The Environment Chronicle

A section of the Arctic Ocean seafloor that holds vast stores of frozen methane is showing signs of instability and widespread venting of the powerful greenhouse gas, according to the findings of an international research team led by University of Alaska Fairbanks scientists Natalia Shakhova and Igor Semiletov. The research results, published in the March 5, 2010 edition of the journal Science, show that the permafrost under the East Siberian Arctic Shelf, long thought to be an impermeable barrier sealing in methane, is perforated and is starting to leak large amounts of methane into the atmosphere. Shakhova's research results show that the East Siberian Arctic Shelf is already a significant methane source, releasing 7 teragrams of methane yearly, which is as much as is emitted from the rest of the ocean. A teragram is equal to about 1.1 million tons.

More than 155,000 tonnes of what is sometimes hazardous electronic waste are exported annually from Germany to non-European destinations, a volume which includes some 50,000 tonnes of PC and television monitors alone. The latter often contain metals as well as flame-retardant bromide compounds such as hazardous polybrominated diphenyl ether (PentaBDE). Even defective appliances are often re-classified as “functional”, then usually shipped to Asia and Africa where they are only rarely recycled ecologically. These are the findings of a new study commissioned by the Federal Environment Agency (UBA), which was presented at CEBIT in Hannover on 4 March 2010. n their one-and-a-half-year-long study experts from the Hamburg Institute for Environmental Strategies (Ökopol) compiled the most solid information as yet on the origin and volume of exported devices. The equipment came from flea markets, second hand shops or were retrieved from junk yards. From there it is often transported via collection points for export, usually by sea. Besides harmless metallic raw materials, WEEE also houses a host of hazardous materials which must be recycled properly to avoid harming human health and the environment. An old computer contains more than 100 different materials, and conventional monitors contain lamps which must also be disposed of professionally.

About one third of the population has voiced problems concerning aircraft noise, according to a representative survey done by the Federal Environment Agency (UBA). Five million people report severe disturbance. The complaints lodged by the population are justified, as also reflected in a new UBA study by Prof. Greiser titled Risikofaktor nächtlicher Fluglärm [ Risk factor night-time aircraft noise]. As concerns cardiovascular diseases, it has been proven that the risk of disease in persons affected by increasing exposure to aircraft noise is higher than in those not exposed at all. For psychiatric disorders there is one consistent result: the incidence of depressive disorders in females is significantly higher.

The Helmholtz Association’s network of Regional Climate Offices has produced a regional climate atlas for Germany showing the possible effects of climate change at the regional level. The climate scenarios for Germany’s federal states are now available to the public for online reference. The Regional Climate Atlas is based on climate calculations resulting from dynamic regional climate calculation models. Climate models used so far include: COSMO-CLM, the regional climate model shared by over 30 international research institutes; REMO, the regional climate model of the Max Planck Institute for Meteorology; and the RCAO regional climate model used by the Swedish weather service. The regional climate models are based on scenarios of varying concentrations of greenhouse gas emissions as calculated by the UN’s IPCC climate panel. In its present form, the Climate Atlas draws on a total of 12 different climate calculations. The spatial resolution of the individual climate calculations currently ranges between 50 and 10 km. Figures for Germany’s federal states are based on calculations for the geographical centre of each state. The Helmholtz Association’s network of four Regional Climate Offices pursues questions of climate change at the regional level. The new Climate Service Center will become the Helmholtz Association’s central service network for national climate issues.

The documentary film Planet Plastic was launched on 25 February 2010 in German cinemas. Werner Boote presents an up-close and personal view of the controversial and fascinating material that has found its way into every facet of our daily lives: plastic. He takes us on a journey around the globe, following plastic through its 100 years of “glorious triumph” and showing us what an unexpected impact plastic has on our world.

On 21 February 2010, the German premiere of the documentary film "Oceans" took place in Berlin. In the presence of German Environment Minister Norbert Röttgen, director Jacques Perrin and co-author Francois Sarano numerous celebrity guests experienced the impressive film. "Oceans" was created by French director and actor Jacques Perrin and his colleague Jacques Cluzaud. The film allows viewers to get a perspective of the underwater world that had previously been inaccessible. Directors Perrin and Cluzaud spent four years with a team of divers, engineers, and scientists on a voyage of discovery.

Mankind’s closest living relatives – the world’s apes, monkeys, lemurs and other primates – are on the brink of extinction and in need of urgent conservation measures according to Primates in Peril: The World’s 25 Most Endangered Primates, 2008–2010. The list includes five primate species from Madagascar, six from Africa, 11 from Asia, and three from Central and South America, all of which are the most in need of urgent conservation action. Almost half (48 percent) of the world’s 634 primate species are classified as threatened with extinction on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species™. The main threats are habitat destruction, particularly from the burning and clearing of tropical forests (which results in the release of around 16 percent of the global greenhouse gases causing climate change), the hunting of primates for food, and the illegal wildlife trade.

