Mazda Commits to Making 5% of Cars Fully Electric by 2030

07.10.2018

signet-3333456_960_720 — Photo-illustration: Pixabay

The firm expects the majority of its cars to be hybrids by this time.

Mazda commits to 5% of its vehicles going electric by 2030.

The car manufacturer says all of the vehicles it sells will incorporate electrification by this time, as part of a pledge to reduce emissions by producing more petrol-hybrid vehicles, plug-in hybrids and battery electric vehicles (EVs).

By 2020 it plans to develop two battery EVs, one of which will be entirely battery-powered and one will be a hybrid featuring the company’s famous rotary engine, which will serve as a range-extending device claimed to be able to double the distance a car can travel without being recharged.

Mazda aims to reduce its average ‘well-to-wheel’ carbon dioxide emissions by 90% from 2010 levels by 2050 – this refers to the entire process from fuel being extracted to being used on the roads.

The company also said it would continue to work to maximise the efficiency of the internal combustion engine.

Source: Energy Live News

Explained: Works of 3 Evolutionary Scientists That Got Them a Nobel

06.10.2018

0.19095300_1538567209_nobelz — Photo: nobelprize.org

One Briton and two American scientists bag the prestigious award for their work that is meant to create cleaner fuels and treat diseases.

The 2018 Nobel Prize in Chemistry, awarded by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, has been announced. One half of the prize has been awarded to Frances H Arnold for the directed evolution of enzymes and the other to George P Smith and Gregory P Winter for their work on the phage display of peptides and antibodies. Let’s understand their work.

Arnold’s work

Enzymes are biological catalysts which speed up biochemical reactions in human bodies. Arnold, who is currently at the California Institute of Technology in the United States, was the first to demonstrate directed evolution of enzymes to create new catalysts in 1993. Such new enzymes can be used to manufacture pharmaceuticals with less negative consequences on the environment and renewable bio fuels which can have a huge impact on the world’s transportation sector.

She has become the fifth woman to win the Nobel Prize in Chemistry. Before her Ada E Yonath in 2009, Dorothy Crowfoot Hodgkin in 1964, Irene Curie in 1935 and Marie Curie in 1911 had bagged this Nobel Prize. This is the first time in the history of Nobel Prizes that women have won both the physics and chemistry prizes. Donna Strickland won the Nobel Prize in physics on October 2 becoming the third woman to do so, after a 55-year hiatus.

Smith-Winter technique

Antibodies are proteins produced by the human body to fight foreign micro organisms which can cause disease and infection. Peptides are made up of amino acids and are smaller than regular proteins. They are often used to study the structure of other proteins and also create new antibodies.

Phage display is a technique by which a bacteriophage, a virus that infects bacteria, is used to produce new proteins. Antibodies produced by this method have been used in the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis, psoriasis, inflammatory bowel diseases, autoimmune diseases and even metastatic cancer. Smith, who was the first to develop phage display in 1985, is currently at the University of Missouri in the US and Winter, who used it for the directed evolution of antibodies, works at the MRC laboratory of Molecular Biology in the United Kingdom (UK).

All the three laureates this year have understood the basic principles of evolution and applied them to hasten the process a thousand times, paving the way for the development of new chemical molecules.

180 people have won a Nobel for chemistry

A total of 180 individuals have now won the coveted prize in Chemistry for making “the most important chemical discovery or improvement”, as Alfred Nobel had mentioned in his final will instituting the Nobel prizes.

Frederick Sanger is the only person to have won the prize twice, in 1958 and 1980. He had won it in 1958 for his work on the structure of proteins, especially insulin. In 1980, he got it alongside Walter Gilbert for the determination of base sequences in nucleic acids which is an important part of the human genetic build up.

Source: Down to Earth

London ‘Among Cities Sinking into the Sea’

06.10.2018

Christian Aid says climate change means coastal cities are becoming more vulnerable to flooding.

