Environment friendly citizen of the Europe by Katrin Lipp

ENVIRONMENT FRIENDLY CITIZEN OF THE EUROPE

e es the whole world nativ One touch of nature mak William Shakespeare

Global environmental processes

GLOBAL ENVIRONMENTAL PROCESS

ECO DAILY LIFE

ENVIRONMENTAL & CITIZEN JOURNALISM

WASTE: REDUCE, REUSE and RECYCLE

OUTDOOR LIFE

2012 – (89) pp. – 14.8 x 21 cm EDITOR’S NOTE The Editor would like to thank Mia Moilanen, Liga Zute- Abizare, Sniegule Cironkaite, Solveiga Kikule for supporting of project “GREEN LIFE”.

t her interes t r u f r u o y For LIFE about ECO

Issued by

Financial support

Supported by

Eco daily life

Environmental & citizen journalism

Editor EKO MEDIA Ltd Designer Janis Esitis Photographer Justinas Krisiunas

INDRODUCTION

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This edition is published by Inga Ringailaite, Sustainable Development Initiatives –DVI NGO Jolanta Uktveryte, Environmental club “Zvejone” NGO Erkki Peetsalu, Okomeedia NGO Sigita Baronaite, Foundation for the Development of Nature Protection Project NGO Johanna Sunikka, Helsinki Metropolitan Area ReUse Centre Ltd Lotta Palomaki, Helsinki Metropolitan Area ReUse Centre Ltd Rita Bubina, Latvijas Zaļais punkts, JSC Inga Petersone, Latvia’s State Forests JSC

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s t n e t n o C

n o i t c u d o r Int The urban life step by step drags you into the deceptive world of its comfort… and you start to lose connection with the nature and thousand-year experience of civilization… you start to lose connection even with the people around you because your communication is just „on-line”... you trespass upon your leisure time… and it misshapes your intellectual and physical development… also your selfishness, lack of information, habits and lack of knowledge about influence of your activity/ inactivity on the environment has to be blamed for different ecological problems… The manual „Environment friendly citizen of the Europe” gives knowledge and skills about environment friendly behaviour in every day. Motivate to ecological living, giving knowledge and understanding about green lifestyle and encouraging to renew the connection with the nature. Within the framework of the project „GREEN LIFE” 40 citizens from Nordic and Baltic States have participate in environmental education workshop “the Green Week”. They were educated in five workshops: global environmental process – here and now; daily eco life; environmental journalism; waste: reduce, reuse, and recycle; outdoor life. Training programme was developed by environmental

experts from Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia and Finland. Participants of “The Green Week” acquired knowledge and skills in environmental education, ecology and learned to collaborate in order to achieve together a common goal. The authors of this book wish that knowledge and practical advices of “The Green Week” continue their mission and help everyone to understand nature and its processes and realize what the real meaning of ECO LIFE is.

und first so e h t s i What wood in the ? t-time at nigh

Sustainable development is development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. It contains within it two key concepts: • the concept of needs, in particular the essential needs of the world’s poor, to which overriding priority should be given. • the idea of limitations imposed by the state of technology and social organization on the environment’s ability to meet present and future needs.*

Global environmental processes Eco daily life Environmental & citizen journalism

There is nothing new telling, that there is no contradiction between reaching for the further human development and improvement of the quality of the environment, and the shift toward sustainable development means putting the same importance on social, economic and environmental issues. There are more than thousand definitions of what is sustainable development, and yet, the most popular is the one formulated in “Our Common Future” (Brundtland Report) in 1987:

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Cleaner production: environment friendly solution for industry

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l a t n e m n o r i v n e l a Glob ss proce

There are 4 key principles of the cleaner production 1. The precautionary principle is based on the recognition and there are limits of scientific knowledge, thus measures to avoid possible harm to the environment must be taken as long as such uncertainties occur.

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4. Holistic principle must be applied in order all material, energy and water flows would be analyzed by application of the life-cycle methods.

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3. Public participation: information about impacts to the environment should be available to all workers, consumers, and communities and possibilities to participate in decision-making should be created.

Work in group. Workshop „GREEN WEEK”. Tervete, 2011.

Cleaner production concept is oriented to activities like pollution prevention, source reduction, waste minimization and eco-efficiency. There is a wide range of activities that can be called cleaner production. Some of THEM might be very simple and would require for small amount of financial resources and would be based rather on environmental consciousness of employees, while the others would require

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Need for the cleaner production that is based on the most effective use of energy and resources was firstly underlined in the same Bruntland Report, while more significant growth of the application of the cleaner technologies in industry could be observed only in late 1990s. The main principle of the pollution prevention is preference of the prevention of the pollution rather than to control of pollution. This approach also brings economic incentives for the industry: instead of wasting resources and spending money on management of the waste and pollution companies should rather invest into more effective use of the already available resources, increased efficiency, lower energy consumption as well as improved environmental performance.

2. The prevention: means that pollution prevention should be taken rather at its source than dealing with its negative consequences.

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Nevertheless there was a tremendous shift in our understanding of the environmental issues and strategies of the environment management: from the slogan “solution for pollution is dilution” in late 1950s, growth of application of end-of-pipe technologies in 1970s, and then recycling and shift towards cleaner production in last decades of 20th century. All of those 4 strategies have their pluses and minuses, and all of them are being applied in our days widely, depending on the situation.

• Increase of useful life of auxiliary materials and process liquids. • Improved control and automatization. • New waste processes and technologies.

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Global environmental processes Eco daily life The World Business Council for Sustainable Development in 1992 in publication „Changing Course“ has firstly used term eco-efficiency. The concept focuses on creating more goods and services using fewer resources and generating less waste and pollution, and at the same time the goods and services have to be produced at a competitive price and have to meet needs of the costumers. There are 7 elements of eco-efficient products: 1. Reducing material requirements for goods and services. 2. Reducing energy intensity of goods and services. 3. Reducing dispersion of toxic materials. 4. Enhancing material recyclability. 5. Maximizing use of renewable resources. 6. Greater durability of products.

Group task „Eco Island ”. Workshop „GREEN WEEK”. Tervete, 2011.

7. Increased service intensity of goods and services.

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• Substitution of raw materials and auxiliary materials.

Work in group. Workshop „GREEN WEEK”. Tervete, 2011.

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• Documentation of consumption, green accountings.

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Better housekeeping

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significant investments into changes of the technologies, substitution of toxic and hazardous materials, process modifications, and reuse of waste products. Nevertheless simple measures should not be neglected as non-effective. For example it is estimated, that better management and housekeeping can improve company’s environmental performance and would help to have from 10 to 25% of financial savings. Several examples for cleaner production options:

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International Institute for Sustainable Development 2002 Business and Sustainable Development (Copyright ÂŠ 2011) www.iisd.org

Author Inga Ringailaite is the director of NGO "Sustainable development Initiatives DVI" (DVI). The areas of organizationâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s activities are sustainable development, environment protection, climate change and sustainable energy, rural development, and environmental education. The main goal of DVI within those areas is to promote knowledge, awareness and capacity of various stakeholders, like local government, business and society while assisting them in development of local, national and international partnerships and collaboration for more sustained future and well-being. Read more at web www.dvi.lt E-mail: inga@dvi.lt

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United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and Pacific 2009. Eco-efficiency Indicators: Measuring Resourceuse Efficiency and the Impact of Economic Activities on the Environment

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Beverley Thorpe 2009. Clean production strategies: what is clean production? / www.cleanproduction.org

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BASF the Chemical Company. Quantifying Sustainability. Efficiency in ecology, economy and society

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References

“Tea from garden and forest. Fresh fruits and vegetables from garden. Green grass and trees. Growing up plants.” “Minding all beings.” “Don’t waste nature. Eat clean food. Live in clean air. Take as much as you need, not more. Ask from tree before you take and thank. Live together with nature.” “Taking nature and environment in consideration when making decisions.” “Thinking how our daily actions and how they interact with nature.” “Eco daily life is living your life how you think is the most naturally way. Take nature as your partner for the whole life and it will be eco daily life!” “My way of life.” This unit considers eco daily life as a combination of three words: ecological daily life. Ecological has many meanings in our society, depending on our education, culture and experiences. However, ecological is widely accepted to be better for the humans, better for the nature, and the entire planet.

Global environmental processes Eco daily life

“Trying to take nature into account as far as possible in one’s daily actions.”

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Definition of Eco daily life is not provided by international treaties and policy makers or academic researchers. However, during the “Green Week”, the participants tried to define what eco daily life means for them:

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What is eco daily life?

