The Environment Chronicle

On 27 September 2013, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) held a press conference in Stockholm to present the Summary for Policymakers of the Working Group I contribution to the Fifth Assessment Report (AR5). The Working Group I contribution to the IPCC's Fifth Assessment Report (AR5) considers new evidence of climate change based on many independent scientific analyses from observations of the climate system, paleoclimate archives, theoretical studies of climate processes and simulations using climate models.

On 19 September 2013, a ceremony was organised at Venlo to celebrate the Permanent German-Dutch Boundary Water Commission's 50th anniversary. The Commission was founded by the border treaty of 1960. The first meeting was held in December 1963 in the Dutch city of Zwolle. Transboundary waters include the rivers Vechte, Rur and Grenzaa. While activities initially focused on water quantity management with the goal of ensuring proper water flow among other things, later the Commission also began to deal with the causes and control of water pollution. The Ems-Dollart Environment Protocol of 1996 led to further cooperation in the field of water and nature conservation in the Ems estuary. The protection of water bodies as ecosystems and the Commission's contribution to implementing the relevant European Directives, for instance the Water Framework Directive, have significantly gained in importance in recent years.

On 19 September 2013, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe ordered the scrapping of the remaining Fukushima nuclear reactors that survived the 2011 tsunami. Abe's order to decommission No. 5 and No. 6 came as he visited the plant to inspect the on-going problem of radiation leaks.

On 19 September 2013, the Russian Coast Guard boarded the Greenpeace International ship Arctic Sunrise and arrested the 25 activists on board following a protest against Gazprom’s Arctic oil drilling operations. At the time of the boarding, the Arctic Sunrise was circling Gazprom’s Prirazlomnaya platform at the three nautical mile limit, inside international waters.

On 18 September 2018, Greenpeace activists staged a protest at an offshore oil drilling platform in the Russian Arctic, during which two protesters were arrested and the Russian Coast Guard fired warning shots across Greenpeace's ship, the environmental lobbying group said.

On 15 September 2013, a polar bear the size of a double-decker bus marched through London along with up to 3,000 people for Greenpeace's Save the Arctic campaign. The polar bear, called Aurora, required 15 puppeteers and 20 volunteers to haul it through the streets of London. Protesters marched down Lambeth Palace Road towards Shell headquarters, on Belvedere Road, to call for a ban on oil and gas drilling in the Arctic.

Draft legal measures to cap traditional biofuel production and accelerate the switchover to a a new generation of products from other sources, such as seaweed and or certain types of waste, were approved by the Environment Committee on 11 September 2013.

Fresh legislation is urgently needed to save the European eel stock, which scientists report has declined by at least 95% in the past thirty years, says Parliament in a resolution voted on 11 September 2013. The resolution was approved by 427 votes to 249, with 25 abstentions. MEPs urge the European Commission to table a draft law by March 2014, including sanctions against EU member states that are slow to provide the data needed to assess the stock. The European eel's decline is probably due, inter alia, to overfishing, pollution, obstacles to its migration up rivers or even changing ocean currents, as eel migrate from the ocean up rivers and back again. Attempts to reproduce eel in captivity have yet to achieve commercial success.

On 9 September 2013 the European Commission published a proposal for a Regulation on the prevention and management of the introduction and spread of invasive alien species. The proposal seeks to address the problem of invasive alien species in a comprehensive manner so as to protect native biodiversity and ecosystem services, as well as to minimize and mitigate the human health or economic impacts that these species can have. The proposal is for three types of interventions; prevention, early warning and rapid response, and management. A list of invasive alien species of Union concern will be drawn up with Member States using risk assessments and scientific evidence.

In September 2013 a bulk carrier is using the North West Passage as a transit trade lane, when transporting coal from Vancouver in Canada to the port of Pori in Finland via the Arctic Sea. The vessel left Vancouver on 6 September 2013, loaded with metallurgical coal and arrived at its destination in Pori, Finland, on 29 September 2013.

On 5 September 2013, the Environmental Protection Agency announced settlements with Shell Gulf of Mexico, Inc. and Shell Offshore, Inc. for violations of their Clean Air Act permits for arctic oil and gas exploration drilling in the Chukchi and Beaufort Seas, off the North Slope of Alaska. Based on EPA’s inspections and Shell’s excess emission reports, EPA documented numerous air permit violations for Shell’s Discoverer and Kulluk drill ship fleets, during the approximately two months the vessels operated during the 2012 drilling season. In today’s settlements, Shell has agreed to pay a $710,000 penalty for violations of the Discoverer air permit and a $390,000 penalty for violations of the Kulluk air permit.

