Press

A research project on behalf of the Federal Environment Agency has shown the magnitude of the contamination of the environment by pharmaceuticals: traces of more than 630 different pharmaceutical ingredients and their degradation products have been recorded in many regions of the earth. They can be found in water, soil, sludge and organisms.

More than half of the deep, oligotrophic lakes in Northern Germany have ‘good’ ecological status and therefore already achieve the objectives of the EU Water Framework Directive. These good reviews are cause for the Federal Environment Agency to declare them as “Water Type of the Year 2014” on the occasion of World Water Day.

Four common power adaptors in non-stop operation can cost up to 51 euros in electricity per year. The average household of two can save 250 euros through more economical use of energy. A new brochure by the Federal Environment Agency about saving energy in the home explains how to do it without giving up any comfort.

The product life cycle analysis for foods is in a class of its own: fully one-fifth of greenhouse gas emissions in Germany are traceable to the food sector. Nitrogen surpluses from agriculture contaminate groundwater, while eleven million tonnes of food are discarded and wasted every year.

The Federal Ministry for Environment (BMU) and the Federal Environment Agency (UBA) awarded the second annual Bundespreis Ecodesign prize today. The 12 prize winners were publicly announced and celebrated at the awards ceremony which was held at the Federal Ministry for Environment in Berlin.