Archive: Nature | Ecology Ecology
Inversion and smog have Czechs gasping for fresh air
Unusually high levels of smog forced many residents in industrial regions
and bigger towns and cities to stay indoors for several days last week. In
the Moravian town of Karvina, for example, dust levels were ten times
higher than usual. The elderly, children, and people with asthma or other
health problems had breathing difficulties. Many who could, escaped to the
country.
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"Christmas Tree - Tree for Life" project brings silver fir back to Czech Republic's forests
Every year, almost a million Christmas trees are sold in the Czech
Republic. Soon after the holidays people throw them away and the trees
have to be disposed of as waste. For the sixth year running,
environmentalists in Brno are offering people the chance to buy live
Christmas trees which can be replanted outdoors after Christmas. Also,
they've chosen one particular type of conifer, once plentiful in the Czech
lands but now on the verge of extinction.
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A 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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A Black Triangle gradually turns green
North Bohemia was once the member of a most unlucky club. Together with
neighboring areas of Germany and Poland, the region was considered part of
the "Black Triangle," so named for its unenviable position as one
of Europe's most polluted areas. But since the fall of Communism, the Czech
region has been dealing with the consequences of unrestrained industrial
growth that poisoned its skies and depleted its once-thick forests. In
this week's Talking Point, Eric Martin visits the region to find out if it
can lose its "Black Triangle" nickname.
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Czech 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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Hunters' hare-brained scheme under fire from environmental lobby
One of the less publicised effects of last summer's devastating floods was
a sharp fall in the country's hare population. Thousands of hares - as
well as rabbits - fled from the floods, which hit large parts of Bohemia
in August. And believe it or not the government is taking the matter
seriously: the agricultural ministry is to spend millions to make up the
shortfall. But not everyone's happy with the plan, as Rob Cameron reports.
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