march 2012
Environment 1
_editorial
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Being more attentive toward the environment is something more and more pressing in today’s world, knowing that we cannot live without it and given we’re destroying it at astonishing rates. But how should we care for it? Even though using organic and environment friendly products and recycling is important, I wouldn’t say it is the way out. Meaning that, personally, I don’t believe we can do the difference it takes to come out of the pits with individual acts, but that the problem is institutional, systemic and in our way of seeing the environment. We’re born and raised into a culture of fast consumption and discarding, so we have this image that the environment is here to serve us. To make things better, since we don’t produce our goods anymore, we don’t have the feeling that we are actually destroying nature. So to make a difference we have to force the companies hosted in our countries to stop destroying it. Today, industries are what use most of the energy and resources extracted and generated from the land, and that is why we must press them to be different. Is this possible? Probably not in the capitalistic view frame, in which profits are all that matter. To save the environment we have to put in our heads that natural resources are finite, and therefore should not be exploited, but used wisely. Maybe when we live in a degrowth-minded society such problems won’t be so pressing, but there’s still a long way to go, and the environment won’t sit around and wait; now is the time to act! Daniel Nunes
_contents
04 Environmental issues in fragile states 06 A country has decided twice: the story and fate or german nuclear power plants 08 travel destination: pompeii, italy 12 importance of recycling 15 pigs in maputo 16 saving the planet by developed technology 18 poetry: Cry of the African Blackwood Tree 19 movie review: the expendables 20 following colin beaver: no impact week! 22 living in a dangerous environment 23 music review: “the köln concert” 24 events
Libertas 31 Environment published april 2012
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Environmental Issues in Fragile States Jack Shaka
4 Fragile states in Africa remain the most affected by deforestation, soil erosion, desertification, water shortage, pollution and other vices. As you read this, the famine crisis in the Horn of Africa and parts of West Africa continues to rise. In Somalia, Kenya, Djibouti, Ethiopia, Niger and Mali: millions are fighting for survival. Thousands have died since 2011 and more continue to perish. Women and children are the most affected by poverty,hunger and war in fragile states. The UN warned in September 2011 that approximately 750,000 people would die as a result of the famine in East Africa alone. States like Sudan, Somalia, Chad, Democratic Republic of Congo, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Nigeria, Niger among others topped the Failed States Index 2011.They are either in war or post-war reconstruction or going through civil strife. In the Democratic Republic of Congo and Rwanda, the earth is gouged and scarred to acquire cassiterite. Human lives are lost and the environment raped in the process so that the world can continue to converse using mobile phones. In November 2011, the Rwandan Minister for Environment and Natural Resources, Mr. Stanislas Kamanzi warned mining companies against employing children in the cassiterite mines. The gas flaring activities in the Niger Delta region in Nigeria remains a big concern. The companies that flare gas in Nigeria have blatantly refused to stop flaring and each time there is a campaign to end gas flaring-they protest. They continue to do so since it is a cheaper option compared to harvesting it. According to a World Bank document released in 2002, gas flaring in Nigeria is the single greatest source of greenhouse gases in sub-Saharan Africa. These companies get massive profits yet they continuously pollute the environment thereby harming people’s lives, livelihoods and nothing much is done to stop them. The mining of titanium in the coastal part of Kenya led to locals losing valuable land to the mining company. The government signed an agreement with a Canadian firm to do the mining and the locals were
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images: http:// zh.fotopedia.com/items/ flickr-2331554765; http://www.publicdomain-image.com/ fauna-animals-publicdomain-images-pictures/ giraffe-public-domainimages-pictures/giraffeface.jpg.html
