View allAll Photos Tagged Tree-House
“TREE HOUSE
A tree house, a free house,
A secret you and me house,
A high up in the leafy branches
Cozy as can be house.
A street house, a neat house,
Be sure to wipe your feet house
Is not my kind of house at all-
Let's go live in a tree house.”
― Shel Silverstein
Live amid the cool sound of flowing water and the warble
of flying birds in this bright tree house!
_____
This was quite a lengthy build, took me well over a month! Tried out a new rockwork technique (new for me) and took my recent style of tree trunks to a new level! I'd always wanted to build a tree house, so I'm glad I was finally able to get around to it. C&C appreciated!
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Our First Overnight Stop was at Camping Le clos Cacheleux in Picardie, where they have these Tree Houses to rent
should i or shouldn't i embroider a bird perched on the roof?
this has been in progress for three years. i have now decided to pull out some of my unfinished work and complete them or vary them or simply discard them. i don't like NOT finishing things.
The forest of Anor Lass is well known for very rich floral growth, consisting of thousands and thousands of different herbs that can be found amongst its trees. Herbalists from all over the realm venture into Anor Lass to collect herbs for their potions and alchemical concoctions. Some of them have built small wooden houses there, in case they need to spend the night to collect some rare night or early morning plants.
Gedion, one of the oldest herbalist in town, witnessed something very unusual one night.
"The Moon was young and the sky was clear so I took the opportunity to collect some fallen leaves of Moonskin tree. With every full moon the tree makes room for new leaves on it and sets free old ones. They are very hard to see during the day and even harder yet during the night. But when the moon is young and not obscured by the clouds, edges of fallen leaves glow shyly and that make them easier to spot. Tea made from those leaves helps you stay awake and if you lose track of the cups you drank, your eyes can adjust to dark much more easily.
I was just picking up the third leaf and suddenly the earth started to tremble. The shakes were getting stronger and the noise scarier. It was coming from the direction of my house, and just as I realized that the treetops were glowing with a faint red hue, out of nowhere, my house was among the treetops. As I saw that, everything stopped immediately - except the red light. I was scared and I wanted to run, but being 71 years old, that was not an option, so I just hid myself in a bush by the road. After some time I heard my horse, so I went back there to see if is it hurt or in trouble.Goddamn horse, bringing me nothing but trouble! When I got back to the house, I saw it high on a big black rock, and some man holding on to his head with one hand and some strange hat and staff in other. When he saw me, he went in my direction and asked me "Is that your house?" Being scared at the moment, I told him that I will let my dog Ando on him if he came any closer, so he stopped right away and said that he means no harm. That was actually quite good because God knows where Ando was at the time. To hell with the dog to, he is no better that that horse. Strange man put his even more stranger hat on his head and introduced himself, but I forgot his name right away. He asked me again if that was my house and I said yes. He started apologizing and apologizing and mumbling something in god knows which language, and then started saying that he got overexcited and that this was an accident and that he will fix everything. After quite a long apology, he said that he will be back before the sky turns blue and that I should wait for him. I said nothing for that whole time and as he turned away, I just saw him disappear in the dark.
Three big crystals rumbled the earth and popped out of it. Very pleasant for the eye and warm when touched, they were the source of the red light. After I finished observing them, I looked up and saw that my house is not on some big black stone but on a giant black hand. The realization made my sight blurry, and the next thing I remember was someone poking me with the stick and asking me if I am allright. And it was him - the man who ruined my house! In my 71 years of life, this was the most unpleasant awakening, and also first time to see my house from way down below. He helped me to get up while mumbling apologies, but then I start yelling that sorry will not fix my house and bring it down from that horrible demon hand. And that was when he showed me my "new" house. The damage done to it was gone and it was looking as it was brand new. The rumbling and quaking must have changed the course of some underground stream because now there was even a spring of fresh water flowing underneath it.To be honest, it looked even better than before, but I could not admit that to this asshole. The only thing that was truly different was that now I had a stairway up to my front door. How in fourteen worlds does that fool think that a 71 years old man can walk that many stairs? So I started yelling on him again, but he just calmly walked to the stairs and started doing something with his staff and a bag of something strange that he unhooked from his belt. After a few moments some dust come out from the bag and started climbing up to the stairs, sinking into the stones on the stairs and giving them a faint glow. He said "There! On these stairs you will never be tired, you will never slip, you will always see where you are going and it will never freeze. Here. Try it!". And try it I did. Honest to all four gods, I never felt more rested while climbing. On the middle way up I turned to ask him what kind of a stone that was but he was already gone and I never saw him again. That was probably good, because who knows where would my house could end up with our next meeting.
To this day people are coming from the city to see my house on the giant hand with its magical stairs. Once a thief tried to steal the stones from the stairs but he could not move them at all. Heh, stupid thief.
One winter passed since that quite unordinary day and the stairs are still here, as you can see, and house still looks brand new. The crystals lost their glow after few full moons, and over time even started losing their red color. Still, they look nice and they are ever warm to the touch. I think that is the complete story of how my house got up in the sky. Now, would you like a cup of tea?"
The children who played in this tree house have no doubt grown to adulthood.
