Latest news with #Ruhr
The Guardian
10-07-2025
- Science
- The Guardian
‘It was filthy and it stank terribly': how Europe's dirtiest river was brought back to life
Strolling beside the Emscher, the Tyczkowskis say it is the stench that they remember most about the river's darker days. 'The whole thing was filthy and it stank terribly,' says the couple, a retired watchmaker and tax adviser in their 80s. Were they ever tempted to take a dip? 'No,' they laugh in disgust. 'There were other things swimming inside.' For more than a century, putrid fumes emanated from the 'sewer of the Ruhr', creating a pungent whiff that assaulted towns throughout Germany's industrial heartland. But today, the Emscher bears little resemblance to Europe's dirtiest river. Water that used to be fouled by factory waste and human excrement have been free from effluent since 2021. The river system, the main part of which was once considered biologically dead, is witnessing the return of an abundance of life. Nature enthusiasts have spotted lapwings, kingfishers and demoiselles in the region, along with freshwater shrimp, caddis flies, and even beavers. In May, scientists reported that red-finned rudd from the Rhine had re-established themselves. 'Overall, it is really a success story,' says Prof Daniel Hering, an aquatic ecologist at the University of Duisburg and expert on the river's ecology. 'In former times, it was a sewer. Now, it is a river.' The Emscher runs through the heart of Germany's densely populated Ruhr region, a rusty mess of cities that sprung up around coalmines and factories as the Industrial Revolution kicked off. In the 1800s, the rapidly growing population was plagued by waterborne diseases, such as typhoid and cholera, which killed workers and stalled the economic boom. Alarmed by the hit to their profits, the Ruhr industrial barons sought to improve public health. They founded the Emschergenossenschaft, the first water management association in the country, together with local authorities. But its engineers were unable to build sewage canals underground because coalmines were making the land subside in unpredictable ways. Instead, they decided to dump the waste into the meandering Emscher, which they straightened and lined with concrete. It was not until the coal mining industry collapsed in the 1980s, stopping the subsidence, that politicians began to think about bringing the river back to life. 'My predecessors, who were engineers, at first asked: 'Why? It all works fine,'' says Uli Paetzel, the chair of the board of Emschergenossenschaft and fellow water management association Lippeverband. 'But there was also an increase in environmental awareness after the Chornobyl crisis and the die-off of seals in the North Sea, which really troubled the German population.' The Emschergenossenschaft set about cleaning up a river that served as a toilet for more than 2.5 million people. It built a central 51km (32-mile) sewage highway with an internal diameter of 2.8 metres (9.2ft) – 'you could drive through it with a car, that's how big it is,' says Paetzel – along with numerous pumping stations, four treatment plants and 436km of sewage channels. The €5.5bn (£4.7bn) project was mainly financed by the fees from industries and local communities, with about 20% coming from the EU and the state of North Rhine-Westphalia. Supported by low-interest loans from public banks and backed by residents who were desperate to get rid of the summer stink, the mammoth restoration project went ahead with little difficulty. The project did not receive any legal challenges – a rarity in Germany, says Paetzel. 'The biggest hurdle was technical,' he says. 'Putting underground canals into a densely built-up region – with motorways, dense urban development, industrial facilities – and getting the land to do so, that was the biggest challenge.' Today, the Emscher is home to flourishing nature and provides a vibrant blue-green space for residents and visitors in a rust belt region that has long struggled with poverty and unemployment. More than 130km of cycle paths run along its banks. Sign up to Down to Earth The planet's most important stories. Get all the week's environment news - the good, the bad and the essential after newsletter promotion The water is so clear that 'sometimes, from the bridge, you can even see down to the riverbed', says Volker, a retired lawyer, as he and his wife take a break from their bike ride to admire the view. 'We both find it so nice that it was restored.' Few rivers in Europe have seen a transformation as drastic as the Emscher's, but many of the continent's rivers and lakes are in desperate need of care. A report from the European Environment Agency in October found only 37% of surface-water bodies had a 'good' or 'high' ecological status, while just 29% had a good chemical status – figures that 'hardly changed' between 2015 and 2021. Enthusiasm for river restoration has grown as governments have faced increasing pressure to protect nature and ideas such as 'rewilding' have entered the mainstream. The EU has committed to restoring 25,000km of river to a free-flowing state by 2030. In the case of the Emscher, however, the extreme levels of soil settlement in the region mean the river has not been returned to its historical route. 'Restoring the Emscher to its former state is a task that cannot be done,' says Monika Raschke, a water expert at the non-profit German Federation for the Environment and Nature Conservation (Bund) – though the cleanup has brought back plants, insects, fish and birds. 'It's not the absolute ecological highlight that we might have elsewhere, but of course it's a huge improvement.' Hering says the river still has a way to go. Smaller streams are home to vibrant life – the tributaries were never as degraded as the main waterway – but the Emscher itself may need another decade before stable communities are established. 'With the tributaries, we have a pretty good idea of how re-establishment happens,' he says. 'With the main river, Emscher, which has been sewage-free for three years, we are only at the beginning of this process.' Still, Hering adds, there are lessons that can be learned from the project's success: that nature can recover, even when starting from scratch; that large projects can be successful if embedded into society; and that wildlife needs several years before stable communities can be re-established. 'It takes time. But immediately after restoration, of course, you'll see the first signs of success.'