given worthless compensation for the land-not enough to buy land elsewhere. Protests were met with silence. The firm claimed they followed all protocols-the locals said otherwise amidst corruption allegations involving the whole project. The enforcement agencies like the National Environmental Management Agency(NEMA) in Kenya are not doing enough to make sure that the environment is protected. There are cases where they turned a blind eye when high-rise buildings and malls were constructed over riverbeds. NEMA gave the green light for these constructions to place over riverbeds thereby going against its own mandate of protecting the environment. It should be noted that the governments in fragile states remain the biggest obstacle to reforms. Unethical business practices continue to risecompanies are dumping waste in residential areas, in rivers and lakes creating health hazards .The health needs of the citizens need to be put above everything else. The governments in many of these states are yet to build incinerators to deal with the waste disposal menace. Incinerators today include generation of electricity in a process referred to as Energy From Waste (EFW). The incinerator is built in such a way that it is lit using regular fuel and the fire kept going by the waste, which burns continuously reducing the need for imported fuel. This alone can save the environment since dumpsites will be reduced and selling the surplus electricity will generate revenue. There is need for enforcement of environmental laws, ethics and standards in fragile states to make sure that they are adhered to, otherwise they just remain on paper. If there are no environmental laws, standards or ethical guidelines that exist, then there is need for them to be created in order to protect the environment. These governments need to hire people who can enforce the laws and ethics -people who are above reproach. If not, the unethical practices will continue with disregard for the environment. ] ! [
A Country Has Decided Twice: The Story and Fate of German Nuclear Power Plants Charlotte Goßkopf
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Nuclear
power entails risks. Though, people all around the world believed these risks were nominal. Experts said with a clear conscience, “Power plants are very safe, believe us.” Then, on March 11, 2011, the unbelievable happened in Fukushima, Japan, 25 years after it happened in Chernobyl, Ukraine. All over the world, debates about energy policies heated up. People voiced their concern about the dangers of nuclear energy. In some countries, this was the first time they had gotten a chance to speak about the subject. It was not the first time they discussed nuclear power in Germany. There is a history of anti nuclear power movements which started in the seventies. Since then, the anti-nuclear power movement has merged creating its own political party, Die Grünen, or The Greens. They began as a bunch of protesters, and have gained more and more influence over the years. Their political platform of “Ecology, Peace, and Equality” made them popular. In 1998, they formed the governmental party Die Grünen in a coalition with Gerhard Schröder’s Social Democrats. However, they soon found out that having good intentions and being in charge are two things which are not easy to combine. After much persistence, they achieved a turnaround in Germany’s domestic atomic power policy; in 2000, the German Parliament concluded the nuclear phase-out. When Angela Merkel’s coalition of conservatives and free-market liberals took over the steering wheel, these plans were jettisoned a few years later. They feared higher energy costs and, therefore, a danger for Germany’s competitiveness in the market. The lifetime expansion of German nuclear power stations was passed. Recently, Merkel said, “It is beneficial to run our nuclear reactors.” She believed, like many others, that nuclear power plants were safe. Then, the shocking news of the failed nuclear power plants
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in Fukushima, Japan spread throughout the world. Even in a developed country such as Japan, an incredible accident proved that the latest state of the art technology is not beyond accidents. In Germany, this has brought up the atomic energy issue again. This time, however, the pull-out from nuclear energy found more support among the people. This switch in public opinion made Angela Merkel move again. She stated the events of Fukushima have changed the way nuclear power should be dealt with. Ironically, she opted out of the retreat of the pull-out of nuclear energy. Now, Germany is trying to achieve a turnaround in energy policy with the “Energiewende” which means using no more nuclear energy, using less coal energy, and developing more energy from renewable resources. It’s a very ambitious aim, and achieving it will be difficult. Many problems have to be solved, especially technical ones. For example, the electrical grid has to be extended to fit to the new plan. Also, people are not sure what this new energy policy will bring. Many fear there was no point in shutting down German nuclear power plants and presumably buying energy from pro-nuclear neighbour countries. It remains a matter of issue. If we will make our way out of nuclear power properly, we could set a great example for other countries. If not, we will show other countries which mistakes should be avoided when finally opting out from nuclear energy.