London is among the cities sinking into the oceans as climate change raises global sea levels.

That’s according to a new report from Christian Aid, which says Houston, Jakarta, Lagos and Shanghai are other coastal settlements set to become extremely vulnerable to severe storms and flooding.

The organisation expects the sea level to rise by around 40 centimetres if global warming is not limited to 1.5°C – it says this will particularly threaten increasingly populated regions on the edges of landmasses.

Its report claims around 40% of the Indonesian city of Jakarta lies below current sea levels and is subsiding at a rate of 25 centimetres a year – its natural sea defences like mangroves being removed has made it more vulnerable to storm surges.

Christian Aid says London is sinking partly due to glaciers in Scotland melting, resulting in these regions literally rising as the weight moves off them. This has resulted in London and the south of England sinking downwards in a see-saw motion, providing one factor as to why the Thames Barrier is having to be used increasingly often.

It also warns Nigeria’s capital Lagos could see 740,000 residents losing their homes if the sea rises by just 20 centimetres, with the government threatening to fine and imprison people who drill boreholes to access water without authorisation.

Dr Kat Kramer, Christian Aid’s Global Climate Lead, said: “These global metropolises may look strong and stable but it is a mirage. As sea levels rise, they are increasingly under threat and under water.”

Source: Energy Live News

World Animal Day: How Animal Lovers Around the World Are Celebrating

05.10.2018

Thursday is World Animal Day, a day dedicated to improving the well-being of animals across the planet.

“To achieve this, we encourage animal welfare organisations, community groups, youth and children’s clubs, businesses and individuals to organize events in celebration of World Animal Day. Involvement is growing at an astonishing rate and it’s now widely accepted and celebrated in a variety of different ways in many countries, with no regard to nationality, religion, faith or political ideology,” the event’s website says.

Here are some of the creative, informative and sometimes adorable happenings around the world in honor of both wild and domestic animals.

Jakarta, Indonesia

Activists in Jakarta, Indonesia have organized a moving protest to oppose the killing of mother macaques, whose children are then captured and sold as pets. On World Animal Day, the Jakarta Animal Aid Network is asking concerned citizens to mail or bring flowers to decision makers’ offices in order to commemorate the thousands of monkeys killed in Indonesia every year as part of this cruel practice and to encourage them to put a stop to the deaths.

Dhaka, Bangladesh

The People for Animal Welfare (PAW) Foundation is offering free checkups to pets at its clinic, the Dhaka Tribune reported. They also offered discounts on vaccines and vaccinated 20 stray dogs for free.

Cape Town, South Africa

The Cape Animal Welfare Forum, a conglomeration of 31 animal welfare organizations in Cape Town, is organizing a Moonlight Dog Walk on Friday to raise funds. They aim to get 1,000 dogs walking around the Killarney International Raceway in Cape Town for a first in Africa.

Serbia and the Philippines

Organizations across the globe are teaming up for an international art contest to promote “care and responsibility to animals.” The “Pets are Family Too” art competition, hosted by Animal Kingdom Foundationin the Philippines and the Society for the Protection of Animals LJUBIMCI in Serbia will invite school children from both countries to send in artwork celebrating their pets. Selected entries will be displayed at exhibits in both countries.

New York, USA

Cruelty Free International and the Body Shop are celebrating their success in partnering to collect more than 8 million signatures in favor of prohibiting the use of animal testing for beauty products. The event will take the form of a roundtable hosted by the Permanent Mission of Guatemala to the United Nations, and speakers will include representatives of the three host organizations plus members of British and European parliaments and actors Declan McDermott and Maggie Q.

Source: Eco Watch

Great Lakes ‘at Risk’ from Plan to Replace Aging Enbridge Pipelines, Environmentalists Argue

05.10.2018

mackinac-175761_960_720 — Photo: Pixabay

The state of Michigan and Canadian pipeline company Enbridge announced a deal Wednesday to replace controversial aging pipelines that environmental groups worried put Lakes Michigan and Huron at risk for an oil spill, The Detroit Free Press reported.