From the first roll of film in my latest camera project: Minolta SRT 101 w/Soligor f2.8/28mm, Tmax 100 @ 200, Rodinal 1+75 60min stand time.
I purchased this camera with the expectation of cleaning out the battery compartment of some minor corrosion. However the corrosion had spread to a wire connecting the battery to the meter switch. To date I haven't been able to solder a new wire to make that connection. Used my Sekonic meter to get exposure values on this first roll of film.
The forest of Anor Lass is well known for very rich floral growth, consisting of thousands and thousands of different herbs that can be found amongst its trees. Herbalists from all over the realm venture into Anor Lass to collect herbs for their potions and alchemical concoctions. Some of them have built small wooden houses there, in case they need to spend the night to collect some rare night or early morning plants.
Gedion, one of the oldest herbalist in town, witnessed something very unusual one night.
"The Moon was young and the sky was clear so I took the opportunity to collect some fallen leaves of Moonskin tree. With every full moon the tree makes room for new leaves on it and sets free old ones. They are very hard to see during the day and even harder yet during the night. But when the moon is young and not obscured by the clouds, edges of fallen leaves glow shyly and that make them easier to spot. Tea made from those leaves helps you stay awake and if you lose track of the cups you drank, your eyes can adjust to dark much more easily.
I was just picking up the third leaf and suddenly the earth started to tremble. The shakes were getting stronger and the noise scarier. It was coming from the direction of my house, and just as I realized that the treetops were glowing with a faint red hue, out of nowhere, my house was among the treetops. As I saw that, everything stopped immediately - except the red light. I was scared and I wanted to run, but being 71 years old, that was not an option, so I just hid myself in a bush by the road. After some time I heard my horse, so I went back there to see if is it hurt or in trouble.Goddamn horse, bringing me nothing but trouble! When I got back to the house, I saw it high on a big black rock, and some man holding on to his head with one hand and some strange hat and staff in other. When he saw me, he went in my direction and asked me "Is that your house?" Being scared at the moment, I told him that I will let my dog Ando on him if he came any closer, so he stopped right away and said that he means no harm. That was actually quite good because God knows where Ando was at the time. To hell with the dog to, he is no better that that horse. Strange man put his even more stranger hat on his head and introduced himself, but I forgot his name right away. He asked me again if that was my house and I said yes. He started apologizing and apologizing and mumbling something in god knows which language, and then started saying that he got overexcited and that this was an accident and that he will fix everything. After quite a long apology, he said that he will be back before the sky turns blue and that I should wait for him. I said nothing for that whole time and as he turned away, I just saw him disappear in the dark.
Three big crystals rumbled the earth and popped out of it. Very pleasant for the eye and warm when touched, they were the source of the red light. After I finished observing them, I looked up and saw that my house is not on some big black stone but on a giant black hand. The realization made my sight blurry, and the next thing I remember was someone poking me with the stick and asking me if I am allright. And it was him - the man who ruined my house! In my 71 years of life, this was the most unpleasant awakening, and also first time to see my house from way down below. He helped me to get up while mumbling apologies, but then I start yelling that sorry will not fix my house and bring it down from that horrible demon hand. And that was when he showed me my "new" house. The damage done to it was gone and it was looking as it was brand new. The rumbling and quaking must have changed the course of some underground stream because now there was even a spring of fresh water flowing underneath it.To be honest, it looked even better than before, but I could not admit that to this asshole. The only thing that was truly different was that now I had a stairway up to my front door. How in fourteen worlds does that fool think that a 71 years old man can walk that many stairs? So I started yelling on him again, but he just calmly walked to the stairs and started doing something with his staff and a bag of something strange that he unhooked from his belt. After a few moments some dust come out from the bag and started climbing up to the stairs, sinking into the stones on the stairs and giving them a faint glow. He said "There! On these stairs you will never be tired, you will never slip, you will always see where you are going and it will never freeze. Here. Try it!". And try it I did. Honest to all four gods, I never felt more rested while climbing. On the middle way up I turned to ask him what kind of a stone that was but he was already gone and I never saw him again. That was probably good, because who knows where would my house could end up with our next meeting.
To this day people are coming from the city to see my house on the giant hand with its magical stairs. Once a thief tried to steal the stones from the stairs but he could not move them at all. Heh, stupid thief.
One winter passed since that quite unordinary day and the stairs are still here, as you can see, and house still looks brand new. The crystals lost their glow after few full moons, and over time even started losing their red color. Still, they look nice and they are ever warm to the touch. I think that is the complete story of how my house got up in the sky. Now, would you like a cup of tea?"
For the 'Fantasy in Red' challenge.
Credits: Albina Designs-June in Fairyland.
Bing.
Kate Hadfield-No Place Like Gnome.
Same bee from the first Tree House image, but this time it's the next morning and I camped out in front the hole for over half an hour waiting for the Mason Bee to get active. I made several attempts at this image, but the critter would just go back into its home when I moved or cast a shadow over it with the camera. But eventually he realized that I wasn't a threat and I got the frame that was stuck in my head from the night before.
Selected by National Geographic for the April 8th 2015 Daily Dozen.