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Imagine:
event! Amsterda
m Fantas ti
The Imag ine: Ams te Fantasti c Film Fe rdam stival specialis es in fan tasy, hor and scien ror ce-fiction , annuall screenin y g new fe ature fil retrospe ms, ctives, a European fantastic shorts se ction and a childre n’s progr amme. T schedule he features more tha films in n 70 all.
c Film F estival
where Ams terdam, the Neth erlands when 17th to 28th o f April website http://im a ginefilm
festival.
nl
A trip to the past Pompeii, Italy text and photos
Evgenia Kostyanaya
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Of course! Pompeii…it is just near Naples! How could
I think of going to Naples without considering this famous site which is just nearby? I didn’t have much time to spend outside Rome where I was staying, so I went directly to Pompeii from the Naples railway station. It is not far from Naples actually. For some reason on that very day I was extremely lucky with trains/underground in Italy – or maybe it is always like that there? – the underground train to Pompeii I was waiting for never came due to some reasons, and I had to switch to a “normal” train, that brought me finally to the site. Jumping ahead of myself I shall say that on my way back from Naples to Rome the same day my train was first delayed; then I took the next one on the schedule, then it got broken on the way and the whole train had to switch to another one at some station. So either there is something wrong with trains in this very area, or…there is definitely something wrong with trains in this area. And one small warning – be extremely careful in Naples and Rome, watch your money, cards, passports, cameras. Pickpockets are professionals here. A downside of such spontaneity was that I was not aware of the fact that there was also a chance to go to see Vesuvius itself, but ….it is always good to leave something unexplored in a place so that you could always come back, no?
travel destination.
9 By the time I got there they had already run out of maps of the site – so I had to discover the place with the help of my own sixth sense and groups of tourists led by guides hiding from the – still hot at the beginning of October – Italian sun under white umbrellas. Very wise of them, I should say. I had never thought that in October – even at the beginning of it – it can be still so hot, like in real summer…well…the term “summer” of course is an amazingly subjective concept. Anyway get prepared – there are almost no trees, and there is a lot to be seen – so if you really want to explore the site, you will need at least half a day in order not to rush around – take a bottle of water, sunglasses, a hat, and a sun lotion And a white umbrella if you like – it looks gorgeous. Pompeii is a true reminder of how fragile life can be. The eruption of Vesuvius on the 24th August 79 A.D. put the town under ash and killed its population. Oddly, ash, causing death, preserved the town as it was so that we could learn what life in those times looked like. However scientists assume that the catastrophe was overlooked – there had been clear signs of what was going to happen. There was a huge earthquake in 63 A.D. in the Campania region, right in the area, however the population of Pompeii didn’t cease to grow
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On that day it all started with ash and lightweight pieces of pumice; at that point people were still believed to be able to escape. Later it all became much worse with a lot of ash falling down on the streets, making people unable to breathe normally; poison gas and more rocks followed. Death was catching people where it found them; centuries later archaeologists found them exactly in the same positions. According to anthropologist Paolo Petrone and volcanologist Giuseppe Mastrolorenzo, fleers were caught by a high-temperature cloud – around 900 F, or around 480 C, so it is assumed now that escapees died of thermal shock. First I had an impression that I could do without a map and tried to remember the way back to the entrance. But then I reached the streets of Pompeii, long streets crossing other streets along ruins of houses.
travel destination.
Then I realized that the site was indeed huge, with streets running to the left and to the right from me. I didn’t have much time to explore every bit of the site even though I would have liked to – I had to catch the train to come back not only to Naples but to Rome on the same evening. But nevertheless I got that feeling of an unforgettable place – walking streets people used to walk almost 2,000 years ago. It is kind of weird to be there – in our era of Internet and iPhones, skyscrapers and splendid cars – and to see with your own eyes how people lived, to enter the same houses they entered….Even crazier it feels when I try to imagine what happened on that August day, when so many people died and buildings were destroyed. Why the majority was so slow to escape? Was it lack of knowledge of what would happen next or just fatal negligence? This place does touch you. It was indeed breathtaking for me to see in reality all this, and not in books or in films. After all, these people didn’t differ much from us – they worked, loved, hoped, feared, had their dreams, plans, expectations. And then it all was so suddenly over. I am thinking of coming back one day. Hopefully that time I will manage to get to the place early enough to catch a map! ] ! [
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Importance of
recycling text and photos
Kristel Rebane
