The Environment Chronicle

Kristjan Loftsson, the director of Iceland’s largest whaling company, told daily newspaper Morgunbladid on 25 February 2016 that Hvalur HF would not be sending out vessels to slaughter fin whales this season because of difficulties exporting the meat to the Japanese market.

On 23 October 2015, Southern California Gas Company discovered a leak at the Aliso Canyon natural gas storage facility. This reservoir is the second-largest natural gas storage site in the western United States and about one mile north of homes in Porter Ranch, a neighborhood in the northwest region of the San Fernando Valley region of the city of Los Angeles, California. The gas leak began spewing 110,000 pounds of methane per hour. On 6 January 2016, Governor Jerry Brown declared a state of emergency. On 18 February 2016, state officials announced that the leak was permanently plugged. At its peak this blowout effectively doubled the CH4 emission rate of the entire Los Angeles Basin, and in total released 97,100 metric tonnes of methane to the atmosphere. The total release from Aliso Canyon will substantially impact the State of California greenhouse gas (GHG) emission targets for the year and is equivalent to the annual energy sector CH4 emissions from medium-sized EU nations, the Science reported on 25 February 2016.

On 16 February 2016, the third ESA-developed satellite was launched for Europe’s Copernicus environment programme. The Sentinel-3A satellite was carried into orbit on a Rockot launcher from Plesetsk, Russia, at 17:57 GMT (18:57 CET; 20:57 local time). The first signal from Sentinel-3A was received after 92 min by the Kiruna station in Sweden. The mission is the third of six families of dedicated missions that make up the core of Europe’s Copernicus environmental monitoring network. Copernicus relies on the Sentinels and contributing missions to provide data for monitoring the environment and supporting civil security activities. Sentinel-3 carries a series of cutting-edge sensors to do just that. Over oceans, it measures the temperature, colour and height of the sea surface as well as the thickness of sea ice. These measurements will be used, for example, to monitor changes in Earth’s climate and for more hands-on applications such as marine pollution and biological productivity. Over land, this innovative mission will monitor wildfires, map the way land is used, check vegetation health and measure the height of rivers and lakes.

New research shows that more than 5.5 million people die prematurely every year due to household and outdoor air pollution. More than half of deaths occur in two of the world’s fastest growing economies, China and India. The research, presented on 12 February 2016 at the 2016 annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), found that despite efforts to limit future emissions, the number of premature deaths linked to air pollution will climb over the next two decades unless more aggressive targets are set. “Air pollution is the fourth highest risk factor for death globally and by far the leading environmental risk factor for disease,” said Michael Brauer, a professor at the University of British Columbia’s School of Population and Public Health in Vancouver, Canada. “Reducing air pollution is an incredibly efficient way to improve the health of a population.“ For the AAAS meeting, researchers from Canada, the United States, China and India assembled estimates of air pollution levels in China and India and calculated the impact on health. Their analysis shows that the two countries account for 55 per cent of the deaths caused by air pollution worldwide. About 1.6 million people died of air pollution in China and 1.4 million died in India in 2013. In China, burning coal is the biggest contributor to poor air quality. In India, a major contributor to poor air quality is the practice of burning wood, dung and similar sources of biomass for cooking and heating.

Fiji became the first country in the world to formally approve the UN climate deal agreed by 195 nations in Paris in December 2015. On 12 February 2016 the island nation’s parliament unanimously agreed to ratify the Paris agreement, according to local news reports. The Paris agreement will open for signature in April 2016 to all 197 parties of the UNFCCC. It will enter into force only if 55 countries that produce at least 55% of the world's greenhouse gas emissions ratify, accept, approve or accede to the agreement.

On 9 February 2016 the countries of the Danube river basin agreed in Vienna on joint steps to protect the Danube. At a conference of the International Commission for the Protection of the Danube River (ICPDR), representatives of 14 states agreed on management and flood-prevention plans for the entire Danube river basin. The 2015 to 2021 management plan is the first update of the management plan presented for the first time in 2009 under the EU Water Framework Directive. The 2015 to 2021 management plan is the first update of the management plan presented for the first time in 2009 under the EU Water Framework Directive. It also contains a package of joint measures.

On 2 February 2016 by an overwhelming majority of 592 to 52, Members of the European Parliament voted to approve a report on the Mid-term review of the EU's Biodiversity Strategy, which calls for the protection of the Birds and Habitats Directives. The report was an ‘own-initiative report’ led by the Belgian MEP Mark Demesmaeker. The report stresses that full implementation and enforcement of these laws, collectively known as the Nature Directives, are needed to achieve the targets of the EU Biodiversity Strategy.

The February average temperature for the globe was 2.18°F above the 20th century average. This was not only the highest for the month of February in the 1880-2016 record (surpassing the previous record set in 2015 by 0.59°F ), but it surpassed the all-time monthly record set just two months ago in December 2015 by 0.16°F. February 2016 also marks the 10th consecutive month a monthly global temperature record has been broken.