Under the new plan, the existing 65-year-old pipelines, which are part of Enbridge’s Line 5 carrying oil and liquefied natural gas between Wisconsin and Ontario, will be replaced with a new pipeline in a tunnel to be drilled into the bedrock beneath the Straits of Mackinac connecting Lakes Huron and Michigan, The Associated Press reported. The project will take seven to 10 years to complete and cost as much as $500 million. Enbridge will foot the bill.

Michigan Governor Rick Snyder called the proposal “a common-sense solution” to the problem posed by the aging pipelines, saying that it would resolve “nearly every risk” of an oil spill in the Straits of Mackinac.

But environmental groups, who have long opposed the pipeline, disagreed that the new plan was any sort of solution.

“Today, Governor Snyder cemented his disastrous legacy for the Great Lakes and the people of Michigan,” Michigan organizer for Clean Water Action Sean McBearty told The Detroit Free Press. “As his administration comes to a close, he announced a last-minute deal with Enbridge Energy that will succeed in keeping the Great Lakes at risk from a massive Line 5 oil spill for the foreseeable future.”

Mike Shriberg of the National Wildlife Federation also told The Associated Press that the plan would leave the body of water vulnerable to spills for many years, and David Holtz of Oil and Water Don’t Mix said that Michigan’s own studies showed there were better ways to provide the state with energy.

Enbridge said it would take measures to reduce the risk of an oil spill from the older pipelines during construction, including (a) conducting underwater investigations, (b) placing cameras in the straits to keep track of ship movements and enforce a no-anchor zone, and (c) making Enbridge staff available to manually shut down the pipeline during high-wave days if electric mechanisms fail.

The Line 5 pipelines have been the subject of lawsuits and protests in recent months. The National Wildlife Federation and the Environmental Law & Policy Center sued the Coast Guard in August over an inadequate oil-spill response plan, in an ultimate bid to shut down the pipeline, since one is not allowed to operate a pipeline without a satisfactory response plan in place. Also in August, indigenous activists set up a protest camp in Northern Michigan to protest the pipelines.

A study in July found that an oil spill from the pipelines could damage 400 miles of Great Lakes shoreline and cost Michigan $2 billion.

Source: Eco Watch

Critically Endangered Gorilla Gives Birth at Florida Zoo

05.10.2018

980x — Photo: Jacksonville Zoo and Gardens

Jacksonville Zoo and Gardens in Florida announced on Wednesday the arrival of a healthy baby western lowland gorill, a critically endangered species.

The 4.8-pound female was born last Friday and has not yet been given a name, according to the zoo’s press release. The zoo said that the baby’s mother, a 22-year-old named Kumbuka, initially displayed normal maternal behavior toward her baby. However, she was improperly cradling and carrying the little gorilla, similar to how she behaved when she lost two previous offspring at another zoo.

Because Kumbuka is hearing impaired, it is believed that her disability may prevent her from detecting when her youngsters are in distress, the zoo said.

“Faced with a life-threatening situation, the extremely difficult decision was made to remove Kumbuka’s baby for short-term assisted rearing by gorilla care staff,” the zoo said, adding that the decision was supported by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums’ Gorilla Species Survival Plan (SSP).

The Gorilla SSP recommended that Kumbuka join the Jacksonville Zoo troop to learn maternal behavior from the other mother gorillas. Zoo keepers will also show Kumbuka how to properly hold and carry her youngster.

The new mom can see and smell her daughter, who is being given around-the-clock care by keepers next door, the zoo said. Keepers will care for the young gorilla for the next four months and allow mom to maintain a close connection, which is essential for a successful reintroduction.

