Where are we on the environment? #18

February’s global events in five headlines, for those interested in the environment, sustainability and ecological transition.

1.

On 20 February in Ethiopia, the production of electricity began from the large dam built in recent years on the Blue Nile, the source of a large part of the water that makes life in the Egypt possible. The dam, called the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD), is the largest hydroelectric plant ever built in Africa.

2.

The Australian government has entered the koala on the list of species at risk of extinction: within ten years they have gone from animals considered "not at risk" to "vulnerable" species, now reaching the category in which they have just been included, that of "endangered" living creatures. Their population has fallen considerably due to the loss of their natural habitat, as a result of, among other things, climate change, and it is estimated that without urgent action they could disappear completely within the next few decades.

3.

The global rise in temperatures has led ski resorts around the world to turn increasingly to the use of artificial snow: since 1980, the majority of the snow on which the competitions of all the Winter Olympics were held was artificial. Many ski resorts, whose market is active for just a few weeks a year, risk enormous losses if they were to base their opening only on natural snow.

4.

After years of waiting, works have begun to set up the new national weather agency: it has been named ItaliaMeteo and will have the task of coordinating all the Italian meteorological stations. Having a single national central station is essential for analysing meteorological data: it will be possible to create a more effective national weather alert system than that managed by regional structures, with more timely warnings and therefore fewer risks for the population.

5.

Italy’s Northern regions are suffering the consequences of the decrease in rainfall, due to a persistent anticyclone that is placing farms in great difficulty: if it does not rain between March and May, there is a risk that the scarce snow reserves accumulated in the Alps will not be sufficient to guarantee irrigation during the summer months, the most important for the agricultural sector.