12 Garbage is thrown in the streets and nature. It is not only bad to look at, but it is also extremely dangerous for the environment. Garbage in the nature can cripple and even kill many animals. Do not throw garbage in the nature, but bring it to special containers and collecting points. First of all, I hope that most people know the importance of throwing their waste in the garbage containers. Second, people should learn the importance of recycling and how to make it possible in their households. Each person creates about 2-3 kilo of waste every single day, which equals about 1 ton every year. If all of this goes year by year to the wastelands without recycling, you can use your imagination what will happen soon. The more advanced a society is, the more waste it produces. Therefore, it is essential to sort and recycle the waste. It leaves vital resources for future generations. Recycling is also a way to save valuable materials. Modern technology allows making new products of used packages, but for that you have to separate them from other waste. When they are mixed with household waste, then quality of material will drop in value and it will be impossible to re-process the materials. This clearly shows the importance of recycling. The more waste that will be sorted and recycled and old items put to reuse, the less waste will be in containers and less money will be paid for them. Consequently, overall consumer waste sorting should be cheaper. Most of the waste is in the form of household packages, paper, and food waste. It is primary to sort paper, packages, food waste, and hazardous waste to save natural resources. By placing containers in regular trash, you’ll pay double for these items in the store because the handling of the package price is already included in the product! It is not possible for all the people to recycle all their waste because of the lack of the special bins, but you really should do everything in your power to try. The most important thing in recycling is to remove hazardous waste from your regular waste, since this is highly harmful for the nature. For hazardous waste, you can find some special collecting points if you look
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for them. Keep in mind that everything you throw in the nature will come back to you in your drinking water and food. Historically, some hazardous wastes were disposed of in regular landfills. This resulted in unfavorable amounts of hazardous materials seeping into the ground. These chemicals eventually entered natural hydrologic systems. Chemicals enter air as emissions and water as effluent. Industrial and motor vehicle emissions cause acid rain, which poison fish and other aquatic organisms in rivers and lakes, and affects the ability of soil to support plants. Currently, hazardous wastes must often be stabilized and solidified in order to enter a landfill. Many hazardous wastes can be recycled into new products. For example, lead-acid batteries or electronic circuit boards can have the heavy metals recovered and used in new products. A non-household example is the ash generated by coal-fired power plants. These plants produced two types of waste: fly ash and bottom ash. Fly ash particles have a low density, are very fine, and are removed by air pollution control devices. On the other side, bottom ash is a dense, dark, gravely substance that remains on the bottom of combustion chambers. After these types of ash go though the proper treatment, they can bind to other pollutants and convert them into easier-to-dispose solids, or they can be used as pavement filling. Such treatments reduce the level of threat of harmful chemicals, while also recycling them into safe products.
Below is a list of some of the hazardous waste: •Paints and solvents •Automotive wastes (used motor oil, antifreeze, etc.) •Pesticides (insecticides, herbicides, fungicides, etc.) •Mercury-containing wastes (thermometers, switches, fluorescent lighting, etc.) •Electronics (computers, televisions, cell phones) •Aerosols/Propane cylinders •Caustics /Cleaning agents •Refrigerant-containing appliances •Some specialty Batteries (e.g. lithium, nickel cadmium, or button cell batteries) •Ammunition •Radioactive waste
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Did you know?
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•Making new aluminum can, equals energy of recycling 20 aluminum cans. •Production making plastic material for the past 50 years has grown by almost 200% •1 ton recycled paper saves 16 trees •1 kilo recycled plastic packages saves 1 kilo energy from fuel oil •1 ton plastic equals with 55 000 plastic bag •Up to 60% of the waste that ends up in the dustbin could be recycled. •1 recycled can would save enough energy to power a television for 3 hours. •More aluminum goes into beverage cans than any other product. •There is no limit to the amount of times aluminum cans can be recycled. •At one time, aluminum was more valuable than gold? •If all our newspaper was recycled, we could save about 250,000,000 trees each year! •1 recycled glass bottle would save enough energy to power a computer for 25 minutes. •70% less energy is required to recycle paper compared with making it from raw materials. •The unreleased energy contained in the average dustbin each year could power a television for 5,000 hours. •On average, 16% of the money you spend on a product pays for the packaging, which ultimately ends up as rubbish. •Plastic can take up to 500 years to decompose. •Plastic bags and other plastic garbage thrown into the ocean kill as many as 1,000,000 sea creatures every year! •A modern glass bottle would take 4000 years or more to decompose - and even longer if it’s in the landfill. •Rainforests are being cut down at the rate of 100 acres per minute! •A single liter of motor oil, if disposed of improperly, can contaminate up to 7,571,000 liters of fresh water. •Motor oil never wears out, it just gets dirty. Oil can be recycled, re-refined and used again, reducing our reliance on imported oil. •A running tap wastes 9.5 liters of water each minute.