Tech Specs: Canon 70D (F16, 1/250, ISO 100) + a Canon MP-E 65mm macro lens (about 1.5x) + a diffused MT-24EX (-2/3 FEC). This is a single, uncropped, frame taken hand held.
Deutschland / Nordrhein-Westfalen - Tagebau Hambach
seen from Viewpoint Berrendorf / Forum terra nova
gesehen vom Aussichtspunkt Berrendorf / Forum terra nova
The Tagebau Hambach is a large open-pit coal mine (German: Tagebau) in Niederzier and Elsdorf, North Rhine–Westphalia, Germany. It is operated by RWE and used for mining lignite.
The mine is on the site of the ancient Hambach Forest which was purchased by RWE in 1978. They then cut most of it down and cleared it to mine. Only 10% of the forest area remains. RWE plans to clear half of the remaining area of the forest between around 2018 and 2020; this plan was met with massive protests in autumn 2018, and was temporarily stopped in October 2018 by the supreme administrative court of North Rhine–Westphalia (Oberverwaltungsgericht für das Land Nordrhein-Westfalen).
Begun in 1978, the mine's operation area currently (as of end of 2017) has a size of 43,8 km2, with the total area designated for mining having a size of 85 km2. It is the deepest open pit mine with respect to sea level: the bottom of the pit with up to 500 metres (1,640 ft) from the surface is 299 metres (981 ft) below sea level, the deepest artificially made point in North Rhine–Westphalia.
The open pit operator RWE, then known as Rheinbraun, initiated the permitting process for open pit mining in 1974 and was able to commence operations in 1978. The first excavator began its work on 15 October 1978. This was accompanied by the resettlement of local villages and towns and the largest forest area in the region, the Hambach Forest, was largely cleared. On 17 January 1984, the first brown coal was mined.
Hambach is the largest open pit mine in Germany with an area of 3,389 hectares (as of 2007) with an approved maximum size of 8500 hectares. About 40 million tons of lignite are produced annually in this mine. It has recently been estimated that 1772 million tons of lignite are still available for mining. The lignite was created from extensive forests and bogs, which developed in the Lower Rhine Bay between 30 and 5 million years ago. The geology of the Lower Rhine Bay is characterized by long-lasting subsidence movements in the last 30 million years, which led to the deposition of up to 1300 m thick sediment layers through the North Sea and many rivers, which today consist of lignite seams up to 100 m thick.
At 299 m below sea level, the deepest point of the Hambach open-pit mine forms the deepest artificial depression in North-Rhine Westphalia.
Since 1995, the giant bucket-wheel excavator Bagger 293 is used to remove the overburden. It hold several Guinness records for terrestrial vehicles.
The opencast mine annually produces a spoil amount of 250 to 300 million m³. The ratio of overburden to coal is 6.2:1. The extracted lignite is transported via the Hambach industrial spur to Bergheim - Auenheim and from there transported via the North–South industrial spur to the power stations Niederaussem, Neurath, Frimmersdorf and Goldenberg near Hürth-Knapsack. The overburden was until 16 April 2009 partially transported by conveyor belt to the Bergheim mine, which has run out of coal and therefore been refilled and recultivated. The visible mark of the open pit is the Sophienhöhe spoil tip, which is considered to be the largest man-made hill, towering over the flat landscape by 200 metres.
From 2013, the open pit area is to be extended southeast. For this, the villages Morschenich and Manheim must be relocated. The A4 motorway and the Hambach industrial spur, via which the lignite is transported to the power stations, were laid around three kilometres to the south parallel to the Cologne-Aachen railway line. In addition, a small piece of the federal highway 477 was moved east.
The open pit mine was put into operation in 1978. Every year about 0.3 cubic kilometres are moved, so that coal and soil with a volume of about 18.6 km³ will be mined by the time the coal runs out in 2040. By April 2009, the overburden, which was hitherto incurred in Hambach is now transported by conveyor belt in the now exhausted Bergheim mine to fill this in again. Now it is tilted exclusively on the western edge of the opencast mine and on the Sophienhöhe. Due to the accumulation of about 1 km³ of material at the Sophienhöhe and the extracted coal, a residual hole is created, which is to be filled up with water after completion of the mining activities.
A lake with an area of 4 ha and a depth of up to 400 m is planned. Size and volume depend on whether the west-located open pit Inden after its decarburization as well as the mine Bergheim filled with material from the open pit Hambach or left open. Lake Hambach would then be the deepest and (in terms of volume) after Lake Constance the second largest lake in Germany. How to fill the opencast mine is still controversial. Some voices suggest taking water from the Rur and / or the Erft or even filling the open pit with a pipeline of Rhine water. However this happens, the filling of the open pit mine is expected to take several decades. Thus, a completion of this artificial water is not expected before the year 2100.
In addition to the complete flooding is also possible to build a pumped storage power plant. A patent from 1995 states that such a pumped storage plant in the Hambach opencast mine can be realized and can provide a multiple of the pumped storage capacity currently available in Germany. The increased use of renewable energy makes this option more important and is being followed with interest by the Mining Authority.
