Latest in Environment Highlight
Latest in Environment
Europe’s shocking failure to act on climate
The European Union has agreed to emission reduction targets for 2030. But far from fulfilling its duties under the Paris Agreement, environmentalists say Europe has abdicated its role as a climate leader.The European Union has agreed a host of climate and energy targets this week: It’s set energy efficiency standards for new buildings, and agreed …
You won’t stop climate change on your own — demand action!
Most of us do things every day that contribute to climate change, and changing our behavior is vital. But we won’t get anywhere acting alone. And that’s where you come in.”Your individual actions are key to protecting our planet,” could almost be a slogan for our century. That’s why I don’t have a car, only …
These crabs like decorating – themselves
What happens if you give decorator crabs access to fluffy pom-poms? The animals will look like Christmas. But there is method to their seasonal attire. Christmas is known as the season in which oh-so-many people appear to develop a strange longing to dress in colorful patterned jumpers that wouldn’t stand a chance throughout the rest …
The shock of a hurricane hits home
When Hurricane Maria raged across the Carribean earlier this year, a group of German students had no idea they would become involved in the ongoing clean-up. But three months later, that’s exactly what happened.I guess not many of you have ever been confronted with a hurricane, and I hope you never will. On our trip …
Mounties’ muskrat hats pit animal rights against tradition
Canada’s mounted police have long kept out the bitter cold with muskrat fur. Traditionalists treasure their hats as the heritage of a country that built its wealth on the fur trade. But is it time to go cruelty-free?Clara Klein, one of the few furriers left in Ottawa, works out of a basement workshop draped in …
How an Indian office worker became a desert fruit farmer
Choga Lal Saini left his office job to grow fruit in the desert. Sixteen years later, he has created an oasis and become a source of farming knowledge for others near and far.Sand dunes and patches of dry shrubs as far as the eye can see. The vast Thar desert, which forms the natural border …
Chile’s dairy farmers opt for greener milk
The milk farmers in Chile’s idyllic Los Lagos region are running out of money. They have to spend too much on water and energy. Advised by the “Smart Energy Concepts” initiative, they want to increase efficiency.Project goal: Reducing greenhouse emissions in the agriculture and food production sector Project implementation: With the help of technology transfer, …
Sleeping giants – when whales nap
Falling asleep in a bathtub appears to be a very bad idea for humans. Simply, because we can’t breath under water. But what about whales and other marine mammals – why don’t they drown?It must be a slightly surreal sight. Imagine being a diver and coming across a group of sperm whales, not swimming but …
Drowning the Everglades
The Everglades acted as a natural shock absorber that softened Hurricane Irma’s impact. But being the on frontline of the most powerful Atlantic storm on record took its toll, threatening a unique wetland wilderness.The Everglades is a wet place — hosting a profusion of aquatic plants and animals. But you can have too much of …
China u-turns on rapid end to coal heating
Plans to rapidly cut coal use in China halted after households were left without heat. But air quality appears to have improved despite the setback.China has made high-profile commitments this year to cutting carbon emissions and prioritizing a cleaner environment. But an action plan aimed at cutting coal use across large swathes of the country …
Controlling the flow, keeping the balance
The Senegal delta is a delicate ecosystem that relies on balance between sea and freshwater. But to preserve it, balancing the needs of man and nature is almost as important.Project goal: Water management program, run with the local communities Project Implementation: Opening locks at certain times, regulating salt and freshwater, regulating fisheries, finding new ways …
Winds of change: France faces challenges as it embraces offshore wind power
France has launched its first offshore turbine to curb reliance on nuclear and reach climate goals — France could become Europe’s second-largest wind energy producer after Germany. But the transition brings problems.Offshore wind energy produces more — and more reliable — energy than previously thought, a new study shows. Offshore wind facilities in the North …
Unfair competition: The battle between high-speed rail and low-cost airlines
Germany’s long-awaited high-speed rail link between Berlin and Munich has finally been inaugurated. But Green MEP Michael Cramer says it’s not enough to lure most travelers away from carbon-heavy road and air travel.On Friday, German politicians celebrated the opening of a long-awaited high-speed train line between Munich and Berlin. The 632-kilometer (392-mile) ride will shave …
In Senegal and West Africa, villages fight climate change
Across western Africa, people in rural communities are taking the future into their own hands with local initiatives to fight climate change and pollution, and improve public health and education.Project area: Sub-Saharan Africa (Niger, Senegal, Mali, Democratic Republic of Congo, Burundi and Ghana) Project aim: Africa’s Dimitra Clubs see men and women in rural communities …
EU eyes high-tech cleanup for plastic pollution in rivers
The EU is exploring high-tech solutions to plastic pollution but some experts are skeptical. They say there are simpler and more effective ways to keep our waters plastic-free and they are available now.In an alley in downtown Vienna, a cold November wind blows fluffy white pellets across the pavement, swirling into drifts near the gutter …
Burning wood under fire: Are forests going up our chimneys?