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e f i l y l i a d Eco

It is not enough just to think about yourself and your surroundings; we have to think globally and act locally. For us, as citizens, the main problem – and the main potential for a change, is our daily actions. So, let’s have a closer look how we are involved in unsustainable way of life and how each our action impacts environment.

Global environmental processes Eco daily life

Before starting, probably the most important thing is to ask yourself: what do you want to save and why? Forests? Clean water and food? Species? Our homes? Our investments? Or our families? Let’s be honest. Humanity has developed a very comfortable and providing wide opportunities system. Many years before we came to live here, the system was created on a base of non-renewable resources that were and still are extracted from the planet earth. So the model of the system we live in now was established before us, and it is the pattern of our lifestyle nowadays. However, some insightful people in early 1970ies realized that the western consumerism life style is not sustainable, and the system needs to be changed. The most positive and inspiring message is that people created the devastating system and only people are the ones who can change it. First and easy option for every citizen is put into force eco daily life!

Environmental & citizen journalism

Many of us already have heard about and experienced various types of pollution, climate change, loss of biodiversity, wastes, deforestation, degradation of soil, etc. However, in our modern world, the consequences of these problems seem to be far away from us. But let’s think globally: there are already 7 billion people in the world, and we all need natural resources to survive and fulfil our daily activities. The problems are multiplied by increasing population, and problems such as lack of resources (food, water, energy) puts into consideration how humanity will be able to continue development and economical growth for future decades and centuries. The scientists alarmingly say there are limits to growth, and if we continue in the same pattern of economic and consumption growth, sooner or later everyone on the planet Earth will face the scarcity of the natural resources, land, and clean and healthy environment. To prevent this, each of us has responsibility to take only our share and to learn to diminish our unnecessary consumption. This section aims to show the beauty of the life with less and encourage to put into force this life style which benefits both for humans and for the environment.

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How can we bring eco daily life in practice?

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Global environmental processes Eco daily life Environmental & citizen journalism Waste: reduce, reuse and recycle Outdoor life

Why do we need ecology in our daily life?

(2) Feel (walking silently with eyes-closed and feeling the changes of senses, the world is perceived differently. It is helpful to have a friend who guides you gently); (3) Listen (concentrating on sounds that surround at the very moment in the nature).

told after walking in the forest:

“Relaxing atmosphere, fresh and healthy air.”

Since the ancient time people lived in communities and some of them were responsible for finding and taking food and water for their community survival. Not so much has changed since then, except from that modern world isolated people in their convenient and busy life from the nature

Global environmental processes Eco daily life

What does the nature give to us? This is what participants “Freedom. Calmness. Peace of mind.”

Nature

Environmental & citizen journalism

Firstly, eco daily lifestyle recommends starting from the very beginning: clean and clear minds. Then, take a deeper and closer look to the (1) nature around you, think about the bonds on the planet, and your place. Think about your (2) daily life and actions you make every day and their connection with the consumerism system. Following, take into account your (3) ecological footprint to understand how many planet's recourses are needed to sustain your life. Finally, look around you for (4) alternative examples and practices, and for sure you will be surprised of great variety of good solutions that exist in the world.

(1) Observe (taking a walk in silence and observing the shapes, colours, plants and changes);

“Silence and relax.” “Forest gives curiosity for me.”

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Lecture “Eco daily life” in Tervete Nature Park. Workshop „GREEN WEEK”. Tervete, 2011.

Therefore we invite you to take the first step and JUMP out of concrete bricks on the grass, and to think about natural process that happens every day in the nature, the bonds between ecosystems and organisms, water and carbon cycles, valuable minerals. Is there something we could still learn from the nature and incorporate in our daily life? As the participants of the Green Week did in Tervete Nature Park in Latvia August 2011, we still can learn to:

“Inner peace, clarity. Fresh air and berries.” “Air, balance and love.” “Gives feeling that you are good enough as the way you are.”

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without realizing how dependant we all are on natural resources and stability.

One sunny morning life in a forest was starting as usually. Flowers started to show their colours widely, drops of the water were swinging on the spruce’s needles; ants were carefully making morning cleaning rituals. Underneath of the rotten leaves pile, the bacteria and fungi were

Global environmental processes Eco daily life Environmental & citizen journalism Waste: reduce, reuse and recycle

Forest and Human (adapted from Finnish game by the author)

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Global environmental processes Eco daily life Environmental & citizen journalism Waste: reduce, reuse and recycle Outdoor life

In the nature everything is connected. Therefore, it is important not only to enjoy in the nature but also to take care about it so present and future generations could enjoy the peace and still find berries in the forests. Careful observation, feeling and listening in the nature give an understanding how everything is related in the nature. Scientists describe nature as biosphere on a global processes scale. Biosphere is combined of ecosystems, ecosystems are built of communities, communities consist of populations, and populations are built of individuals who interact with physical environment in order to survive and produce offspring. When we enter the nature, we don’t see the bonds in the nature; however, they are extremely important for us, as a part of the ecosystem. Let’s have a look on a complex but simple example of forest and human in the story (which is used as an educational game for youngsters and adults).

making their silent work. A huge brown bear was looking for blueberries or cranberries to eat. By accident he scared a big fat rabbit that was eating grass under the old oak tree. A young fox was watching two butterflies flying around and saw the running rabbit. The chasing began and it was soon over, as the fox slipped on a moose’s poop, and the rabbit happily got away. He stopped to rest under a birch tree and was hypnotised by the sound of a woodpecker pecking the birch to find some insects to eat. Unfortunately, a hungry wolf was just passing by. Hasta la vista, poor rabbit. Meanwhile, a spider finished his net right over the moose’s poop, as flies are crazy about shit. On the other hand, frogs and fish in the nearby lake did not care about that, as they were too afraid of a water snake. And the moose himself was busy drinking water from that same lake. Recently he has eaten a strange mushroom together with two snails that were on it. He felt sick and thought that it might be a good time to sleep. At the same moment, an eagle noticed the young fox wondering in a field. He was about to catch the young fox but suddenly everyone stopped to listen to a scary sound. Whistling! A second and everyone disappeared. A human came to the forest. He carelessly grabbed some blueberries, stepped on a newly growing grass, kicked the leaves in the pile with fungi and bacteria together, he didn’t notice the moose’s poop and stepped on the spider and its net. The human was enjoying the silence and the beauty of the forest.

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Global environmental processes Eco daily life Environmental & citizen journalism

The story reveals that every live organism and element is connected with invisible boundaries. Therefore it is important to keep in mind that if we do not see or something is small it does not mean that it does not exist or does not have value. Humans come to the nature as winners but we have to realize that we are only guests, and even tiny nature creatures have been on the planet Earth much longer than the whole humanity (for example, moss or fungi). We did not touch chemical and organic cycles on the planet Earth on which we all are dependent, such as water, carbon or oxygen but our intervention with daily activities highly affect them. Observing, listening and feeling is just the beginning of reflection what surrounds us and how the system works that we all live in. However, realising this we have to be aware of our daily life impacts to this vulnerable system.

A person considers a good life when he/ she is healthy, happy and has prosperity. However, does more and more consumption make our life good and us happy? Can we live happily with less and share the resources? Our global consumption has already exceeded the Earthâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s carrying capacity and growing population in the Global South, so called developing countries, is rapidly increasing consumption of natural resources (and they have the full right to that!). In fact, considering the standardised western way of comfortable life with high consumption levels, we will soon run out of many of the Earthâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s finite resources. How can we prevent this and the plausible impacts with fewer opportunities of future generations?

What are our daily actions? Daily actions describe everything we do in our life every day or occasionally. Daily life consists of work, education, commuting, leisure, shopping, travelling, hobbies, sports, making food and eating, cleaning yourself and your house, cultural events, communication technologies, clothing, and much more. Sometimes we canâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t even imagine that, like in the nature, our daily actions have many interlinking ties and every daily action is very closely related to resources use. Thinking about our daily actions, prevents us from unnecessary energy use and reduces the chain of processes related to it

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What is good life?

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(2) Large amount of energy in food is wasted in a form of organic waste; (3) Energy is lost in consumption of electricity because of irresponsible lifestyles; (4) Energy becomes waste in a second when throwing a packaging in rubbish bin; (5) Energy price is not adequate and is subsidised by governments therefore citizens donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t know real price of energy and are not encouraged to increase its efficiency.

In order to diminish the losses and demand on energy, we have to rethink our daily life style and consumption. Think about one day of your life. What actions do you make and can you trace the invisible chain of energy that your daily actions are involved in? We presume, your daily actions are highly dependent on energy, water, transport, and waste, but also have some sustainable solutions.

