Eco in Germany: 10/10/10

I am in Berlin, folks! And I found out I must be alittle crazy, as when I entered Alexanderplatz at last after gardening at Pricessgarden in a completely other part of the city, (though I`ll have to thank the very extrordinary good subway-system here!), I came an hour late to join the Silent Climate Parade (http://www.climateparade.de/), and the organizers asked me to leave my passport in order to get headphones for the concept which I did not have right there by hand, and said I just arrived by bus from Copenhagen some hours ago and all the way from Norway- and they all looked surprised "aah.. well, you are very welcome!" Probably the only foreigner there, as every one was Berliner citizens!..surprising, as I now see myself as worldcitizen I actually felt kind of out-of-place, still. So I told them I came all the way from Norway JUST to join this event, and I did not need any other proof to make them believe I was gonna play safely at their event. :) Ah. I understand my purpose better now. I am wildly joining events in the world, and every map is a web for my sences to explore and to live. And last but not least, to make good traces - and bring this forward (like here in blogs or everywhere communicative!). The Silent Climate Parade was getting attention, even though the noise was as low as any blowing leaf. I would like there to be more people joining this parade, but even more surprisingly the Princessgarden and its low-profile marketing housed even just the same amount of energetic people!..hmm. The size doesn`t matter in this case. The concept of bringing locals in to participate in local green activites, seem to attract the people nearby just from the method of understanding the purpose of greening your neighbourhood. Inspiring, that is. Bring your local neighbour in for a coffee drink and a nice dig to harvest potatoes for a common dish. :) The great Silent Climate Parade was named "silent" because onlookers did not hear music, as the music came from headphones worn by the participants. And the wireless music again came from a storage of solar-energy captured by the dj-set. Remarkable and creative idea!

A nice cafè in the Princessgarden

Me dancing

The Broadcast Tower absorbing signals from space and the tree absorbing Co2 from air

Photo album from island Oroe is up

Iselin's Eco Blog: Island Oroe

Eco in Denmark: From island to mainland to foreign land

I just came back to Copenhagen for a night. Tomorrow is very exciting, I'll be going to Berlin in Germany for Global Action Day, and stay there for a couple days. I just came from another island, hopping from Aeroe to Oroe suddenly for five days! I met some nice people at island Aeroe, called Hanne and Jens Johan, a couple living on island Oroe further north in Zealand, Denmark! So I took the ride with two cats they adopted from Aeroe, and met Hanne at the ferry to Oroe. Here I stayed until today, and my trip there was way too fast as it was so much to learn there and discover among plants and herbs. This was a herbal garden, a healing garden and Hanne educates in this. She is very experienced, and they run a Bed and Breakfast for visitors. I got lots of reflections while digging the earth there, and really I think human beings are way too comfortable indoors and should get out alot more! That was my first impression from there. Oroe taught me alot, but mostly to be respectful for what is so gently growing and we are simply just overseeing it all that happens around us. These plants they had, was very taken care of. You can sure tell when the earth is willing or not, and when the plants are taken care of. They respond by gathering more Co2, or getting fresh blooming flowers. Some herbs are treatments, learned by for instance the indians or the asian people using it almost daily. We're still very "new" at discovering all the possibilities of herbs, and after becoming more on my "veggie diet" I have discovered that the balance in the body is most important, and some herbs are used as instruments for when you are overweight in one component than the other, and cleanses your stomach and regains the immune system. Some herbs are particulary good for women, and I'll get back to more details later. I have to get some rest and sleep after a day of walking in a thousandsomething-crowded hall in Copenhagen with the title "Healthy Lifestyle Exhibition 25 Years of Celebration". You can tell, PEOPLE are HUNGRY!;)

Photo album from island Aeroe is up

Iselin's Eco Blog: Island Aeroe

Eco in Denmark: World's largest solar district heating plant

Yesterday I went for a daytrip to city Marstal (on island Aeroe/ Aero), mostly famous for its sailor history and where the very last transport by sailboat happened. "Farewell To Sails" had its exhibition when I went there, restoring an old ship that drowned and I went for a museum ride. Apart from my enthusiasm for boats and everything that floats, I went to see another tale - how the trial supplement of a solar collector plant for the city's single swimmingpool became the world's largest district heating plant to cover 30 percent of whole Marstal's requirements for heating! I think it is so nice when a little try-out turns into something expansive and re-used, like this one!:)

The plant in whole, 18,354m2. The markers are pointing at the different producers of solar panels and collectors delivered to the plant (four), also the tank for storage, as well as the circulating system and the pit heat store.

