Bulgarian Environment and Water Affairs Minister, Nona Karadjova, has recently approved setting up a depot for low and medium radioactive waste close to the Romanian border. Placed near the Kozlodui nuclear plant, the depot will be 4 kilometers away from the Danube coastline. The project completion deadline is 2015.
Read more... “We not sure exactly what it really is,” said Dr. Don M. Huber “but we can tell you what it does.” And what is does is worrying. “It causes reproductive failure in cattle, horses, sheep, goats, pigs and poultry, so a very wide spectrum of effect.” Dr. Huber, Emeritus Professor of Plant Pathology at Indiana’s Purdew University, is touring the world to warn legislators that there may be an aspect of growing genetically modified crops that has escaped attention and yet has a serious down side.
Read more... “Innovation needs more than research”, was the main message of the conference that took place from 10th to 12th of October, in Brussels under the patronage of the European Parliament, and in Warsaw as a Ministerial Conference and one of four flagship Polish Presidency events.
Read more... This morning, the advocate general of the European Court of Justice gave her opinion that the inclusion of the aviation sector in the EU's emissions trading scheme is legally sound, clearing the way for the planned inclusion from the beginning of next year.
Read more... The ISLE-PACT project is committed to developing Local Sustainable Energy Action Plans with the aim of meeting or exceeding the EU sustainability targets of 20/20/20 for the year 2020. Currently there are 12 participating groups of European Islands (over 60 islands) involved but the project would welcome cooperation with more as the ISLE-PACT process has been conceived to include all European Islands.
Read more... Eurogroup for Animals has today launched its brand new website which raises the issues of animal welfare in Europe. Using the latest technology it allows members of the public to interact with the organisation and it provides a one-stop location for the latest information on its work and explains how the public can become involved in raising awareness and standards.
Read more... On the occasion of the United Nations’ (UN) International Youth Day, celebrated each year on August 12, the network “Youth for Public Transport” (Y4PT), an idea inspired by the International Association of Public Transport (UITP), launches its second worldwide Flash Mob to promote the use of public transport. After its successful 2010 Flash mob “Public Transport makes us feel like home”, which attracted hundreds of young people in 10 cities across the globe, Y4PT calls once more on young people to support improved urban mobility through public transport, in a new edition of the worldwide event, under the theme “Public Transport makes us free!”
Read more... The 9th edition of IdentiPlast 2011, Europe’s leading event on plastics waste management, will be officially opened by Vice-President of the European Parliament Alejo Vidal Quadras.
Read more... International wildlife conservation groups Pro Wildlife, Defenders of Wildlife, and the Animal Welfare Institute, issued a report today titled " Canapés to Extinction: The international trade in frogs’ legs and its ecological impact." The report is the first comprehensive study of the frog leg market ever conducted and reveals an industry that is systematically devastating frog populations throughout the world and, subsequently, causing severe environmental impacts to natural ecosystems.
Read more... ‘Doing more with less’ is a basic business concept, and a new issue of Science for Environment Policy says environmental policy should follow this lead.
Read more...

Commenting on China’s announced cuts in its export quotas for rare earths for the first half year of 2012, Reinhard Bütikofer, Rapporteur on raw materials for the European Parliament, said: “China continues to revise its export quotas for rare earths downwards. No relief on this front is expected any time soon. In this vein, it is all the more relevant for the European Union to get its act together and push for an innovation offensive based on the pillars of efficiency, recycling and substitution."
Read more... In the middle of a soaring debt crisis which threatens to bring down the EU as we all know it, environment ‒ Europe’s spearhead for the last 10 years ‒ seems to have been pushed back to the second rank of citizens and decision-makers’ priorities. Worried about the looming shadow of a Eurozone recession, growing unemployment rates and decreasing purchasing power, Europeans are now looking to the future with a great deal of concern and uncertainties. In such a difficult context, the plastics industry emerges as a leading stakeholder in the struggle against littering behavior and an unsustainable use of our resources.
Read more... Today, the UN Committee on Food Security (CFS) opened its 37th session in Rome, which looked at food price volatility, gender, food security and nutrition and agricultural investment. The session was meant to open with the adoption of new voluntary guidelines on land tenure, but governments were unable to finalise negotiations. The international alliance of Catholic development agencies - CIDSE - welcomed the efforts put into the talks so far, while urging governments to finalise negotiations as soon as possible and move towards putting the rules in practice.
Read more... PlasticsEurope, the association representing European plastics producers, has just unveiled the results of the first-ever study on polyolefins recycling and recovery rates in rigid applications in Europe.
Read more... SACRAMENTO, Calif. - September is National Preparedness Month and the first responder and disaster recovery communities were out in full strength today at the Capitol. Emergencies never occur at a convenient time and studies show that most Californians are not adequately prepared for a significant disaster near their home or business. Today, the California Emergency Management Agency (Cal EMA) and American Red Cross (ARC) co-hosted Be Prepared! on the steps of the State Capitol to remind the public that disasters can strike at any time and personal preparedness is priority to surviving and recovering from an emergency situation.
Read more... With Hurricane Irene bearing down on the USA's East coast, California is lending a helping hand by deploying experts trained in search & rescue, emergency operations, planning and logistics to help with state and local emergency response efforts.
Read more... The Scottish Government has been successful in negotiations with the EU on plans for a proportionate cross compliance system for Scottish sheep farmers. The European Commission is content with Scotland's proposals and commented positively on the steps taken in Scotland, including the development of ScotEID – the Scottish electronic identification database. The Scottish solution takes account of the unique nature of Scotland's diverse sheep industry. Under the new regime Scottish farmers must comply with the EU regulations to avoid penalties.
Read more... EU and Norway position encouraging, but early action essential says Scottish Government. A public rebuke of the irresponsible mackerel fishing practices of Iceland and the Faroes has been made by the European Commission and Norway, echoing Scottish concerns.
Read more... A twenty-seven-year-old Australian man has taken the world by storm after offering to fly one lucky person to his home in Brisbane, Queensland, where they will be able to stay rent-free in his luxury, riverfront apartment for a whole year. The amazing offer has been hailed as the most exciting tourism campaign since the “Best Job in the World”. The offer is open to anyone over the age of 18 and is worth about $40, 000 AUD.
Read more... Celebrity chef, Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall, this week in a Channel 4 programme highlighted the problem of fish discards caused by EC quotas. Scottish MEP Struan Stevenson proposes a solution.
Read more...