“Welcoming the newest member of our zoo family is always exciting, and this little gorilla’s arrival is both special and challenging,” said Dan Maloney, JZG Deputy Director of Animal Care and Conservation in the press release. “I’m so proud of the animal care and health teams who are working so hard on behalf of Kumbuka and her baby.”

Wild western lowland gorillas can be found in Cameroon, the Central African Republic, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Equatorial Guinea, Gabon and the Republic of Congo, according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).

Their population is estimated in the order of a few hundred thousand. However, despite their abundance and wide geographic range, the gorillas are listed as “critically endangered” because their population has reduced more than 80 percent in roughly six decades due to ongoing poaching, disease, habitat loss and climate change, the IUCN says.

Source: Eco Watch

Hydrogen Plane Looks to Gain Serious Altitude

04.10.2018

screenshot-55-1 — Photo: HES Energy Systems

HES Energy System hopes the vehicle will offer zero emission flights.

A Singapore-based aviation firm is developing a hydrogen-powered plane it says will offer zero emission flights.

HES Energy Systems’ Element One uses ‘ultra-light’ hydrogen fuel cells and can be refuelled in less than 10 minutes using an automated ‘nacelle swap system’.

The company aims to develop its first flying prototype before 2025.

The plane is designed to carry just four passengers at distances of between 500 and 5,000 kilometres, depending on whether its hydrogen fuel is stored in gaseous or liquid form.

HES Energy Systems claims the plane is “several orders of magnitude” better than any battery-electric aircraft – its Founder, Taras Wankewycz said: “Element One’s design paves the way for renewable hydrogen as a long-range fuel for electric aviation.”

Source: Energy Live News

German Energy Secretary Backs Forest Clearance to Build Coal Mine

04.10.2018

forest-272595_960_720 — Photo-illustration: Pixabay

Controversial plans to chop down a German forest to build a vast coal mine should proceed because Germany needs the polluting fuel to keep the lights on, according to the chief of the country’s state secretary for energy.

Dozens of treehouses built and occupied by campaigners for years have been recently cleared by police to make way for plans by energy firm RWE, which owns Hambach forest near Cologne, to expand its nearby opencast coal mine.

Environmental groups have rallied against the project, which they argue would lock the country into higher carbon emissions, just as a government-appointed commission simultaneously debates a timeline for Germany to phase out coal.

“It should go ahead,” said Thomas Bareiß when asked by the Guardian if the Hambach clearance should proceed when the “coal exit commission” is still deliberating.

Bareiß said RWE had “a right to do this”, noted that the regional government had already agreed the clearance and said Germany needed the mine to maintain its energy supplies in the short term. “We still need lignite [brown coal] for our reliable coal supply.”

He conceded the highly polluting form of coal was disliked by most of the German public but said extracting lignite had a long tradition in some regions. “In general lignite is unpopular. People think it is dirty.”

But Bareiß said Germany, which sources nearly 40% of power from coal, would still need its coal plants in the early 2020s. That is partly because Germany is also due to shut its last nuclear power station in 2022. “At end of the decade there is more possibility to shut coal [plants],” he said.

The coal exit commission, whose members range from energy companies to Greenpeace, has been tasked with agreeing dates for phasing out Germany’s reliance on coal power stations, ahead of a UN climate summit in Poland this December.

Observers think that a compromise cut-off date at some time in the 2030s will be the most likely outcome.

Bareiß told an industry audience in London that getting off coal would be a “very expensive transition” but it was necessary and would “work in the long run”.

He cautioned that Germany could not move too fast on renewable energy projects, because of multibillion-euro upgrades required to take power from windfarms in the country’s north to the south. Those upgrades are behind target, causing bottlenecks and “large costs”, Bareiß said at the BNEF Future of Energy summit.

Fabian Huebner of the German Climate Alliance, which is organising a demonstration this Saturday against Hambach’s clearance, said: “Scientists agree: the brown coal under the Hambach Forest will not be needed for the security of electricity supply in Germany.”

