| From: [email protected]
Newsgroups: clari.news.gov.international,clari.news.hot.east_europe,
clari.tw.environment,clari.news.economy
Subject: Baltic Sea near environmental collapse?
Keywords: international, non-usa government, government, water, environment,
non-usa economies, economy
Date: 8 Sep 90 18:59:29 GMT
Location: east germany, soviet union
ACategory: international
Slugword: environment-baltic
EAST BERLIN (UPI) -- Scientists and environmentalists gathered at a
conference in East Germany warned Saturday that the Baltic Sea is
nearing environmental collapse. The 150 scientists and representatives
of environmental organizations ended the second International Baltic
Sea Conference with a declaration that sharply criticized countries
bordering the Baltic for polluting its waters.
"All political institutions in East and West have proven themselves
incapable of recognizing the environmentally intermeshed
relationships," the declaration said. "Both the societies of scarcity
(eastern Europe) and the societies of abundance (western Europe) create
similar environmental problems which in the mid- and long-term will
lead to a catastrophe," it said, adding that "the Baltic is a sea
nearing collapse."
The conference concentrated on devising strategies to attack
sources of pollution at the root. Delegates expressed particular
concern about pollution from agriculture, mass-tourism, synthetics
industries and radioactive waste.
The declaration accused governments of states along the Barltic of
approving new environmental research projects and re-shuffling
bureaucracies, rather than taking concrete steps to deal with pollution
in the Baltic sea. "The declaration is a paper that one can work
with," said Peter Willers, press spokesman of the Action Conference
North Sea, which co- sponsored the meeting. "Now it is time to bring
about action," he said.
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| From: [email protected] (Rene' Seindal)
Newsgroups: soc.culture.nordic
Subject: Re: Denmark to open Embassies in Latvia, Lithuania, Estonina
Date: 27 Aug 91 11:33:08 GMT
Organization: Department of Computer Science, U of Copenhagen
[email protected] (H. Peter Anvin, N9ITP) writes:
>In article <[email protected]> of soc.culture.nordic,
> [email protected] (Lars P. Fischer) writes:
>>
>> I has been suggested here that the Baltic republics should be given
>> the offer to join the Nordic Council, although I don't know if anyone
>> is taking it seriously.
>>
>I do, very seriously. I think that the Baltic Countries are as much Nordic
>countries as Finland is, i.e. not strictly a Scandinavian country (which is
>Sweden, Norway and Denmark) but with close historical ties. I think
>Sweden and Finland should join their neighbours and recognize the Baltic
>Countries as independent, and that they should be permitted to apply for
>membership in the Nordic Council (and thus into the Nordic common market)
>as soon as possible.
The Baltic Countries will probably not be given membership of the
Nordic Council, since they are not nordic countries, but there are
serious talk about making a Baltic Council, consisting of the countries
around the Baltic Sea, i.e., Denmark, Sweden, Finland, Estonia, Latvia,
Lithuania, Poland and the northern states in the German Federal
Republic (Mecklenburg-Vorpommern and Sleiswig-Holstein). I consider
this a much more natural idea, especially with respect to the
environmental problems in the Baltic Sea.
Rene' Seindal ([email protected])
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| From: [email protected] (JULIAN M. ISHERWOOD)
Newsgroups: clari.news.gov.international,clari.news.economy,
clari.news.europe,clari.news.hot.east_europe
Subject: Countries agree on Council of Baltic Sea States
Date: 6 Mar 92 13:34:41 GMT
COPENHAGEN, Denmark (UPI) -- Ten countries agreed Friday to set up the
Council of Baltic Sea States, basing their new organization on a
commitment to human rights, the market economy and cooperation.
Meeting on the final day of a two-day summit, Denmark, Germany,
Sweden, Finland, Norway, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Russia and Poland
declared: "(We have) decided to establish a "Council of the Baltic Sea
States."
"This cooperation will strengthen the cohesion among these
countries, leading to greater political and economic stability as well
as a regional identity," the final declaration said.
It said that recent dramatic changes in Europe heralded a new era of
European relations where the confrontations and division of the past
"are replaced by partnership and cooperation."
