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Current AffairsA very special Christmas gift: a primeval forest certificate
With Christmas just around the corner, people are taking the shops by storm
looking for just the right gift to please someone. Billions of crowns are
being spent on electronic appliances, jewellery, toys and cosmetics.
Environmentalists have now come forward with an alternative suggestion -
why not spend a little on Nature - and wrap up a primeval forest
certificate as a special Xmas gift?
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Talking PointCzech steering towards increased car dependence
Nowadays more and more Czechs are jumping into their cars instead of taking
public transport, walking or cycling. A study conducted by the
Environmental Research Centre at Charles University warns that the Czech
Republic could move from being a moderately car dependent society to a
high car dependent society by 2012 if current trends continue. So, why are
Czechs so eager to be behind the steering wheel these days?
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Current AffairsCzech Republic getting greener as forest area increases by thousands of hectares every year
The Czech national anthem describes the Czech Republic as paradise on
earth, boasting waters murmuring through its meadows and forests rustling
over rocky hills. Well, it looks like the country is delivering on its
promises - in just forty years the area covered by forests has increased
by 50,000 hectares.
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Czech ScienceAnalysis finds dangerous chemicals in household dust
Our environment contains all kinds of more or less dangerous chemicals.
Some of them have even reached as far as the Arctic Circle and the south
pole, the highest mountain peaks and deepest seas. The Czech branch of the
environmental group Greenpeace didn't have to go that far to prove that we
live in a contaminated world.
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Current Affairs"Brownfields" a common blight on the Czech industrial landscape
An annual conference on the state of the Czech environment has successfully
wrapped up near Prague, discussing outstanding issues on cleaning up or
preserving the local ecology. The conference takes into account a wide
range of views from architects, agriculturalists, activists, and
historians. Jan Velinger attended the event and brought back this report.
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Current AffairsGreenpeace launches controversial TV spot
The Czech branch of Greenpeace has just launched a controversial TV spot in
which the Czech Republic is shown as a wasteland with contaminated rivers,
soil and air, dead fish and heaps of rubbish. The country's national
anthem, which speaks of lush meadows and bubbling streams, serves as a
backdrop to this scene of devastation. The opening lyrics of the anthem -
Where is my home - bring home the message that if Czechs don't wake up
soon they may not have a home.
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Business NewsWhat do Czech industries think of the EU Emissions Trading plan?
Next year the European Union will launch the opening phase of its ambitious
Emissions Trading programme, which planners hope will help to reduce the
union's overall greenhouse gas emissions. In line with the EU Emissions
Trading Directive, as of 2005 individual EU members will be required to
meet pre-set emissions caps spelled out in countries' National Allocation
Plans. However, companies affected under the legislation will also be
given emissions allowances, which, if saved, will be possible to trade as
credit on a newly-emerging - and some believe - potentially lucrative
market.
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Czech ScienceEntomologist on butterflies' side in uphill battle
The Czech Republic's butterflies have gone down a tough road. Scientists
say about half of their species are endangered and 18 species have gone
extinct over the past century. The work of the leading butterfly
researcher at the Institute of Entomology in South Bohemia has shown
looming trouble for some butterflies but also signs of hope in an unlikely
place.
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Current AffairsWWF survey suggests Czech Environment Minister has toxic blood
This week, the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) released the results of a
survey conducted in June to test the effects air pollution has on our
health. Fourteen EU Environment Ministers agreed to give blood samples to
determine how many and what kind of man-made chemicals are in their
bodies. Czech Environment Minister Libor Ambrozek was one of them and his
result was especially shocking.
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