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
Quick response in case of chemical accident
Up-to-date, quick and reliable information on chemical substances and their environmental impact is important for the sake of environmental protection and when fire departments and the police must avert danger. A database on substances jointly operated by the Germany’s federal government and the Laender Gemeinsamen Stoffdatenpool Bund/Länder, or GSBL, has been in place since 1995. With immediate e... read more
What is the state of environmental protection in Germany?
What progress is being made in Germany in the area of environmental protection? The now updated Environmental Key Indicator System (German: KIS) of the Federal Environment Agency (UBA) has the answers. More than 50 indicators describe the state of the environment and point to the successes of environmental policy as well as to areas where there is more to be done. Germany got high marks in 2008 fo... read more
Pollutants in my neighbourhood
How much carbon dioxide is the local factory emitting into the air? Which heavy metals are in the effluent going into rivers? Which countries does the industrial operation export its waste to? Anyone looking for information on pollutant emissions out of sheer curiosity or for professional purposes can now find out through Germany’s new Pollutant Release and Transfer Register (PRTR). Online access... read more