The Guardian
10-07-2025
- Science
- The Guardian
‘It was filthy and it stank terribly': how Europe's dirtiest river was brought back to life
Strolling beside the Emscher, the Tyczkowskis say it is the stench that they remember most about the river's darker days. 'The whole thing was filthy and it stank terribly,' says the couple, a retired watchmaker and tax adviser in their 80s. Were they ever tempted to take a dip? 'No,' they laugh in disgust. 'There were other things swimming inside.' For more than a century, putrid fumes emanated from the 'sewer of the Ruhr', creating a pungent whiff that assaulted towns throughout Germany's industrial heartland. But today, the Emscher bears little resemblance to Europe's dirtiest river. Waters that used to be fouled by factory waste and human excrement have been free from effluent since 2021. The river system, the main part of which was once considered biologically dead, is witnessing an abundance of life return. Nature enthusiasts have spotted lapwings, kingfishers and demoiselles in the region, along with freshwater shrimp, caddis flies, and even beavers. In May, scientists reported that red-finned rudds from the Rhine had reestablished themselves. 'Overall, it is really a success story,' says Prof Daniel Hering, an aquatic ecologist at the University of Duisburg and expert on the river's ecology. 'In former times, it was a sewer. Now, it is a river.' The Emscher runs through the heart of Germany's densely populated Ruhr region, a rusty mess of cities that sprung up around coal mines and factories as the Industrial Revolution kicked off. In the 1800s, the rapidly growing population was plagued by waterborne diseases such as typhoid and cholera, which killed workers and stalled the economic boom. Alarmed by the hit to their profits, the Ruhr industrial barons sought to improve public health. They founded the Emschergenossenschaft, the first water management association in the country, together with local authorities. But its engineers were unable to build sewage canals underground – the result of coal mines that were making the land subside in unpredictable ways – and so they decided to dump the waste into the meandering Emscher, which they straightened and lined with concrete. It was not until the coal mining industry collapsed in the 1980s, stopping the subsidence, that politicians began to think about bringing the river back to life. 'My predecessors, who were engineers, at first asked: 'Why? It all works fine,'' says Uli Paetzel, the chair of the board of Emschergenossenschaft and fellow water management association Lippenverband. 'But there was also an increase in environmental awareness after the Chernobyl crisis and the die-off of seals in the North Sea, which really troubled the German population.' The Emschergenossenschaft set about cleaning up a river that served as a toilet for more than 2.5 million people. It built a central 51km (32-mile) sewage highway with an internal diameter of 2.8 metres (9.2ft) – 'you could drive through it with a car, that's how big it is,' says Paetzel – along with numerous pumping stations, four treatment plants and 436km of sewage channels. The €5.5bn (£4.7bn) project was mainly financed by the fees from industries and local communities, with about 20% coming from the EU and the state of North Rhine-Westphalia. Supported by low-interest loans from public banks and backed by local residents who were desperate to get rid of the summer stink, the mammoth restoration project went ahead with little difficulty. The project did not receive any legal challenges – a rarity in Germany, says Paetzel. 'The biggest hurdle was technical,' he says. 'Putting underground canals into a densely built-up region – with motorways, dense urban development, industrial facilities – and getting the land to do so, that was the biggest challenge.' But today, the Emscher is home to flourishing nature and provides a vibrant blue-green space for local residents and tourists in a rust belt region that has long struggled with poverty and unemployment. More than 130km of cycle paths run along its banks. Sign up to Down to Earth The planet's most important stories. Get all the week's environment news - the good, the bad and the essential after newsletter promotion The water is so clear that 'sometimes, from the bridge, you can even see down to the riverbed', says Volker, a retired lawyer, as he and his wife take a break from their bike ride to admire the view. 'We both find it so nice that it was restored.' Few rivers in Europe have seen a transformation as drastic as the Emscher's, but many of the continent's rivers and lakes are in desperate need of care. A report from the European Environment Agency in October found only 37% of surface-water bodies have a 'good' or 'high' ecological status, while just 29% have a good chemical status – figures that 'hardly changed' between 2015 and 2021. Enthusiasm for river restoration projects has grown as governments have come under increasing pressure to protect nature and ideas such as 'rewilding' have entered the mainstream. The EU has committed to restoring 25,000km of river to a free-flowing state by 2030. In the case of the Emscher, however, the extreme levels of soil settlement in the region mean the river has not been returned to its historical route. 'Restoring the Emscher to its former state is a task that cannot be done,' says Monika Raschke, a water expert at the non-profit German Federation for the Environment and Nature Conservation (Bund) – though the cleanup has brought back plants, insects, fish and birds. 'It's not the absolute ecological highlight that we might have elsewhere, but of course it's a huge improvement.' Hering says the river still has a way to go. Smaller streams are home to vibrant life – the tributaries were never as degraded as the main waterway was – but the Emscher itself may need another decade before stable communities are established. 'With the tributaries, we have a pretty good idea of how reestablishment happens,' he says. 'With the main River Emscher, which has been sewage-free for three years, we are only at the beginning of this process.' Still, Hering adds, there are already lessons that can be learned from the project's success: that nature can recover, even when starting from scratch; that large projects can be successful if they are embedded into society; and that wildlife needs several years before stable communities can be reestablished. 'It takes time,' he says. 'But immediately after restoration, of course, you'll see the first signs of success.'