Source: The Guardian

Ikea Says Goodbye to Plastic Straws with Display at London’s Design Museum

03.10.2018

straws-8001_960_720 — Photo-illustration: Pixabay

‘Last Straw’ installation aims to raise awareness of plastic waste as the firm bans single-use straws from UK and Irish stores.

Ikea today symbolically unveiled its last single-use plastic straw in a display at London’s Design Museum, after it stopped serving or selling the items in any of its UK and Ireland stores, restaurants and bistros this week.

The so-called Last Straw installation will be on show to the public until Saturday and aims to inspire consumers to collectively take small steps that will have a positive environmental impact.

“Plastic straws have become such an important emblem for change when it comes to single-use plastic, but this campaign is not just about straws,” said Ikea spokeswoman Hege Sæbjørnsen. “We want to harness people’s energy behind ditching single-use plastic straws and disposables to draw attention to the thousands of everyday changes we can all make to have a big impact on the planet.”

The UK uses an estimated 8.5bn straws a year, according to the Marine Conservation Society, and plastic straws are one of the top 10 items found in beach clean-ups.

The Swedish furniture chain announced in June that it will phase out all single-use plastic products from its stores and restaurants globally by 2020 amid growing concern about the effects of plastic on the environment.

Plastic straws, plates, cups, freezer bags, bin bags, and plastic-coated paper plates and cups are all being phased out and where possible replaced by alternatives.

Plastic waste has become a charged issue, with TV programmes such as Blue Planet II and, more recently, Drowning in Plastic, exposing its impact on the oceans and regular warnings made over the dangers of a global plastic binge.

Ikea has 363 stores in 29 countries worldwide, including 21 in the UK and Ireland. Its three-year Lagom project aims to give customers and co-workers the chance to test products that help save energy and water, reduce waste and promote a healthy lifestyle. The company says the programme is based on a Swedish philosophy on everyday life that means “just the right amount”.

Source: The Guardian

Plastic Bottles Can Pay for Parking in Leeds

03.10.2018

multi-storey-car-park-2705368_960_720 — Photo: Pixabay

Each 500ml bottle equates to a 20p discount on the cost of parking.

A new initiative in Leeds will allow drivers to pay for their parking using plastic bottles.

Car park operator CitiPark has launched a programme at the Merrion Centre, which will run throughout October.

Drivers can bring plastic bottles that are 500ml or larger to quality for the free parking – but CitiPark will take any sized bottles to recycle.

Each 500ml bottle equates to a 20p discount on the cost of parking.

The collected bottles will be recycled into usable items such as chairs, shirts and toys.

The initiative is being accompanied by a week of recycling and sustainability programmes, which aims to bring together retailers and other organisations at the shopping centre during the week of 22^ndOctober.

Charlotte-Daisy Ziff, Head of Corporate Social Responsibilities at CitiPark and parent company Town Centre Securities said: “Here at CitiPark, we believe that we all have a part to play in ensuring the preservation and betterment of our environment for future generations.

“So this promotion not only offers our customers the chance of free/discounted parking but they can also get rid of their waste plastic bottles and contribute to the protection of the environment at the same time: it’s a win-win all around! We hope that as many people as possible will get on board.”

The free parking is not eligible for season ticket holders, partnerships, permit holders and members of staff.

Source: Energy Live News

Milena Zindovic: Woman in Architecture

03.10.2018

Photograph: (Milena Zindovic) Rade Kovač

On the academic and business trajectory of the Serbian architect Milena Zindovic, in addition to our capital, where she graduated from the Faculty of Architecture in 2007, there are also New York, Ljubljana, and Sabac.

At the Cornell University in New York, where she went for a master’s degree, her majors were architecture and media. Cornell belongs to the “Ivy League” universities which include the eight most prestigious private universities in North America. Side by side with Harvard, Columbia, and Princeton, it is one of the most popular and most selective US universities, and the League got its name from the ivy plant which covers the oldest buildings of these higher education institutions. Coincidentally, Milena has something in common with it – both her and the ivy make various structures and projects green.