On 4 September 2013, Japan's nuclear regulation authority said radiation readings near water storage tanks at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant have increased to a new high, with emissions above the ground near one group of tanks were as high as 2,200 millisieverts per hour. On 31 August 2013, the plant's operator, Tepco, said workers had measured radiation at 1,800 mSv an hour near a storage tank.

On 4 September 2013, the coastal tanker Nordvik collided with ice floe in Matisen Strait, Arctic Ocean off the Russian coast. Tanker got a hole with resulting water ingress. A report by the Northern Sea Route Administration says that the Nordvik was sailing from Ob Bay to Khatanga with 4,944 tons of diesel fuel when it ran into ice in the Matisen Strait. The Nordvik sustained damage to one her ballast tanks and was taking on water, but the ingress was stopped after crews plugged the hole. The Barents Observer, citing information from the NSR Administration, reported that the vessel had permission to sail in the Kara Sea and the Laptev Sea in light ice conditions and only under escort by an icebreaker.

A team of researchers from the University of Göttingen in Germany and Yale University (USA) has presented the most comprehensive description and characterization so far of bioclimatic and physical characteristics of the world’s islands. Islands make up only five percent of the land surface of the Earth, but they are home to a disproportionately high number of plant and animal species and provide ecosystem functions and services to more than 500 million people. However, a quantitative description of the ecological conditions on islands had been lacking so far. The study published on 3 September 2013, in the scientific journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences now closes this gap. The researchers investigated almost 18,000 marine islands with areas greater than one square kilometer. They also compiled ecologically important climate data and precise information about physical factors such as area, distance to the next continent and the proportion of landmass in the surroundings of each island. The researchers employed modern statistical approaches to describe, classify and map the islands based on differences in their environments. This allows the identification of islands with similar environmental settings and will facilitate further island biogeographical studies and biodiversity conservation.

Scientists have uncovered strong evidence that soot, or black carbon, sent into the air by a rapidly industrializing Europe, likely caused the abrupt retreat of mountain glaciers in the European Alps. The research, published Sept. 3 in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, may help resolve a longstanding scientific debate about why the Alps glaciers retreated beginning in the 1860s, decades before global temperatures started rising again.

On 3 September 2013, Northeast German power utility WEMAG and renewables-integration specialists Younicos started construction of a battery park for the balancing of short-term power fluctuations in Schwerin, Germany.

Directive 98/8/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council on the placing on the market of biocidal products was adopted in 1998. According to the Directive, Member States had to transpose the rules before 14 May 2000 into national law. The Biocidal Product Directive aims to harmonise the European market for biocidal products and their active substances. At the same time it aims to provide a high level of protection for humans, animals and the environment. The new Regulation on Biocidal products (EU) No 528/2012 was adopted on 22 May 2012, and applies from 1st September 2013. It repeals and replaces the former Directive.

Tokyo Electric Power Co the operator of Japan’s stricken Fukushima nuclear power plant said on 31 August 2013, it had found new radiation hotspots near tanks storing toxic water, with one reading peaking at 1,800 millisieverts per hour.

On 30 August 2013 researchers at UBA moved into their new offices in 'Haus 2019' in Berlin-Marienfelde after 20 months of construction. It is the Federal Government's first zero-energy building. The goal for the model green building, which will provide a workplace for 31 people, is particularly ambitious: it is a zero-energy house which will cover its entire energy needs by itself. Energy consumption will be closely monitored. "In one year's time we will know if we have achieved our ambitious aim of showing a balanced energy budget as a result of the use of renewable energy sources and high standards in building and technology," said UBA President Jochen Flasbarth at the opening ceremony. The name 'Haus 2019' refers to the EU Directive on the energy performance of buildings. The Directive lays down the requirements for ‘nearly zero-energy buildings’. This standard will already apply for public institutions as of 2019; as of 2021 for all other buildings.

A joint study from the U.S. Geological Survey and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service released on 28 August 2013 found that a fracking fluid spill in Kentucky in 2007 likely caused the widespread death of several types of fish.