Yahoo
08-07-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Borussia Dortmund chief Watzke cleared over private plane use
Borussia Dortmund's Jamie Gittens celebrates his side's first goal of the game during the German Bundesliga soccer match between Borussia Moenchengladbach and Borussia Dortmund at Borussia-Park stadium. Borussia Dortmund CEO Hans-Joachim Watzke has dismissed speculation that he met with Bayern Munich board member for sports Max Eberl over a potential sale of Dortmund forward Jamie Gittens to the Bundesliga champions. Federico Gambarini/dpa Borussia Dortmund chief executive Hans-Joachim Watzke, who is bidding to become president, has been cleared of misconduct after being accused of billing private flights to the club. The Ruhr Nachrichten newspaper said on Tuesday that the anonymous allegations from 2023 had been investigated but that no further steps would be taken. Advertisement The newspaper quoted Dortmund as saying: "All three review bodies – the compliance officer, the main committee of the advisory board, and the audit committee of the supervisory board – unanimously determined after thorough examination of the matter that Mr Watzke acted fully in accordance with internal guidelines." Watzke, who is in the midst of a presidential election campaign as he looks to step away from the day-to-day running of the club, said: "It is good that both committees unanimously deemed the anonymous allegations to be unfounded. For me, the matter is now closed. "However, I find it disappointing that internal details from Borussia Dortmund's confidential committees have been leaked to the public despite comprehensive confidentiality obligations for all involved. Such behaviour destroys trust in internal discussions, which should be conducted robustly on the issues without fear of being used to damage the reputation of individuals." It had long been expected that current Dortmund president Reinhold Lunow would step aside and allow Watzke, 66, to run unopposed. However, Lunow announced his intention to run again this November and the pair are reportedly at loggerheads.
National Post
04-07-2025
- Automotive
- National Post
Germany's autobahn cracks as heat wave strikes Europe
Germany will carry out emergency repairs on its autobahn this weekend after extreme heat in recent days blew up large chunks of concrete along key stretches of the highway. Article content Temperatures of up to 39C caused the material to expand and crack open roads in various parts of the country, leading to hours-long traffic jams. With summer breaks beginning in many German states on Friday, repair works over the weekend are set to impact traffic flows further. Article content Article content Article content The phenomenon known as 'blow-ups' occurs when concrete expands and has nowhere to go, leading to sudden fractures or cracks. It mostly affects older, heavily used or previously repaired highways during high temperatures, especially ones that aren't layered with asphalt. German authorities have prepared for the event by lowering speed limits along older sections of the road during summer — a noticeable measure in the only industrialized nation without a general speed limit on highways. Article content Article content Germany and the wider region have faced increasingly intense and frequent heat waves, with Europe warming twice as fast as the global average since the 1980s as a result of climate change. The scorching temperatures pose risks for critical infrastructure as well as human health. Article content While works to repair the damage in Germany have started, a highway section in the heavily-trafficked Ruhr area will be closed completely in one direction from Friday night until Monday morning to cover up remaining cracks and holes. In the western-central state of Hesse, five metres of the road were 'chiseled up and the broken pieces removed,' the local representation of Germany's highway authority said on Thursday. Workers have since replaced it with new asphalt. Article content Article content While the fallout from the heat is likely to cause frustration for German drivers as they embark on their summer holidays, high temperatures have also led to more grave consequences in parts of Europe this week, with the Greek island of Crete battling wildfires that have forced thousands of residents and tourists to evacuate. In Spain, Italy and France, several heat-related deaths have been recorded. Article content
Yahoo
16-06-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
High IQ people may think something is wrong with them