Besides the very advanced skills, from America, she also brought to Belgrade the taste and the appearance of diners, cheap fast food restaurants, which helped her transmit the real spirit of American culture to one of Belgrade’s catering facilities.

Stozice Arena in Ljubljana represents one of the projects she took part in, which gave us the reason to feel a specific dose of patriotism while walking the streets of the capital of Slovenia.

In 2013, she launched the regional portal for women’s creativity in architecture “Women in Architecture”, and two years later she found herself in Sabac where she, as the Director of PUC Plan Sabac, promoted a sustainable approach to urban development and by 2017, with her team, provided the citizens of Sabac with more multifunctional public spaces.

EP: You were the Director of the Public Urbanization Company Plan Sabac. In the context of humanity’s concern for the survival of our planet, how has this city contributed to the fight against climate change with its urban plans and projects?

Milena Zindovic: I spent two years in a leadership position in the PUC Plan Sabac. I resigned in November 2017. Sabac, as well as a significant part of our country, experienced the consequences of climate change during the floods of 2014. Apart from these extreme events, the result of overheating are also increasingly warmer and longer summers that are harder and harder to bear, especially in urban areas. As urban planners, we have the task to make the space we are planning more pleasant for everyone, and achieving excellent microclimate in urban areas is one of the prerequisites for accomplishing better and healthier life in the cities.

Since the beginning of my mandate in Sabac, I have advocated a sustainable approach in urban development, in particular, the development of multifunctional public spaces, which in addition to their purpose as gathering and circulating places, have the function of green oases, providing shade, and improvement of the microclimate. I am especially interested in nature-based solutions for urban development. We have incorporated them into several projects and plans, of which undoubtedly the most important for Sabac is the detailed regulation plan of Savapark, which envisages the adaptation of 300 hectares of the river border into a predominantly park space.

Illustration: Courtesy of Milena Zindovic

We have also applied the principles of the sustainable planning to the strategic urban planning, and in cooperation with EnPlus, consultants from Belgrade, we developed the Green – Blue Strategy of the City of Sabac. This strategy consisted of the analysis of all aspects of city life, urban systems, and functions, it also identified the resources, synergies, and interactions, and it gave us the basis for further planning with the goal not only the sustainability but also the regeneration of urban ecosystems.

On the strategic level, we also dealt with the question of urban mobility in Sabac, which is ideal for biking and walking because of its size and topography, but whose infrastructure is inadequate or nonexistent. Improving the quality of public spaces to encourage pedestrian and cycling transit is of vital importance for the city, therefore on that basis, the City of Sabac is also developing its Sustainable Urban Mobility Plan.

EP: You are one of the founders of the Smart City Association, which, among other things, promotes sustainable development and new technologies in spatial planning. Have you applied some of the “ecological” solutions and which ones?

Milena Zindovic The Smart City Association was established to promote and implement modern concepts of sustainable urban development in Serbia, and it is in every respect based on the challenges and experiences I had during my practice in Sabac. For us, it is not only the digital that is smart but every approach that makes sense and contributes to a better life for our citizens in our towns and cities. Many smart concepts are neither expensive nor complicated, they are not even technologically advanced, but they require smart planning and designing. As a part of our activities, we strive to highlight and draw attention to different aspects of sustainability our communities lack. So far, we have had events related to accessibility, gender equality, and climate change.

Along with the City of Sabac, we participated in the public call for the Open Data Challenge, which is implemented by the UNDP and the Ministry of Environmental Protection as part of the Local Development Resistant to Climate Change project. The goal of this project is to reduce the greenhouse gas emissions, and we applied with a plan that proposes the data collection on different methods of heating in households in Sabac and by the association of the energy sources and methods of heating with the greenhouse gas emissions. We were rewarded, along with seven other local self-government, and in the next six months, we are going to participate in the Climate Incubator which was inaugurated within this project.

