One hour without light to tell the world that we do care
Posted on | February 3, 2009 | No Comments
There is a given feeling of euphoria, since Barack Obama won the presidential election in USA. American citizens have high expectations for their 44th president, but even people living on this side of the ocean have some, at least regarding a certain degree of engagement toward critical questions such as sustainability, decreased CO2 emissions and global warming from the nation that is leading the exploitation of Mother Earth. And since any kind of engagement will be better that the void that there is now, there is even a good chance that something will really happen. Scientists and researcher all over the planet agree upon the need for reducing greenhouse gas emissions, and many governments have already agreed that there is a need for a new deal to be signed before The Kyoto Protocol expires in 2012. One possible date is December 2009, when representatives from 180 countries will meet at the UN Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen. Read more
Tags: carbon dioxide > climate change > Earth > Environment > global warming > Kyoto protocol > lights
Lodging a student
Posted on | January 12, 2009 | No Comments
As cities become larger, its inhabitants feel more and more isolated by the society. This is especially true for the elderly, with little or no family connections. At the same time there is a strong need of finding new housing solutions, pushing communities to build and expand the geographical extend of the urban environment. People are forced to move out of the city, and spend good part of their time commuting, with severe consequences both for the environment and their health (both in terms of added stress and in waste of time that could be spent in more useful activities). This is affecting mostly people with lower income, families and students. When the commune of the city of Milan (Italy) realized that a good share of the 40000 students of the University of Milan were not able to afford a lodging in the city, and were therefore forced to commute, found a very creative solution. While students were living out of the city, there were plainly of elderly residents, living alone in a large apartment in the city, and feeling quite lonely. The Milan commune started a project in 2004 called prendi a casa uno studente (Lodge a student at home), with the intent of solving several problems at once. Students would get a cheap accommodation and pensioners would get company. Read more
Tags: cities > population > simple living
Ryciclying soft plastic in Stockholm
Posted on | January 10, 2009 | No Comments
I am glad to hear that is finally possible to recycle soft plastic, such as plastic bags, in the Stockholm area too, since the beginning of 2009. I think it is burned to produce heat, but I need to check on that.
You can easily dispose it together with hard plastic, and they will take care to separate the two with the use of air. It is important to put the soft plastic loose so it can be blown away from the hard one. Glad things keep moving!