Friday, February 10, 2012
Living Planet: Green laws
Download Now
|
|
Podcast Episode Summary
Law and the environment – we speak to environmental lawyer and ClientEarth CEO, James Thornton; Germany's environmental zones and air pollution; the EU drums up support for its energy roadmap for 2050; and we hear about greening up music festivals.
You can listen to the show online or subscribe to Living Planet as a podcast. Click on the links below for the individual items.
German air pollution rises despite green zonesSince 2008, environmental zones in Germany have restricted where heavily polluting cars can drive, yet air pollution levels are higher than before the scheme began.
Cars in Germany are required to display a sticker identifying how much particulate pollution the vehicle pumps out. The stickers are colour coded red through to green. Without a sticker, drivers face fines for entering any of the country's environment zones. Yet this week, Germany's Federal Environment Agency came out with some disappointing news for efforts to curb air pollution.
Report: Andre Leslie
Suing for the environmentJames Thornton can claim to have sued the UK out of building new coal plants.
James Thornton is a lawyer and CEO of ClientEarth, a non-profit organization that campaigns for better environmental laws. In the eighties, hehelped sue the Reagan administration into enforcing the Clean Water act and today his organization conducts similar campaigns in Europe. We began by asking him why the earth should need legal representation.
Interview: James Thornton / Nathan Witkop
EU touts benefits of energy roadmapSenior European Union leaders said this week that nearly eliminating carbon emissions from Europe's energy by the middle of the century may work out to be little more expensive than sticking to fossil fuels.
This week EU leaders met with energy industry figures, civil society groups and academics in Brussels to build support for the bloc's 2050 Energy Roadmap.
Report: Christoph Hasselbach (Sean Sinico)
Greening up music festivalsEvery year across Europe, music festivals attract tens of thousands of revelers. Meeting these visitors' food, waste, accommodation and energy needs is no small task.
Festivals can take on the proportions of a small city, as can their environmental impact. In recent years, there's been a push among organizers to reduce their events' footprints. Even big-name festivals like Lollapalooza in the United States are trying to make a difference. Our correspondent speaks to two event planners about sharing solutions.
Report: Cinnamon Nippard
|
About Living Planet Podcast
|