Germany met its climate protection target under the Kyoto Protocol in 2008. In 2008 greenhouse gas emissions were 22.2 percent lower than in 1990. This corresponds to a reduction of almost 280 million tonnes of greenhouse gases. This detailed data for the year 2008 is included in the National Inventory Report 2010 compiled by the Federal Environment Agency (UBA), which has just been published jointly by the Federal Environment Ministry and UBA. The greatest success in reducing greenhouse gas emissions was achieved in the energy sector. Here the expansion of renewables has had a positive impact. The amount of CO2 released into the atmosphere from energy production was just under 20 million tonnes lower in 2008 than in the previous year. Compared with 1990, the reduction even amounted to 66 million tonnes of CO2. The increase of emissions of private households, as shown in the Inventory, is a statistical effect and can be put down to a decline in fuel oil sales due to the VAT rise in 2007 (pull-forward effect into 2006). Emissions in the other sectors were very close to 2007 levels. The economic crisis, which began in 2008, only had a very limited impact on emissions, but its influence will be much more pronounced in the 2009 statistics.

Tiger numbers have fallen by more than 70 percent in slightly more than a decade in the Greater Mekong, with the region’s five countries containing only 350 tigers, according to a new World Wildlife Fund (WWF) report released on 25 January 2010.

Pollution of the climate owing to waste management activities was at a level of some 38 million tonnes of CO2 equivalents in Germany in 1990. Up until 2006 this burden had lightened to about 18 million tonnes. The overall decline in emissions of climate-damaging gases-- thanks in particular to ending disposal of untreated residential waste- amounts to about 56 million tonnes, which is a volume roughly that of the annual CO2 emissions of 7.7 million cars, or about 20 percent of registered vehicles in Germany. These are the results of a jointly commissioned study titled Klimaschutzpotenziale der Abfallwirtschaft [Climate protection potential of waste industry], which was introduced today by President Peter Kurth of the Bundesverband der Deutschen Entsorgungs-, Wasser- und Rohstoffwirtschaft e.V. (BDE), and President Jochen Flasbarth of the Federal Environment Agency (UBA) in Berlin. The study took stock of climate protection efforts made by the waste management industry since 1990 and points out other potential for further measures in Germany and EU 27 until 2020. By the year 2020 almost ten million additional tonnes of CO2 equivalents can be saved over 1996 levels, particularly by means of increased materials recovery and improved recycling, as well as greater efficiency in the use of residential waste and used wood to produce energy. The study illustrates that the waste industry can contribute roughly 14 percent to the fulfilment of Germany’s CO2 reduction targets to be reached by 2020 if the detailed measures were implemented.

The average specific CO2 emissions in the year 2008 were 153.5 gCO2/km. This is a decrease by 3.3% or 5.2 grams per kilometre from the previous year (158.7 gCO2/km in 2007) which is the largest relative drop in specific emissions since the beginning of the monitoring scheme. Both petrol and diesel vehicles improved by more than 5 grams per kilometre in comparison to the year 2007. Since the year 2000, petrol vehicles improved by 11% while diesel vehicles only by 6%. On the other hand, alternative fuel vehicles (AFV) improved by 34% since year 2000. In 2008 the share of AFV almost doubled since the previous year and AFV are now accounting for 1.3% of new passenger car registrations.

An international research team has compared the hot summers of 2003 and 2010 in detail for the first time and published their findings in Science. The heatwave of 2010 across Eastern Europe and Russia was unprecedented in every respect: Europe has never experienced so large summer temperature anomalies in the last 500 years. The summer of 2010 was extreme. Russia was especially hard hit by the extraordinary heat. Devastating fires caused by the dry conditions covered an area of 1 million hectares, causing crop failures of around 25%; the total damage ran to about USD 15 billion. The 2010 heatwave shattered all the records both in terms of the deviation from the average temperatures and its spatial extent. The temperatures -- depending on the time period considered -- were between 6.7°C and 13.3°C above the average. The heatwave covered around 2 million km2. On average, the summer of 2010 was 0.2°C warmer in the whole of Europe than in 2003. The reason for the heatwaves in both 2003 and 2010 was a large, persistent high-pressure system associated by areas of low pressure in the east and west.

