RIA Novosti's choice: ten key events in environment and science of 2009

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Below are top ten environmental and scientific events which RIA Novosti correspondents have chosen for producing the greatest impact in Russia.

Below are top ten environmental and scientific events which RIA Novosti correspondents have chosen for producing the greatest impact in Russia.

1. The United Nations Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen in December 2009 was the most disappointing event of the year. Environmentalists and scientists had great hopes for the summit to be effective in curbing global warming. However, despite days of discussion, its participants failed to agree on a document that could replace the Kyoto Protocol, which will expire in 2012. Only a few leading countries signed a declarative and non-binding document, which was not approved by the other delegates.

2. Russian authorities have continued their efforts to make the economy more energy efficient. President Dmitry Medvedev tasked the government to reduce GDP’s energy intensity by 40% in 2020. As a result, the first to be axed are common filament lamps. In November, the State Duma adopted a law on energy efficiency and energy saving planning to stop the production and sales of 100W and higher-powered lamps in 2011, 75W and higher lamps in 2013, and 25W lamps in 2014. At the same time, the government is going to introduce rules for recycling used energy-saving lamps. 

3. The closure of the Baikal pulp and paper mill in October 2008 could be heralded as a great victory for the environmentalists. Last summer the government decided to reopen the plant for at least 10 months to produce pulp. The Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment was instructed to help the plant with necessary paperwork, including getting a permission to use the lake’s water in a closed-cycle supply system. Production under such conditions was planned to resume on September 15, but it never got off the starting marks. Plant spokesmen said they lack funds and official go-ahead to restart output. Concern about the negative effects of the Baikal plant on the environment of the deepest and most ancient lake on the planet was first voiced several years ago. But conservationists’ repeated attempts to have the mill closed or re-converted ended in nothing. The pulp and paper mill, built on the lake’s southern shore, was the only factory that discharged its effluents into Baikal. In 2008, with unbleached pulp falling in price, its production at the mill became unprofitable. As for bleached pulp, it cannot be produced because in September of last year, at the request of the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, it went over to a closed-cycle water supply scheme, which precludes polluted discharges from getting into Baikal.

4. A decision to ban the hunting of harp seal pups up to one month old (whitecoats) and adult harp seals all over the White Sea was welcomed in the outgoing year by all nature conservationists. The ban also covers cubs up to one year old (greycoats) and shedding or molting seals. A total of 20,000 to 30,000 whitecoats were killed for their fur on the White Sea and sold to Norway every year. Environmentalists, pop stars and charities have often campaigned for a ban on the industry, saying the killing of defenseless animals could not be described as “hunting.”

5. Alexander Bedritsky, former head of the Federal Service for Hydrometeorology and Environmental Monitoring (Rosgidromet), has been promoted to the post of presidential adviser on climate. This is a new post in Russia. The adviser will be responsible for formulating and promoting the country’s position on climate change at international and multi-format meetings, including G8 and G20, and represent the president in talks.

6. The Greens and the Moscow authorities battled all year long over the construction of new incinerators in the Russian capital. Moscow had adopted a program for the construction of incinerators to cut the amount of waste buried in landfills from the present 82% to 37%. Mayor Yury Luzhkov said the incinerators’ treatment facilities matched European standards and their discharges were harmless. Astonished environmentalists spent the whole year bombarding the municipal authorities with requests to stop the program. Ultimately, Luzhkov promised to swap incinerators for hydro waste separation.

7. In the outgoing year Russia became one of the world leaders in cutting greenhouse gas emissions. President Medvedev has said that between 1990 and 2020 the country will reduce the discharge of gases by 30 billion tons or by 25%. On the other hand, Russian authorities have often stressed that they do not intend to restrict economic growth in order to reduce greenhouse emissions.

8. In March Natural Resources Minister Yury Trutnev drew Prime Minister Vladimir Putin’s attention to the fact that Olympic construction sites in Sochi “look terrible.” Following that, the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment started monitoring the observance of environmental standards during the construction of sports facilities in Sochi, penalizing careless builders and filing lawsuits against them with the Prosecutor-General's Office.

9. The Large Hadron Collider (LHC) had a bumpy ride all year, fueling mass jitters about the alleged end of the world because of its operation. The world’s largest research tool has been built to try and get an answer to questions agitating physicists. One of its aims was to discover the Higgs boson and dark matter in the Universe. The collider’s normal functioning was stymied either by equipment breaks or by a French loaf left inside by an unknown and probably famished naturalist. On the night of November 20-21, 2009, the collider was finally started up. But the Earth did not shake. After some time the machine had to be switched off once again, and scientists promise to restart it in February 2010.

10. In 2009, Russian scientists tried to add another element, the 117th, to the periodic table. The experiment to synthesize it was conducted at the Joint Institute of Nuclear Research at Dubna, outside Moscow. In September, it was reported that the official announcement on the appearance of the 117th element would be made soon. But later it was postponed until 2010.

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