Making choices Letâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s take a simple daily action â&#x20AC;&#x201C; shopping. Imagine you are in a shop in a town of Eastern Europe and you need to make a decision what to buy. How do you decide? What is accounted in your decision? See how your decision in these five clusters affects energy consumption.

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Shall we wait until then enjoying our life, or start thinking how to deal with the problem now?

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(1) Energy travels long distances and high part of it is lost during the transportation by various means;

Will renewable energy cover the needs of 10 billion people?

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Energy is everything. Just take a minute and reflect what actions you make daily and how much they are dependent on energy. Energy is not the light bulb which gives us light; energy also is transport, industry, factories, services, technologies, food, waste, policy, water, education, agriculture, clothing, culture, art, and science - mostly everything. The way we obtain energy in our modern world is highly depended on natural resources. Mostly of them are non-renewable, and their extraction is costly as well as highly polluting and affecting local communities. Some characteristics describe problems of energy:

Have you ever thought what happens once the oil is over on the planet?

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Where is the energy?

You would like to buy a flower for your friend. Luckily, there are many flowers to choose from: tulips, roses, hyacinths, orchids, even seeds and plants in pots. A flower needs water for its survival, but take into account how much water was needed to bring this flower to the shop and were the flower comes from (bringing virtual water problem). We tend to believe that the Netherlands is the main producer of roses. Contradictory, the roses are transported from mainly Global South to the Netherlands, and many documentaries

section there is big choice of carrots: loose fresh carrots with leaves, long and big carrots, and carrots in a plastic bag. If you take a look closer to each one, close to the price label you will see the origin country. Letâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s say, after investigating the countries, you can buy carrots from New Zealand, Germany and your country in Eastern Europe. Which one would you choose considering the distance the carrot needed to travel to get on the shelf in a shop? Transport accounts for 25 % CO2 emissions on a global scale, requires huge energy amounts, and is using non-renewable resources such as oil and gas. There is a long chain of transport behind the carrot from New Zealand which required car, ship, plain and truck to bring it to the shop. Opposite, the carrot from

Water.

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Transport. You would like to buy carrots. In vegetablesâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;

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choice for that: natural apple, juice in small tetra-pack with a plastic straw, juice in crystal bottle, in a plastic bottle of in 1 litter tetra-pack. Which one would you choose? Would the price be the main incentive or rather brand (marketing) or design? Sustainable choice is to look how much energy was required to produce this juice, how much energy was required for packaging production, transportation and how much waste will be generated after you drink the juice (and this waste needs to be treated somehow afterwards!). Also, consider what kind of energy was used in the whole chain: coal, nuclear, biomass, oil or renewable such as wind, solar, hydro, geothermal or marine? Have you ever thought about their impacts to natural environment and humans? Without making many calculations it is obvious that the natural apple required the least energy, considering if all the products come from the same region. So in order to buy energy costly products, your choice of natural apple will be the most sustainable, and if you try to go to the local outdoors market instead of a big shop and try to find local farmers, your choice will be even more energy efficient.

show devastating situation in Africa where people lack drinking and safe water because of huge amount of water and pesticides used for roses plantations there. Also, water spraying for constant humidity, storage and long transportation time require drinking water resources and much of it wasted in the production chain. Though water occupies more space than land on the planet Earth, drinking water resources are very tiny: only 2.5 % of total water on the planet is drinkable. 70 % of it is frozen in glaciers, stored in groundwater (27.7 %), and what is left (0.3 %) needs to be shared among agriculture (70 %), industry (22 %) and domestic usage (8 %), as well as with nature organisms. Therefore, choosing local flowers reduce your water footprint and save treasure water resources. Further step is to refuse industrial flowers, and to find local ones, give wild flowers or rather think about another present.

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Energy. You would like to buy apple juice. There is a great

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vast opportunities to choose. Depending on your taste and health concerns, you can choose without any packaging, packed in a paper bag, packed in plastic bag, packed in a plastic bag with paper inside and packed in a plastic bag with separate plastic package inside for each bread roll. Which of them will generate less waste? How much space will occupy the waste in your rubbish bin later – in a container, thrash machine and, finally, in landfill or waste incineration plant? It is obvious people cannot eat up their rubbish, and industry has invented such components that they won’t biodegrade in hundreds of years. Paper is biodegradable; however, keep in mind the energy chain which was used to bring it to the shop. Plastic takes hundreds of years to disappear and is made out of oil. In order to make sustainable decision, consider 6 R: refuse, reduce, reuse, re-give, recycle, and reflect. According to these steps, waste prevention is the best one because it saves a lot of energy in extraction, production, transportation and disposal. So far after visiting five recycling companies, three landfills and one waste incineration plant, the best solution is waste prevention. As long as we as consumers won’t buy goods

Food. You would like to buy a chocolate. Also, making this choice you can spend hours in a shop. However, you might have a look on its packaging and read small letters of ingredients. If you are concerned about your health, preservatives, hydrogenated fat and soya lecithin are the ones to avoid. Keep in mind the previous steps concerning water, energy, transport and waste before making your choice, and realise that chocolate is made of cacao which grows in Asia, Africa and Latin America, it is to say, in other part of the world, and this has the whole production and transportation chain until it gets to you. However, there are two chocolates: one conventional, and another labelled with organic and Fair Trade labels. Organic requires much less energy for growth and production, organic respects environment and does not leave chemical pesticides or GMO traces in the nature and our bodies. Fair Trade stands for fair salary, safe working conditions, local community development, equal rights and elimination of children labour, short delivery chain and less waste. Keep in mind that your decision supports one or another system. Maybe the next time you will go the local market or find an organic shop. Another step, considering the impact of transportation, is to lower chocolate consumption and find local desserts.

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Waste. You would like to buy bread rolls. Oh, there are

that are not sustainable, the products will disappear and the technology will provide better solutions! Another choice is to bring your own bag, if you still need it, or you could try baking bread rolls at home!

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your country travelled less and required less fossil fuel. For sure, there are products that nowadays are difficult to find with a label ‘made in your country’ and some food does not even grow in your country. Another step is to refuse them and sustain on your local production. Buying it you not only support your regional development, but also save resources and keep them in your country as well as reduce your carbon footprint.

Refusing and reflecting would help to find what is really important in your life. The practice shows that reducing consumption increases the quality of your life: less time is spent for consumerism attributes, more money is saved, and there is more time for activities you like and your beloved people. Eco daily life would mean less use of energy, water, transport, and choosing alternative solutions: • Being more in the nature; • More efficient use of energy in appliances and homes; • More energy efficient production of food and other goods;

t n i r p t o o f Eco What is ecological footprint? Ecological footprint measures the resources used to support our lifestyle and compares that use to what is sustainable. This measure considers the carrying capacity of the planet and uses land as a measure needed to support lifestyle. A sustainable lifestyle is considered when one person on Earth uses about 1.8 global hectares. The Global Footprint Network calculates eco footprints for different parts of the world. For example, if everyone lived like the average person in India then we would be living within the limits of our planet. But millions of people in India live in poverty and hunger and without access to electricity, and some people live in exceeded wealth. If we all lived as people in Japan, then we would need 2.6 planets to sustain us all. But if everyone followed average lifestyle of the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Denmark, the United States, and Belgium, we would need up to 8 planets to support everyone’s life. How many planets Earth do we have?

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These examples are just tiny ones of all that a person makes in her daily life. Consider use of energy in general for your work, food, shower and washing, clothing, and dealing with waste. We as consumers see only the result of production which has a long pollution and unsustainable chain generating losses of energy, high pollution, and waste. Could you reduce the demand of energy in your daily life? The participants of the Green Week learnt that reducing is easy and valuable for you and environment, as well as financially beneficial.

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• Fewer and more locally-produced goods.

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• Less travel, especially by air and car;

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• More organic and seasonal food;

Asia & the Pacific

Japan 4.7 India 0.9 (Footprint for nations. Global Footprint Network)

Europe

North America

Latin America & the Caribbean

West Asia

Denmark 8.3 Romania 2.7

Uruguay 5.1 Haiti 0.7

United Arab Emirates 10.7 Yemen 0.9

Firstly, take a step to observe the nature and to learn from it, as well as get inspiration and energy, clean your mind out of frustrations, fast life style and tensions. Here we can begin to build up alternatives and think out of the box with a great variety of choices.