Budget of such a project. Supported by EU and Danish Energy Authority

Originally, the story begins with Marstal wanting their swimmingpool to be heated from "alternative energy" because the oil heating had a way too expensive bill. This was in 1993, and economy pushed the island into thinking differently and it was after several meetings an idea of a solar heating system. At the same time Marstal District Heating was interested in replacing some of their waste oil consumption by more eco-friendly fuel. With alittle midwifery from the Danish Association of Consulting Engineers, it resulted in a solar collector on the swimmingpool roof in 1994. The 75m2 solar collectors were to heat the pool only. However, the system also served another purpose: It was a test system to show if solar heating on a major scale was worth staking on. And it was. After six months, the results on paying the heating bill looked so promising that they decided to develope 8,000m2 of solar panels on the field behind the heating plant - and connect them to the district heating network. This was the beginning of the great success! From May till October, Marstal's consumption is 100% covered by solar heating. Source: http://www.solarmarstal.dk/

In danish: A district heating storage, to store heat from solar panels.

Sailor city Marstal. Collecting muliple creativities from all over the world when travelling by the sea.

the restoration of an old sunken ship.

Now a carbon neutral blog

Each year in Germany, paper industry consumption due to printed prospects alone is responsible for 455,400 tons of CO2 in the air and 4,62 litres of water and 1,157 million kwh of electricity, all by 33kilos of paperrolls. By doing this to nature, one should absolutely "pay back" as result of ecological footprint. Company KaufDa in Germany is a magazine and folder print company that sees their own problem. They've become green by understanding their own footprints. I also agree with them that maybe internet has solved many of the world's cultural and environmental problems. Sending e-mail instead of printing a post card, it is very ecological. So I signed up for different win-win-sites, and with this badge my existance contribute to planting a real tree in Plumas, or in their further planting area. I thought it was a nice idea. Nothing is better than win-win. As green world seems to interact both on internet and in real life. With this blog post, they'll plant a tree for me to neutralize the carbon emissions of my blog. How it works is described in here: http://www.kaufda.de/umwelt/carbon-neutral/1-tree-1-blog-how-it-works/ and here  http://www.kaufda.de/umwelt/carbon-neutral/what-we-do/

Eco in Denmark: Arriving at island Aeroe

I just arrived on one of the smallest, yet biggest islands in Denmark considering renewable energy, called Aeroe (Ærø), which is very similar to Samsoe (the 100% Renewable Energy Island) which I visited back in august (prev post: http://ecoiselin.blogspot.com/2010/08/eco-in-denmark-100-renewable-energy.html). One of the reasons I chose this island is that they host the WORLD's largest solar panel plant which would be one great sight and one hugh inspiration to visit! Even though Sweden is the leading country in Scandinavia overall when it comes to ecological implement (in business especially), I find these tiny islands of Denmark (Samsoe and Aeroe) as leading examples of what is the most human affected developement, where partner-ownerships and households are very responsible for the exceeding renewable energy process worldwide and in Europe. They both have the same ambition (which Samsoe now has accomplished); to become 100% self-sufficient by renewable energy. Aeroe is famous for its shipping and boat-life, which is also one of my favorites. I am going to pay city Marstal a visit during this coming week besides "wwoofing" (organic farm-works). The farm that welcomed me gave me free accomodation at one of their lux apartements(!) of a hundered square metres, and I feel very lucky to spend the days in such beautiful environment. The ocean is nearby with their own beach and just have a look:

The view from my apartement!

