the National Platform for Electric Mobility, which was submitted to the Federal government on 16 May 2011.

The European Commission is asking the public how best to reduce the use of plastic carrier bags. It will ask if charging and taxation would be effective, or if other options such as an EU-level ban on plastic carrier bags would be better. Opinions will also be sought on increasing the visibility of biodegradable packaging products, and boosting the biodegradability requirements for packaging.

On 16 May 2011 the National platform for electric mobility submitted a second report to Federal Government containing an analysis of the potential of electromobility and strategies to achieve the government’s goal of having one million electric cars on German roads by 2020.

On 13 March 2011, after a flight lasting 12 hours 59 minutes, using no fuel and propelled by solar energy alone, Solar Impulse HB-SIA landed safely in Brussels at 21h39 (UTC +2). The Solar Impulse took off at 08h40 from Payerne aerodrome in Switzerland and then crossed the Alsace toward Nancy and Metz, before over-flying the Grand-Duchy of Luxemburg and finally arriving in Belgium to land on Runway 02 at Brussels Airport (Zaventem).

On 13 May 2011, the operator of the Hamaoka nuclear power plant in Japan began the process of shutting down its reactors as part of an agreement with the government to temporarily suspend operations until it strengthens tsunami protections. Seismologists have long warned that a major quake is overdue in the Tokai region southwest of Tokyo where the Hamaoka plant is located. It is only 200 kilometres from the capital and megacity of Tokyo.

In a judgment issued today (12 May 2011), the European Court of Justice (ECJ) has given environmental protection organisations wider access to justice. According to the ruling, the German Law on supplementary provisions governing actions in environmental matters under Directive 2003/35/EC (Umwelt-Rechtsbehelfsgesetz - UmwRG) of December 2006, which entitles recognized environmental protection organisations to a right of access to the courts, does not fully implement the provisions of European law. Germany now has to adapt the UmwRG accordingly. Until the amendment enters into force, recognized environmental protection organisations can directly invoke European law to bring an action before the courts.

On 9 May 2011, the Aysén Environmental Review Commission in Chile approved a controversial project to construct five hydropower dams in Patagonia. The HidroAysen project would see the construction of five hydroelectric power stations, two along the Baker River and three on the Pascua River, in an area some 1,600 kilometers (1,000 miles south of Santiago). A coalition called "Chilean Patagonia Without Dams" contends the project is unnecessary and would endanger pristine forests in a region that includes widely admired glaciers and lakes. The opponents claim that the project would disfigure wilderness areas of Patagonia, with the flooding of some 5,900 hectares.

On 8 May 2011 the Greenland Government approved an application by Scottish oil company Cairn Energy Plc to drill up to seven oil exploration wells off West Greenland in 2011, of which Cairn will drill four wells. The drilling season for the area off Disko-Nuussuaq will end on the 1st of October 2011, while the southern region west of Nuuk the drilling season will last until the 1st of December 2011. Greenpeace International Oil campaigner Ben Ayliffe said:“By approving these permits, Greenland’s government has allowed Cairn Energy to drill for oil further north, at greater depths and deeper into the harsh winter months than ever before. "

On 7 May 2011, the Niedersachsen Wadden Sea National Park celebrated its 25 anniversary in Cuxhaven. In order to protect the natural landscape on Niedersachsen's North Sea coast, the area was made a conservation area in 1986. Since 2009, the Niedersachsen Wadden Sea National Park is part of the UNESCO World Natural Heritage Wadden Sea.

On 5 May 2011, the Naturschutzbund Deutschland (NABU) launched, in co-operation with national partners, the first "Fishing for Litter" project in Germany. The aim of the project is to clear the sea from litter, by bringing ashore the litter that is gathered in the fishermen's nets as part of fishing activities. Subsequently the litter was disposed of on land.

On 4 May 2011, the German Research Centre for Geosciences GFZ has for the first time stored carbon dioxide (CO2) from a power plant underground. In a trial experiment at the test facility in Ketzin in Brandenburg, the pilot site for the scientific study of geological storage of the greenhouse gas CO2, 2,000 tons of industrially separated CO2 from the pilot plant Schwarze Pumpe will be injected over the course of about one month. The pilot site Ketzin managed by GFZ is the first European research centre that studies the geological storage of CO2 in an onshore saline aquifer.