Developing world drought threat to EU rice and cotton intensifies research efforts

The report, entitled Vulnerabilities of Europe’s economy to global water scarcity and drought revealed that supplies of animal feed, rice, cotton, grapes and even pistachios could be impacted in the near future as they come from regions that have a shortage of water.
In fact, over a third of Europe’s water needs come from other parts of the world, due to imported crops.
‘Right now it is more like an alert,’ said Professor Bart van den Hurk, who coordinates the EU-funded IMPREX project, which produced the report as part of its efforts to analyse the links between climate change and water.
‘The next step is really to look at climate change sentinels (indicators) in the areas of exposure … and see whether you can actually translate climate change effects in those areas to European sensitivities,’ said Prof. van den Hurk, who works for The Royal Netherlands Meteorological Institute, the Dutch national weather service.
‘Can you imagine the chocolate industry without cocoa,’ said Dr Ercin, from the Water Footprint Network, a Dutch non-governmental organisation which is part of the IMPREX project.
‘We always look at the supply side of the water issue,’ said said Dr Ercin.
Analysing water demand is part of a broader effort by the IMPREX project to encourage public officials and businesses to take climate change forecasts into account when making decisions by predicting how global warming will lead to extreme weather in Europe.
‘I’m really on a mission to embed this physical climate science further down the chain,’ he said.
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One of the main ways of acheiving these targets is through innovation – finding ways to use less energy and to generate energy sustainably.

Policy & Legislation: Water Frameworks Directive

Policy & Legislation: Water Frameworks Directive.
In 2012 for example, 25,524 European citizens aged 15 and above were interviewed by telephone , at the request of the European Commission’s Directorate-General for the Environment to gauge public opinion on issues relating to water conservation and to establish whether awareness of water issues had improved over time (WWW1).
The Water Frameworks Directive is unique in that it establishes a framework for the protection of all waters and their dependent wildlife/habitats under one piece of environmental legislation (WWW3).
The Water Frameworks Directive aims to : protect/enhance all waters (surface, ground and coastal waters) achieve “good status” for all waters by December 2015 manage water bodies based on river basins (or catchments) involve the public streamline legislation The Birds, Habitats, and Nitrates Directives, along with regulations on drinking water, bathing waters, and urban waste are all key factors within the Water Frameworks Directive, as well as the Marine Strategy Frameworks Directive.
A major requirement of Member States within the Water Frameworks Directive is the preparation of River Basin Management Plans, comprised of three, five year planning cycles.
Ireland is currently within the second of these planning cycles.
1st Cycle River Basin Management Plans: 2009-2014 2nd Cycle River Basin Management Plans: 2015-2021 These plans are laid out with the goal of achieving Good Ecological Status of all waters.
Ireland will begin its second cycle in 2017, but is currently 2 years behind schedule and so the next cycle will last 4 years rather than 5.
Mr. Simon Coveney T.D.
Additionally, 73% of Irish rivers have been classified as “unpolluted” as of the last cycle, which is comparatively better than that of most other European countries.

EU Project Promotes Cultivation of Pulses in Europe

EU Project Promotes Cultivation of Pulses in Europe.
IGV GmbH engages in research project “TRUE” towards sustainable farming systems based on legumes Legumes: a special crop Legumes are a very special type of crop, they are characterised as a sustainable source of highly nutritious food and feed.
‘Sustainable’, since legumes require no inorganic nitrogen fertiliser, and this efficiency saving is added to by improvements to soil qualities and total productivity when deployed in a modern crop rotation.
A new, European-wide research project intends to change this.
In the project TRUE (TRansition paths to sUstainable legume-based systems in Europe), 24 project partners from 10 European countries have gotten together to explore and develop sustainable legume-based farming systems and agri-feed and food chains in the EU.
TRUE innovates across the supply chain – from the development of novel farming practices such as the use of pulses as “vegetable fertilisers” or “living manures”, to the testing of new food technologies for improved feed and food formulation.
Specific recommendations will be proposed to influence relevant policies, such as the EU’s Common Agricultural Policy.
The project with the acronym “TRUE” (TRansition paths to sUstainable legume-based systems in Europe) involves 24 project partners from 10 European countries – Croatia, Denmark, Germany, Great Britain, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Portugal, Slovenia and Spain, including scientists, businesses operating in legume commodity production and processing and other actors from the practice.
The consortium is coordinated by Dr. Pietro Iannetta, who is based at the James Hutton Institute (www.hutton.ac.uk) in Scotland, UK.
IGV – for a healthy future IGV GmbH develops innovative products, facilities and processes for grain processing and biotechnology as well as foods and related products.