Read the whole interview in the new issue of the Energy portal Magazine on SUSTAINABLE ARCHITECTURE, July 2018.

Interview by: Jelena Kozbasic

Blenheim Palace Goes Green with 100% Renewable Deal

03.10.2018

blenheim-palace-867689_960_720 — Photo: Pixabay

The UNESCO World Heritage site will now be supplied with clean electricity from Good Energy.

Good Energy is to provide Blenheim Palace with 100% renewable power under the terms of a new deal.

The UNESCO World Heritage site says the move is part of an ongoing commitment to reduce its carbon footprint – it has also pledged to become a net generator of green energy within a decade.

The clean energy supplier will supply all demand to the site’s main buildings as well as its Pleasure Gardens, Park Farm, offices and on-site bottling plant.

The new agreement also includes the Windrush Industrial Estate, allowing other businesses based there to become more sustainable.

Blenheim Palace has also invested extensively in solar panels, biomass boilers and a hydroelectric turbine.

Randall Bowen, Sales and Commercial Director at Good Energy, said: “Blenheim is one of Britain’s most important historic sites and they have a longstanding commitment to the environment.

“Switching to a truly clean energy supplier is the natural choice for the business and the single most important thing the public can do to tackle climate change.”

Source: Energy Live News

Germany Agrees to Plan to Cut Diesel Pollution

02.10.2018

industry-611668_960_720 — Photo-illustration: Pixabay

The German government backed plans Tuesday to help reduce pollution from diesel vehicles while easing the burden on consumers worried about costly upgrades.

Transport Minister Andreas Scheuer and Environment Minister Svenja Schulze told reporters the concept is to keep modern, less polluting diesel vehicles on the road while upgrading or retiring older models to prevent dangerous levels of nitrogen oxides in Germany’s large cities.

“Our goal is to avoid a driving ban and ensure the air quality of our cities,” Schulze said.

The issue is a political hot potato in a country in love with its cars and where diesels are favored by commuters and small businesses for their generally better efficiency and lower fuel costs.

At the same time, the government doesn’t want to damage the country’s automobile industry — including manufacturers Volkswagen, Mercedes and BMW — by saddling it with too many upgrade costs.

Its hand has been forced after several cities began instituting piecemeal bans on older diesels to comply with European Union clean air rules on levels of nitrogen oxides, following lawsuits from environmental groups.

Scheuer said there had been an urgent need to provide a clear path forward for owners of diesel vehicles wondering what to do.

He and other members of Chancellor Angela Merkel’s coalition government met until the early morning hours to come up with the new measures.

Among other things, the plan calls for auto manufacturers to offer generous trade-in offers for older model diesels against new cars, or cleaner used vehicles.

When possible with newer diesel vehicles, consumers should have the option to upgrade the mechanical systems if there is an appropriate retrofit available, Scheuer said.

He said Germany’s major automakers were on board with the trade-in idea, and were still discussing whether upgrades would be technically possible and cost effective for their vehicles.

“Today is a huge step forward but we still have work to do,” he said.

Ferdinand Dudenhoeffer, an expert with Germany’s CAR automotive research center at the University of Duisburg-Essen, was skeptical about the plan, noting that a 2017 offer of high trade-in prices on older diesels failed to generate the results hoped for.

“Overall, we see the results of trade-in offers as limited,” he said.

There also remains the lingering question of how foreign carmakers could be forced into compliance, but Schulze said she was convinced they would follow the lead of the domestic companies.

“This will have a domino effect on the foreign auto manufacturers,” she said.

French automaker Renault already announced on its website that it would be offering up to 10,000 euros ($11,500) for German owners of its older diesel vehicles to trade them in for a new car.

The issue with older diesel cars is not a German one alone, with several cities across Europe also having announced they are considering bans.