Teachers gave special attention to the intellectually gifted Mel Jäger ever since the first grade - without making the young student "stand out." "There was no outing: the IQ test didn't change anything in my life," says Jäger, now 34, and a board member of the German chapter of the Mensa association for the highly gifted. To be accepted to the group you need an IQ of at least 130. However not every Mensa member gets such good support. Quite a few feel held back or that they rub people the wrong way, and have been bullied. Sometimes those with a high IQ think they are the problem, Mensa members said in a meeting of the group in Mainz in western Germany. Some only come to realize during psychotherapy that their problems are related to their giftedness. Mensa has many gifted people recognized later in life "All my life I thought I had a screw loose," says an engineer from the Ruhr area, who wants to remain anonymous except for his first name, Peter. After taking the IQ test at the age of 54, he only then understood "why I was always an intellectual outsider and lonely." At work, he usually had to take a back seat. "I did everything on the side to get ahead. That was 30 years of hard work," says Peter, 59. "Late bloomers make up a huge part of our community," says Sybille Beyer, spokeswoman for Mensa Germany. That feeling of relief after finding out they have a high IQ happens often, she says. It's the feeling that "I'm not wrong, I'm just different." She says it's similar to Hans Christian Andersen's fairy tale of the ugly duckling that wanders around, feeling like he doesn't fit in - until he stumbles upon a flock of swans and realizes he's not a duck but a beautiful swan. Beyer, 61, knows what they are talking about. In primary school, she taught herself to read, was top of the class for years, but was held back. "Nah, I'm not taking you on now, you always know everything anyway," she says, describing her experience with teachers. Later, she often had the feeling that, as a person, she was "always running into a brick wall." A book about highly gifted people that she got from her hairdresser was the turning point for Beyer. She was already 53 years old at the time. "As I read, I thought, someone is writing about my life," she says. And her relief: "You can throw off all the guilt about not being able to fit in." Expert: Highly intelligent people on average more satisfied "On average, highly intelligent people get through school, college and training better, are more successful in their careers, and are healthier and happier in life than non-highly gifted people," says Detlef H Rost, an emeritus psychology professor at the University of Marburg. "So giftedness is more of a protective factor than a risk factor for development and coping with life," he says. "It is not giftedness itself that leads to problems for a person, but the behaviour displayed" – and that of their important caregivers, Rost says. Good standardized tests are "very meaningful" in Rost's view. They are even among the best diagnostic tools in psychology. Highly gifted people have an IQ of at least 130 Of the roughly 70 million adults living in Germany, around 1.4 million are highly gifted, says Rost. According to its own figures, the Mensa association, founded in 1979, now has more than 18,000 members, making it the largest network for highly intelligent people in Germany. That means the vast majority are not organized in an association. "Here you can develop acquaintances you can work with immediately - within five minutes or after two sentences," says Peter from the Ruhr area. The realization that she is highly gifted has changed her private life, reports Beyer. Mensa helped her find her way out of loneliness. The average age of Mensa members in Germany is around 38, says Jäger, who prefers plural pronouns. Around two-thirds are men and one-third women, with the proportion of diverse people growing. The professional field is diverse, and the number of members is increasing significantly, partly because autism and ADHD are being tested more frequently and the IQ is often determined from those tests, says Jäger. "You meet interesting people here and learn unexpected things that you would never come across otherwise," says Annette, 54, who does not want to give her last name. She's learned about tax returns, elementary physics, archaeology and artificialintelligence from the group, she says. "You get very interesting ideas here," says another Mensa member named Peter, from Cologne, talking about a 62-kilometre route in Nepal to Mount Everest Basecamp. The computer scientist is now studying physics so that he won't get bored after retirement. There are many facets to giftedness, says Beyer. The Mensa association's activities are therefore very diverse. Both the regulars' tables and the German meetings, such as the one in Mainz, welcome non-members. "It's not as if you're a completely different person with an IQ of 130 or more." Global links too Mensa members say a few preferences and behaviours are often found among the highly gifted: fast speech, an aversion to "meaningless small talk" but a tendency to jump quickly from topic to topic in conversations – and a penchant for tricky games. "Loud noises, harsh light, too many people, a mad rush – that's something that many of us find very difficult to take," reports Beyer. And younger people in particular usually seek contact with older people. Annette, a pharmacist, has daughters who are also highly gifted. She can't say whether this makes family life easier. "At any rate, we've put up a 'nerd sanctuary' sign at home." "Mensa is my chosen family," says Jäger from Münster. "You come into contact with people you wouldn't otherwise have known." This applies worldwide, as the umbrella organization has 150,000 members. "With the Couchsurfing programme, for example, you can find a place to stay anywhere at any time," says Jäger. They have already planned their entire holiday with Mensa members from around the world.