Deforestation in tropical rain forests could have an even greater impact on climate change than has previously been thought. The combined biomass of a large number of small forest fragments left over after habitat fragmentation can be up to 40 per cent less than in a continuous natural forest of the same overall size. This is the conclusion reached by German and Brazilian researchers who used a simulation model on data from the Atlantic Forest, a coastal rain forest in the state of São Paulo, Brazil, around 88 per cent of which has already been cleared. The remaining forest fragments are smaller, so the ratio between area and edge is less favourable. The reason for the reduction in biomass is the higher mortality rate of trees at the edges of forest fragments, according to the results published by researchers from the Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research and the University of São Paulo in Ecological Modelling. This reduces the number of big old trees, which contain a disproportionately high amount of biomass.

The first comprehensive review of the state of Antarctica’s climate and its relationship to the global climate system was published on 1 December 2009 by the Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research (SCAR) in London. The review - Antarctic Climate Change and the Environment – presents the latest evidence from 100 world-leading scientists from 13 countries, the review focuses on the impact and consequences of rapid warming of the Antarctic Peninsula and the Southern Ocean; rapid ice loss in parts of Antarctica and the increase in sea ice around the continent; the impact of climate change on Antarctica’s plants and animals; the unprecedented increase in carbon dioxide levels; the connections between human-induced global change and natural variability; and the extraordinary finding that the ozone hole has shielded most of Antarctica from global warming. Key findings from the review are highlighted in 85 key points.

The world’s diverse regions and ecosystems are close to reaching temperature thresholds – or “tipping points” – that can unleash devastating environmental, social and economic changes, according to a new report by WWF and Allianz. The report ‘Major Tipping Points in the Earth’s Climate System and Consequences for the Insurance Sector’ documents that changes related to global warming are likely to be much more abrupt and unpredictable – and they could create huge social and environmental problems and cost the world hundreds of billions of dollars. The study explores impacts of these "tipping points," including their economic consequences and implications for the insurance sector. It also shows how close the world is to reaching "tipping points" in many regions of the world, or rises in temperature that will tip the scales toward disaster.

Levels of most greenhouse gases continue to increase. In 2008, global concentrations of carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous oxide, which are the main long-lived greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, have reached the highest levels recorded since pre-industrial times. Since 1990, the overall increase in radiative forcing caused by all long-lived greenhouse gases is 26% and the increase was 1.3% from 2007 to 2008. These latest figures, published on 23 November 2009 in the World Meteorological Organization’s (WMO) Greenhouse Gas Bulletin, confirm the continued trend of rising atmospheric burdens of greenhouse gases since 1750.

The calculation of variations in the sea level is relatively simple. It is by far more complicated to then determine the change in the water mass. A team of researchers from the University of Bonn, as well as from the GFZ German Research Centre for Geosciences and the Alfred-Wegener Institute for Polar and Marine Sciences have now, for the first time succeeded in doing this. The researchers were able to observe short-term fluctuations in the spatial distribution of the ocean water masses. In order to determine the ocean volume in a certain region, one only needs to know, in addition to the topography of the seabed, the height of the sea level. For this purpose, researchers have long been resorting to gauging stations and satellite altimetric procedures. The ocean mass depends, however, not only on the volume, but also on the temperature and on the salt content. Water expands when heated. Warm water, thus, weighs less than the same quantity of cold water. For the calculation of the ocean mass it is, therefore, necessary to know the temperature and salt content profiles. However, this is not easy to quantify. For the study different procedures were combined. On the one hand the researchers used data from the German-American satellite mission GRACE where the distances between two satellites are measured exactly to thousandths of millimetres. The larger the ocean mass at a certain point of the Earth, the stronger the gravitational strength. This influences the flight altitude of the satellites and thus the distance from each other. The gravitation and, hence, the mass distribution can be calculated from the change in distance between the two satellites. In addition, the scientists put to use an effect which frequent book readers will have perceived. The ocean floor bends similarly to that of the shelves of an overfilled bookshelf. Thus, stationary GPS-gauging stations on land drop by up to one centimetre and move closer by a few millimetres. The heavier the water, the stronger is this movement. They combined these data with numerical models of the ocean. By comparing the variation in volume and in mass the researchers want to determine changes in the amount of heat stored in the ocean. Therefore, in the near future, the long term changes are to be examined. The results will contribute to improved climatic models.

With increasing species richness, due to more plant introductions than extinctions, plant communities of many European regions are becoming more homogeneous. The same species are occurring more frequently, whereas rare species are becoming extinct. It is not only the biological communities that are becoming increasingly similar, but also the phylogenetic relations between regions. These processes have led to a loss of uniqueness among European floras, scientists from the DAISIE research project have published their findings in the current online edition of the scientific journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the USA (PNAS).

