Germany's Land Use & Mangement
By: Dalia Vasquez & Valeria Rodriguez
The largest amount of water, approximately 56%, is used as cooling water by power authorities. Mining and industry together use approximately 18%. Approximately 13% of water use goes to public water supply. Agriculture and forestry use less than 1% of the water.
Land Use Impact
Approximately 11.7% of the surface area are designated to drinking water protection and underlie restrictions of use to protect existing water resources. River floods in Germany cause climate change in the environment atmosphere. Last year, Germany's carbon dioxide emissions grew by 1.2 percent, in large part because the country burned more coal. German environmental officials say the recent boom in coal-fired power is making it harder for the country to meet its climate-protection goals, even as it has increased renewable energy and participates in a carbon market that has lowered emissions throughout Europe.
Watershed Quality
Coal mining's demise in Germany comes as the country is experiencing a resurgence in coal-fired power, one which the U.S. increasingly has helped supply. U.S. exports of power plant-grade coal to Germany have more than doubled since 2008. In 2013, Germany ranked fifth, behind the United Kingdom, Netherlands, South Korea and Italy in imports of U.S. steam coal, the type burned in power plants. This lead to natural gas prices to increase and caused power plants to slightly burn more coal.
Pictures
Flooding in Germany
Water Power Plant
Graph on daily water use
Reasonable Practices for Residents for sustainable Use of Resources
Present measures of flood protection need to be adapted. This include sufficient flood retention on floodplains, a regulation that limits construction and other development on the likely floodplains, precaution in constructions, behavioral foresight, hazard protection and technical flood protection.