Energy. Many people know about basic energy saving advices: turning of the lights, electric appliances, changing light bulbs, isolation etc. However, this is not enough because the main supply comes from non-renewable sources. Especially in a case of nuclear power, its waste is very costly to handle with, and its storage in safe conditions require at least 100 000 years (who still be aware or willing to pay for this dangerous waste storage even after 200 years?). Small scale and individual renewable energy installations are becoming more popular in order to produce heat, energy, cock and charge your electric appliances with solar power. However, reducing the need of energy solves many problems!

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USA 8.0 Mexico 3.0

One example is worth thousand words. Therefore here you are welcome to find these examples that have been collected and experienced. These examples, solutions and people which the author met on her way helped her to change her lifestyle and perception of what is sustainable and not. So, get familiar with some real inspiring solutions for the change that occurs over the globe nowadays.

Environmental & citizen journalism

Africa

South Africa 2.3 Democratic Republic of Congo 0.8

Are there alternatives for daily life?

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Global hectares per person

Change

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Global footprint of selected nations

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The resources are finite on the Earth, and it gets more obvious that they cannot generate endless growth. Currently on average we need 1.4 Earths to sustain our lifestyles but we have only one, and galaxy space is still too far and not suitable to live for humans. Therefore Global North, so called developed countries, need to consume less and more efficient. In Global South, living conditions need to be improved through more consumption in a sustainable way.

and donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t have time to grow your own food, consider organic goods as the most suitable way of a diet for sustainable lifestyle. Organic baskets provide organic food directly from farmers according to your order, and community gardens in cities practice food growing and exchange of knowledge. Choosing seasonal (meaning which grows in present season) and local food dramatically reduces energy demand for production, water, transportation, and energy losses. Meat consumption accounts for the mayor part of green house gasses emissions and animal feed highly depends on genetically modified crops (GMO) which are responsible for high rates of deforestation, intensive use of fertilisers and soil degradation. Also, eating less processed food (raw food) saves not only energy but many vitamins!

Household. Making food at home, making crafts and sewing clothes by your own is a way to sustainable lifestyle. Environmentally friendly cleaning products do not have to be very expensive; there are very simple and costless solutions such as lemon acid or baking soda. As well as for cosmetics and hygiene there are simple alternatives, for example washing hair with dark bread, egg or birch leaves; softening your skin just with oil, and washing â&#x20AC;&#x201C; soap nuts, soap of oil leftovers, or wild plants. Find your way!

Waste. Reducing waste and composting is becoming a must in sustainable life style. Therefore a lot of waste is prevented by just not buying or having it, repairing, reusing and recycling for your own needs. In eco villages waste waster is treated in natural ponds with plants, and usually one can find separating and composting toilets.

Global environmental processes Eco daily life

wood, clay, wool, straw bale and reed is becoming efficient in cost and energy saving. Furthermore, houses are built in trees to save the space and underground to preserve the heat. Reducing the amount of energy is main issue in such houses. Orientation of a house has direct impact to the heat and energy in the house: more light to living areas and less heat for storage areas in the house. Houses have great and unique design and people who are going to live in it usually design and built or actively participate in the building process. They are the experts!

Environmental & citizen journalism

Food. If you are stuck in a city and in your daily activities

Housing. Building houses with natural materials such as

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such as permaculture or biodynamic farming have deep roots in the past which follows the patterns of the nature. Growing your own food is much healthier and reduces energy demand as well as wastes in the production chain. Small communities around the globe have their fruit and vegetables gardens and sustain on their grown food. Seed saving and exchange is becoming very valuable against monocultures and soil degradation as well as saving local varieties and tastes. Community supported agriculture (CSA) combines many direct ways to support local farmers and make stable food supply for city people and involve them in farming process. Woofing is a great practice to learn about organic farming techniques in different countries, exchange knowledge and meet great people!

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Global environmental processes Eco daily life Environmental & citizen journalism Waste: reduce, reuse and recycle Outdoor life

Farming. Alternatives

Education. Education in ‘traditional’ schools has many gaps and provides sometimes poor learning outcomes and personality development. Teaching in alternative schools such as Montessori or Waldorf makes difference for children where they are free to make their choices. Green and forest schools and kindergartens are appearing, and environmental education is getting more attention in teaching. Another approach is to teach children at home by community teacher or parents.

Knowledge sharing. In order to make changes, we need to involve more people, and share our knowledge, experiences and discoveries with them. Publishing in alternative media, social networks, blogs or even in ‘traditional’ media help to spread the message. Organising training courses, movie screening, discussion tables, workshops or just trips to the nature are ways to spread ideas.

Community living. Many young people move from towns to their owned or bought land and start to establish community eco villages. Some are successful, some struggle, their approaches differ but all of them seek energy independence and self-efficiency. Also, community living is getting popular in cities where individual blocks are united and people share their food, living area and develop amassing ideas for change.

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people and hospitality networks all over the world as well as green hotels and rural houses to rest and enjoy.

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Conventional banks do not promote sustainable changes. We never know where our money goes to but we can presume it is invested in large scale polluting projects. Banking alternatives promote managing and control of your own money and investing it to sustainable practices. Triodos Bank is the first one to offer such services, and there are many local groups which create their community banking systems as well as own money!

Environmental & citizen journalism

Global environmental processes Eco daily life Environmental & citizen journalism

Finances.

Local involvement. It is not enough to change your life style and live independently from the society. You have to be aware what is happening around you, what kind of industry is operating, is water clean or energy distribution system effective and what kind of political decisions might affect you and local people. Take action to prevent damage for environment and people!

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Europe has very well developed public transport system so instead of flying from Berlin to Warszawa you can take a fast train. Bike is still a great mean of transportation with zero CO2 emissions. The technology fascinates introducing airplane with zero CO2 emissions which can fly over the entire day and night powered only by sun. Modern cars run on electricity and there are bio fuels on the market, however, car sharing always saves energy and is more joyful. Also, you don’t need to stay in an expensive and energy wasting hotel, there are hospitable

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Travelling.

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2. Reducing consumption is a way to save the planet Earth. 3. Renewable energy could fulfil our energy needs. 4. Climate change is affecting my country already.

Global society. There are numerous types of social

6. Eco villages are a future model for sustainable living for the whole society. 7. Ordinary people are too small to change something therefore politicians should take care about environment.

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movements, groups and NGOs that are striving for sustainable future. Some successful examples are Transition towns, Reclaim the fields and La Via Campesina movements as well as social forums, peoples summit at climate change talks meetings (IPCC COP), anti-capitalism and no-GMO movements empowered by people with a great vision like you.

5. Transport, energy and meet consumption are the biggest CO2 gasses emitters.

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Environmental & citizen journalism

Katrin Lumberg enjoys the nature. Workshop "GREEN WEEK". Tervete, 2011.

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1. Every man’s daily actions have an impact to the environment.

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Reflect and discuss the questions with your friends or family.

Environmental & citizen journalism

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Would you say YES or NO?

Permaculture farming in eco village Sieben Linden, Germany. Recycled and natural outdoors toilet in eco house Troba, Lithuania Trips by bike to nature park of Kursiu Nerija, Lithuania Note: Pictures were made by Jolanta Uktveryte

Work in group. Workshop „GREEN WEEK”. Tervete, 2011.

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Pictures from left side:

Global environmental processes is non-formal environmental educator with five years of experience in various national and international educational projects and eco daily life teaching. She grew up on a farm in Lithuania and is designing her land for future activities. She has voluntary and work experience at local and international environmental non-governmental organisations such as Young Friends of the Earth Europe, Friends of the Earth Galicia (Spain) and environmental club “Zvejone” (Lithuania). At present, she is achieving Master’s degree in Environmental Sciences, Policy and Management programme (MESPOM) at Central European University, and her interests cover organic farming, environmental education centres and eco communities. Contact for more information: jolanta@zvejone.lt

Environmental & citizen journalism

Everyone can become an agent for a change. However, not everything has to be changed as well as not everything has to be new and modern. There is deep knowledge which was gathered during centuries in farming, housing, clothing or food preparation and storage. We should not forget this while achieving sustainability in our every life!

Author Jolanta Uktveryte

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Changes require knowledge in science, policy and management. Wise solutions bring positive long term changes; however, we live in a very complex system which we are not able to understand fully. Breaking this complexity into small parts empowers us to change small processes and actions which compose larger systems. Every little count, as well as your responsible daily actions helps to move the whole system towards more sustainable world. So, never give up believing in change and making it!

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The 21st century is full of changes and challenges. Believe or not, you are honoured to live in such interesting period when humanity has to find new ways for modern living, if we want to survive on the planet Earth. So take small steps to be a part of international community over the globe!

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What’s left to say…?