Methane gas emissions could have a larger warming effect on climate than has been previously thought. A recent study has found that the interactions between greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and aerosols in the atmosphere can change the impact of various emissions, and that mitigation policies should take these effects into account.

The European Environment Agency (EEA) has launched the most comprehensive map of noise exposure to date, revealing the extent to which European citizens are exposed to excessive acoustic pollution. This database contains information reported by EU member states and EEA member countries in accordance with the requirements of Directive 2002/49/EC relating to the assessment and management of environmental noise. This database covers the data reported by member states and member countries as of 20th February 2009.

Germany is in a position to save 43 percent of its greenhouse gas emissions by 2020, compared to 1990 levels. This is the outcome of the Policy Scenarios V – towards a structural change; Greenhouse Gas Emissions Scenarios up to 2030 study, which commissioned by UBA to a research consortium associated with the Öko-Institut. By 2030, that figure could reach a nearly 60-percent reduction over 1990.

On 6 October 2009 the Federal Agency for Nature presented the new red list of vertebrates in Germany.

A new report by the Federal Environment Agency (UBA) which accounts for the emissions from renewable energy sources (Emissionsbilanz erneuerbarer Energieträger) concludes that roughly 106 million tonnes of the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide (CO2) were saved through the use of renewable energies in 2007. The report provides an account of renewable energy sources that has been updated in terms of method as well as content.

The Federal Environment Agency provides a new online service, which shows the annual average level of atmospheric particulates (PM10), nitrogen dioxide (NO2), and ozone pollution in Germany. The data in this geographic information system (GIS) provide a quick look at the regional distribution of air pollution in Germany, dating back to 2001. Site visitors can enhance the data on air with other geographical information about cities, rivers, and metropolitan areas, and by focusing on certain characteristics such as peak loads.

The Climate Change Science Compendium is a review of some 400 major scientific contributions to our understanding of Earth Systems and climate that have been released through peer-reviewed literature or from research institutions over the last three years, since the close of research for consideration by the IPCC Fourth Assessment Report.

Based on current reduction targets, the world’s largest companies are on track to reach the scientifically-recommended level of greenhouse gas cuts by 2089 – 39 years too late to avoid dangerous climate change, reveals a research report – The Carbon Chasm – released by the Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP). It shows that the Global 100 are currently on track for an annual reduction of just 1.9% per annum which is below the 3.9% needed in order to cut emissions in developed economies by 80% in 2050. According to the Intergovernmental Panel for Climate Change (IPCC), developed economies must reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 80-95% by 2050 in order to avoid dangerous climate change.

The WWF report The Eastern Himalayas – Where Worlds Collide details discoveries made by scientists from various organizations between 1998 and 2008 in a region reaching across Bhutan and north-east India to the far north of Myanmar as well as Nepal and southern parts of Tibet Autonomus Region (China). Eastern Himalayas- Where Worlds Collide describes more than 350 new species discovered - including 244 plants, 16 amphibians, 16 reptiles, 14 fish, 2 birds, 2 mammals and at least 60 new invertebrates.

A study released by the environmental organization World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) on 3 August 2009 says that people living in Germany use 159,5 billion cubic meters of water each year. However, not quite half of that, about 79.5 billion cubic meters, is water that is not consumed directly, but "virtually", i.e. in the production of agricultural and industrial goods the country imports. While direct consumption of water has decreased significantly to 124 liters per person per day in Germany, the indirect consumption now stands at around 5.288 liters per person per day, according to the study. That's the amount one person would use to take 25 baths in a single day.

Arctic sea ice thinned dramatically between the winters of 2004 and 2008, with thin seasonal ice replacing thick older ice as the dominant type for the first time on record. The new results, based on data from a NASA Earth-orbiting spacecraft, provide further evidence for the rapid, ongoing transformation of the Arctic's ice cover. Using ICESat measurements, scientists found that overall Arctic sea ice thinned about 0.17 meters (7 inches) a year, for a total of 0.68 meters (2.2 feet) over four winters. The total area covered by the thicker, older "multi-year" ice that has survived one or more summers shrank by 42 percent.

NASA and Japan released a new digital topographic map of Earth that covers more of our planet than ever before. The map was produced with detailed measurements from NASA's Terra spacecraft. The new global digital elevation model of Earth was created from nearly 1.3 million individual stereo-pair images collected by the Japanese Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer, or Aster, instrument aboard Terra. NASA and Japan's Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, known as METI, developed the data set. It is available online to users everywhere at no cost.