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Remember that it is extremely important not to throw garbage into the nature, and to recycle your waste. If we want to keep this planet clean and full of vital resources for the future generations, we have to start now. Every passing day without action will make the future a place where you will not want to bring your children and grandchildren. If you are interested in doing something for the nature and you are up to helping clean the garbage that is already thrown into the nature, join the action „Let’s Do It World”. Already 85 countries have joined the worldwide cleanup action. You can find information from theire homepage: www.letsdoitworld.org Used sources: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ Hazardous_waste http://www.tallinn.ee/prygihunt http://www.bioneer.ee http://www.recycling-guide.org.uk http://recyclingfacts.org/ http://www.santarosa.fl.gov http://www.recycling-revolution.com ] ! [
Pigs in Maputo Pig cartoons of life in Mozambique
by Iris Yan
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for more, every day: pigsinmaputo. blogspot.com/
pigs in maputo.
Saving the planet
BY d e v e l o p e d
technology
Aneta Dimoska
image: The Venus Project poster
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Every time when I look through the history, I can’t stop
thinking how our ancestors managed to live in the societies before when their existence meant no electricity, no factories, no industry, no cars, no computers, no cell phones, no networks, simply anything that would facilitate their living, or furthermore, to improve it. On one hand they had nothing and on the other, they lacked nothing. They were happy. At least, I would be happy if I were born long time ago, maybe…I don’t know. And now after so many years, we have everything we can dream of. We have reached the space, we’ve explored the deepest seas, found cures for many diseases, and even the impossible is possible now. But most of us are probably still unhappy. Now, it is our turn to pay the cost for our comfortable life. We are witnesses of our everyday slowly destroying. In the last decade, floods, droughts, windstorms, earthquakes, avalanches, volcanic eruptions and forest fires have become increasingly common. Destruction of natural habitats puts some animals on the brink of extinction. We are facing climate changes and there are some efforts that should be taken if we don’t want to find Homo sapiens on the brink of extinction as well. Fortunately, United Nations reached for a solution. They gathered world’s biggest polluters in Kyoto, Japan in 1997 where governments of the countries promised they would reduce emissions of carbon-based gases below 1990 levels by 2012. In Kyoto, the European Union agreed to cut emissions by 8%, Japan 6%, and the USA 7%. But, what they have promised, almost nothing was accomplished. USA from the very first beginning was skeptical about the entire process. Besides the fact that it was world’s biggest polluter producing 24% of the world’s emissions, USA had not met its targets. For some countries, carbon reduces can make impact on their economy. That is why they are trying to sustain this
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17 pollution situation just to make sure that their profit would grow up permanently. On the other hand there are some theses explaining that climate summits are not so productive and countries do not follow their initial aims and goals. All those money spent on conferences could be funded in technology developing and building new centers for producing renewable energy. Pollution could be cut off by using sun, wind and water energy. Researches and scientists should be working hardly on this field, but without financial support everything would be in vain. When it comes about climate, climate changes, prevention of another climate crisis, I am very pessimistic. We all know that the key factor what need changing are human beings. There were and still are many environmental movements, but to be real they haven’t contributed a lot in changing people’s opinion and their treatment to the nature. In some developed countries parks, streets, rivers, yards are really clean and of course it is due to the man’s well-behavior. Unfortunately, the other world doesn’t function like that. For instance, in my country, there were some efforts to influent on people’s way of thinking and acting, but as I mentioned before it was in vain. Some ecological issues were implemented in educational system but in the practice there was almost no remarkable result. No matter what throwing trash out of the bins is banned by low and fines are from 50E and up, people still don’t abide governmental decisions. That is way I do believe that all efforts, should be focused on improving technology. Maybe new type of cars will be developed or new kind of fridge with no gases emission and no hurting to the atmosphere. This is very long-lasting project and countries should start thinking giving financial support to the science, because no summit, no conference, no treaty could save us from the accelerated process of extinction. ] ! [
Cry of the African Blackwood Tree Jack Shaka
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Wangari Maathai I glow in thy shadow and miss thy warmth I treasure thy embrace and assurance I remember thy sacrifice for my kind and me I remember watching you fight to preserve me Wangari Maathai Even in death, your glow lights the night Even in sorrow, your smile lifts the spirit Even in confusion, your strength is a comfort Even now as the end is near, we think of you Trucks are here Wangari Wake up! Wake up! Wake up! Tell the people to rise and fight for us Tell the people to marshal and save us Tell them the truth The loud noise of the machine, a power saw Laughter of men in a twisted wins Leers of men in a short-lived power show Grrrrr Grrrrr Grrrrr then silence! Camphor and Ebony fall Sorrowful whimpering cries rise and rise The forest screams in protest and anguish Petals fall and flowers wither Earth beneath shudders and wonders Mahogany and Eucalyptus fall
poetry.
