The Environment Chronicle

The Sixth session of the Conference of the Parties (COP 6) took place from 13 to 25 November 2000 in The Hague, The Netherlands. Expectations of the 6th Climate Change Conference were very high and disappointment in its failure consequently intense. The summit had aimed to clarify the details of the Kyoto Protocol, but was unable to achieve agreement between the umbrella group, which included US, Australia, Canada, Japan and Russia, the group of developing countries and the European Union. Parties therefore decided to hold a follow-up conference in 6 months' time, where efforts to reach agreement would be renewed.

Around 4 million litres of crude oil escape from a burst pipeline belonging to the state-owned oil concern Petrobas into the Barigui and Iguacu rivers, 700 km south-west of Rio de Janeiro. The Iguacu flows through the Iguacu Falls national park. The oil slick, several cm thick, kills thousands of fish and birds and threatens the water supplies of some cities. The Iguacu Falls, one of the largest tourist attractions in brazil, are also threatened. Floating barriers are used to contain the slick while it is pumped off. The oil concern is fined tens of millions US$.

The German Government has reached an historic agreement with energy companies for the gradual closing down of the country's 19 nuclear power stations. It means that Germany has become the first leading economic power officially to announce its intention to phase out the use of nuclear energy. Nuclear power plants would be shut down after a lifespan of 32 years. That means Germany's last nuclear plant could go off-line in about 20 years.

World Turtle Day was initiated in 2000 by the American Tortoise Rescue, a turtle and tortoise rescue organization founded in 1990 in Malibu, California. The group brings attention to turtle conservation issues and highlights ways each of us can help protect these gentle but jeopardized animals.

The purpose of this Act is to facilitate a sustainable development of energy supply in the interest of managing global warming and protecting the environment and to achieve a substantial increase in the percentage contribution made by renewable energy sources to power supply in order at least to double the share of renewable energy sources in total energy consumption by the year 2010, in keeping with the objectives defined by the European Union and by the Federal Republic of Germany.

A storm and technical failure cause the dam at the Rumanian-Australian gold miner Aural's treatment plant to burst in the northern Rumanian city Baia Mare. 100,000 m_ mud contaminated with cyanide pour into Hungary's second largest river, the Theiss, and from there into the Danube. The Danube delta, previously environmentally intact, is threatened. The contamination kills thousands of fish and poisons drinking water.

The 1992 Helsinki Convention on the Protection of the Marine Environment of the Baltic Sea Area has been frequently discussed and debated. It deals with the environment and biodiversity in both the seas and coastlines, and is legally binding in civil law.

Perennial herb of the year is the Sedum.

Vegetable of the Year 2000: Garden orache (Atriplex hortensis L.)

Animal of the Year 2000 is the Aesculapian snake (Elaphe longissima).

Bird of the Year 2000 is the Red Kite (Milvus milvus).

Fungus of the Year 2000 is the Amanita regalis commonly known as the royal fly agaric or the king of Sweden Amanita.

Orchid of the Year: Red Helleborine (Cephalanthera rubra)

Insect of the Year 2000 is the green rose chafer (Cetonia aurata).

Fish of the Year 2000 is the Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar).

Biotope of the Year: River

Tree of the Year 2000 is the Silver Birch (Betula pendula).

The past 10 years have been the warmest decade recorded in 160 years.

Fluvial Topography of the Year 2000 / 2001 is the Gottleuba, a left tributary of the Elbe in Saxony.

Flower of the Year 2000 is the Purple Gromwell (Lithospermum purpurocaeruleum).

With a hurricane blowing over southern Germany, Reactor Block B is shut down, and Block C's output reduced from 1300 to 500 MW. Later in the evening, Block C was powered up fully, and at 9.23 pm, Block B was again operational. These precautionary measures prevented any damage to the facility.

The Erika breaks in half in heavy seas off the west coast of France and sinks to the sea bed with two thirds of its cargo. Special ships attempt to pump the remaining oil away (10,000 to 12,000 t). Nonetheless, the storm drives the oil slick onto the coast over Christmas, contaminating over 400 km of coastline and at least 6000 birds.

The Fifth Meeting of the Conference of the Parties (COP 5) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (FCCC) met in Bonn, Germany, from 25 October - 5 November 1999. At COP 5 itself the Parties discussed a system of monitoring commitments and the design of the Kyoto mechanisms, especially the (Clean Development Mechnism, CDM). Guidelines were also drawn up for industrialised countries' national emissions reports.

A serious incident at the Japanese reprocessing plant injures some technicians, killing two. Hundreds of people are exposed to radioactivity.

A storm causes a short circuit in the Ukrainian nuclear power station, leading to a fire in the cooling system for the first reactor block. The fire can be kept under control (source: Greenpeace).

The European Day of Parks was launched by the EUROPARC Federation with the aim of raising the profile of Europe's protected areas and generating public support for their aims and work. It was first held in 1999 and a broad variety of events in and about protected areas highlighting the need to protect these have been organised. Events have been celebrated across Europe on an annual basis on and around 24 May, a date that has been chosen to commemorate the creation of Europe's first nine national parks in Sweden on 24 May 1909.

The Rumanian nuclear power station is shut down for 36 hours due to an interruption in the water supply (source: Greenpeace).

Radioactive steam escapes from the ventilation system in the Russian power station. The exact levels of radiation or pollution are unknown (source: Greenpeace).

When signing the new Convention on the Protection of the Rhine in Bern on 12 April 1999, the Governments of the five countries bordering the Rhine and the representative of the European Community formally confirmed their determination to reinforce their co-operation with a view to a continued protection of the valuable character of the Rhine, its banks and its flood plains. This convention substitutes the Bern Convention signed in 1963. The Convention entered into force on 1st January 2003.

The fuel rods prove faulty, the reactor is shut down (source: Greenpeace).

Russia cannot afford to maintain and make necessary repairs to the power station. One reason is the unpaid electricity bills (source: Greenpeace).

During an inspection, an employee of the power station is exposed to radiation of 340 MilliSievert (the current permitted maximum is 50, and this was reduced to 20 as of May 2000). Scores 2 on the 7 point INES scale (source: Greenpeace).

Russia cannot afford to maintain and make necessary repairs to the power station. One reason is the unpaid electricity bills (source: Greenpeace).

The catastrophic financial situation at the power stations increases their risk. Only 2.4 to 5% of electricity bills are paid in cash, the rest in kind or not at all. Wages cannot be paid, fuel and replacement parts cannot be bought (source: Greenpeace).

The plant's sarcophagus threatens to collapse and requires urgent maintenance at a cost of c. 1 billion US$ (source: Greenpeace).

Radioactivity escapes from the shut down reprocessing plant in Karlsruhe through a defective ventilation system, briefly exposing 31 employees to contaminated air in three cases (source: Greenpeace).

A turbine is shut down in a nuclear power station of the same type as in Chernobyl due to a leak in the cooling system, although no radioactive pollution arises (source: Greenpeace).

The Darmstadt prosecution service investigates whether RWE broke the Atomic Energy Act and the Radiation Protection Ordinance. In November 1998, 17 inspections were made while Block B was operating, which should have been shut down for the test, as stated in the operating handbook (source: Greenpeace).