Mr Michael Müller, Parliamentary State Secretary in the Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety, opened a conference on air quality in indoor spaces in Berlin today, saying, ”Environmental protection means preventative healthcare. We must become active in all areas where environmental factors may have adverse impact on health. Since we spend around 80 to 90 per... read more
Second-time award for family-friendly employer Federal Environment Agency
The Federal Environment Agency (UBA) has been awarded the certificate of the ”audit berufundfamilie®” (workandfamily audit) for the second time today in Berlin in recognition of its status as a family-friendly employer. Minister for Family Affairs Ursula von der Leyen and Parliamentary State Secretary at the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs, Ms Dagmar Wöhrl, handed over the certificate of the... read more
Bathing season opened
The bathing waters in Germany were monitored for the first time during the 2008 bathing season according to the new EC Bathing Water Directive. The new directive requires Member States to switch from passive monitoring of bathing areas to active management and thereby ensure better protection of bathers. Furthermore, the new directive promotes comprehensive information and involvement of the publi... read more
Imports of waste subject to authorisation reach new high
Import levels of waste subject to authorisation broke a record high of 6.9 million tonnes (mn t) in 2008. On the other hand exports declined to 1.6 mn t. The greatest volumes of waste imports consisted of treated wood and contaminated soils (1.1 mn t each); in exports, the largest proportion consisted of 500,000 t of residual waste from sorting facilities. Wastes subject to authorisation are prima... read more
Climate protection through protection of the oceans
Global warming is changing our oceans. Polar bears who can no longer hunt on isolated icepacks are but one sad consequence that global warming might have on the complex interdependencies that exist in marine ecosystems. Oceans are warming up, with the measuring site at Helgoland Reede registering a 1.5 °C increase in water temperature since recording began in 1962. The mean sea level worldwide is... read more
Experiencing environment and health with all the senses
The Federal Ministry for Environment has expanded its free service for teachers: new educational materials on the environment and health are now available on the Internet. The materials, developed with the cooperation of the German Federal Ministry for Environment (BMU) and the Federal Environment Agency (UBA), are intended for use at primary schools. read more
Bee’s art at Federal Environment Agency
APIS REGINA - Bienenarbeiten (bees’ work) is the name of a new exhibition opening on 11 June 2009 at the Federal Environment Agency (UBA) in Dessau-Roßlau. The Berlin artist Bärbel Rothhaar, who has devoted her art to bees for about ten years, sees her work as a kind of dialogue between man and nature. read more
Cycling to work - not only on ”Sport and Health Day”
”UBA is on the move” is the Federal Environment Agency (UBA) motto as it celebrates a sports and health day on 3 June. A national campaign to promote cycling to work was also launched on 1 June by the Allgemeiner Deutscher Fahrrad-Club (ADFC) and Germany’s largest state health insurance scheme, Allgemeine Ortskrankenkassen (AOK), which the UBA is also supporting. Cycling plays a key role for the A... read more
