The Environment Chronicle

For the third time since 1996, United States officials have flooded the Grand Canyon, in an effort to preserve local ecology and species. The water was released from the Glen Canyon Dam, which dams up the Colorado River and creates the reservoir Lake Powell. The ecosystem was altered when the Glen Canyon Dam was constructed in 1963. When the dam was opened Wednesday, March 5 for 60 hours the Grand Canyon Researchers hope the flood will help to restore Colorado River habitats for endangered species in the Grand Canyon. Subsequent scientists will document habitat changes.

The extraordinary warming along the Antarctic Peninsula has led in the past to the disintegration of seven ice shelves. The recent break-up of nearly 400km² happened between 28 and 29 Feb 2008 in less than 24 hours. Previous to that event, in July 2007 a rift of 52km length was formed, probably with the speed of sound in less than a minute. The central part of Wilkins ice shelf was formerly connected by a 20km wide bridge of 200-250m thick ice to two islands, which stabilised the whole ice shelf. This connection is now narrowed to only 6km. The fact that the remaining ice mass is already fractured, let us fear that the connection will soon disintegrate.

On 26 February 2008 the Svalbard Global Seed Vault opened on a remote island in the Arctic Circle, receiving inaugural shipments of 100 million seeds that originated in over 100 countries. The Svalbard Global Seed Vault is designed to store duplicates of seeds from seed collections from around the globe. If seeds are lost, e.g. as a result of natural disasters, war or simply a lack of resources, the seed collections may be reestablished using seeds from Svalbard.

The Blue Angel has stood for high standards in environmental protection for 30 years. It is an important instrument in achieving the goals set by the federal government in climate and resource protection. Its success and worth have high credibility among consumers, for 80 per cent of citizens in Germany recognise the Blue Angel, and many consumers use the environmental label for orientation when making daily purchases.

Construction of Masdar City has now officially commenced with a formal ground-breaking ceremony on February 9, 2008. The City will be constructed over seven phases and is due to be completed by 2016. Masdar is a planned city in Abu Dhabi, in the United Arab Emirates. Designed by the British architectural firm Foster and Partners, the city will rely entirely on solar energy, with a sustainable, zero-carbon, zero-waste ecology. The initiative is headed by the Abu Dhabi Future Energy Company (ADFEC). The city will cost $US22 billion to build and be home to 50,000 people. The car-free city is intended to cover six square kilometers, with no point further than 200 m from a public transport link. Masdar will be the site of a university, the Masdar Institute of Science and Technology. The project is supported by the global conservation charity World Wide Fund for Nature and the sustainability group BioRegional.

In a ruling on 16 January 2008, the Criminal Court of Paris condemned the world's fourth largest oil group Total SA to a fine of €375,000 – the maximum allowable penalty for maritime pollution – claiming "ecological prejudice" caused by the sinking of the Erika. The case represents the first time that a French court has handed down a conviction for environmental damage and the landmark ruling could establish a legal precedent for suing companies or persons over major ecological disasters.

The cargo ship Ice Prince, which was en route to Alexandria carrying more than 5,000 metric tonnes of sawn timber, made an emergency call to the coastguard on the evening of January 13 after getting into difficulties 27 miles off the Devon coast. It eventually sank 26 miles south south east off the coast of Portland Bill, Dorset, in the early hours of Tuesday morning. The Ice Prince had been carrying an estimated 313 metric tons of intermediate fuel oil and other lubricating oils in the engine spaces.

Mollusc of the Year is the Myosotella myosotis, a species of salt marsh snail.

After the pilot phase, the second trading period in the EU Emissions Trading Scheme (EU ETS) started on 1 January 2008, during which tighter national emissions budgets are valid throughout Europe. For Germany this now means a total of 453 million emissions allowances per year for the industrial and energy sectors. A certain percentage of allowances will no longer be allocated free of charge, due to be sold or auctioned instead (40 million per year).

Water plant of the year 2008 is the Eared watermoss (Salvinia natans).

Lichen of the Year is the wolf lichen (Letharia vulpina).