Ocean acidification could change the ecosystems of our seas even by the end of this century. Biologists at the Alfred Wegener Institute, Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine Research (AWI), have therefore assessed the extent of this ominous change for the first time. In a study they compiled and analysed all available data on the reaction of marine animals to ocean acidification. The scientists found that whilst the majority of animal species investigated are affected by ocean acidification, the respective impacts are very specific. The AWI-researchers presented their results as an Online Publication on 25 August 2013 in Nature Climate Change. The study of the biologists from the Alfred Wegener Institute was conducted in the framework of the Fifth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) and is intended to provide an overview of the current level of scientific knowledge on ocean acidification.

On 24 August 2013, the Waldschlösschen Bridge was inaugurated with street festivities in Dresden. The first regular traffic crossed it on 26 August 2013.

On 24 August 2013 Greenpeace ship Arctic Sunrise today entered the Northern Sea Route (NSR) off Russia’s coastline to protest against Arctic oil drilling, in defiance of Russian authorities who this week refused the ship permission to enter the area.

French Energy services company Technip said on 23 August 2013, it would work on the installation of the world's deepest underwater gas pipeline for Shell, planned for the Gulf of Mexico. The field is located in the Walker Ridge area in the US Gulf of Mexico, at a water depth of approximately 2,900 meters (9,500 feet).

How does climate change affect the formation of ice in the Arctic marginal seas? How do the changes affect the ecosystem? And what are the large-scale consequences for the entire Arctic region and Europe eventually? These are the questions German and Russian scientists are trying to answer during an expedition to the Laptev Sea, East Siberia, which started on 22. August 2013. It is the first expedition to the Russian Arctic as part of a new German-Russian joint project, coordinated at GEOMAR Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research Kiel, and supported through Russian and German funding for three years at around 7 million euros.

The new provisions on electromagnetic fields and the proof procedure under telecommunications law entered into force on 22 August 2013. The ordinance amending the existing provisions has now been adopted by the Federal Government with the consent of the Bundestag and Bundesrat and contains in particular regulations on precautionary health protection.

Extremes heat wave are likely to be seen much more often in the near future. This is projected to double by 2020 and quadruple by 2040, according to a study by scientists of the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK) and the Universidad Complutense de Madrid (UCM). The scientists focus on heat waves that exceed the usual natural variability of summer month temperatures in a given region by a large margin, namely so called 3-sigma events. These are periods of several weeks that are three standard deviations warmer than the normal local climate – often resulting in harvest losses, forest fires, and additional deaths in heat-struck cities. Such heat extremes might cover 85 percent of the global land area in summer by 2100, if CO2 continues to be emitted as it is today, the study shows. In addition to this, even hotter extremes that are virtually non-existent today would affect 60 percent of the global land area. Published 21 August 2013

On 21 August 2013, Japan's Nuclear Regulation Authority upgraded a radioactive water leak at the crippled Fukushima plant to a level three "serious incident", its highest warning in two years, as the operator scrambles to contain the impact on the environment.

On 21 August 2013, the Russian government denied permission for the Greenpeace icebreaker Arctic Sunrise to enter the Northern Sea Route (NSR), despite the ship having fulfilled all the requirements for such an entry. Greenpeace International claims the decision is an attempt to prevent it from exposing the activities of Russian state-owned oil company Rosneft. Multiple vessels contracted by Rosneft and US partner ExxonMobil are conducting seismic testing and geological work in the Kara Sea in preparation for offshore Arctic drilling.

Antarctic krill are the primary food source for many species of whales, seals, penguins and fish. Krill are known to be sensitive to sea temperature, especially in the areas where they grow as adults. This has prompted scientists to try to understand how they might respond to the effects of further climate change. Using statistical models, a team of researchers from the British Antarctic Survey and Plymouth Marine Laboratory assessed the likely impact of projected temperature increases on the Weddell Sea, Scotia Sea and Southern Drake Passage, which is known for its abundance of krill. This region has experienced sea surface warming of as much as 1°C over fifty years. Projections suggest this could rise by another 1°C by the end of the 21st century. The models are based on equations which link krill growth, sea surface temperature, and food availability. An analysis of the results, published on 21 August 2013, in the online journal PLOS ONE, suggests warming, if continued, could reduce the area of growth habitat by up to 20%. The projected effects of warming are not evenly spread. The island of South Georgia is located within the area likely to be worst affected. Here the reduction in krill habitat could be as much as 55%.

August 20 is Earth Overshoot Day 2013, marking the date when humanity exhausted nature’s budget for the year.