On May 6, 2020, Meyer Burger, a manufacturer of solar cell production machinery, presented its idea for a huge solar park in the Hambach open-cast mine.[9] This would generate electricity with a capacity of around ten gigawatts, which would roughly correspond to the capacity of the Weisweiler, Neurath, Niederaussem and Frimmersdorf coal-fired power plants, which are currently dependent on the open-cast mines. Considerations for a later use of the area of 50 square kilometres include flooding to form a lake landscape. According to Meyer Burger CEO Gunter Erfurt, it would be conceivable to cover Lake Hambach with solar modules. Up to 50 million solar modules with a capacity of 10 gigawatts could be installed - as a floating solar park, as has already been realised in other parts of the world.
According to Meyer Burger CEO Gunter Erfurt, the construction of a state-of-the-art plant for cell and module production is currently being evaluated. In an interview with Radio Rur, Uwe Rau replied that such an idea was feasible, as a major advantage of the Hambach opencast mine was the power transmission lines already in place due to the power plants, which could thus continue to be used.
RWE Power AG announced in May 2020 that photovoltaic projects for the Sophienhöhe are conceivable.
Andreas Pinkwart, Minister for Economic Affairs, Innovation, Digitisation and Energy of North Rhine-Westphalia, also expressed his support for the project.
Since around 2012, an area within the remaining part of the Hambach Forest has been occupied by environmentalists to prevent its planned destruction by RWE.
The occupation involves a settlement with around two dozen tree houses and numerous road barricades. The barricades were erected to prevent mining company and police vehicles from entering.
In November 2017, environmentalists entered the mine and temporarily halted operations. They were met with police using horses and pepper spray.
In 2004, Greenpeace activists demonstrated against climate damage in the Hambach mine due to power generation using lignite. They flew over the open pit with a hot air balloon, occupied an excavator for several days and painted it partly pink. On 13 May 2009, the joint action of the local action group of citizens' initiatives against the relocation of the A4 and Friends of the Earth Germany (BUND) failed before the Federal Administrative Court. The plaintiffs tried to stop the relocation of the A4, which was deemed necessary for the planned extension of the open pit mine and justified this, inter alia, with feared noise pollution as well as the possible threat to the protected Bechstein bat and other species. In 2009, the construction of the new section of motorway began, in September 2014, it was opened to traffic.
Since 2008, there have increasing complaints about possible damage to the hill in the Elsdorf-Heppendorf area; since the burden of proof lies with the complainants, it is difficult to prove the mining operator guilty. The newly formed brown coal committee therefore decided on 16 April 2010, to set up the Bergschaden Braunkohle NRW reclamation service for damage victims in the Rhenish lignite mining area. The former chairman of the Higher Regional Court Hamm Gero Debusmann was appointed chairman of the recourse office. He is already chairman of the conciliation body mining damage in the coal industry. He can be contacted if attempts at reconciliation with RWE Power remain unsatisfactory. The procedure is free of charge for the applicant.
In November 2012 and March 2013, the police cleared tent and hut camps of mining opponents in the remaining Hambacher Forst. In 2012, a squatter had to be fetched from a six-metre deep tunnel and the following year two activists were roped off a tree platform. Later, a new camp was built at another location in the Hambacher forest.
In September 2018, a journalist died after falling from the tree structures built by activists.
(Wikipedia)
Der Tagebau Hambach ist der größte von der RWE Power AG betriebene Tagebau im Rheinischen Braunkohlerevier. Er betrifft die Gemeinden Niederzier, Kreis Düren, und Elsdorf, Rhein-Erft-Kreis. Der Tagebau Hambach ist aufgrund der mit ihm einhergehenden Abgase der Kohleverbrennung und weiterer Umweltzerstörung, unter anderem der Rodung des Hambacher Forsts, umstritten. Über 1000 Jahre alte Ortschaften wie Manheim müssen dem Tagebau weichen.
Der damals noch unter dem Namen Rheinbraun firmierende Tagebaubetreiber leitete 1974 das Genehmigungsverfahren für den Tagebau ein und konnte 1978 mit dem Aufschluss beginnen. Der erste Bagger begann seine Arbeit am 16. Oktober 1978. Damit ging die Umsiedlung von Ortschaften einher und das größte Waldgebiet in der Jülicher Börde, der Bürgewald – bekannter als Hambacher Forst –, wurde weitgehend gerodet. Am 17. Januar 1984 wurde die erste Braunkohle gefördert.
Hambach ist mit einer Betriebsfläche von 4.380 Hektar (2017) bei einer genehmigten Maximalgröße des Abbaufeldes von 8.500 Hektar der größte in Betrieb befindliche Braunkohletagebau in Deutschland. Laut RWE lagerten im Geschäftsjahr 1973/74 geschätzte 4.500 Mio. Tonnen Braunkohle in einer Tiefe bis zu 500 Metern. Gegen 2011 standen noch geschätzte 1.772 Mio. Tonnen Braunkohle zum Abbau zur Verfügung und es wurden auf dieser Fläche jährlich etwa 40 Mio. Tonnen Braunkohle gefördert. Die Braunkohle entstand aus weitflächigen Wäldern und Mooren, die sich in der Niederrheinischen Bucht vor 30 bis vor 5 Mio. Jahren entwickelten. Die Geologie der Niederrheinischen Bucht ist gekennzeichnet durch langanhaltende Senkungsbewegungen in den letzten 30 Mio. Jahren, die zur Ablagerung eines bis zu 1300 m mächtigen Sedimentpaketes durch die Nordsee und durch viele Flüsse geführt haben, in dem sich heute bis zu 100 m mächtige Braunkohleflöze befinden.
