Environment: Essen, Ljubljana, Nijmegen, Oslo and Umeå shortlisted for European Green Capital 2016

The European Commission today announced that Essen (Germany), Ljubljana (Slovenia), Nijmegen (The Netherlands), Oslo (Norway) and Umeå (Sweden) have been selected as the five finalists to advance to the next stage of the European Green Capital 2016 Award. The Award is presented to one European city every year, commending its achievements in environmental sustainability. For the first year since its conception, cities across Europe with more than 100,000 inhabitants were eligible to apply; previously only cities with a population of 200,000 or more qualified.

EU Environment Commissioner Janez Potočnik said: “There is great diversity in this shortlist, with cities large and small competing to win the title of European Green Capital 2016. It's encouraging to see the quality of these applications, which all feature local authorities partnering with citizens to improve the urban environment and encourage sustainable development.”

Essen, Ljubljana, Nijmegen, Oslo and Umeå have been shortlisted from 12 entries across Europe. An independent panel of experts assessed each entry on the basis of the following indicators:

• Climate change: mitigation and adaptation
• Local transport
• Green urban areas incorporating sustainable land use
• Nature and biodiversity
• Ambient air quality
• Quality of the acoustic environment
• Waste production and management
• Water management
• Waste water treatment
• Eco-innovation and sustainable employment
• Energy performance
• Integrated environmental management

The shortlisted cities will now go forward to present their vision, their potential to act as a role model to other cities, and their communication strategy to the Jury in Copenhagen, the current European Green Capital, on 23 June. Following the Jury’s deliberations the European Green Capital 2016 will be announced the next day, 24 June, at an official Award ceremony in Copenhagen.

Background

Six cities have been awarded the title of European Green Capital since its inception in 2010. Stockholm won the inaugural title, followed by Hamburg in 2011, Vitoria-Gasteiz in 2012 and Nantes in 2013. Copenhagen holds the current title which it will pass on to Bristol in 2015.

Europe is now an essentially urban society, with more than two thirds of Europeans living in towns and cities. Many environmental challenges facing our society originate from urban areas but it is also these urban areas that bring together the commitment and innovation needed to resolve them. The European Green Capital Award was conceived as an initiative to recognise efforts, to encourage cities to take further action, and to showcase and encourage exchange of best practice among European cities.

In addition to inspiring other cities, this increased profile can enhance the winning city’s reputation and attractiveness as a destination for people to visit, work and live in.

[europa.eu]

3/4/14

Kerch bridge will be designed for cars and trains. Underwater tunnel is optional. - ministry

Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered the country’s Transportation Ministry on Wednesday to launch the construction of two bridges over the Kerch Strait.
“We need there two bridges both for automobile and railway transportation,” Putin said addressing a session with the members of the Russian government.
Russian Transport minister Maxim Sokolov told the president that there was also a variant of constructing a transportation tunnel under the Kerch Strait.

The Kerch Strait connects the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov at the same time separating Russia’s Taman Peninsula and the Kerch Peninsula in Crimea. The strait ranges in its width between 4.5 kilometers (2.8 miles) and 15 kilometers (9.3 miles), and is up to 18 meters (almost 60 feet) deep.
Transport minister Maksim Sokolov has also added that Russia’s transport links with Crimea are operating without disruptions.
According to the minister, currently there are seven pairs of passenger trains running between Moscow and Crimea. Also, there are three flights from Moscow a day. If it needed, the number of flights may be increased to fourteen, he said.
http://en.itar-tass.com
19/3/14
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Strait of Kerch:Google Maps

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‘Shameful’: World loses up to third of produced food, World Bank says

The world loses a staggering one-quarter to one-third of all food produced for human consumption, according to the World Bank’s quarterly Food Price Watch report, with the developed world leading the wastage.
The world is losing 25 to 33 percent of the food it produces – nearly 4 billion metric tons - according to estimates from the World Bank, the Food and Agriculture Association (FAO) and the World Resources Institute.
In regions suffering from malnourishment, such as Africa and South East Asia, this translates as 400 to 500 calories per person per day and in the developed world up to 1,520 calories.