The levels of harmful particulate matter pollution in Germany’s inner cities continues to remain too high. The ceiling (daily mean) of 50 microgrammes per cubic metre of air (µg/m3) has already been exceeded more often than the allowable 35 days a year in six cities, including Stuttgart and Munich. Another ten cities in North Rhine-Westphalia, Baden-Württemberg, Thuringia, Hesse, and Saxony are just short of exceeding the limit. One explanation is traceable to the weather conditions at the beginning of this year: high-pressure areas with weak winds that occurred more frequently than in 2007 and 2008 hampered removal of air pollutants.

The environmental record of the outgoing European Commission is worryingly off target, the Green 10 coalition of leading environmental organisations said on 10 June 2009 in Brussels. Environmental groups published an assessment of the Barroso Commission, giving it an overall mark of 4.4/10.

A new report, the first-ever attempt to take stock of the marine litter situation in the 12 major regional seas around the world, was launched on World Oceans Day by the UN Environment Programme(UNEP) and Ocean Conservancy in Washington DC and Nairobi. From discarded fishing gear to plastic bags to cigarette butts, a growing tide of marine litter is harming oceans and beaches worldwide, says the report.

The global premiere of the new film 'HOME', by world-renowned photographer Yann Arthus-Bertrand, was one of the major worldwide events taking place for World Environment Day (5 June 2009), with more than 100 locations around the world. Screenings - including star-studded premieres at the Eiffel Tower and in New York City's Central Park - were free of charge, and the film was also available for free download on YouTube.

The new Greenpeace report Slaughtering the Amazon tracks beef, leather and other cattle products from ranches involved in illegal deforestation, invasion of indigenous lands and slavery in Brazil back to the supply chains of top brands such as Adidas/Reebok, Timberland, Geox, Carrefour, Eurostar, Honda, Gucci, IKEA, Kraft, Clarks, Nike, Tesco and Wal-Mart.

The Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) allows industrialized countries and companies under the European Emission Trading Scheme to meet a part of their commitments by investing in climate change mitigation projects carried out in developing countries. Such projects must be validated by independent audit companies, called Designated Operational Entities (DOEs). In a study published on 27 May 2009, performed on behalf of WWF, the Öko-Institut has produced a rating system for DOEs. The rating is based on the frequency with which projects that were considered satisfactory in the validation report produced by the DOE were in fact found to be faulty or were even rejected by the UN approval authority. “Overall, the auditing of projects remains seriously deficient”, says lead author Lambert Schneider of the Öko-Institut. In more that 50 percent of cases in which auditors give the thumbs-up for a project, the UN demands corrections or even rejects the project outright. DOEs are rated on a scale from A (best mark) to F (worst mark). Of the five companies rated, TÜV-Nord and TÜV-Süd get a D mark – which is the best in the field.

One fifth of Europe’s reptiles and nearly a quarter of its amphibians are threatened, according to new studies commissioned by the European Commission and carried out by IUCN (the International Union for the Conservation of Nature). The studies, to be presented on World Biodiversity Day, constitute the first European Red Lists for amphibians and reptiles, and reveal alarming population trends. More than half of all European amphibians (59 percent) and 42 percent of reptiles are in decline, which means that amphibians and reptiles are even more at risk than European mammals and birds. For 23 percent of amphibians and 21 percent of reptiles the situation is so severe that they are classified as threatened in the European Red List. Most of the pressure on these declining species comes from mankind's destruction of their natural habitats, combined with climate change, pollution and the presence of invasive species.

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, launched the first Global Assessment Report on Disaster Risk Reduction on 17 May, 2009 in the Kingdom of Bahrain. The Report is the first biennial global assessment of disaster risk reduction prepared in the context of the International Strategy for Disaster Reduction (ISDR). The Report provides hard-hitting evidence to demonstrate how, where and why disaster risk is increasing globally and presents key findings from a global analysis of disaster risk patterns and trends, including where high mortality and economic loss is concentrated. The Report’s foundation is a massive database drawing together from a cross-section of UN, governmental, scientific and academic sources over a 32-year period, 1975-2007.

BirdLife International, which conducted the research for the IUCN Red List, found 1,227 species (12 percent) are classified as globally threatened with extinction. The IUCN Red List now lists 192 species of bird as Critically Endangered, the highest threat category, a total of two more than in the 2008 update.

WWF launched a Climate Scenarios Report headed by Prof. Ove Hoegh Guldberg (the world's leading climate and coral expert based at Queensland University in Australia), at the World Ocean Conference in Manado, Indonesia on May 13. The Coral Triangle and Climate Change: Ecosystems, People and Societies at Risk report considers over 300 published scientific studies and includes the work of over 20 experts in fields such as biology, economics and fisheries science to present two different possible futures this century for the world’s richest marine environmen.