Mit 299 m unter NHN bildet der tiefste Punkt des Tagebaus Hambach die tiefste künstliche Senke Nordrhein-Westfalens.
Der Tagebau fördert jährlich eine Abraummenge von 250 bis 300 Mio. m³. Das Verhältnis von Abraum zu Kohle beträgt 6,2 : 1. Die geförderte Braunkohle wird über die Hambachbahn nach Bergheim-Auenheim und von dort aus weiter über die Nord-Süd-Bahn zu den Kraftwerken Niederaußem, in die Kraftwerke Neurath und Frimmersdorf in Grevenbroich sowie nach Goldenberg bei Hürth-Knapsack transportiert. Der Abraum wurde bis zum 16. April 2009 zum Teil per Band zum Tagebau Bergheim befördert, der bereits ausgekohlt ist und deshalb verkippt und rekultiviert wurde. Weithin sichtbares Markenzeichen des Tagebaus ist die Hochkippe Sophienhöhe im Nordwesten des Tagebaus, sie gilt als größter künstlich angelegter Berg, der die ebene Bördenlandschaft um 200 Meter überragt.
Seit Oktober 2014 leitet der Bergbauingenieur Thomas Körber den Tagebau.
Seit 2013 wird die Tagebaufläche südöstlich erweitert. Dazu werden die Ortschaften Morschenich und Manheim umgesiedelt. Die Autobahn A 4 und die Hambachbahn, über die der Transport der Braunkohle zu den Kraftwerken geschieht, wurden um rund drei Kilometer nach Süden parallel zur Eisenbahnstrecke Köln–Aachen verlegt. Außerdem wurde ein kleines Stück der Bundesstraße 477 Richtung Osten verlegt.
Im August 2020 wurde bekanntgegeben, dass an der Abbruchkante ein Brunnen aus dem 2. Jahrhundert ausgegraben werden konnte.
Die CO2-Emissionen aus der Verbrennung der 2019 noch verbliebenen Braunkohle würden rechnerisch für eine Erhöhung des natürlichen CO2-Gehalts der Atmosphäre um ca. 0,7 Promille weltweit ausreichen, oder zusammengezogen eine CO2-Verdoppelung auf der Gesamtfläche Deutschlands bewirken, gerechnet mit 4 kg CO2 je m2 und einer Tonne CO2-Emissionen je Tonne Braunkohle. Das entspricht einer Gesamtmenge von 2,4 % des CO2-Budgets (9,9 Mrd. t CO2), welches sich Deutschland bis 2050 gesteckt hat.
Der Tagebau Hambach ist an Feinstaub-Emissionen in seinem näheren Umfeld beteiligt. Der Anteil des vom Tagebau herrührenden Feinstaubs wird vom Landesamt für Natur, Umwelt und Verbraucherschutz Nordrhein-Westfalen (LANUV NRW) mit 25 % angegeben.
Für das Jahr 2004 wird vom LANUV NRW für Überschreitungen des Feinstaub-Grenzwertes von 50 µg/m³ kein vollständiges Messjahr aufgelistet, der erlaubte Jahresmittelwert von 40 µg/m³ wird jedoch mit 30 µg/m³, der an der Messstation Niederzier festgestellt wird, deutlich unterschritten.
Seit Anfang 2005 gelten EU-weit neue Grenzwerte für Feinstaub-Emissionen. Unter Federführung der Bezirksregierung Köln wurde ein Aktionsplan zur Feinstaubminderung in der Umgebung des Tagebaus Hambach erarbeitet, der am 29. September 2005 in Kraft trat. Der Tagebaubetreiber hatte bereits vorlaufend mit der Umsetzung von Maßnahmen zur Feinstaub-Reduzierung begonnen. Im Jahr 2006 wurden in Niederzier 35 Überschreitungen des Grenzwertes verzeichnet, was genau den erlaubten Überschreitungstagen entsprach. Der Jahresmittelwert sank für diesen Zeitraum auf 29 µg/m³.
Nach der EU-Richtlinie 1999/30/EG sind ab dem 1. Januar 2005 maximal 35 Überschreitungen des PM10-Tagesmittelwertes von 50 µg/m³ pro Jahr zulässig. Seit dem 1. Januar 2010 darf der einzuhaltende Tagesmittelwert für PM10 weiterhin 50 µg/m³ betragen. Seit dem Jahr 2010 sollte der Jahresmittelwert für PM10 nur noch 20 µg/m³ betragen. Dies ist durch die Richtlinie 2008/50/EG vom 21. Mai 2008 (Anhang XI) wieder entschärft worden, so dass ab 2010 weiter der Jahresmittelwert für PM10 40 µg/m³ gilt.
