Renewables At Home » Events

350.org action in Oslo, Norway

thomas — Sat, 24 Oct 2009 20:24:05 +0000

Today has seen – and is still seeing – actions across the whole world drawing attention to the number 350.

If that number means diddly squat to you, here’s the short version of why it’s significant: 350 parts per million is the safe upper limit for CO2 in our atmosphere, as identified by scientists. Above that for a significant period of time, and global warming will spin out of control.

At the moment, we’re at 387 parts per million. Which basically means the current planned treaty for the December climate change conference in Copenhagen isn’t ambitious enough.

The international 350.org campaign seeks to draw attention to that fact, hopefully making the politicians get their act together and put in a decent effort.

With more than 5200 actions in 181 countries being held today, they’re certainly drawing more than a little attention.

I attended one of the local actions here in Oslo, Norway (please note: the feature image of this post is from an action in Sydney, Australia). It was kicked off with activists descending on the famous Vigeland statues in Frognerparken, dressing them up with clothes and speech bubbles bearing climate change and 350.org related messages.

The T-shirt on this one reads “It’s getting hot in here”.
The sign on this one reads “I will need rain boots if we continue like this”.
Later, a flashmob dance was held at the central railway station, with 350.org fliers being handed out to passers-by:

Next up were actions, info stands and speeches, topped off with a torchlight procession. Unfortunately, something is wrong with my camera, so I have no pictures from that. Meh.

Did you attend a 350.org action? Feel free to let loose in the comments about it!

Your future is about to be decided

thomas — Sat, 19 Sep 2009 16:48:11 +0000

Shh. Listen. Can you hear it? That ticking sound?

TckTckTck!

Wanna know what it is?

Alright, I’ll tell you, but you have to promise you won’t keep it a secret.

The most important meeting ever. Really.

This might sound a bit melodramatic, but it’s an annoying, in-escapable fact that your future – and the future of everyone you know and love – will be decided in Copenhagen, December 2009.

That’s when the world’s leaders will convene to negotiate a global climate treaty.

When they do, there’s really just one acceptable outcome: A strong, ambitious, fair and binding agreement on how all countries in the world - rich, poor and in between – will do their part in slowing and stopping climate change.

Anything else is totally unacceptable.

This treaty will affect the future of everyone and everything alive today, as well as anyone and anything living in the future. A lackluster, watered down and – please excuse the expression – half-assed attempt just isn’t good enough.

It really is that important.

An opportunity to make the leaders listen

No doubt, there will be bickering, denial of responsibility and attempts to secure economical advantages.

Politicians and leaders will be pressured from corporate lobbyists left and right. They’ll worry about making unpopular decisions and missing their reelection.

Which is why we have to let them know it’s time to stop dawdling and negotiate a treaty to be proud of – a treaty that will be praised in history books.

On September 21 – that’s Monday, just over the weekend – more than 2300 events in countries all over the world will form a global climate wake up call to politicians and leaders.

Peaceful rallies, flash mobs, walking meditations, art performances and an abundance of other events will draw the attention of the media and politicians alike. Most events are quick, 5-minute affairs and can be done during your lunch break.

I’ll be participating in one of the events, and I’ll be cheering and toasting to your honor if you do as well.

Find an event close to you and get more details on TckTckTck’s Global Wake Up Call page. There’s a complete list a little down from the top of the page.

Green Music Special: No littering, please

thomas — Tue, 04 Aug 2009 20:29:24 +0000

Stuff thousands of people into a small area.

Let them eat and drink and make out and enjoy great concerts.

What do you get? A kick ass festival.

And probably a big mess of mud, cigarette butts, food leftovers, pizza boxes, plastic cups, bottles and wrecked camping chairs…

…unless you have a plan for dealing with that mess, of course!

A master plan

Right from its very inception in 1999, the organizers of music festival Øyafestivalen has made efforts to handle the festival waste in a responsible manner.

While results were mixed for the first couple of years, their third year saw them sink their teeth into an ambitious plan for recycling and waste management.

Working with several industry partners and NGOs, they meticulously worked out a plan to minimize the amount of waste generated and recycle what they did generate.

Every year since, this plan has been honed and improved upon, reaching a recycling percentage of 67,21 for the 2008 edition of the festival.

The total amount of trash generated by the festival in 2008 was 39 tons – a meagre 500 grams (1.1 pounds) per visitor.