We are focusing here and now on basic aspects of environmental and citizen journalism. General questions to consider could be described as following: • How mainstream media influence a human? • How changes in media landscape influence the audience? • How communities and crowd influence media by their own agenda setting? • How to enforce people for content providing? • How to achieve new qualities in media? • How to balance life through media?

Global environmental processes Eco daily life Environmental & citizen journalism

The main purpose of the project "Green Life" is to raise public awareness on topics related with sustainable lifestyle. It is also important to pay attention to media as a tool for spreading "green" message.

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„How to participate in media?“

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d n a l a t n e Environnjmournalism citize

General understanding of media as a tool for power:

Media = Power => Power = Money => Money = Power

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Alternative understanding of media:

Role of Media • Gatekeeper • Agenda setting Purpose of Media

Global environmental processes Eco daily life Environmental & citizen journalism

This is why it is important to understand, how media, especially mainstream media influence us as humans. Influenced by different aspects (money, interest groups, „spin doctors“, etc.) media are very often considered as a tool of power. We are living in different fields of information that mostly are powered by media. As we all know, media like to „sell“ negative messages more than positive, creating kind of general negative information field to societies, influenced by different power groups.

So, what is media itself? Main basic principles of journalism, including its role and purpose:

• Informing • Entertaining • Educating

Workshop „GREEN WEEK”. Tervete, 2011.

Main genres of journalism • News – informing, giving facts • Feature (human interest story) – informing, entertaining with facts

Media = People => People = Community => Community = Power

• Editorial – informing, evaluating/ commenting facts

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Shortly, by considering those questions and possible answers, an easy solution can be noticed – changes in media, lead by modern technologies, help to change traditional understanding of journalism into more personal, community oriented approach that also supports widening of the scope of media itself. Importance of personal choices in media consumption and participation in content providing cannot be over valuated during the process of media changes. That process of changes leads journalism closer to people and towards covering more sustainable living habits and methods. But changes start from people, their understanding, expectations and action in media.

Mainstream commercial media can be often described not as neutrally or positively loaded information field, but as a battle field for different interest groups and money. Alternative media that allow covering more local, neutral and often even more community based topics, are taking over the basic role of commercial media. From here rises a question for ordinary people, related with media consumption that affects us all even up to our personal level, mental and physical well being: either to choose battlefield or info field?

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Global environmental processes Eco daily life Environmental & citizen journalism Waste: reduce, reuse and recycle

Understanding media and its influence

• Proximity – stories that happen near to us. • Conflict – at least two opposite parties.

Environmental vs. citizen journalism If we try to define differences between some specific fields of media, e.g. environmental and citizen journalism, several different aspects can be mentioned. Environmental Journalism Specific interest Scientific approach

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Sustainable pioneer Professional barrier Citizen Journalism Crowd media

It is clear already by those days that media landscape is not only playground for professionals or big policy and money-makers to rule the world. Media are more balanced information field for people and communities, who care and who like to share the world with others without fighting

Low-cost alternative Ultra-local focus

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There is no high barrier in entering to content providing process in alternative media that allows using those existing alternative channels as value adding media channels in the wider media landscape. Big picture in media is changing quite rapidly and commercial channels are trying to find new ways for money making and surviving. Small alternative media channels have opportunity to enforce more people to participate in media and create new alternative “infotubes” that help to balance commercial media in some important aspects. New types of media (often Internetbased), voluntarism in content providing and new ways of financing media channels work are those important aspects that make the change in media landscape to come reality.

Community minded Easy-to-reach

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• Significance – number of people affected by the story.

Environmental & citizen journalism

• Prominence – famous people and institutions get more coverage.

Despite of focusing too much on classical and conservative criteria’s for journalism, alternative media usually cover topics on more personal level. Sure, often using same classical genres and criteria’s of journalism, they allow both to professional and non-professional content providers to create and spread messages, that belong to crowd, groups of people, communities. Most important is that the public is considered of playing an active role in the process of collecting, reporting, analyzing and disseminating news and information.

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• Timing – things that are current; news must be always fresh!!

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Global environmental processes Eco daily life Environmental & citizen journalism

Alternative media

News criteria’s

• Kylauudis.ee

Environmental & citizen journalism

Community based newspapers, magazines / Estonia (both in web and print) • Väike-Ameerika Hääl • KoosOlek • Kalamajakas • KoguKonnad • Hea Kodanik Community based radio / Estonia (on air in summers)

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• Raadio Juminda Poolsaar Few global media examples / abroad • TheRealNews.com • NowPublic.com • OhmyNews.com • NaturalNews.com

• “You have reached the portal Kylauudis.ee. It is an information portal that was born as a citizens’ initiative and which mediates neighbourhood news and vital info from person to person. • Kylauudis.ee has focused on the events and messages about the village community and the environment. Our goal is to become an important channel for all citizens, civic associations and organizations in Estonia. • If you have information about your farm, village, community, society, cooperative homes, residential homes, district, municipality or other activities you want to share with others, send it to us. We welcome press releases, appeals, notices and other information that might be useful and interesting to the fellow citizens around us. • Kylauudis.ee is not acting for commercial purposes. We mediate the commercial messages but reserve the right to decide whether it suits with the purposes and principles of our portal. • NGO Estonian Citizen Journalism Society, the creator of kylauudis.ee, is happy to receive both donations and any other support that contributes to the promotion of

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• Bioneer.ee

Environmental & citizen journalism

Non-profit news portals / Estonia (web)

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Alternative media examples from Estonia and abroad

And here is one example, how Estonian citizen media portal Kylauudis.ee (Village News: http://www.kylauudis. ee/), that started operation in August 2010 with zero EUR budget (100 % voluntary work) and has reached more than 100 000 unique visitors since today (average page view per month up to 30 000 and unique visitors per month 10 000), introduces itself:

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for power, but for moving towards more sustainable world through their own Earth-friendly lifestyle.

Have you considered… • What kind of media do you use today? • What type of media would you like to use and support? • How your media consumption might influence changes in media landscape? • Would you like to become a content provider for environmental or citizen media? Few answers to find… • Where to look for stories?

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• What environmental issues are hot? • What topics fit for investigative journalism? • How to collect, compile and present information?

Definitions Some possible definitions for your background (by Wikipedia) to open the whole topic of citizen journalism, participatory journalism, citizen media are: Citizen journalism (also known as "public", "participatory", "democratic", "guerrilla" or "street journalism") is the concept of members of the public "playing an active role in the process of collecting, reporting, analyzing and disseminating news and information," according to the seminal 2003 report We Media: How Audiences are Shaping the Future of News and Information. Authors Bowman and Willis say: "The intent of this participation is to provide independent, reliable, accurate, wide-ranging and relevant information that a democracy requires." Citizen journalists may be activists within the communities they write about. This has drawn some criticism from traditional media institutions such as The New York Times, which have accused proponents of public journalism of abandoning the traditional goal of "Objectivity (journalism)" 'objectivity'. Many traditional journalists

Global environmental processes Eco daily life

Thinking about possibilities how to participate in media, easy solution is to provide content for citizen media channels that already exists. Another option is to create your own media channel, based on group of people who are ready to focus on regular content providing in some sustainable topics. By doing that, you discover a new world of possibilities, but also a new you who has to take responsibility for words, voices and pictures produced and aired.

Environmental & citizen journalism

How to participate in media

So, please feel free of discovering new possibilities in media, including your own personal ability to provide content and change the world for more sustainable place for living. Media are your playground and the game you are already playing is called: “My way for sustainable living”.

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• Thank you for your interest in our portal!”

• Where to start doing both media – environmental and citizen media?

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citizen journalism. Any thoughts that help us to develop and enhance the portal Kylauudis.ee are welcome!

2. Independent news and information Websites (Consumer Reports, the Drudge Report) 3. Full-fledged participatory news sites (NowPublic, OhmyNews, DigitalJournal.com, Blottr.com, Blottr. com, GroundReport) 4. Collaborative and contributory media sites (Slashdot, Kuro5hin, Newsvine) 5. Other kinds of "thin media." (mailing lists, email newsletters) 6. Personal broadcasting sites (KenRadio). New media theorist Terry Flew states that there are three elements "critical to the rise of citizen journalism and citizen media": open publishing, collaborative editing and distributed content. Citizen media. The term refers to forms of Content (media and publishing)" content produced by private citizens who are otherwise not professional journalists.

Citizen media have bloomed with the advent of technological tools and systems that facilitate production and distribution of media. Of these technologies, none has advanced citizen media more than the Internet. With the birth of the Internet and into the 1990s, citizen media have responded to traditional mass media's neglect of public interest and partisan portrayal of news and world events. Media produced by private citizens may be as factual, satirical and neutral or biased as any other form of media but has no political, social or corporate affiliation.