Folgende Maßnahmen zur Bekämpfung von Feinstaub werden laut RWE im Tagebau umgesetzt:
Anpflanzen von Bäumen auf der Abraumseite
Grasbewuchs auf brachliegenden Flächen
Straßen werden befestigt und Bandanlagen auf festen Untergrund gestellt, was Staub vermindert
Berieseln der oberen Sohle auf der Baggerseite
Berieseln der Nordwand
Berieseln von Kohlebunker und Kohlebändern
beim Baggern wird Wasser auf den Abraum gesprüht.
In Betrieb genommen wurde der Tagebau 1978. Jährlich werden etwa 0,3 Kubikkilometer bewegt, sodass gegen Ende der Auskohlung im Jahr 2040 Kohle und Erdreich mit einem Volumen von etwa 18,6 km³ abgebaut sein werden. Bis April 2009 wurde der Abraum, der bis dahin in Hambach anfiel, zum Teil durch Bandanlagen in den ausgekohlten Tagebau Bergheim geschafft, um diesen wieder zu füllen. Nun wird ausschließlich am westlichen Rand des Tagebaus und auf der Sophienhöhe verkippt. Durch die Anhäufung von rund 1 km³ Material an der Sophienhöhe und durch die entnommene Kohle entsteht ein Restloch, das nach Abschluss der Abbautätigkeiten mit Wasser aufgefüllt werden soll.
Als Bergbaufolgelandschaft ist ein Tagebausee mit einer Fläche von 4200 ha, einer Tiefe bis 400 m und einem Volumen von 3,6 Mrd. m³ geplant. Größe und Volumen hängen davon ab, ob der westlich gelegene Tagebau Inden nach dessen Auskohlung ebenso wie der Tagebau Bergheim durch Material aus dem Tagebau Hambach verfüllt oder offen gelassen wird. Der See Hambach wäre dann der tiefste und (nach Volumen) nach dem Bodensee der zweitgrößte See Deutschlands. Wie der Tagebau befüllt werden soll, ist noch umstritten. Einige Stimmen schlagen vor, Wasser aus der Rur und/oder der Erft zu entnehmen oder gar den Tagebau über eine Pipeline mit Rheinwasser zu füllen. Wie dies auch geschieht, die Füllung des Tagebaus wird voraussichtlich einige Jahrzehnte in Anspruch nehmen. Somit ist mit einer Fertigstellung dieses künstlichen Gewässers nicht vor dem Jahr 2100 zu rechnen.
Am 6. Mai 2020 stellte zudem Meyer Burger, ein Hersteller von Solarzellen-Produktionsmaschinen, seine Idee für einen Solarpark vor. Dadurch würde Strom mit der Leistung von etwa zehn Gigawatt erzeugt, was in etwa der Leistung der heute von den Tagebauen abhängigen Kohlekraftwerke Weisweiler, Neurath, Niederaußem und Frimmersdorf entspreche. Überlegungen für eine spätere Nutzung des Gebietes mit einer Fläche von 50 Quadratkilometern sehen die Flutung zur Seenlandschaft vor. Gemäß Meyer Burger CEO ist es denkbar, den Hambacher See mit Solarmodulen zu bedecken. Bis zu 50 Millionen Solarmodule mit einer Leistung von 10 Gigawatt könnten installiert werden – als schwimmender Solarpark, wie er in anderen Teilen der Welt bereits realisiert wurde.[14] Gemäß Uwe Rau ist ein wesentlicher Vorteil des Braunkohletagebau Hambach, dass Stromübertragungsleitungen aufgrund der Kraftwerke bereits vorhanden seien und genutzt werden könnten.
Gemäß RWE Power AG ist ein Photovoltaik-Projekte für die Sophienhöhe vorstellbar.
Unterstützend äußerte sich auch der Minister für Wirtschaft, Innovation, Digitalisierung und Energie von Nordrhein-Westfalen, Andreas Pinkwart.
Neben der vollständigen Flutung des Tagebaurestloches besteht auch die Möglichkeit, ein Pumpspeicherkraftwerk zu errichten. Ein Patent von 1995 führt aus, dass ein solches Pumpspeicherwerk im Tagebau Hambach realisierbar ist und ein Vielfaches der aktuell in Deutschland verfügbaren Pumpspeicherkapazität zur Verfügung stellen kann.[18] Durch die zunehmende Nutzung erneuerbarer Energien gewinnt diese Option an Bedeutung und wird vom Bergamt mit Interesse verfolgt.
Die RWE Power AG gab im Mai 2020 bekannt, dass ein Pumpspeicherwerk zumindest für die Sophienhöhe keine Lösung sei, da dort die Anlage eines Obersees nicht möglich sei. Hingegen seien Photovoltaik-Projekte vorstellbar.
Es gibt ein weiteres Konzept zur Speicherung von elektrischer Energie. Dabei soll aus dem Restloch des Tagebaus Wasser nach oben gepumpt werden und bei Strombedarf wieder an Turbinen vorbei nach unten gelassen werden. Abhängig von der Größe der realisierten Anlagen sind dort gemäß Konzept Speicherkapazitäten von einigen 100 bis einigen 1000 GWh möglich, die Speicherkosten sollen bei 1 bis 2 ct/kWh liegen.