Trucks are here Wangari Just as they were last month Wake up! Wake up! Wake up! Night and day they roar into the forest Tell them the truth madam The rivers are drying up and dying Trees are turned into charcoal, fading and dying Wildlife is dying or migrating for pasture and water Loggers live here killing us slowly The sun becomes hotter and harsher everyday Expensive musical instruments and gadgets All adorn parts of my brothers and sisters Now I see my killers in front of me The power saw roars again-it is time I am the African Blackwood Tree The most sort after tree in the world
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Movie!
review by
Júlia Tessler
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THIS is a 2010 movie directed by Silvester Stallone and performed
by Stallone himself, Jason Statham, Jet Li, Dolph Lundgren, Randy Couture, Steve Austin, Terry Crews, Mickey Rourke, Bruce Willis and Arnold Schwarzenegger. Yes, all the macho actor in one movie. What a pretentious crew, right? So we have the guys. Guess what the plot is? An elite team of highly trained mercenaries - called ‘The Expendables’ - are assigned to overthrow a brutal dictator between the Gulf of Mexico and South America. So, we have mercenaries who have to stop some kind of illegal deal which is being done by some kind of magnate in a country that has banana trees. And we have a pretty girl to help them, played by the pretty Gisele Itié. This whole thing painted with violence, fights and big weapons. Oh, the blood bath... What is in there to surprise me? This movie has all the clichés in one. Starting by it’s actors... But it is a nice movie. Due to it macho cover, it’s hard to believe that there is anything cool in this movie at all... But there is. These guys managed to understand that they are reason for jokes. So they made a macho movie that mocks macho movies. And I must confess that the fight scenes (that consist in more than 60% of the movie duration, as expected) are really cool! Not Quentin Tarantino cool, but they are well directed and well built. Probably the funniest testosterone-movie ever. Not a good movie, but the best of it’s kind.
review.
Following Colin Beaver:
No impact week! Petra Huijgen
images: http://lavieboheme.over-blog.com/, rugiadapoint.it
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What if you do truly care about the environment and want to do more than recycle your garbage and talk about it with people? What if you no longer want to sit back and listen to the stories about the global warming and our responsibility for all the environmental problems? Complaining and worrying is one thing, but how about taking action and radically changing your own lifestyle? Many people say that you should be the change you would like to see in the world, so New York City-based Colin Beaven, also known as the ‘No Impact Man’, took this saying literally. In 2006, he took up the ambitious plan to live in Manhattan with his wife, little daughter, and dog to not make any net-impact on the planet. In other words, he wanted to make his ‘Carbon Footprint’ non-existent, or at least as small as possible. He decided for one year to give up everything disposable, all non-local food products, all electricity, and basically everything that could possibly cause any harm to the planet. In addition to this, he tried helping some local volunteer projects. This was a highly ambitious project, of course. To share this idea with as many people as possible, he worked on the ‘No Impact Experiment’ which has become available for everyone. To participate, others do not have to be as radical as he was; He tells others that small changes can also affect the planet. Tasks he uses as examples are how disposable our lifestyles actually are–the plastic wrapped around food, or the takeaway coffee that comes in plastic. Also, changing the electricity we use–try to use the computer for work purposes only once a day. It is a challenge, but it is possible. After doing some research, I decided to join the week and try to make my impact as small as possible. On Saturday, I received an e-mail with instructions that it would start on Sunday. There would be a challenge every day with one being more difficult than the previous. ‘No Shopping Sunday’ was easy because I am not a ‘shop-addict’ anyway. Monday was the ‘No Garbage’ day which was more of a challenge for me. To be honest, it was impossible. The challenge was to put all my garbage for the day in a bag to keep track of it, and at the end of the day