Global environmental processes Eco daily life

There are many forms of citizen-produced media including blogs, vlogs, podcasts, digital storytelling, community radio, participatory video and more, and may be distributed via television, radio, internet, email, movie theatre, DVD and many other forms. Many organizations and institutions exist to facilitate the production of media by private citizens including, but not limited to, Public, educational, and government access (PEG) cable TV channels, Independent Media Centres and community technology centres.

Environmental & citizen journalism

1. Audience participation (such as user comments attached to news stories, personal "Blogs" blogs, photos or video footage captured from personal "Digital camera" mobile cameras, or local news written by residents of a community)

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Participatory journalism. J. D. Lasica classifies media for citizen journalism into the following types:

Citizen media is a term coined by Clemencia Rodriguez, who defined this concept as 'the transformative processes they bring about within participants and their communities.' Citizen media refer to the ways in which audiences can also become participants in the media using the different resources offered. In the modern age, new technologies have brought about different media technologies which became the ground for citizen participation.

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view citizen journalism with some scepticism, believing that only trained journalists can understand the exactitude and ethics involved in reporting news.

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Global environmental processes Eco daily life Contact for more info: www.maailmad.ee

Environmental & citizen journalism

has been working in Baltic media and communications field more than 20 years. With his creative agency Maailm he has advised and implemented many green communication projects, including Green Key Awards, sustainable lifestyle portal Bioneer.ee, passive house company ultraKUB (module house concept Elumaja.ee), launch of National Geographic Estonia, etc. He has been training and consulting various organisations from business, public and NGO sector in media and communication topics. Meanwhile he also is working as Editor in Chief of National Geographic Estonia.

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Author Erkki Peetsalu

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Global environmental processes Eco daily life Environmental & citizen journalism

By 2007, the success of small, independent, private journalists began to rival corporate mass media in terms of audience and distribution. Citizen produced media have earned higher status and public credibility since the 2004 US Presidential elections and have since been widely replicated by corporate marketing and political campaigning. Traditional news outlets and commercial media giants have experienced declines in profit and revenue which can be directly attributed to the wider acceptance of citizen produced media as an official source of information.

Everyone working in the field of environment is facing the need to communicate about the activity, initiative, problems and achievements. There are many forms of communication but the most common and somewhat easy tool is the press release. Communication is the process of exchange of information, which includes three key elements: a sender (the communicator), a message (to be transmitted), and a recipient (a target). It can be internal (for internal interest groups inside the organization, i.e. employees) and external (for interest groups outside the organization, i.e. general society, investors, government, etc.).

• Target audience (general public, particular part of society (students, scientists, etc.), interest groups, government, etc. (geographic, demographic or other attribute)) • Goal (to inform (about the project, organization, event, funding), to persuade (to use new method, to recycle), to reveal (the problem), to form (an opinion, an image)). You always start with defining of the target group (TG), then setting the goal for your communication message, finding right channel to reach the target group and deciding which mean is the most effective for specific TG. There are positive and negative aspects of the press release: Positive is that it is written communication message, it can be widely distributed to TG, most of time it is published free of charge and journalists can make it interesting. On the other hand, it is difficult to get published; and after the press release is distributed there is no possibility to influence its content, form or time for publishing.

Writing and effective press release is not so easy. One shall have on mind that media are interested in news which are new, original, important, talk about prominent personalities, include conflicts and negativities.

Global environmental processes Eco daily life

Topics of environmental journalism are very different and vary from climate change, air pollution to topics like correlation of economic system and environmental resources in the society. Topics can be local, national, regional or global according to the coverage of the problem geographically or the impact of the problem. Some issues can be both of local and global interest and some - only local or interesting for a very specific group of people.

• Channels (mass media (print, TV, radio), internet, social networks)

Environmental & citizen journalism

It has a specific interest and scientific approach; it is carried out by professionals either journalists with specific interest in environment issues or environmentalists engaged in communication on key issues.

• Means (press release, press conference, social event)

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Environmental journalism is a form of environmental communication in the society about the environmental issues.

Main concepts used for planning the communication process are as follows:

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Press Release as an effective tool for communication on environment issues

Global environmental processes At the beginning it shall contain a title (FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE, PRESS RELEASE, EMBARGOED UNTIL…), date and place, headline (catchy, short, informative, active form – using verbs), lead paragraph (1-2 sentences on the key event or story, answering all five W’s questions), body (2-3 paragraphs – supporting and background information), and at the end contacts, note to the editor (optional), mark the End (-30- ### End or More).

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Workshop „GREEN WEEK”. Tervete Nature Park, 2011.

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Global environmental processes Outdoor life

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Environmental & citizen journalism

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Main structure of the press release is a structure of inverted pyramid:

Environmental & citizen journalism

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When writing a press release one shall focus at only one theme, avoid describing process, but talk about a change / impact and stress the importance for the target group.

• Additional information (media kit) can accompany the press release, .i.e. presentations, graphics, photos, illustrations, leaflets, CV’s of key persons. • Think about you daily job and find interesting topic to talk about and use it for your press release.

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Global environmental processes Eco daily life Author Sigita Baronaite is director of Public Establishment “Foundation for the Development of Nature Protection Projects”. The principal aim pursued by the Foundation is to sustain the biological diversity and ensure the preservation of natural environment in Lithuania as well as to promote the ideas of nature protection and management within the society. The Foundation supports the development of scientific, practical and information activities undertaken within the area of environment protection, makes proposals to the authorities concerning the respective legislation and is involved in practical effort aimed at preserving rare and vanishing species. Read more at www.juriniserelis.lt

Environmental & citizen journalism

• Ready press release shall be released in order to reach the target group. Have ready media list (emails, faxes), use personal contacts and portals for PRs, do follow-up calls.

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• While writing a text always stick to facts, keep it simple, be specific, and avoid terminology, personal pronouns, superlatives, emotions, moralizing. A press release shall fit to one page (12 ft.).

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Global environmental processes Eco daily life

• To use quotes which are used to express opinion not the facts and gives life to the press release. Name, last name and affiliation/ position should be indication when first quoted. It should be no longer than 2-3 sentences or 40 words. Not more than 2-3 persons shall be quoted in one press release.

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Environmental & citizen journalism

IMPORTANT

Facts • Every citizen of European Union generates 513 kg municipal waste per year. • Almost 60 % of citizens of European Union do not think their household produces too much waste. • Reducing food waste could save EU households around 500 € per year. • 25 % of food bought by households is thrown away of which 60 % is avoidable. * Being wise with waste: the EU’s approach to waste management , Publications Office of the European Union

Global environmental processes Eco daily life Environmental & citizen journalism

As European society has grown wealthier it has created more and more rubbish. Higher living standards mean that people are buying more products. Today, consumers have much more choice and products are designed to have shorter life spans. There are also many more single-use and disposable products. Advances in technology mean that people own and use many more personal devices, and update them more often. These lifestyle changes may have increased our quality of life, but they also mean we are generating more waste than ever before.*

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Why the waste level raises?

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, e c u d e e l c y Wastee:aR c e R d n s u e R

EU waste management policies aim to reduce the environmental and health impacts of waste and improve Europe’s resource efficiency. According to EU’s waste strategy there is five-step waste hierarchy:

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(1) REDUCE 3

(3) RECYCLE 4

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(2) REUSE

(4) RECOVERY (5) LANDFILL

Every product carries an invisible burden called ecological rucksack. Ecological Rucksack is the total quantity (in kg) of the natural material that is disturbed in the process production a product counted from the cradle to the point when the product is ready for use - minus the weight (in kg) of the product itself. How much solid natural resources are needed to make a: Golden ring 2 700 kg Plasma TV 2 400 kg Laptop computer 440 kg A kilo of cheese 40 kg Jeans 7 kg A kilo of ray bread 3 kg A litre of bier 2 kg Solid natural resources do not include water and air burned in the process. * Being wise with waste: the EU’s approach to waste management , Publications Office of the European Union

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The EU’s waste management

Environmental & citizen journalism

„Zemgales EKO” sorting area. Jelgava, 2011.

Reduce is becoming more and more important as the global population increases and we eat away at our finite supply of natural resource. Eco-design is one of the key tools that is used to encourage waste prevention. Eco-friendly products should be made using recycled secondary raw materials. Products should consume less energy during the use phase and should be able to be recycled once they have been discarded.*

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“What is not produced does not have to be disposed of”

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Global environmental processes Eco daily life Environmental & citizen journalism

REDUCE

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• PET bottles rate as the second most easily recyclable plastic products. • In the process of burning PET, a poisonous and cancerogenic substance dioxin is emitted. It particularly affects liver, the reproductive and the immune system as well as the nervous and the endocrine system. Instead of discharging dioxin, the human body accumulates it.