An Pfingsten 2004 demonstrierten Greenpeace-Aktivisten im Tagebau Hambach gegen die Klimaschädigung durch die Braunkohleverstromung. Sie überflogen den Tagebau mit einem Heißluftballon, hielten mehrere Tage einen Bagger besetzt und strichen diesen zum Teil rosa an. Am 13. Mai 2009 scheiterte die gemeinsame Klage der lokalen Aktionsgemeinschaft der Bürgerinitiativen gegen die Verlegung der A 4 und des BUND vor dem Bundesverwaltungsgericht. Die Kläger versuchten, die zur geplanten Erweiterung des Tagebaus notwendige Verlegung der A 4 zu stoppen, und begründeten dies u. a. mit befürchteten Lärmbelastungen sowie der möglichen Bedrohung der unter Naturschutz stehenden Bechsteinfledermaus und andere Arten. 2009 wurde mit dem Bau des neuen Autobahnteilstücks begonnen, im September 2014 wurde es dem Verkehr übergeben.
Seit 2008 werden vermehrt Beschwerden wegen möglicher Bergschäden im Bereich Elsdorf-Heppendorf laut; da die Beweislast bei den Beschwerdeführern liegt, ist der Nachweis gegenüber dem Bergbautreibenden schwierig. Der neugebildete Braunkohlenausschuss beschloss deshalb am 16. April 2010 die Einrichtung der Anrufungsstelle Bergschaden Braunkohle NRW für Betroffene von Bergschäden im rheinischen Braunkohlenrevier. Zum Vorsitzenden der Anrufungsstelle wurde der ehemalige Präsident des Oberlandesgerichts Hamm, Gero Debusmann, berufen. Er ist bereits Vorsitzer der Schlichtungsstelle Bergschäden im Steinkohlenbergbau. Er kann angerufen werden, wenn Einigungsversuche mit RWE Power unbefriedigend geblieben sind. Das Verfahren ist für den Antragsteller kostenfrei.
Im November 2012 und März 2013 räumte die Polizei Zelt- und Hüttenlager von Tagebaugegnern im verbliebenen Hambacher Forst. 2012 musste ein Platzbesetzer aus einem sechs Meter tiefen Erdversteck geholt und im Folgejahr zwei Aktivisten von einer Baumplattform abgeseilt werden. Später entstand ein neues Camp an einer anderen Stelle im Hambacher Forst.
Am 23. Oktober 2016 fand eine Demonstration im Hambacher Forst statt, um das letzte Stück des Waldes zu schützen. Es nahmen laut Polizeiangaben über 1000 Personen teil, die sich in Rot kleideten, um eine rote Linie auf der alten A4 bei Buir zu bilden. Sie wollten mit der Aktion ein Zeichen gegen die Abholzung des letzten Stückes des Hambacher Forstes setzen.
Am 5. November 2017, einen Tag vor Beginn des Weltklimagipfels in Bonn, besetzten rund 3.000 Aktivisten Teile des Tagebaus, um darauf aufmerksam zu machen, dass wenige Kilometer vom Konferenzort entfernt mit dem rheinischen Braunkohlerevier die ihren Angaben zufolge größte CO2-Quelle Europas liegt.
Die Hambach-Gruppe war eine 1977 gegründete Initiative von jungen Wissenschaftlern der RWTH Aachen, die sich kritisch mit Braunkohleabbau und dessen Folgen beschäftigte; beispielsweise dem Aufkauf und Abriss von Ortschaften durch den Tagebau und somit der Vertreibung der dort ansässigen Bewohner. Von 1984 bis 1985 war der spätere Politiker Rüdiger Sagel Geschäftsführer dieser Bürgerinitiative in Aachen. Ihre Aktivitäten endeten vor 1990.
Die Aktionsgemeinschaft der Bürgerinitiativen gegen die Verlegung der Autobahn A4 war ein von 1992 bis 2013 aktiver Zusammenschluss von sechs örtlichen Bürgerinitiativen der Ortschaften Arnoldsweiler, Buir, Manheim, Merzenich und Morschenich gegen den Tagebau Hambach und die Verlegung der Bundesautobahn 4. Der Aktionsgemeinschaft gelang es erstmals, die enormen und irreversiblen Umweltschäden des Tagebaus Hambach in groß angelegten Aktionen darzulegen und so den betroffenen Bürgern vor Augen zu führen, dass Widerstand möglich ist. Die Aktionsgemeinschaft hat viele Widerstandsformen – wie z. B. regelmäßige Waldspaziergänge – erfunden, um auf das Abbaggern des Hambacher Forstes aufmerksam zu machen.
(Wikipedia)
Live amid the cool sound of flowing water and the warble
of flying birds in this bright tree house!
_____
This was quite a lengthy build, took me well over a month! Tried out a new rockwork technique (new for me) and took my recent style of tree trunks to a new level! I'd always wanted to build a tree house, so I'm glad I was finally able to get around to it. C&C appreciated!