The internationally operating environmental foundation Global Nature Fund (GNF) proclaimed the Mahakam Wetland located in the Indonesian part of Borneo Threatened Lake of the Year 2008. Together with the partner organisation Conservation Foundation for Rare Aquatic Species of Indonesia (RASI) GNF wants to draw the attention to the dramatic increase in deforestation caused by slash-and-burn clearing.

Fungus of the Year 2008 is the Boletus aereus.

The ICRI International Year of the Reef 2008 is a worldwide campaign to raise awareness about the value and importance of coral reefs and threats to their sustainability, and to motivate people to take action to protect them. All individuals, corporations, schools, governments, and organizations are welcome and actively encouraged to participate in IYOR 2008.

The United Nations General Assembly in New York has proclaimed the year 2008 to be the United Nations International Year of Planet Earth (IYPE). The Year's activities will actually span 2007-2009 and support research projects within defined themes focusing on Earth Sciences in the service of society.

On 1 January 2008 the cities of Berlin, Cologne and Hanover introduced low emission zones to mitigate air pollution caused by fine particles. Low emission zones are identified by traffic signs and additional signs. The Thirty-fifth Ordinance on the Implementation of the Federal Immission Control Act (Ordinance on the marking of vehicles) stipulates that vehicles have to be marked with stickers (on the windscreen inside the vehicle) and lays down the criteria vehicles have to meet for the different kinds of stickers. Stickers are valid for all low emission zones in any city in Germany.

Cactus of the year 2008 is the Golden Barrel Cactus, Golden Ball or, amusingly, Mother-in-Law's Cushion (Echinocactus grusonii).

Cambisol or Arenosole is the soil of the year 2008.

Moss of the Year is the Orthotrichum pulchellum.

Perennial Herb of the Year is the Sneezeweed (Helenium).

Algal researchers of the Phycology Section of the German Botanical Society have chosen the desmid Micrasterias as ‘Alga of the Year 2008’.

Poisonous plant of the year 2008 is the Giant hogweed (Heracleum mantegazzianum).

Medicinal Herb of the Year: English Lavender (Lavandula angustifolia)

Bird of the Year 2008 is the Common Cuckoo (Cuculus canorus).

Tree of the Year: Common walnut (Juglans regia)

Animal of the Year: Wisent or European bison (Bison bonasus).

Flower of the year: Musk thistle or Nodding thistle (Carduus nutans)

Orchid of the Year: Southern Marsh-orchid (Dactylorhiza praetermissa)

Spider of the Year 2010 is the Tegenaria atrica.

Butterfly of the Year: Silver-studded Blue (Plebeius argus).

Medicinal Plant of the Year 2008 is the Horse chestnut (Aesculus hippocastanum).

Insect of the Year 2008 is the Zygaena carniolica.

The European Tree Frog (Hyla arborea) was nominated to the Frog of the Year 2008 by the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Herpetologie und Terrarienkunde e.V. (DGHT). The European Tree Frog is the best known frog species in Central Europe.

Fluvial Topography of the Year 2008 and 2009 is the Nette, a small river in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It rises in the Eifel and flows into the Rhine between Weißenthurm and Andernach.

Fish of the Year 2008 is the Bitterling (Rhodeus sericeus amarus).

An oil spill of unknown origin was detected on 26 December 2007 along the coast of Chubut Province in Argentinia, approximately 1,740 km south of Buenos Aires. The spill covered an area of 24 square kilometres in the Atlantic Ocean. The oil affected hundreds of birds around region.

On 19 December 2007, the General Assembly declared the period 2010-2020 as the United Nations Decade for Deserts and the Fight against Desertification, on the recommendation of the Governing Council of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) (resolution 62/195).

The International Polar Year 2007/08 was launched in March 2007, and will continue through early 2009. During this time, a regular sequence of International Polar Days will raise awareness and provide information about particular and timely aspects of the polar regions. December 13th, 2007 was the second International Polar Day, this time focusing on Ice Sheets.

During oil offloading from the Statfjord A platform in the North Sea, about 4,000 standard cubic metres of crude oil was spilled into the sea on 12 December 2007. The spill occurred when the tanker Navion Britannia was loading oil from a loading buoy. The Statfjord field is located around 200 kilometres west of Bergen, close to the border of the UK continental shelf.