PET Art exhibition. Latvia, 2011. Foto: Rita Bubina

RECYCLE Much of the waste we throw away can be recycled, for example paper, glass, plastic, metal, garden waste and so on.

• PET burning is hazardous to the environment even if burned in furnaces with a specially designed filter system at a temperature of 1200oC. On no condition should PET bottles be burned in gardens, forests, meadows or anywhere else. • PET bottles may be recycled into a variety of products. For instance it takes 27 recycled PET bottles to make a new jumper. • Unshredded PET bottles are used to produce the so-called polymer concrete. To produce one pavement brick only 10 PET bottles are necessary.

Flakes from recycled PET bottles at the recycling plant "PET Baltija", JSC, Jelgava, 2011.

* Being wise with waste: the EU’s approach to waste management , Publications Office of the European Union

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• It was first recycled in 1977. PET is the second most valuable waste flow material after aluminium.

Environmental & citizen journalism

• The PET bottle was patented in 1973.

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Re-use involves the repeated use of products. For example mobile phone, computer, printer can be refurbished for reuse. The materials and products that become waste have a social, economic and environmental benefit. Old clothes and furniture make products available to consumers who could not necessary afford to buy them new.*

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Interesting facts about PET bottle

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Environmental & citizen journalism

RE-USE

3. Special recycling boxes for batteries. This is an easy and convenient way how to dispose of these goods harmful to the environment. 4. Special boxes for sorting paper and newspapers.

RECOVERY Modern waste incineration plants can be used to produce electricity, steam and heating for building. Waste can also be used as fuel in certain industrial processes.

Landfill is the oldest form of waste treatment. LANDFILL FACTS The airtight conditions of landfill sites mean that materials, in particular biodegradable waste, cannot decompose fully and, in the absence of oxygen, give off methane, a dangerous greenhouse gas. The methane produced by an average municipal landfill site, if converted to energy, could provide electricity to approximately 20,000 households for a year. An average municipal landfill site can produce up to 150 m³ of leach ate a day, which equates to the amount of fresh water that an average household consumes in a year. It is estimated that the materials sent to landfill could have an annual commercial value of around € 5.25 billion.

Getting the best out of bio-waste: Bio-waste (garden, kitchen and food waste) accounts for about one-third of the waste we throw away at home – that around 88 million tonnes across Europe each year. On average, 40 % of bio–waste in the EU go into landfills. However, bio-waste holds considerable promise as renewable source of energy and recycles compost.

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2. Special places where people can take and dispose of all types of recyclables (packaging, old electric and electronic appliances, car batteries and tires, batteries etc.).

LANDFIL

Environmental & citizen journalism

1. Separate waste collection containers located in living areas.

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There are several examples of possibilities how people can sort waste:

About one-third of the EU’s 2020 target for renewable energy in transport could be met by using bio-gas produced from biowaste. While around 2 % of the EU’s overall renewable energy target could be met if all bio-waste was turned into energy. *

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Global environmental processes Eco daily life Environmental & citizen journalism Waste: reduce, reuse and recycle Outdoor life

Recycling of waste starts with one simple act – by putting the right things in the right recycling containers collection.

How to be less wasteful? * Think before you buy! 1. Is the product recycled or recyclable? This will reduce the environmental impact as a new product has not had to be made from raw material. 2. Avoid packaging waste: food packaged into separate compartments or presented as a mini-kit is not only more expensive but also produces more waste. 3. Buy the amount of fresh food you will use and enjoy your leftovers by turning them into exciting new dishes. 4. Use reusable and high-quality batteries which last longer and produce less waste. Spent batteries in the household

6. Old clothing has all sorts of innovative uses. As well as raising money for charity, clothing can also be shredded and turned into packaging, insulation or raw material for textiles. 7. Paint and other waste can be taken to a specialised recycling centre. If you do not have access to one then let the paint dry, add sawdust or cat litter, and place it in the dustbin. 8. Non-meat kitchen scraps can become fertile soil. Build a compost bin either in your garden or even a small one in your house. A good ‘recipe’ is to layer carbon materials (dry leaves, shredded paper, dead plants) with nitrogen materials (green weeds, grass, non-meat kitchen scraps) in a 3 to 1 ratio. 9. Recyclable glass can be taken to your local bottle bank, but do not leave it in your car until your next trip as the added weight will increase both fuel use and emissions. 10. If you cannot give away or sell your old furniture, recycle it. Check if your local authority collects furniture for recycling or perhaps there are charities in your area that will be happy to take it off your hands. * Being wise with waste: the EU’s approach to waste management , Publications Office of the European Union

Global environmental processes Eco daily life

5. Reusable products are better than disposable products such as paper napkins, plastic razors and plastic cups which use more resources and energy than their reusable counterparts and quickly end up in landfill. Think before you throw!

Environmental & citizen journalism

-50kg -200kg -250kg -300kg -300kg -350kg -800kg -1600kg -1900kg -2200kg -3000kg

Waste: reduce, reuse and recycle

No ads-sign onto door Second hand sofa instead of a new one Diminish the use of hot water -20 % Avoid bio waste Turn of electronic devices Use soymilk instead of cow’s milk Use of cloth diapers in year Become a vegetarian Diminish a room temperature -2C Using bike instead of car at trips to grocery store Using bus instead of a car at work trips

rubbish contain harmful chemicals that can leak into the earth and water. Collect them separately! Your local authorities, supermarkets or electronic retailers can dispose of them safely.

Outdoor life

Global environmental processes Eco daily life Environmental & citizen journalism Waste: reduce, reuse and recycle Outdoor life

How much we can save natural resources (kg per year)?

Environmental & citizen journalism Waste: reduce, reuse and recycle

Draw the slices according to how much time they take up.

Workshop „GREEN WEEK”. Tervete, 2011.

“The Cake of Life” Duration 15–30 minutes Equipment: For each participant two A-3 sheets of paper, drawing equipment, colours

1. Draw a fairly large circle and divide it into “cake slices” of different sizes. The circle can represent one day, week or month (you should all agree on this at the beginning of the exercise). Every slice represents one thing that the drawer spends time on. The size of each slice depends on how large a portion of his/ her time the participant spends on it. 2. After drawing the circles, the participants present them to each other in small groups and discuss.

Outdoor life

Are you happy with the way you use your time?

Next everyone can colour the most important things with one pre-arranged colour (for example read), the second most important things with their own colour (for example orange), and last of all the third most important things with their own colour (for example yellow). 5. At the end you can reflect together on what thoughts the exercise provoked. Did something important get left outside the drawing? What could you do to increase the share of important things and decrease that of less important things? What kinds of values are connected with time use?

Even though we have more money and we consume more, our happiness level has not raised. Products do not satisfy all our needs. Sometimes it is worthwhile to stop and think what really is valuable in our lives.

How do the cakes of the people in the group differ from each other?

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4. The time use cake and the cake with the important things can also be combined into one drawing.

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Divide the slices according to how important the things that take up your time in the first cake really are to you.

Waste: reduce, reuse and recycle

3. Next everyone can draw a new “cake”.

Outdoor life

How should the cake best be divided into slices?

Eco daily life

Global environmental processes

Play & Learn

Global environmental processes are teachers by environmental school of “Helsinki Metropolitan Area ReUse Centre Ltd”. Helsinki Metropolitan Area Reuse Centre Ltd is a community aiming at the public good. Centre was founded to make our environment a better place to live in by decreasing the amount of waste and increasing the people's environmental awareness. The Environmental school offers training and education on sustainable consumption to groups of all ages as well as to their teachers. Teachers focus mainly on the 3R - Reduce, Reuse, Recycle.

is the general manager and the lecturer of Latvian Green Dot School. The environmental education programme „Green Dot School” has been running for 10 years. More than 1/3 of all comprehensive schools and preschools in Latvia have participated in its projects. Every year more new participants are joining the „Green Dot School” projects. The programme „Green Dot School” has several objectives: increase the knowledge of school children on ecologic issues; strengthen the sense of responsibility for the environment; promote environmentally friendly lifestyle, thus saving non-renewable natural resources that are used for the production of packaging, electric and electronic equipment and goods harmful to the environment, e.g. batteries; develop children and youth’s own initiative in practicing green life-style and promoting it among their peers.

http://www.kierratyskeskus.fi

Waste: reduce, reuse and recycle

Author Rita Bubina

Environmental & citizen journalism

Eco daily life

Global environmental processes Eco daily life Environmental & citizen journalism Waste: reduce, reuse and recycle

Authors Lotta Palomäki and Johanna Sunikka

Outdoor life

E-mail: rita@zalais.lv

Global environmental processes

e f i l r o o Outd

Tervete Nature Park, 2011.