Cooperation between the states would be predominantly in the areas of
assistance to new democratic institutions, economic and technological
assistance, health and humanitarian matters, the environment and energy,
communications, culture, education, tourism and information, the
declaration said.
"(We) agree that democracy is the political system most conducive to
individual freedom, respect for human rights and economic growth," the
ministers said. They added that member states were also committed to
agreements entered into under the Conference on Security and Cooperation
in Europe.
The CBSS said it was particularly committed to CSCE documents
regarding the human dimension passed in Copenhagen and Moscow. These
documents underline freedom of travel and expression and commit member
states to the observance of human rights.
With eyes turned to the developing democracies and economies of the
eastern rim of the Baltic Sea, the ministers said the CBSS would act as
a catalyst for aid.
"The ministers stressed the need for economic assistance in an
initial phase in order to facilitate the transition from planned to
market economies (and) underlined their intention to promote this
assistance," the declaration said.
It added that a number of states in the region faced urgent and
serious problems of food, medicine and fuel supply, and said ongoing
programs of humanitarian assistance remained vital in the short term.
Russia, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Poland are all suffering from
structural economic woes in their transition to a market economy, and
infrastructural problems have made surpluses in some areas unusable in
other areas of severe shortage.
On the environment and energy, the CBSS called for extensive
cooperation to help repair damage already caused, and quick action to
safeguard the Baltic Sea area.
The Baltic Sea has long been suffering from the ravages of waste
effluent, and some northeastern areas of the region resemble moon
landscapes as trees and forests have withered and died due to acid rain.
The grouping also took into account recent concerns about safety
levels at nuclear power plants in the former Soviet Union and now
defunct East Germany.
Sweden and Finland have been particularly worried about aging nuclear
facilities in the eastern Baltic rim and have offered to help modernize
the plants.
Most foreign ministers of the CBSS were to return home Friday
following the two-day Copenhagen meeting. Russian Foreign Minister
Andrei Kozyrev was to remain in Denmark on a working visit until
Saturday.
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| From: [email protected] (Tapio Leino)
Newsgroups: soc.culture.nordic
Subject: Moen's Klint - pollution
Date: 21 Jan 1993 12:56:16 GMT
Organization: VTT / Lab. of Structural Engineering
I am feeling really pity for the Baltic Sea as it looks like it is
becoming more and more polluted every year. I still can remember times
when I could easily see the bottom at more than ten meters depth, but
not any more. At our coast the see is still reasonably clean so that we
can swim there during the summer but the southern parts of the Baltic
See are like a septic tank.
For 14 years ago I spent two weeks in Danmark and then all the beaches
were splendid for swimming and such. Nine years ago when I spent there
another two weeks the beaches were nice too. Then six years ago the
beaches of the biggest island (Sjaelland) were already almost too dirty
for swimming and at my last visit to Denmark two years ago none of the
old famous beaches of Falster were good for swimming any more. They
smelled bad. What a change!
At the last visit we drove to an island called Moen. At the east end of
it there is a large natural park and a couple of high hills (Moen's
Klint) with very steep slopes to the see (like at the Dover). It was a
beautiful place with very high trees and dark forest scenery. But when
we descended to the see level to see the slopes from there we noticed
that the water was grey and brown and it smelled like a Russian toilet!
We puked(!) and hurried off back to Sweden where most of the lakes are
still quite clear (except for the Skaane district!). It was the wish of
our kids that we'll never ever go back to those southern islands of
Denmark.
I know that we are to blame for this situation in Denmark too but I'll
ask anyway : Is it a custom to pour your wastes straight to see in
Denmark? It made me think of the famous line by Shakespeare: "There is
something rotten in Denmark". If there was a factory then I'd
understand that the water is polluted but to my knowledge there is
nothing such on the Moen.
Do you know of any other places in Scandinavia which originally are for
turists but are in the same shape as Moen? Please let me know.
--
Tapio Leino
Technical Research Centre of Finland / Laboratory of Structural Engineering
mail: VTT/Rakennetekniikan laboratorio, P.O. Box 26, SF-02151 ESPOO, Finland
tel: -358-0-456 6683, telefax: -358-0-456 7003 e-mail: [email protected]
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