On 20 August 2013, Ecuador's President Raffael Correa canceled Germany's special programme for the Yasuní biosphere reserve. President Correa said his government would unilaterally terminate the environmental agreement with Germany, following German criticism Ecuador's decision to exploit oil in the Yasuni National Park. The German gov­ern­ment had agreed with Ecuador in 2012 on an extensive programme of support. The aim of the programme is to preserve the bio­di­ver­sity and the forests in the Yasuní Biosphere Reserve, and to empower the indigenous popu­la­tion living there.

On 20 August 2013, the European Commission adopted a package of measures to address the continued unsustainable fishing of herring by the Faroe Islands. The measures include the ban of imports of herring and mackerel from the Atlanto-Scandian stocks that has been caught under the control of the Faroe Islands as well as fishery products containing or made of such fish. The measures also include restrictions on the use of EU ports by vessels fishing for the herring and mackerel stocks under the control of the Faroe Islands. This means that some Faroese vessels will not be allowed to dock in EU ports, except in cases of emergency. The Atlanto-Scandian herring stock was until 2013 managed jointly by Norway, Russia, Iceland, the Faroe Islands and the EU through an agreed long-term management plan and pre-established shares of the Total Allowable Catch (TAC). However, in 2013 the Faroe Islands unilaterally decided to break out of this agreement and established an autonomous quota which more than trebled their previously agreed share.

Antarctic sea ice extent for 19 August 2013 was 18.70 million square kilometers (7.22 million square miles), a record or near-record high level (August 19, 2010 was similarly high), led by unusually extensive ice in the Bellingshausen, Amundsen, and Ross seas, and in the western Indian Ocean sector.

Twelve Dongria villages have voted against Vedanta's plan to mine bauxite in the Niyamgiri Hills during consultations ordered by India’s Supreme Court in April 2013, because their religious, cultural and social rights would be jeopardized if mining were to go ahead.

On 16 August 2013, MV St. Thomas Aquinas a Philippine-registered passenger ferry collided with a cargo ship named MV Sulpicio Express Siete near the central city of Cebu, Philippines. The ferry was carrying 120,000 litres of bunker fuel, 20,000 litres of diesel fuel, and 20,000 litres of lube oil. The collision resulted to oil sillage which affected the Municipality of Cordova and Cities of Lapu-Lapa and Talisay, all in the Province of Cebu.

At an announcement on 15 August 2013, in Washington, D.C., Kristofer Helgen, curator of mammals at the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History, presented anatomical and DNA evidence that establish the olinguito (pronounced oh-lin-GHEE-toe) as a living species distinct from other known olingos, carnivorous tree-dwelling mammals native to Central and South America. His team’s work, also published on 15 August 2013, in the journal ZooKeys, represents the first discovery of a new carnivorous mammal species in the American continents in more than three decades.

On 14 August 2013, a White House official confirmed to the Washington Post that installation of solar panels began this week on the White House roof. The plan to use solar energy was first revealed in October 2010, but was not put into effect until now.

On 13 August 2013 the research ship MYA II was handed over to science at the Alfred Wegner Institute at a ceremony in List on Sylt. Ten percent of the 4.5 million euro development and construction costs for the MYA II were met by the State of Schleswig-Holstein, and 90 percent from federal funds. The research vessel is extremely modern and ideally equipped for coastal research. It has a particulate filter as well as a waste gas purification system, which removes nitrogen oxide (NOx) from engine exhaust fumes. Moreover an environmentally friendly ship coating was used and an impressed current system was installed to prevent corrosion on the hull as a substitute for toxic zinc anodes. Neither wastewater nor oily bilge water from the engine room get into the sea, but are disposed of in port. The “Blue Angel” eco label for the environmentally friendly ship design was revealed during the celebration on 13 August 2013.

The world's biggest river research expedition started on the Danube on 13 August 2013. The Joint Danube Survey 3 (JDS3) catalyzed international cooperation from all 14 of the main Danube Basin countries and the European Commission. For six weeks between 13 August and 26 September, the JDS3 ships traveled 2,375 km downstream the Danube River, through 10 countries, to the Danube Delta. The JDS3 was coordinated by the International Commission for the Protection of the Danube River (ICPDR). An international Core Team of 20 scientists was responsible for sampling, sample processing, on-board analyses and all survey activities. The Joint Danube Survey 3 was officially launched by the State Secretary at the Federal Environment Ministry, and the Bavarian Minister of the Environment in Regensburg on 14 August 2014.