The Environment in Germany – Panorama

More wind turbines, high-voltage power lines and monocultures for biogas plants – is the turnaround in Germany's energy policy going to be to the detriment of Germany's countryside?More ...

The International University provides training in audio-visual communication to those working in environmental professions and the media.More ...

A story with many changes of scene, full of drama and suspense.More ...

The conversion from fossil fuels to renewable energy sources will lead not only to a realignment of the relationship between space and energy, but also to that between town and country.More ...

There is no alternative to a politics of sustainability. German municipalities are vying for the status of a model ecological community.More ...

The fear of the world being plagued by natural disasters as a result of climate change is the driving force behind hordes of people taking out extra insurance policies. The fact that the insurance companies are leaving nothing to chance when it comes to underwriting storm damage is impressively illustrated by the “Globe of Natural Hazards” – a new multi-media DVD compiled by the Münchner Rückversicherung or the Munich Re as it is known in English.More ...

In the mid-1990s in Germany, thousands of local councils seized thousands and thousands of initiatives to help implement Agenda-21, the development and environmental action programme of the UN for the twenty-first century. But in many places today there is little to be felt of the élan of those early years.More ...

Researchers fear that climate change may occur more swiftly and less stably than has been assumed. Even a slight increase in temperatures in several regions could permanently alter their climates. In Potsdam, researchers are investigating such “tipping elements”.More ...

Producing “intelligent waste” for him means creating products that again and again can be channelled back into their technical or biological cycles. A portrait of the chemistry professor and ecological trailblazer, Prof. Dr. Michael Braungart.More ...

The fact that so much is wrong in today’s world represents opportunities for “social entrepreneurs”. A business model built on the solid grounds of shared altruistic values has a huge potential for the growing number of creative and optimistic young entrepreneurs.More ...

Germany lies in the centre of the eco-system called the ‘European Beech Forest’. Reason enough to do something for the preservation of this unique biosphere. The remnants are now to be declared part of the world natural heritage and so saved.More ...

By introducing a statute requiring solar collectors on roofs, the city of Marburg wanted to set an example for municipal climate protection. Yet the showcase project of the Red-Green city government has met with considerable resistance.More ...

Environmental education is in increasing demand – for instance, to understand the complex “system” water. The “Water Workshop” is banking on a new and unorthodox kind of teaching: a holistic approach that links ecology and art.More ...

The national sustainability policy stands or falls with our manner of locomotion. Politicians have recognized the problems surrounding the topic of mobility. Yet most of the solutions are either old ones or sound like pipe dreams. An ecological traffic turn is still not in sight.More ...

Compared to life in re-allocated, drained agricultural steppes, with their lumber forests and regulated waterways, many German cities offer wild animals virtually paradisiacal living conditions. More and more wild animals are therefore moving to the city.More ...

Monocultures with fast-growing conifers are vulnerable to climate change. Yet in spite of state subsidies, many German silviculturalists are hesitant to convert to the more resistant mixed forests. Why? An investigation in Lower Bavaria.More ...

In his much discussed book Klimakriege (i.e., Climate Wars), social psychologist Harald Welzer gives us little hope for a peaceful future. And he has good reasons for his pessimism. More ...

More than 100 years of growing benefits: Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania has introduced a "Forest Share" scheme, which gives environmentally conscious holidaymakers the opportunity to contribute to the creation of the first German tourist forest. By making the symbolic purchase of a tree, they are able to compensate for the CO2 emissions caused by their holidays.More ...

Three world-famous blue angels originated in Germany: the first was created by Heinrich Mann in 1905 in his novel Professor Unrat, the second was played by Marlene Dietrich in the filming of Mann's novel entitled The Blue Angel (Der blaue Engel) and the third is 30-years-old and the most angelic of all.More ...

For every product that comes onto the market, carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases are released into the atmosphere during manufacture and transport. The trace they leave – their product carbon footprint – can be calculated. If the footprint is particularly small, this may be a competitive advantage in future.More ...

Allergies, cancer, infertility and behavioural disorders in children are on the up in industrialised countries. Doctors specialising in environmental medicine often provide an explanation.More ...

Energy – it is used to build, heat, power and maintain houses. More ...

The financial service providers wish to use the concept of environmental management.More ...