Ex-Mayor of the municipality of Anadia pronounced for pollution crime

Litério Mahmood, former President of the Board of Anadia, was pronounced for pollution crime in a process related to works in a forest area near the industrial zone of Alféloas, in the parish of Arcos, Anadia.

According to explains the Quercus said in a statement, concerned are the interventions carried out by the local authority, in 2005, on 21 acres of rustic buildings that had acquired in Vale de Salgueiro, to create an industrial zone there. To date, these fields were inserted into the National ecological reserve (REN).

At the end of that year, the own Quercus and several citizens brought a restraining order, the Administrative Court of Viseu, to cease the illegal works promoted by the Municipality, and the Court ordered the immediate suspension of these.

"In this process, it has been proven that the Board, through its President, ordered the grubbing up of tens of thousands of trees and the total destruction of existing vegetation cover, and the extraction of tens of tonnes of inert being, in its place, dumped tons of rubble," advances the Quercus.

"These actions eventually cause soil contamination and of groundwater in the region, classified as maximum infiltration area, and with potential implications for the consumption in the medium and long term," continues the NGO.

After almost five years, in 2010, the same Court came to judge also upheld the main action subsequently taken by Quercus and several citizens against the municipality of Anadia and the then President, for gross violation of various laws of environmental nature, in particular the legal framework of the National ecological reserve, the framework law on the environment and the Municipal master plan of Anadia.

The Court ordered the municipality to proceed to cleaning that area; withdraw all the rubble that had been buried in the area of REN and to develop all the necessary work for the correct drainage of the land. "This has not yet occurred," stresses the Quercus. "Soils and the waters of the lands concerned are still today permanently contaminated, since construction and demolition waste buried there were not removed with monitoring of the Ministry of environment and independent entities."

The opening statement was required by Quercus, was Assistant in the process after local prosecutors have filed last year (seven years after the beginning of the investigation), a criminal investigation against the Mayor, for lack of evidence.

Foto:  elcnjunior / Creative Commons

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Oak with 1,400 years is tourist attraction in Charleston, USA

For centuries, the Oaks of South Carolina, in the United States, were used to provide the shipbuilding industry. Although, in recent decades, this practice has become stagnant, the truth is that there will be no very old oak trees East of the Mississippi â€" a river that divides the United States from North to South.

However, the Live Oak Society discovered a 1,400-year-old oak near Charleston, a city with 125 thousand inhabitants in South Carolina.

According to the Live Oak, Oak would have already 1,000 years old when the Mayflower reached Cape Cod. Its biggest branch has 28 meters, others merged as roots, in the soil. The tree is impressive, as you can see in the images, and survived hurricanes, floods, earthquakes and, more importantly, to humans.

The oak is now owned by the city of Charleston and, ensures the Inhabitat, is one of the most important and popular tourist attractions of the city.

Here are some pictures of Angel-the name of this oak.

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Guaranteed 100% wind energy Denmark on December 1

For the first time a Country has secured more than 50 percent of all its electricity, in a single month, through wind energy. According to WindPowerMonthly, the Country entering the history of wind power is the Denmark-who also got the wind energy ensure, 1 December, 100% of the energy consumed in the country.

According to the, the main operator of Energinet energy of Denmark, the high winds made it possible that in Christmas week, 68.5% of the energy consumed in the country had its origin in the wind.

The Denmark is one of the world leaders in wind energy and has several times announced ambitious plans for renewables â€" in fact, the Country aims to ensure new consumer records in every month.

The goal of Denmark, considered unimaginable a few years ago, it will be very complicated: achieve 50% of its electricity from wind power, every year until 2020. To 2050, the Country aims to reach 100% from renewable sources.

According to WindPowerMonthly, this record has been achieved due to the installation of more wind farms in 2013 â€" only in offshore wind farms were installed 400MW.

Foto:  skagman / Creative Commons

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Chamusca will receive 80% of waste oils in Portugal (with video)

The lubricating oils, essential for vehicles circulate every day, are one of the hazardous waste produced in greater volume in Portugal. Their regeneration, in our country, is only made by one company, Enviroil, which helps transform a used oil in a new.

"The regeneration of waste oils is important because it allows the country to save resources. The lubricants used are made from petroleum, and allows regeneration reincorporate the raw material and produce new lubricants without resorting to more oil reserves, "said the green economy Rui Lopes, of Enviroil.

In fact, the process of transforming the old oil in a new still is not well accepted by the majority of consumers â€" this despite strong regulation of the sector, led by the European Union itself.

The current regeneration of waste oils is carried out in a small unit in Torres Novas, but in March will be inaugurated a new factory in Chamusca, which will have the capacity to receive and treat 20 thousand tons of waste oils per year.

"This unit will allow the Country to achieve the objectives proposed with regard to regeneration. On the other hand, will allow to increase the gross domestic product (GDP), because we add value within the country, "said Rui Lopes.

