We arrived at the Bavarian village of Iffeldorf the morning after the first snow, in late November, 2015. Dr. Uta Raeder, Co-Director of the Technical University of Munich (TUM) facility, greeted us in the parking lot. We huddled close, straining to catch her words before the wind, or traffic noises took, them away. She and her colleagues has been considering keeping us indoors. Instead they led us toward the boathouse, to see how they are monitoring how the climate is changing Germany’s lakes.
Continue reading How The Climate Is Changing Germany’s LakesTag Archives: GTAI press junket
Where Are Germany’s Bears, Wolves And Eagles?

As the written version of this interview was published six years ago, I did a quick Google Search to see if the information is still relevant. The results:
- There are still no bears in Germany, they were driven out more than 150 years ago ago.
- After being virtually wiped out in the 19th century, wolves have returned and there are believed to be several thousand today.
- And yes, there still are eagles in Germany.
One of my wife’s fondest memories of Germany is the well maintained trails going through idyllic forests. She was visiting relatives during the late 1960’s and early 70’s. My impressions are both much later, and connected to the development of renewables. After returning home in 2015, I asked Andreas König, Head of Wildlife Biology and Wildlife Management at the Technical University of Munich, ‘Where are Germany’s bears, wolves and eagles?’
Continue reading Where Are Germany’s Bears, Wolves And Eagles?Why We Need To Look At Hamburg Wasser
This was to have been an article about the urban waste water and energy project for a new subdivision in Hamburg’s Jenfelder Au district. This as yet-to-be finished neighbourhood will use 30% less water than the surrounding area and have a completely self-sufficient energy supply. But this project is only one of the reasons why we need to look at Hamburg Wasser.
Continue reading Why We Need To Look At Hamburg WasserHafenCity is Designed To Be Flood Proof
Sea levels have been rising 0.14 inches (3.5 millimeters) per year since the early 1990s. In the decades to come, many of the world’s coastal cities will be threatened. Hamburg’s new city core responded to this challenge with a relatively inexpensive solution, HafenCity is designed to be flood proof.
Continue reading HafenCity is Designed To Be Flood ProofHow Dams Can Protect Us From Climate Change
Bavaria’s Sylvensteinspeicher (Sylvenstein Dam) has two power plants whose combined electrical capacity is 7 MW (26 GWh a year). Andreas Bauer, of the Regional state office for water management in Weilheim, says that while they are happy to produce electricity, this is a byproduct. The earthen embankment dam’s main purpose is to withstand floods, and retain enough water to keep servicing the surrounding area during droughts. This facility has withstood a number of extreme weather events during its’ 56 year history. The Sylvensteinspeicher, operated by the Regional state office for water management in Weilheim as part of the Bavarian State Ministry of the Environment and Consumer Protection, is an example of how dams can protect us from Climate Change.