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the bag was indeed full of plastic packages and paper. ‘Transportation Tuesday’ was the day that the car should not be used, which was not a problem at all. Being from the Walhalla of Bikes, and living in a small town, cars were not needed by me anyway. Wednesday was ‘Food Day’ where I had to eat only local food, preferably organic and vegetarian. I already had my local vegetables planned out because I asked at the grocery store from where the vegetables actually come. This was worth it. They indeed travel for many miles before arriving here. The next day was “Energy Day” unplugging everything, turning everything off, and, using my laptop for work purposes only which made it a no-email and no-Facebook day as well. It was challenging, but worth it! The last day of the No Impact Week was ‘Water Day’ where I had to keep track of the water I used throughout the day. Showering quickly, washing the dishes consciously, it worked out well. All in all, this week was, to be very honest, not a challenge at all. The main point is that if all of us combine these small steps in our daily life, we can do a lot to save the planet. We do not need to change much to be a little nicer to our planet; we should just become more aware of the planet we live on and its limitations. Of course making a change on your own might not be a very radical one, but instead of sitting at home and listening to the dark scenario’s buzzing around, it is never wrong to start becoming more conscious and live caring about the environment. ] ! [
Living in a dangerous
environment Katerina Kostadinova
photo: Alexandre Fonseca
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Why
is the world a dangerous place to live in? With our actions in the society we can make good or bad influence, and if we want we can make the world a better place to live in. But why isn’t a good place? First of all and maybe the main reason of the cruelty of the world is the need of the people to have all of what they want. But as we know the resources are limited and that kind of luxury is impossible. However some people think that the main reason of our greed is the home education, but not to forget the school, and the environment we live in. Trough those institutions we build our character, our paths, our plans, goals. And if our parents don’t teach us, the school has to show us, if not, we can fallow the behavior of the environment. The only problem is that the example people send to us though everyday live is more bad than good. We are witnesses of different wars, everyday bad examples on the television, internet act, so we actually only have our parents to fallow and the school to teach us. At least we can hope that they will send us a good example. Secondly some people believe that politicians use their politics to get rich instead of making better conditions for living in the country. They use their positions to make what they want so they can earn money and no one cares for the people. I can’t mention examples because they are too many, but all I know is that everyone
has experienced to be disappointed of the government. Politicians can make the environment a dangerous place to live in, for example the different political wars, were many people are dead, the many social unrests caused with some meaningless reason for them. Also politicians can increase between ethnic tensions were people starting hating each other and fighting. That king of politic will help them only, and It’ll distroy us. In my country recently is dangerous to live in. I don’t know if that is a reason because of the politicians or not, but many think it is. The social unrest is on a high level, where you don’t know where you’re safe, where not. We’re faced with fear. Teenagers use cold weapons to attack innocent people in buses, streets, different murders everyday act. How can we change this? Maybe with changing the government, but that will resolve only one problem. That will not help the world. I think the best way to change the world we live in, is by changing our self. To make a good example that people would follow, to find different ways, like with the nongovernment organizations to make actions in the society to initiated common sense, or any other way. The important thing to remember is that if some of us don’t try no one will, so let us be the ones who will make the world a better place, let’s change!!! ] ! [
Music!
“The Köln Concert” by Keith Jarrett Júlia Tessler
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image: http://upload.wikimedia.org/ wikipedia/commons/2/2e/Keith_Jarrett-commons.jpg
review.