To meet the EU’s renewable energy target, countries have rediscovered wood as a fuel. But conservationists fear this new hunger for wood might have disastrous consequences — for the forests, the people and the climate.You may think that conservationists would be happy with the European Union’s (EU) goal to switch from fossil fuels to renewable …
Tracking Cape Town’s food-raiding baboons
It’s more than monkey business: in South Africa’s Cape Town, baboons sneak into homes to steal food. We talked to biologist Gaelle Fehlmann to find out more about this human-baboon conflict in the city. Gaelle Fehlmann is a biologist at Swansea University. As part of her PhD work, she studied the conflict between baboons and …
Almost all plastic in the ocean comes from just 10 rivers
Most of the plastic in our oceans doesn’t get dumped there directly, rivers carry it to the sea. As it turns out, a very small number of them do most of the damage.At last count, there were at least 8.3 billion tons of plastic in the world. Much of it gets discarded and eventually ends …
Tears and tree houses: the occupation in Hambach Forest
The trees may soon have to give way to a coal mine expansion. But activists are building tree houses and blocking roads. DW spent three days in the ancient forest with themMichael Zobel is feeling dejected and has tears in his eyes. Soon he may have to say goodbye to the Hambach forest, which has …
Fahmy reviews Egypt’s efforts in facing climate change during Bonn’s COP23
Egypt’s Minister of Environment Khaled Fahmy said Friday that the Paris Agreement is considered as a big change in the international mutual efforts to face the danger of climate change, regarding the ability of countries to adapt with its negative impacts, and throughout the international cooperation to decrease its impacts, according to a statement from …
WHO, UNFCCC team up to protect health from climate change at COP23
Egypt is one of the potentially vulnerable countries to the effects of climate change: World Bank
UN climate conference COP23 kicks off in Bonn
The abrupt changes in the atmosphere witnessed in the past 70 years are without precedent
Fiji safe from cyclones this season – but what about next?
Small island states in the South Pacific, like Fiji, have been battered by cyclones. As these weather events become more extreme due to climate change, how do remote island communities recover after the storm has passed?Even more than a year after the destruction of Cyclone Winston, the largest cyclone ever to hit land in the …
Wild lion caught on camera nursing leopard cub
A lion has been photographed nursing a leopard cub in the first-ever known case of cross-species suckling among wild cats. The two species are normally mortal enemies.The photographs were taken at Tanzania’s Ngorongoro Conservation Area earlier this week and published by the wild cat conservation group Panthera. The images show a five-year-old lioness named “Nosikitok” …
Having fewer children: A solution for climate change?
The best personal choices to reduce our individual contribution to climate change are living car free – and having fewer children, a recent study shows. But is it a realistic solution to have no children at all?If you were proud of yourself conscientiously recycling on your drive back home after picking up your kids from …
Berlin environment blog: Going abroad, going green
Our reporter Bormey Chy came to Berlin from Cambodia to work at DW and explore an exciting city. But she also discovered a greener, more sustainable lifestyle.When I came to Berlin for my two month internship, I expected to learn about the city’s culture, people and history, the rise and fall of the Berlin Wall; …
Are we really heading for an Anthropocene apocalypse?
News of a sixth mass extinction makes for frightening reading. But is it really too late – and can changing how we frame the issue inspire a more harmonious relationship with our planet?This week, a new study warned that biodiversity is being lost on a scale comparable to the cataclysm that wiped dinosaurs off the …
The financial system killing environmental activists
A Global Witness report reveals 2016 as the deadliest year yet for environmental defenders. International investors are accused of bankrolling the projects that hundreds of people have been killed protesting.The action many of us take in daily lives to protect the planet might involve the extra headache of sorting recycling, or foregoing the pleasures of …
Is that bamboo in my drink?
A young environmental activist has turned to biodegradable bamboo straw to combat the overuse of their plastic counterpart in Cambodia, and he’s hoping to inspire others across the country to follow his lead.Traveling around Cambodia, it seems there is no way to avoid plastic straws. They are everywhere. You buy bottled water, you get a …
How to make a key board from leftovers and mementos
Most of our furniture comes from factories but some things really aren’t that difficult to make ourselves. I started with my own key board.Ever since we moved to our new home last year, more and more shelves and closets from a large Swedish furniture store (that I won’t name because I don’t have to) have …