Strawberry Earth movie trailer coming soon…
Look out for the Strawberry Earth movie trailer coming soon. Here’s a sound snippet!
Strawberry Earth at the Movies
It’s still more than a month away but we couldn’t wait to give you a few details about Strawberry Earth at the movies - the first Dutch Environmental Film Festival. The full film programme is on its way but, in the meantime, enjoy the sneak preview of some of what’s in store here…
Name: Afaina de Jong
Age: 32
Profession: Creative entrepreneur
From: Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Found at: De Noordermarkt in Amsterdam
I love your old school roller skates, very eco friendly mode of transport. Are you eco conscious?
Absolutely. I’m very eco friendly.
For example….?
I was just in the market buying seeds for my new balcony garden boxes.
Cool. What are you going to grow?
I’d like to grow flowers, herbs and some veggies if I can find the room.
Ok. That’s fairly ambitious. Do you have lots of gardening experience already?
No. But I’ll learn. Everyone has to learn because the world needs to be more sustainable.
You sounded pretty gloomy as you said that. Do you worry about the future?
I don’t have sleepless nights but I do think there’ll be big changes in the future which we will have to deal with. This city could even be flooded in a few years because of climate change!
Lets stay optimistic for now and, on a lighter note, hair or no hair?
What??
Hair or no hair?
Ummm…. hair!
Photo by: Slimmer Jimmer
Mysterious bike theft in Paris
A while ago I was in Paris. I visited the vertical gardens, sipped ten euro beers (slowly) and dodged Velib hire bikes. Have you seen these things? They’re great.
You pay for a kind of cycle travel card, then pick one of 20,000 bikes from over a thousand parking spots citywide and drop them off when you’re done. The actual bikes are right out of those “Technology of the Futuuuuurrrre” films from the 1950s (with a tad less hovering, obviously).
Vineyards in central London!
LONDON – Thanks to guerilla gardeners our cities are greener, but the next step is city farming. This yearʼs “London Yieldʼs: Urban agriculture” exhibition looks set to revolutionise the way we
Photo by Tom van der Leij
Name: Mariska Maaike
Age: 28
Profession: Photography art student at the Rietveld Academy
From: Amsterdam
Found at: De Noordermarkt in Amsterdam
What’s that tattoo on your foot all about?
It’s the eye of a dragon. I didn’t want to have a tattoo of the whole dragon so I chose the prettiest bit. I got it because I knew it would annoy my parents.
Do you have an eco friendly lifestyle, Marisca?
Well, I try to. I eat a maximum of one hundred grams of meat a day. I think people eat far too much meat and the meat industry is responsible for a lot of environmental damage.
You’ve clearly thought this through, that’s a very specific amount of meat you’ve calculated to eat.
I guess so. But that’s all I need. And that’s probably all anybody needs.
Do you work next to your studies?
Yes, I work in a vegan restaurant.
A vegan restaurant? But you eat meat?
Yes, I know. I could never become a vegan myself, but I like the atmosphere and people there very much.
Skinny dipping or a bikini?
Well….actually neither of them. I’d pick a fifties bathing suit!
Charles
We have a cleaner. His name is Charles. Charles is a man of few words. When he picks up the phone all he mumbles is: “Charles”. At first I can never figure out who’s calling me. “Who’s there?” I say. He responds with more mumbling, until eventually he screams his name out of pure frustration:
Name: Polamitis Sofronios
Age: 47
Profession: Manager and shareholder of Cyprusvillages
Where from: Cyprus
Found at: Tochni, Cyprus
Excuse me, what do you do for a living?
I have my own business. We buy abandoned old houses and renovate them into apartments for tourists. So far we have seventy houses in five villages.
Are Cypriots into sustainable building?
Yes. In fact, we get fifty percent of our money sponsored by the European Union because we restore houses in their traditional styles as well. Isn’t that a good sample of sustainability?
Well, yes, but does that save the world?
Hmmm… not sure, but I also try to recycle as much as possible. For instance my company collects glass, paper and plastic. In May there’ll be a conference about the environment and because I support the initiative I’ve offered some of the people attending a place to stay for free.
And what do you have to offer your visitors?
We only offer rural activities - not motorised ones. So horse riding, cycling and hiking.
What’s your philosophy in life?
I think that we as human beings are temporary residents of the planet. We have responsibilities for all creations on earth and have to use as little natural resources as possible.
Which dance do you prefer, Sirtaki or Zorba?
Well the Zorba is part of the Sirtaki, it’s the more energetic part of it, so it will be Zorba!
Big spring clean on Mount Everest
AMSTERDAM – Cleaning up litter in your street is one thing, cleaning up litter nearly 9,000 meters up a dangerous mountain is quite another. But, that’s exactly what the world’s most experienced Sherpa, Appa Sherpa, is doing this year. He’s teamed up with the Eco Everest expedition for his 19th climb of Mount Everest.
The expedition is to highlight the devastating effects of global warming on Mount Everest and clean up some of the 50 tonnes of trash
Sweden unbeatable?
STOCKHOLM - A Swedish company (Markbygden Vind) has unveiled plans to build Europe’s largest onshore wind turbine farm. If approved by the Swedish government, this news could steal the limelight from Denmark. The Danes recently caused a stir by announcing the creation of Europe’s largest wind farm in the ocean.
In true Eurovision song contest style, here are some of the other candidates competing for