Cereals were highlighted as representing more than half food lost or wasted at 53 percent by calorie content, but by weight fruits and vegetables represent the largest share of global food loss at 44 percent.
Most of the wastage takes place at the consumption stage (35 percent), followed by production and handling and storage (both 24 percent).
“The amount of food wasted and lost globally is shameful,” Jim Yong Kim, the president of the World Bank, said in a statement.
“Millions of people around the world go to bed hungry every night, and yet millions of tons of food end up in trash cans or spoiled on the way to market. We have to tackle this problem in every country in order to improve food security and to end poverty,” Kim added. 
The report also found a substantial difference between the amount of food lost in developed and developing countries and across regions. 56 percent of food loss takes place in the developed world and only 44 percent in developing countries.
In North America, some 61 percent of food losses are in the consumption stage, for example food, which has been bought and then rots in refrigerators. In the US and the UK and average family of four wastes between $1,600 and $1,100 a year in food they buy but do not consume.
The authors blamed the policies of large supermarkets, which encourage overbuying by consumers as well as overproduction of some foods for sale.
In contrast, sub Saharan Africa lost just 5 percent of food at the consumption stage but vast amounts were lost during production and processing.
For example, the large amounts of water used to irrigate rice or roast coffee were deemed wasteful, especially if the end product is lost before it reaches the consumer.
The study found that there were large variations across countries. Although in the short term, pressures in food prices are expected to weaken, weather conditions in Argentina, Australia and China, as well as higher oil prices, mean that food production will need constant monitoring.
The World Bank also set out how it intends to boost agriculture and agriculture-related investment; commitments in 2013 amounted to $8.1 billion.
Potential solutions to limit the amount of food wasted include changing agricultural production techniques and making suitable investments in transport and storage infrastructure as well as changing commercial and consumer behavior in developed countries. 
http://rt.com/news/world-food-waste-lose-068/
27/2/14
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Related:

• Παρά τη φτώχεια πετάμε φαγητό στα σκουπίδια 

• Στα σκουπίδια καταλήγει το 50% των τροφίμων / La moitié de la nourriture produite dans le monde gaspillée

China launches longest high-speed train line (VIDEO CCTV)

Trains travelling at 300kph on world's fastest rail line run 2,298km between the capital and Guangzhou.
China has opened the world's longest high-speed rail line, which runs almost 2,300km from the country's capital in the north to Guangzhou, an economic hub in southern China.
The line officially started service on Wednesday when a train departed from Beijing at 9am for Guangzhou. Another train left Guangzhou for Beijing an hour later. 
Trains on this high-speed line will initially run at 300kph with a total travel time of about eight hours between the two cities, compared with the previous time length of 20 hours.
The rail line includes 35 stops in major cities such as Zhenghzhou, Wuhan on the Yangze River and Gangsha. 

State media have reported that December 26 was chosen as the date to open the Beijing-Guangzhou line to commemorate the birth of the late Chinese leader Mao Zedong in 1893. 
Railway is an essential part in China's transportation system, and its government plans to build a grid of high-speed railways with four east-west lines and four north-south lines by 2020.
China's high-speed rail network was established in 2007, but has fast become the world's largest with 8,358 kilometres of track at the end of 2010. That is expected to almost double to 16,000km by 2020. 
The railway network, however, has been plagued by graft and safety scandals, most notably a deadly bullet train collision in July 2011 that killed 40 people and led to public outrage.
The accident was China's worst rail disaster since 2008 and caused a torrent of criticism aimed at the government amid accusations that authorities compromised safety in their rush to expand the network.
Authorities said they had taken steps ahead of the new line's opening to improve maintenance and inspection of infrastructure and emergency response measures.
"The emergency rescue system and all kinds of emergency pre-plans are established to improve emergency response ability," according to a ministry booklet.
.aljazeera.com
26/12/12 
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• Studio interview: Significance of world´s longest rail line

Linking the capital, five provinces and twenty-eight cities, China has opened the longest high-speed rail network in the world. December 26th marks the third anniversary of China’s successful Wuhan-Guangzhou high-speed rail link, and on the same day the new Beijing-Guangzhou high-speed rail link goes into operation. Full story >>

For more on the economic aspects, we're joined in the studio by Professor Liu Baocheng from the University of International Business and Economics.
Q1, The high-speed line from Beijing to South China’s Guangzhou is the world’s longest, nearly 23-hundred kilometers long. How important is it to the expansion of the country’s high speed railway network?
Q2, The new line is going into operation before the Spring Festival holiday. How is it going to make things easier for travelers?
Q3, The high-speed railway connects Beijing with five provincial capitals -- Shijiazhuang, Zhengzhou, Wuhan, Changsha and Guangzhou. Explain to our audience how it will help boost the national economy.
Q4, How will the new line boost tourism at the stops along the route?
Q5, What other sectors will benefit from the new service?