Historically, phosphorite has been excavated in Estonia - Ülgase (1924 -1938) and Maardu underground mine (1940-1965). In Maardu the open-cast mine was opened in 1954, which was accompanied by several environmental problems - extensive destruction of ecosystems, water and air pollution, soil degradation. The biggest environmental problem was the self-firing of Dictyonium Argillite in the [...]
In its rich flora and fauna, the Saranda region in India has attracted many mining companies because of its large iron ore depository. There are dozens of mining companies operating in Saranda, which are increasingly mining over the years. The Union Ministry of Steel has set a target to mine 50 million tonnes of iron [...]
Saranda forest is known as mountainous region of India, with a total size of over 82,000 hectares [1]. Although it is naturally one of the most species-rich and the world largest Sal tree (Shorea Robusta) forest, the Indian Government has leased around 10,000 ha of Saranda's forests for various mining companies [8]. Particular attention has [...]
The Kaliningrad Nuclear Power Plant or also referred as Baltic Nuclear Power Plant is a nuclear power plant under construction 13 kilometers away from Neman, Kaliningrad Oblast, Russia. Russia plans to have 26 nuclear power plant units by 2030, seven of them are already under construction. The nuclear plant in Kaliningrad Oblast will be bordering [...]
Nuclear energy has no place in a safe, clean, sustainable future. Nuclear energy is both expensive and dangerous, and just because nuclear pollution is invisible doesn’t mean it’s clean. Nuclear power has proven to be technology with serious health and environmental concerns, for example these facilities have regular releases on low-level radiation, which can cause [...]
Rail Baltic is an international rail connection project, which will connect the three Baltic States (Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania) to the rest of Europe, service on the new high-speed railway is expected to start in 2026. The project has brought with it both a positive and a negative response. Positively is listed a great cross-border connection, [...]
Ess-soo peat extraction case is a great example of how people stood up against the system for their only wetland left in the area. In 2002, environmental service of Võru county in Estonia gave an order to issue a mining permit in Ess-soo wetland. Local environmental activists in Urvaste parish found out about this order [...]
Peatlands cover an estimated area of 400 million ha, equivalent to 3% of the Earth’s land surface. Wetlands clean and store water, provide unique habitat for many different species and wetland plants capture CO2 which helps to reduce climate related problems caused by humans. In most European countries wetlands have been destroyed for farming (e.g [...]
Rail Baltic is an international rail connection, which vision to unite Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania with the rest of Europe, was already dated from the early 1990s [4]. By now, the route Tallinn-Pärnu-Riga- Panevėžys -Kaunas has been determined, but forward to Warsaw, there is a need to catch another train. The total length of Rail [...]
Oil-shale is one of the most important natural resources in Estonia. From the year 1916, oil-shale has been used by energy sector in Estonia. Mining of oil-shale became wide spread after the Second World War, when Estonia was occupied by Soviet Union. The dark side of oil shale mining is its damage to nature. The [...]