Wind leads in new power generation in Europe and other countries

Wind leads in new power generation in Europe and other countries.
With over 500GW installed worldwide, wind power has become the leading source of new power generation in Europe and in many countries around the world, said GWEC on the occasion of Global Wind Day.
Wind power has become a major driver for a sustainable energy future, GWEC said.
Wind power is already the least-cost option for new power capacity in rapidly increasing number of markets.
In 2016, unsubsidized new renewable power was cheaper than fossil fuels in over 30 countries, and by 2025 that will be the case in most countries around the world.
Wind and other renewables are already winning on the economics alone, but we need it happen faster if we are to have a reasonable chance of meeting the Paris climate targets”, said GWEC secretary general Steve Sawyer.
Wind is now a core mainstream part of electricity systems in advanced economies.
Wind has got to 10 percent of Europe’s electricity.
We need to contribute also to cleaner heating and transport,” Dickson added.
editor@greentechlead.com

Global Automotive Sheet Metal Components Market: Rising Demand for Lightweight Vehicles to Drive Market, says TMR

Global Automotive Sheet Metal Components Market: Rising Demand for Lightweight Vehicles to Drive Market, says TMR.
ALBANY, New York, Jun 09, 2017 (PR Newswire Europe via COMTEX) — ALBANY, New York, June 9, 2017 /PRNewswire/ — The global market for automotive sheet metal components [http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/automotive-sheet-metal-components-market.html ] has a largely fragmented competitive landscape featuring a large number of small and large players and the leading four players collectively accounting for a nearly 40% of the overall market in 2016, observes Transparency Market Research (TMR) in a recent report.
Product innovation and development are key strategies adopted by most leading market players.
Companies are focusing more on research and development activities to create innovative products to capture and maintain larger market share globally.
China, one of the largest manufacturer of sheet metal components globally and one of the leading consumers of passenger vehicles, is expected to continue to drive the Asia Pacific market over the next few years, helping the regional market retain its top spot in the global market over the forecast period.
Get PDF Sample for this Research Report @http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/sample/sample.php?flag=S&rep_id=21887 Rising Production of Vehicles Globally to Drive Market In the past few years, there has been a vast rise in the production of vehicles across the globe owing to the rising demand and usage of passenger vehicles.
With the rise in the number of hybrid and electric vehicles in the automobile market, the application and market for sheet metal components in such vehicles is also expected to flourish in the near future.
Fluctuating Prices of Steel and Aluminum to Hinder Growth Prospects As steel and aluminum are the two most used materials used for the manufacturing of automotive sheet metal components so their availability and fluctuation in prices make a huge impact on the overall market of automotive sheet metal components.
China is the presently the leading producer of aluminum and steel globally.
This review of the global automotive sheet metal components market is based on a recent market research report published by Transparency Market Research, titled "Automotive Sheet Metal Components Market (Material – Steel and Aluminum; Application – Interior, Drivetrain, Engine, Exterior, and Chassis) – Global Industry Analysis, Market Size, Share, Growth, Trends, and Forecast, 2017-2025."

Paws without claws? Effects of carnivore comeback in European anthropogenic landscapes

Paws without claws?
Effects of carnivore comeback in European anthropogenic landscapes.
In a review article in the Proceedings of the Royal Society B a European research group highlights gaps in knowledge on the effects of carnivores in human-dominated landscapes.
This view is partly based on experiences from Yellowstone National Park.
Although we are not always physically present, these landscapes are still heavily shaped by us, for example, through forestry and hunting."
In other words, humans may remove the claws from the carnivores’ paws.
Perhaps even more important is that the authors suggest that most of the research done so far on the role that predators play in ecosystems has been carried out in landscapes with very low human impact.
"Human activity must be included in research on the ecological effects of large carnivores.
Journal Reference: D. P. J. Kuijper, E. Sahlén, B. Elmhagen, S. Chamaillé-Jammes, H. Sand, K. Lone, J. P. G. M. Cromsigt.
Ecological effects of large carnivores in anthropogenic landscapes.