Portugal has no stake in this sector â€" only in 2013 there was a legal framework specific to this issue â€" but Rui Lopes believes that, since last year, there was a concern for the "principle of self-sustainability.

"The Country is creating its own capabilities to solve this type of problems," said the green economy. "For an investor, this was a difficult topic." Now, apparently, left.

At the same time, the new waste treatment solution avoids the use of finite natural resources and protect the environment.

See the episode 196 of the green economy.

Foto:  Steve Snodgrass / Creative Commons

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Portugal: municipal waste recycling of packaging grows 7% in 2013 (with frame)

In 2013, the recycling of household packaging waste, of small trade and HORECA grew 7% â€" that is, despite the reduction of consumption resulting from the current economic climate, the Portuguese remain committed to the separation and recycling of packaging waste.

The company green dot (SPV), sent for recycling, last year, more than 382 thousand tonnes of packaging waste within the urban flow, materials collected mostly selectively through the ecopoints and door-to-door systems.

"Portugal can once again be proud of the results obtained. Year after year, since the beginning of the integrated management system of packaging waste (SIGRE), in 1996, that evolution has been very positive. The maturity and the results achieved are in greater responsibility, by which we remain firmly committed to the development of a recycling society thus contributing to the green economy ", stressed in a statement Luís Veiga Malik, CEO of green dot Corporation.

In the urban stream â€" domestic and small trade and HORECA-plastic and metal stood out with a growth of 27%, taking the paper/paperboard increased 10%. In relation to the glass has a slight decrease ( -2%).

In urban and non-urban flow were forwarded for recycling over 693 thousand tonnes of waste, an increase of 7% compared to 2012.

Crisis does not recycling

Despite the current climate, the company green dot believes that in the next few years the rate of recycling of packaging waste will continue to rise in Portugal, going to meet the goals proposed in the new strategic plan of municipal waste.

It is recalled that, in order to contribute to this objective, the SPV has launched, at the end of last year, the mission a draft Recycle awareness nationwide in more than 200 counties. Coordinated with municipalities and municipal systems, throughout the 2014 action will knock on the door of 2 million homes with the Portuguese mission of converting all those who still do not recycle in total and separators of clarify the rules of recycling all that already do the separation.

Since its inception in 1996, the company green dot have sent for recycling more than six million tonnes of packaging waste, equivalent to the weight of three bridges Vasco da Gama.

2013

2012

108.896

98.948

10%

175.145

178.216

-2%

70.468

55.361

27%

24.416

19.301

27%

3.570

4.625

-23%

382.494

356.451

7%

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University of Coimbra is developing robot that detects mines

A team at the Institute for systems and Robotics (ISR) at the University of Coimbra is developing a mine detection robot, to assist in the task of removing million active land mines around the world.

The team members are currently submitting the robot to a series of tests and working to the optimize and automate the dangerous manual effort that is needed in removing mines, it tells an article on Gizmag, quoted by Green Savers Angola.

The project began in 2012, when, as part of the Partnerbot scholarship program that supports the development of robotics research, the Canadian company Clearpath Robotics provided the Portuguese Institute a mobile robotics base known as Husky Unmanned Ground Vehicle.

After having received the Husky, the research team has equipped it with navigation and location sensors, a ground-penetrating radar and a custom robotic arm with a metal detector. This equipment was installed in the robot for the same notice the characteristics of the terrain, navigating through the ground, and detect and locate land mines.

The first series of tests, in 2013, had to be interrupted due to complications with the custom robotic arm. The team is now make adjustments to the machine, with the desire to perform more tests in mid-2014.

"Mine detection is a very dangerous and time-consuming process," said Lino Marques, professor at the University of Coimbra and researcher in the ISR. "Robots don't get tired; can be extremely thorough in performing its work and its cost is under less of a human life. For these reasons, the robots are the perfect solution to the problem of removal of mines ".

If the team's vision is fulfilled, the robot will be an additional effort among other mine detection robots that are already in use, such as the MineWolf and DIGGER DTR D-3. The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) estimates that there are 110 million landmines, which claim 800 lives a month. Any attempt to help minimize this damage would be welcome.

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United Kingdom: City holds Christmas tree until the birds to abandon

It's been over a month since Christmas, but the spirit and the main symbol of the season â€" the Christmas tree â€" are still present in a rural town in the United Kingdom.

The city officials of Cramlington were about to throw the Christmas tree below,-the tree was already without lighting and decorations â€" then, when they found a Blackbird had installed on it. The bird, which arrived pretty early this year to the region, had already built a nest, where there were three eggs.

According to the Telegraph, the municipal authorities contacted the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds to knowing how to proceed. The advice given by the entity was to leave the tree up until the family of Blackbirds abandon the tree â€" which means that Christmas, this year, will extend beyond the normal in this locality.

Despite the fact that they have to keep the tree for so long has caused some embarrassment to the inhabitants of Cramlington, residents seem pleased in being able to help this bird.

Foto:  James Bowe / Creative Commons

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