My very nice apartement here.

Big bed! :)

 

Eco in Denmark: Another album

Here is another album from ecovillage "Fri og Fro" in Odsherred, uploaded by Mette Petersen (www.okoliv.dk) living in this ecovillage. Pictures of the homes. Added to the pictures are nice descriptions (in danish) of the building material:

Eco in Denmark: Not everyone is building.. houses for free! :)

As many have discovered, it takes some time to accomplish a house where you need both effective heating value and the trend is that you're able to sell and not only use energy from your household. Which is why many homes in ecovillages takes time; because you are constantly discovering new green improvements and want to implement it. Still, the house itself, with all its fundament and material, does not necessarily need to book all your everyday meetings. For people on ecovillage Friland who works fulltime and some are in media business rather than farming business and need to get their deadlines to run, there are of course options for these, too! At the moment, I know that the community on phase three is planning some pre-prepared constructions for newcomers who are not so used to building from scratch and might need a helping hand with the ecological fundament, and when the pre-made construction is up they only need to use their imagination and personal sence to fill in the extra space almost like restoring an old apartement which many are used to do in forehand. A very good idea! Maybe not so hard-core knowledge based as you won't get to understand why you're building like this and this, but on the other hand one gets more time to accomplish the rest of the house and garden, and perhaps one can also implement faster the energy-solutions out there. For an even faster solution, one can do like Peter did! :) A friend of mine from Friland who is working alot in daytime with designing and writing books for instance, and of course he would't like this quality of life to compromise with building. There are several options for that, as mentioned with the pre-installations, but he chose something rather quick and for FREE: An old house to be demolited if not carried on WEELS! It costed him no more than 40000DKK to improve, some transport as you can see underneath (but in the long run that is nothing), and the house for free:) Good as new.

House's original position.

Up we go! :)

dum-di-dum here comes your free order, not free transport :)

House's new sunny spot!

Coming: Eco in Denmark - How Peter got his house : )

.. and more from the stay in Friland: Photo album and building workshop. To be uploaded soon!

Eco in Denmark: Back in Copenhagen and leaving Friland

Look closer!.. reused spoons :)

What a big contrast! Coming from the middle-of-nowhere-still-everywhere Friland and to Copenhagen, even makes you able to tell the difference between thick and dusty air and fresh smell of sunflowers. I came to the central station yesterday, leaving my suitcase at my friend's house from previous studies, and noticed I was still wearing the dirty boots from gardening when I passed some of the high heelers at the station, and I wasn't even caring. How could I suddenly stop caring about such details? I guess I came from another world, another priority, another set of mind where things like saving Pakistan and creating sustainable solutions are alot more important than things that can easily break, like heels. But on the same time, I feel freedom walking in a crowded city. Not being anonymous, but being connected. Feeling connected, more to a thousand individuals than to a few isolated ones. And, ironically, those ladies walking in high heels just smiled easily back at me, and I smiled back at them, and we were just one mind - two different pair of shoes, one world. Still walking the same street.

Hmm.. they say that those ugly bricks creating an old street from the 30s were intended to be a woman's enemy, as they all had to dress in high heels and not moving as fast forward as those wearing boots, usually men. So that men could run the cities, and women could just decorate them. That is how city life was created. I believe in it, no feminism thrown in it. It was practical at the time. Practical for creating the industrial revolution and side by side, creating social values to fit into it. We forget, that our common habits in today's fashion is all part of industrial expansion only, but when cities expand in the green direction, one suddenly discovers a mixture of habits like boots, heels, barefoot, crocks, sandals, sneakers, and the back-friendly wellness-shoes with a round step (that everyone tired from working stress seem to wanna buy, ironically). But I love the variation. That one can be a farmer in the city, basically. One can transform this whole city, into a green city. The details only decorating this thought. ;)

"Create your world" - Friland:



Yellow field: Empty, but soon filled with new homes in Phase 3.



Caroline's square straw bale house

Einer's non-square wooden houses

Pop an isolation idea!