We spent a night in this amazing tree house. Wish we had more time. Because of the schedule and the way the trip was planned, we reached the place at around 7PM (and its not like Rochester, the place gets dark by that time) and in the morning had to leave at 9AM. :-(
We would recommend this to anyone planning to go to Thekkady.
@ Carmelia Haven, Vandanmedu, Thekkady
The forest of Anor Lass is well known for very rich floral growth, consisting of thousands and thousands of different herbs that can be found amongst its trees. Herbalists from all over the realm venture into Anor Lass to collect herbs for their potions and alchemical concoctions. Some of them have built small wooden houses there, in case they need to spend the night to collect some rare night or early morning plants.
Gedion, one of the oldest herbalist in town, witnessed something very unusual one night.
"The Moon was young and the sky was clear so I took the opportunity to collect some fallen leaves of Moonskin tree. With every full moon the tree makes room for new leaves on it and sets free old ones. They are very hard to see during the day and even harder yet during the night. But when the moon is young and not obscured by the clouds, edges of fallen leaves glow shyly and that make them easier to spot. Tea made from those leaves helps you stay awake and if you lose track of the cups you drank, your eyes can adjust to dark much more easily.
I was just picking up the third leaf and suddenly the earth started to tremble. The shakes were getting stronger and the noise scarier. It was coming from the direction of my house, and just as I realized that the treetops were glowing with a faint red hue, out of nowhere, my house was among the treetops. As I saw that, everything stopped immediately - except the red light. I was scared and I wanted to run, but being 71 years old, that was not an option, so I just hid myself in a bush by the road. After some time I heard my horse, so I went back there to see if is it hurt or in trouble.Goddamn horse, bringing me nothing but trouble! When I got back to the house, I saw it high on a big black rock, and some man holding on to his head with one hand and some strange hat and staff in other. When he saw me, he went in my direction and asked me "Is that your house?" Being scared at the moment, I told him that I will let my dog Ando on him if he came any closer, so he stopped right away and said that he means no harm. That was actually quite good because God knows where Ando was at the time. To hell with the dog to, he is no better that that horse. Strange man put his even more stranger hat on his head and introduced himself, but I forgot his name right away. He asked me again if that was my house and I said yes. He started apologizing and apologizing and mumbling something in god knows which language, and then started saying that he got overexcited and that this was an accident and that he will fix everything. After quite a long apology, he said that he will be back before the sky turns blue and that I should wait for him. I said nothing for that whole time and as he turned away, I just saw him disappear in the dark.
Three big crystals rumbled the earth and popped out of it. Very pleasant for the eye and warm when touched, they were the source of the red light. After I finished observing them, I looked up and saw that my house is not on some big black stone but on a giant black hand. The realization made my sight blurry, and the next thing I remember was someone poking me with the stick and asking me if I am allright. And it was him - the man who ruined my house! In my 71 years of life, this was the most unpleasant awakening, and also first time to see my house from way down below. He helped me to get up while mumbling apologies, but then I start yelling that sorry will not fix my house and bring it down from that horrible demon hand. And that was when he showed me my "new" house. The damage done to it was gone and it was looking as it was brand new. The rumbling and quaking must have changed the course of some underground stream because now there was even a spring of fresh water flowing underneath it.To be honest, it looked even better than before, but I could not admit that to this asshole. The only thing that was truly different was that now I had a stairway up to my front door. How in fourteen worlds does that fool think that a 71 years old man can walk that many stairs? So I started yelling on him again, but he just calmly walked to the stairs and started doing something with his staff and a bag of something strange that he unhooked from his belt. After a few moments some dust come out from the bag and started climbing up to the stairs, sinking into the stones on the stairs and giving them a faint glow. He said "There! On these stairs you will never be tired, you will never slip, you will always see where you are going and it will never freeze. Here. Try it!". And try it I did. Honest to all four gods, I never felt more rested while climbing. On the middle way up I turned to ask him what kind of a stone that was but he was already gone and I never saw him again. That was probably good, because who knows where would my house could end up with our next meeting.
To this day people are coming from the city to see my house on the giant hand with its magical stairs. Once a thief tried to steal the stones from the stairs but he could not move them at all. Heh, stupid thief.
One winter passed since that quite unordinary day and the stairs are still here, as you can see, and house still looks brand new. The crystals lost their glow after few full moons, and over time even started losing their red color. Still, they look nice and they are ever warm to the touch. I think that is the complete story of how my house got up in the sky. Now, would you like a cup of tea?"
Spruce Tree House at Mesa Verde National Park.
Photographed using a Sony A7R with a Nikkopr 43-86mm f/3.5 lens.
A traditional Melanesian way of life has been restored and revitalized in the face of encroaching westernization in the "kastom" village of Yakel, Tanna Island, Vanuatu (New Hebrides), Melanesia, South Pacific. Print scan, circa 1997.
Kastom men gather under the iconic banyan tree house where boys stay after circumcision. The grounds below the treehouse serve as a central meeting place and ceremonial site for the people of Yakel village.
Kastom is a pidgin term broadly referring to traditional culture and indigenous cultural practices, including customary law, religion and magic in Melanesia.