On Tuesday, Denmark’s center-right government announced it wanted to completely end the sale of vehicles operating on only gas or diesel to help reduce pollution as of 2030.

Danish Prime Minister Lars Loekke Rasmussen told parliament his three-party government would push for more electric and hybrid vehicles to reduce greenhouse gases.

“The future is green, and it is very close to us,” he said.

Source: ABC News

About 70 Hydropower Projects in Himalayas at Risk of Quake-Triggered Landslides

02.10.2018

During 2015 Nepal earthquake, the hydropower sector experienced severe losses. The country temporarily lost about 20 per cent of its hydropower capacity and more than 30 hydropower projects were damaged. The projects, which were affected by earthquake‐triggered landslides, were the worst hit.

Two years prior to that, June 2013 flooding in Uttarakhand damaged at least 10 big hydropower projects in operation and under construction. Another 19 small hydropower projects, which collectively generated under 25 megawatts, were destroyed. Currently, 37 hydropower projects are in operation in the state, and according to the official website of Uttarakhand Jal Vidyut Nigam Ltd. , 87 more projects are being developed.

Similarly, one cannot say for certain that Jammu & Kashmir, which is categorised as zone IV & V seismic earthquake-prone area, won’t be affected by eight upcoming hydropower projects, which will be located in seismic zone V. The state has a history of earthquake destroying dams. The October 2005 earthquake, one of the deadliest ones to hit South Asia since the 1935 Quetta earthquake, triggered around 2,500 landslides, according to an analyss. Those landslides resulted in destruction of infrastructure.

The risk of building dams in the Himalayan region is manifold and that has again being emphasised by the findings of a recently released study on 2015 Nepal earthquake. The study reveals that many hydropower projects in Nepal were wiped out by moving debris.

The researchers from the Institute of Earth and Environmental Science, University of Potsdam, Potsdam‐Golm, Germany analysed reports on damaged hydropower plants in Nepal and concluded that the damage caused to plants in the aftermath of the quake was due to landslides triggered by the quake rather than the earthquake itself.

The team also analysed 273 hydropower projects that are already in operation, under construction or are being planned in the Indian, Nepalese and Bhutanese Himalayas. They found that about 25 per cent of them are likely to face severe damage from quake-triggered landslides. The researchers point to an urgent need to re-evaluate hydropower development in the region.

Currently, more than 600 large dams have been built or are in some stage of construction or planning in the seismically active Himalayas, but most of them are probably not designed to withstand the worst earthquakes that could hit the region. According to a DownToEarth report, the Himalayas would have the highest dam density in the world, with over a thousand water reservoirs dotting the mountain range in India, Bhutan, Nepal and Pakistan, over the next few years.

“We have overestimated the hydropower potential in the region and underestimated the cost,” says David Gernaat, a computer modeller at the PBL Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency in The Hague.

Source: Down to Earth

Rwe Boss Says Hambach Forest and Its Tree Houses Will Have to Go

02.10.2018

japan-744806_960_720 — Photo-illustration: Pixabay

The boss of RWE says the Hambach Forest and its tree house protestors will have to go.

The energy giant wants to raze the German woodland to expand its coal mine in the area and is currently evicting the environmental campaigners living in its trees.

RWE, which owns the forest, plans to begin cutting down trees and clearing space this month – it claims expanding the lignite facility, which is one of the largest in the country, will play a vital part in securing the nation’s demand for reliable baseload power.

However, anti-coal protestors believe preserving the ancient forest is needed to maintain biodiversity and protect the climate.

RWE CEO Rolf Martin Schmitz said there is “no way” the trees will be spared, suggesting his main responsibility was to the thousands of workers employed by the plant and the German citizens that rely on the power it helps produce.

He added: “There’s no possibility of leaving the forest standing. We need the ground beneath the remaining forest in order to keep the embankments stable.”

Source: Energy Live News

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