Keith Jarrett is an American experimental pianist who works with the thin line connecting blues, jazz and classical compositions. Keith’s career started by playing with some gods such as Art Blakey and Miles Davis. Later on, Keith seemed to get more and more confident about his skills and started recording solo albums. ‘The Köln Concert’ is one of those. The album is almost a miracle. It was recorded during a concert produced by a 17-year-old girl and all things went kind of wrong. The piano he had to play wasn’t the piano everyone expected (just an old one used for rehearsals only, badly tuned and with weird sounds). Keith was exhausted because of the trip and an awful back pain that was providing his sleep. But the show was sold out and the Köln Opera House would be full in a few hours, so Vera Brandes – the young producer – had to find a way of convincing Keith to play. The whole concert was improvised and is one of the most beautiful things I have ever listened to. This only shows a bit of Keith ability to play. Keith is well-known by his ever-longing shows, that go on for hours and hours of pure improvisation, but I believe none of them can be compared to ‘The Köln Concert’. Speaking in technical aspects, is unbelievable what he can do by playing with just a few chords. Speaking as a listener, it’s hard not to be amused by it’s beautiful flow. Have you ever heard a piano solo that made you fall in love? If never, that I hope this album will do it. If yes, get ready to fall in love all over again. This is the deal. ] ! [
inal ational Aborig Cowichan Intern lm & Art Festival of Fi digenous View work by in d artists at the film-makers an e in Duncan tr Cowichan Thea chan wi Co al at the annu iginal or Ab l na io at Intern t. Duncan Ar & Festival of Film an, home ch wi Co of is the heart wi n Co chan to the First Natio tribe.
, Canada
where Duncan ril when 17th to 20th of Ap f.cowichan.net website http://af
24 Haifa International Festival for Children’s Theater The Haifa Internationa l Festival for Children’s Theatre presents dynamic plays in Haifa Theatre and str eet performances just out side. Children’s theatres, gro ups and individuals perfor m from across Israel and overse as during the Passover hol iday. There are workshops an d prizes too.
where Haifa, Israel when 8th to 10th of April website http://www.haifakids. co.il
Ankara International Music Festival With a strong reputation for gathering fine orchestras, ensembles and soloists from around the world, the Ankara International Music Festival is one the city’s finest cultural events. It promotes and develops polyphonic music in Turkey and supports Turkish composers.
events!
where when website
Ankara, Turkey 5th to 28th of April http://www.ankarafestival.com
al et Arts Fesitv re St e tl an rm Fe of Fremantle The pavements er the Easter burst into life ov ormers show weekend as perf l talents at ua off their unus -friendly ily m fa al the annu ival. Expect Street Arts Fest sts, slapstick ni bendy contortio ling unicyclists comedians, jugg opera. You and even street e. name it, it’s ther
stralia
tle, Au where Ferman l when 7th to 9th of Apri w.fremantle. website http://ww als_
wa.gov.au/Festiv and_events
Night of the Museums Frankfurt’s museums stay open late to give visitors a taste of all the city’s collections with one combined ticket in one night. Shuttles bus visitors between venues. Call into Goethe’s house or see European masters at the Städel Museum.
where when website
Frankfurt, Germany 21st of April http://www.nacht-dermuseen.de/
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front COVER, THIS PAGE, and back cover photos by CAROLINA SANTANA.
All texts published in Libertas represent solely the opinions of their authors, not of the magazine or of its publishers. Libertas and creACTive are not responsible in any way for the contents of the articles, or for the photos published with them.
Libertas Team: Daniel Nunes Vladimíra Brávková Dragan Atanasov Kristijan Nikodinovski Scott Pinkster Christine Moore Ivana Galapceva Carolina Santana Evgenia Kostyanaya Marija Gavrilov Marina Danic Rjasnoj
Contributors for this issue: Alexandre Fonseca aneta dimoska Charlote Goßkopf evgenia kostyanaya katerina kostadinova kristel rebane Iris yan jack shaka Júlia tessler Petra huijgen
about us: Youth Magazine Libertas was founded in September 2009 as a project of Youth Association creACTive. Youth Magazine Libertas aims to be a place where young people from all over the world can share their thoughts and views on topics that matter for them, in this way starting discussions and working as a means of change for the future. Every month, Libertas is published on the 5th, featuring articles about a different main topic and other kinds of articles such as movie, book and music reviews, travel destination, interview and brainstorm.
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