Supermarket refrigeration systems that contain natural halogen-free refrigerants are the most climate-friendly of all technologies currently available for the purpose. These are the findings of Comparative assessment of the climate relevance of supermarket refrigeration systems and equipment research project, which was presented and discussed by over 50 experts at a conference held on 5 September... read more
Consumer electronics are seldom green
The Federal Environment Agency (UBA) will have a booth at the Consumer Electronics Fair (IFA), held from 29 August to 3 September in Berlin. UBA will provide information about stand-by losses in electronic consumer and entertainment devices and how to limit the losses and save electricity. One four-person household consumes an average 3,600 kilowatt hours per year, of which 440 kilowatt hours are... read more
A healthy start in life
Unborn children and infants often react differently-- in many cases considerably more sensitively- than do adults or older children to pollutants, radiation or other environmental influences. They are sometimes particularly exposed to the harmful effects of passive smoking or poor indoor air quality. So what can expectant mothers and parents of young children really do to protect their infants and... read more
Emissions reporting made easy
Registration of pollutant emissions by German corporations has made a successful start via the new European (E-PRTR). A new data collection software system known as BUBE-Online (Betriebliche Umweltdatenberichterstattung-Online) will make it easy for industrial corporations to report their emissions data via the Internet to the appropriate federal state authorities. The PRTR data will be forwarded... read more
Online now: The new H2O-Wissen media database
The Federal Environment Agency’s (UBA) H2O-Wissen online database is in time for the back-to-school season to offer more than 400 contributions with ideas and materials for classroom lessons. Links to materials can be located on the Internet by means of various search criteria, e.g. title, author, or topic area such as ‘aquatic animals and plants’, ‘flooding’, or ‘development policy’. Teachers who... read more
Health: Carefree summer
Summer, sun, holidays and water play: summertime is the best time of year for many people. But besides fun and relaxation, it can also give rise to health problems related to high ozone levels, heat waves, or ultraviolet radiation. Moreover, ticks which can transmit disease are especially active at this time of year. A new guide titled Sommer ohne Sorgen [Carefree summer] on how to handle the down... read more
Environmental justice - Environmental and health protection for everyone!
The poor often live in an environment which can cause illness, according to epidemiological studies done related to social and environmental factors. Their results show that the lower income populations in Germany are more prone to live in streets where there is heavier through traffic and where they are more exposed to noise and exhaust gases than people who are better off financially. Respirator... read more
Energy-saving advice in Turkish
The result of collaborative efforts by the Federal Environment Agency (UBA), the Turkish Community in Germany (German acronym: TGD), and the Turkish-language environmental group called Yesil Cember within Friends of the Earth Germany (BUND), is the publication of the first guide on how to save energy in the household to appear in Turkish. The guide gives practical everyday advice. It is UBA’s way... read more