Environmental & citizen journalism Outdoor life

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The forest in every culture has been both a real concept related to the surrounding environment and psychological symbol. It has simultaneously represented the unbending and the uncivilized â&#x20AC;&#x201C; as if dangerous world to a man, and at the same time it has symbolized the beautiful, the valuable and the useful. The forest has always both frightened and fascinated a man, both kindled imagination and creative spirit.

Eco daily life

Forests for future

Why forest and trees are so important?

Global environmental processes Waste: reduce, reuse and recycle

The trees as well as all the living creatures breathe by taking oxygen and distributing carbon dioxide – substance that promotes global warming; however as a result of photosynthesis they distribute more than take oxygen by absorbing in them considerable part of carbon dioxide. Thus, for example the simplest tree in the process of photosynthesis for the increase of one wood cubic metre absorbs one tonne of carbon dioxide releasing 727 kilos of oxygen. That’s why the forests are often called the planet’s “green lungs”.

Eco daily life Environmental & citizen journalism

The main sign that makes difference between a forest and separately growing trees is its “public organization”. Namely, a forest is such a society of trees where the trees grow beside and mutually influence and transform one another. Linking together with their wreaths particular space, the trees influence its setting (sprouts, air, climate etc.). Characteristic signs for the forest are darkening, dampness, reduced wind speed, equalization of changes of seasonal and day and night temperature. These climatic conditions influence circulation of substances and this in its turn changes and creates flora that is characteristic only to a forest. Different breeds of animals and birds as well as other organisms have adapted themselves to that flora during thousands of years.

During the process of changing timber product into different wood products significant part of tied carbon remains in the wood. Thus is reduced amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. Carbon dioxide circulation and wood utilization cycle confirms it. Wide inquiry for wood products favours planting and regeneration of the forests, and it creates a new carbon “depositary”.

Outdoor life

Global environmental processes Eco daily life Environmental & citizen journalism Waste: reduce, reuse and recycle Outdoor life

What can we call a forest?

Build a tent! Best of all plan the camp beforehand, making the track and planning that the tent will be built and fire made before the dark. Usually this work takes less than an hour. In order to decrease influence on the nature, camp has to be arranged at a particular camp place. Avoid places where lightning is used to strike – no trees with lightning marks around as well as big, separately growing trees. Make the camp aloof from

Tervete Nature Park, 2011.

Make a fire in the forest in a particular place for fire making or use a place where a fire has been made already. Vegetation in the former place for fire making renews very slowly. Don’t make a fire near to the roots and branches of the trees or bushes! At the places where the ground is made of peat, it is forbidden to make a fire – even when the fire is smothered very carefully, subsequently forest fire can start. If you have no firewood, use dry and sear branches for kindling. You can put stones around the fire, but note, that they have to be dry because wet, frozen or porous stones can crack and split. When you go to bed, a fire has to be smothered and coals have to be covered with ashes. Leaving the camp a fire has to be smothered particularly carefully.

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The forest is a place where you can get energy and peace at the same time, spend your time picking mushrooms and berries, getting positive emotions while doing exercises or taking a stroll. How not to get lost in the forest, how to get water, where to build tent, how to make a fire? Find out before you go into the forest!

Waste: reduce, reuse and recycle

Lecture "Outdoor life". Workshop "GREEN WEEK". Tervete Nature Park, 2011.

Outdoor life

Environmental & citizen journalism Waste: reduce, reuse and recycle Outdoor life

Eco daily life

Get warm – make a fire!

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animal paths. When you leave, tidy up everything – collect garbage and smother a fire!

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Global environmental processes

Let’s go to the forest!

Global environmental processes Waste: reduce, reuse and recycle

Don’t get lost! A map and a compass help you to find your bearing on the ground in the forest, but in the places where there is a strong magnetic field (near railways and electric lines) compass can be wrong. Small offset is possible also in a marsh, that’s why knowledge about reading of the signs in the nature could be useful for everyone who goes into the forest. You can find your bearing on the ground by the sun – in the summer the sun rises in the northeast part, but sets in the northwest part. In the winter the sun rises un sets closer to the south. In the midday when the sun reaches the highest point, it always is located in the south side. You can study also trees and other objects in the nature – moss and lichens on tree trunks, stones and walls of the buildings usually grows in the north part or it is thicker in the north part than

Eco daily life Environmental & citizen journalism

Water of the springs in the forests of Latvia is pure enough to be used unboiled. Over ground waters (running and stagnant) are mostly used after 15-20 minutes of boiling. Drinking water is found also in high marshes – in the places where bog-moss grows. You can drink water extracted from bog-moss unboiled because bog-moss contains substances that eliminate unhealthy bacterium. If you are not sure about marshes and mosses, take along special filters for water purification – part of water filters purify water not only from mechanical and bacteriological pollution, but also from heavy metals, chemical and radioactive pollution.

elsewhere. Tree peel also can serve as a landmark – in the north side it is usually darker and rougher, especially it is characteristic to birches. Ant heaps usually are built south of the trees, tree stumps or bushes, besides edge of the ant heap that is turned to the south usually is easier, that one to the north – sharper.

Map of Fairy tale forest. Tervete Nature Park, 2011.

Outdoor life

Global environmental processes Eco daily life Environmental & citizen journalism Waste: reduce, reuse and recycle Outdoor life

Quench your thirst!

Outdoor life

Global environmental processes Eco daily life

• If the leaves of the aspen trees tremble strongly – thunderstorm is expected. • If the rain is without the wind – the rain will last very long. • If the snow glitters – there will be a strong cold.

Author Inga Petersone works for the company “Latvia’s State Forests” already for several years and in collaboration with the schools of Latvia participates in implementation of activities of the environmentally educational programme „Learning about forest”. I.Petersone annually organizes further education course about forest, its virtues and environmental topics for teachers as well as has participated in development of methodological materials about forest for elementary schools.

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Environmental & citizen journalism

• If the evening is cold – the day will be hot. Also quiet and chilly night indicates that the weather is going to improve.

Outdoor life

Global environmental processes Eco daily life

• If the sun while rising has a bright field around – big storm and rain is expected.

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Environmental & citizen journalism

Ancient Latvian beliefs about forthcoming weather

terest in r e h t r u f from: e f li For your o c e t abou learn more Books and publications

International agreements

Small is beautiful by E. F. Schumacher

Rio+20

The tragedy of the Commons, by G. Hardin

Kyoto Protocol

The limits to Growth, by D. H. Meadows, D. L. Meadows and JĂ¸rgen Randers

Agenda 21 Millennium development goals

Human Development Report, United Nations Climate change and lifestyles, YouthXchange Guidebook Series, UNEP

International organisations and movements

The transition handbook: From oil dependency to local resilience, by R. Hpokins

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)

Ecovillage design education, Gaia Education Permaculture: Principles and sustainability, by D. Holmgren

pathways

beyond

The basics of permaculture design, by R. Mars and A. Ducker Local Food: How to make it happen in your community, by T. Pinkerton and R. Hopkins

United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) The Global Footprint Network Soil Association Global Eco village Network Fair-trade Labelling Organizations International http://www.fairtrade.net La Via Campesina

The new strawbale home, by C. Wanek

WWOOF

Living planet report, WWF, http://www.livingplanetreport

350. org (Moving Planet)

Being wise with waste: the EUâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s approach to waste management , Publications Office of the European Union

World Social Forum

Videos

Links

The Story of stuff

http://awakeningthedreamer.org (Changing the dream Symposium)

Planet Earth The Meatrix

www.ethicalconsumer.org

Collaborative consumption (Whatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s mine is yours)

www.unep.org/ (12 steps to help you kick the CO2 habit)

A Farm for the future

www.facingthefuture.org

Young voices on climate change Age of stupid Mathis Wackernagel: The Ecological Footprint Think Global: Eat Local

www.unwater.org/index.html www.happyplanetindex.org http://social.un.org/index

20% renewable energy by 2020 350 eARTh: Climate Change Art Visible From Space

Eco footprint www.conservation-development.net/?L=2&ds=5 (A Big Foot on a Small Planet?) www.footprintnetwork.org/en www.footprint.wwf.org.uk www.mycarbonfootprint.eu/index.cfm?language=en http://carboncalculator.direct.gov.uk/index.html