Today, for the first time in Europe CO2 gas was injected below the surface at Europe’s first CO2 stoaring test facility in Germany

Just a few hours ago, Europe’s first underground carbon dioxide storage site was opened near Berlin in Ketzin, Germany. The test facility is aimed at finding out whether CO2 capturing and storing is a viable method to reduce CO2 emissions and to use this technology to make coal-fired power plants – which are build eagerly [...]

Croatia could be the first victim of the failure of the EU reform treaty

Earlier this month, the Lisbon Treaty which was aimed at streamlining decision-making in the EU, making the EU more democratic and manageable and to make it work more efficiently was rejected by Irish voters. As it can only come into effect with approval from all member states, the reform treaty might be killed as was [...]

The EU decided to include airlines operating in Europe into emissions trading overburdening an industry already struggling

The European Commission decided to cap airline emissions from 2012 on which will cost the industry and passengers billions of dollars. European and foreign airlines will be added to the European emissions-trading system which imposes fix CO2 quotas on businesses and forces them to buy emission permits in auctions for those emissions exceeding the quotas. [...]

60th anniversary of the Berlin Airlift

On June 24th 1948 the Soviet Union closed off all roads and supply roads to West Berlin to get power over the half of the city occupied by France, Britain and the United States. Only 2 days later the United States and Britain launched the Airlift in order to rescue the [...]

Bio fuel out of orange peels

Bio fuels produced by converting food crops into ethanol are facing heavy criticism for fueling the global food crisis. But there are bio fuels that are both, friendly to the environment and no competition for food supplies. These biofuels are made of waste and leftovers of agricultural production such as straw, matured timber and orange [...]

Saudi Arabia boosting its oil production might not even bring short-term relief

Soaring oil prices have caused lots of trouble in the recent months. Motorists are forking out more and more money for gasoline and are struggling to afford their mobility, politicians around the world talk a lot about who to blame for this unstoppable development and the alleged culprits are speculators, the [...]

The new building of the U.S. embassy in Berlin is to be opened on July 4th on its historic site

Walking along Boulevard Unter den Linden in Berlin towards the Pariser Platz square and the Brandenburg Gate is really impressive. Along the street there are luxury boutiques, tourist stores, the  Humboldt University and the Berlin State Opera. At the Pariser Platz square is the famous Hotel Adlon, the British, French and now again the Embassy of [...]

Greetings from Berlin

The weather  is nice, it’s short after sunrise and I’m looking forward to another great day in Berlin. Though I’ve already been here several times, arriving at Berlin’s new ultramodern central railway station and having an amazing view on the German parliament – the Bundestag – is again and again a great experience.
Taking a ride [...]

Greek garbarge crisis

I’ve been to Greece more than a dozen times during the last 15 years and I’m full of admiration for the beautiful landscape and the great people there. Relaxed living is the Greek way. Healthy and tasty cuisine and a wonderful scenery.
However, the Greeks obviously lack of environmental awareness. Just remember the devastating forest fires which caused widespread destruction last summer and killed [...]

India’s airlines suffer most from the oil price hike

India’s aviation industry has been growing fastest in the world for years. New low-cost carriers enabled more and more new middle-class Indians to afford flying and switch from trains to planes for a more comfortable journey. Safety is also an advantage of air travel in India as the overage railroad infrastructure in addition to overpacked [...]