The Environment Chronicle

Perennial Herb of the Year 2010 is the Sedum.

Fish of the Year 2011 is the Grayling (Thymallus thymallus).

Orchid of the Year 2011 is the Platanthera bifolia, commonly known as the Lesser Butterfly-orchid.

Vegetable of the Year 2010 / 2012 is the parsnips (Pastinaca).

The Chequers Tree (Sorbus torminalis) is the tree of the year 2011.

Soil of the Year 2011: Brauner Auenboden

Butterfly of the Year 2011 is the Purple emperor (Apatura iris).

Water plant of the year 2011 is the water chestnut (Trapa natans).

German Mollusc of the Year 2011 is the Anisus vorticulus.

Bird of the Year 2011 is the Common Redstart (Phoenicurus phoenicurus).

Fungus of the Year 2011 is the Clathrus ruber. Clathrus ruber is a species of fungus in the stinkhorn family, and the type species of the genus Clathrus. It is commonly known as the latticed stinkhorn, the basket stinkhorn, or the red cage.

The 2011 water body type of the year, which experts refer to as “Small coarse substrate-dominated siliceous highland river (type 5), is most worthy of our attention, as its more than 18,000-km of waterways are the most common water body type in Germany. The new “Water Body of the Year” campaign, launched in 2011, is how UBA is seeking to raise awareness of water bodies as they deserve special attention on account of their widespread presence, properties, uses, condition, and more notably, their risk potential. In addition to this year’s winner, there are another 50 other types of river, lake, transitional and coastal waters.

Endangered livestock breed of the year 2011 is the Limpurger cow.

Moss of the year 2011 is the Thuidium abietinum.

Lichen of the year 2011 is the Fulgensia fulgens.

Spider of the year 2011 is the common labyrinth spider (Agelena labyrinthica). The labyrinth spider is one of about 500 funnel-web spiders (Family Agelenidae) found world-wide. In Europe there are 150 species and in central Europe about 30. The labyrinth spider lives in sunny, dry habitats with low vegetation and sparse shrubs and bushes. It can also be found in forests and on the edges of pathways, as well as in dry grassland. In central Europe the labyrinth spider is widely distributed and thus commonly encountered.

Cave animal of the year 2011 is the greater mouse-eared bat (Myotis myotis).

Laboratory Animal of the Year 2011 is the African clawed frog (Xenopus laevis).

Flower of the Year 2011 is the Narthecium ossifragum, commonly known as bog-, Lancashire- or bastard asphodel.

Medicinal Plant of the Year 2011 is the purple passionflower(Passiflora incarnata).

Rosmary(Rosmarinus officinalis)has been chosen for the Medicinal Herb of the Year 2011 by the NHV Theophrastus.

The Arctic sea ice has not only declined over the past decade but has also become distinctly thinner and younger. Researchers are now observing mainly thin, first-year ice floes which are extensively covered with melt ponds in the summer months where once metre-thick, multi-year ice used to float. Sea ice physicists at the Alfred Wegener Institute, Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine Research (AWI), have now measured the light transmission through the Arctic sea ice for the first time on a large scale, enabling them to quantify consequences of this change. They come to the conclusion that in places where melt water collects on the ice, far more sunlight and therefore energy is able to penetrate the ice than is the case for white ice without ponds. The consequence is that the ice is absorbing more solar heat, is melting faster, and more light is available for the ecosystems in and below the ice. The researchers have published these findings in the scientific journal Geophysical Research Letters (Volume 39, Issue 24, December 2012).

The air in Germany in 2011 had excessive levels of particulate matter and nitrogen dioxide pollution. Mean particulate matter levels were above those of the previous four years, and nitrogen dioxide pollution remained high. Limit values for particulate matter and nitrogen dioxide are often exceeded in the immediate vicinity of urban roads. Daily averages for particulate matter were above the allowable limit at 42 per cent of stations near roads. The limit allows for daily averages of more than 50 micrograms of fine particles (PM10) per cubic metre air (µg/m3) on no more than 35 days. Nitrogen dioxide (NO2) levels were above the allowable yearly average of 40 µg/m3 at 57 per cent of urban stations located near traffic.

An exceptional accumulation of very severe natural catastrophes makes 2011 the highest-ever loss year on record, even after the first half-year. Already, the approx. US$ 265bn in economic losses up to the end of June easily exceeds the total figure for 2005, previously the costliest year to date (US$ 220bn for the year as a whole). Most of the losses were caused by the earthquake in Japan on 11 March. Altogether, the loss amount was more than five times higher than the first-half average for the past ten years. The insured losses, around US$ 60bn, were also nearly five times greater than the average since 2001. First-half losses are generally lower than second-half losses, which are often affected by hurricanes in the North Atlantic and typhoons in the Northwest Pacific. The total number of loss-relevant natural events in the first six months of 2011 was 355, somewhat below the average for the previous ten years (390).

In 2011, there was a massive increase in the use of renewable energy worldwide. Global invest­ment in the sector rose by about 17 per cent over 2010 levels, reaching a record high of 257 billion US dollars. This was announced on 11 Jun e 2012 by the REN21 policy network in its annual Renewables Global Status Report (GSR). Renewable energy now supplies 16.7 per cent of final energy consumption and about 20.3 per cent of global electricity con­sump­tion worldwide. Total investment in the sector was 40 billion US dollars higher than invest­ment in fossil energy generation capa­city. The number of countries that have adopted targets for the expansion of re­new­able energy has risen again, reaching 118. More than half of them are developing countries. Growth in the re­new­able energy sector mainly took place in China, the U.S., and Germany, as well as Spain, Italy, India, and Japan.