On 29 January 2016 Kansai Electric Power Co. restarted its Takahama No. 3 reactor, the nation’s third unit to go back online under new safety regulations but the first to run on mixed oxide (MOX) fuel, which contains plutonium extracted from spent nuclear fuel.

On 15 January 2016 Greenpeace International named not only its first female International Executive Director, but two. Jennifer Morgan and Bunny McDiarmid will take up the reins in an innovative co-leadership role on 4 April 2016. Bunny McDiarmid is a 30-year veteran of the organisation as an activist, ship's crewmember, and most recently the executive director of Greenpeace New Zealand which. Bunny has walked the decks of nearly every Greenpeace ship. Jennifer Morgan has walked the corridors of power. As Global Director of the Climate Program at the World Resources Institute she's dealt with heads of state and CEOs. She's been a leader of large teams at major organisations, a climate activist, and a constant innovator. Her other ports of call have included the Worldwide Fund for Nature, Climate Action Network, and E3G.

Spider of the Year 2016 is the Cyclosa conica.

The Fire Salamander (Salamandra salamandra) was nominated to the Amphibian of the Year 2016 by the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Herpetologie und Terrarienkunde e.V. (DGHT).

Butterfly of the Year 2016 is the Magpie Moth (Abraxas grossulariata).

Perennial Herb of the Year 2016 is the Iris. The genus Iris has about 200 species. It takes its name from the Greek word for a rainbow, which is also the name for the Greek goddess of the rainbow, Iris.

Orchid of the Year 2016 is the Summer lady's-tresses (Spiranthes aestivalis).

The environmental foundation Global Nature Fund (GNF) nominates the Lake Tonle Sap in Cambodia as the "Threatened Lake of the Year 2016". On the occasion of World Day of Wetlands on 2nd February, the GNF refers here to the changes that lie ahead for the lake because of climate change and human impact. Together with the local Living Lakes partner organisation Fisheries Action Coalition Team (FACT), GNF calls for sustainable measures to preserve this important habitat.

On 22 March 2016, the Global Nature Fund announced, the choice of the Lake Constance in in Germany, Switzerland and Austria as Living Lake of the Year 2016.

Soil of the Year 2016 are the Gleysols.

Insect of the Year 2016 is the Allacma fusca.

Animal of the Year 2016 is the European hamster (Cricetus cricetus), also known as the Eurasian hamster, black-bellied hamster or common hamster.

Fluvial Topography of the Year 2014 / 2015 is the Trave river. The Trave is a river in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. It is approximately 124 kilometres long, running from its source near the village of Gießelrade in Ostholstein to Travemünde where it flows into the Baltic Sea.

Trichomonas vaginalis is the Protozoan of the Year 2016.

Domestic Animal of the Year 2016 is the Chicken.

Phycologists of the Phycology Section of the German Botanical Society have selected Melosira arctica as alga of the year 2016.

Laboratory Animal of the Year 2016 is the fish. Each year, millions of feeling, intelligent fish are confined, abused, and killed in cruel experiments in laboratories around the world.

Very large gravel-dominated rivers have been named "Water body type of the Year 2016“.

Mollusc of the Year 2016 is the Pisidium amnicum.

Fish of the Year 2016 ist the Northern pike ( Esox lucius).

Medicinal Plant of the Year 2016 is the Caraway (Carum carvi)

The capital of Slovenia, Ljubljana, has won the European Green Capital Award for 2016. The award was presented on 24 June 2014, by EU Environment Commissioner, Janez Potočnik, at a ceremony in Copenhagen, which holds the 2014 European Green Capital title. Ljubljana received recognition for raising environmental awareness amongst its citizens, for its sustainability strategy 'Vision 2025', its implementation of a range of urban green measures over the past decade and its impressive transportation network.

On 13 September 2015 the International Council for Science (ICSU), the International Social Science Council (ISSC) and International Council for Philosophy and Human Sciences (CIPSH) jointly announced today that 2016 would be the International Year of Global Understanding (IYGU). The aim of IYGU is to promote better understanding of how the local impacts the global in order to foster smart policies to tackle critical global challenges such as climate change, food security and migration.

Microbe of the Year 2016 is the Streptomyces bacteria.

Bird of the Year 2016 is the the European goldfinch or goldfinch (Carduelis carduelis).

Cave Animal of the Year 2016 is the Amilenus aurantiacus.

Poisonous plant of the year 2016 is the California poppy (Eschscholzia californica).

Water Plant of the Year 2016 is the River water-crowfoot (Ranunculus fluitans).

Wild bee of the Year 2016 is the Shrill carder bee (Bombus sylvarum).

Tree of the Year 2016 is the Small Leaved Lime or Littleleaf linden (Tilia cordata).

Coast Forest Usedom in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern was chosen as Forest of the Year 2016.