Few festivals are able to match this, but the goal for each year is always to improve on the previous year’s results. Here are the highlights of what Øyafestivalen is doing in 2009 to further improve their waste management program:

No flyers, bottles or camping gear allowed
What isn’t there, can’t litter. Several seating areas and easily recyclable GreenSeats are available for sore festival backs.
A comprehensive deposit system
Highly popular among children and broke students; anyone returning used cups, pizza boxes, popcorn boxes and cigarette butts get paid for their efforts.
A lot of fractions
Waste is sorted into 4 fractions in the visitor’s area, and then further sorted into 14 sub-fractions in the festival’s waste management station. Fine-grained fractions ensure the festival can sell their waste as raw materials.
A fantastic partner
Partner organization Natur og Ungdom (“Nature and Youth”) and its squads of volunteers continually patrol the festival site to keep it clean. They also do the sub-fraction sorting previously mentioned.
Recycling station in visitor’s area
A manned recycling station is placed slap bang in the middle of the visitor’s area.

Information about environmental issues and the festival’s relevant policies are prominent, a good example of greening by talking about yourself.

Want to read more about music and green issues? Take a look at the other posts in the Renewables At Home Green Music Special.

Green Music Special: Measuring up to standards

thomas — Sun, 02 Aug 2009 17:37:24 +0000

Doing our best to reduce our carbon footprint is good. Anything we do to pull our emissions in the right direction is useful – every little bit really does help.

But how much does it help? Where can we get the most bang for our buck?

In an individual or household situation, you’ll mostly be fine with a few thoughtful guesstimates.

If you’re managing a larger group or a sizable event, though, pointing your efforts and resources in the best direction is a bit more involved.

Let’s have a look-see

WARNING: Dry term coming up! I’ll do my best to spruce it up a bit, though, so please stay with me.

I’m not going to put on a funny hat and do the twist while I write it, though. There are limits, you know.

Ok, brace yourself, here it is:
Environmental impact assessment.

An environmental impact assessment is what you do when you take a long, hard look at everything you’re doing that affects the environment, and then do your best to measure it and write it down.

This includes greenhouse gas emissions, waste, pollution, resource use and pretty much anything you can think of that have tangible consequences for the world outside your little sphere.

Guess who’s been assessed?

While the organizers of Norwegian music festival Øyafestivalen have kept a solid focus on environmental issues more or less since the festival was conceived in 1999, a formal environmental impact assessment wasn’t done until the 2008 edition of the event.

Let’s take a closer look at the greenhouse gas emissions part of the assessment.

The total carbon emissions from Øyafestivalen 2008 was 170 tons of CO2-equivalents. The goal for 2009 is to reduce this to 150 tons.

This may not sound very ambitious, but it’s actually not too shabby, since foreign artists largely have to be transported to the festival by plane.

The festival’s focus on local musical talent helps alleviate this, but artist transport from abroad is unavoidably still by far the single biggest contributor to the festival’s emissions.

Curbing those emissions

Øyafestivalen is doing a number of things to reach their 2009 emissions reduction goals. Here are the highlights:

Reduction of local transport emissions
Numerous efforts to reduce the emissions and pollution from the festival’s local transport of artists and equipment – click the link above to read more about it.
Renewable energy sources
Previous years, all the electricity for the festival site has been supplied by diesel generators.

This year, all electricity for three of the four stages and the festival’s shopping area will come from permanent landlines, bringing the diesel generated part down to about 30 percent.

Norway generates about 98.5 percent of its electricity from hydroelectricity, so this is a big move away from fossil fuels. For the 2010 festival, the goal is to power the entire festival from landline electricity.
More local equipment rental
Shorter transport equals less emissions.
LED lighting on stage
LED lighting uses considerably less electricity than conventional lighting. One stage will be lit entirely by LED lighting this year as a test, with more coming next year if the test goes well.

Want to read more about music, festivals and green issues? Take a look at the other posts in the Renewables At Home Green Music Special.

Green Music Special: Reducing festival transport emissions

thomas — Sat, 01 Aug 2009 13:13:41 +0000

The logistics behind any large event are complex. Øyafestivalen is no exception in this respect.

Masses of visitors, artists, festival workers and tons of equipment are moved to, from and inside festival site Medieval Park, turning its relative tranquility into a weekful of intense hustle and bustle.

This almost over-the-top activity could quickly result in over-the-top emissions and pollution. Luckily, the festival organizers are working hard to limit the nasty side-effects of transport. Here’s a rundown of this year’s efforts:

Public transport
Visitors are encouraged to get to the festival site by public transport. A special, discounted ticket – valid for the duration of the festival – is sold.
No unnecessary transport
The most effective way to reduce transport emissions is to transport nothing at all (duh).
Bikes and trolleys
Anything small and light that needs to moved within the festival area, or in the immediate vicinity of it, is transported by human-powered vehicles.
Greener cars
Electric cars are used for quick runs to destinations close to the festival. A Toyota Prius converted to run on hydrogen is also part of the festival’s car fleet.

As the usable range of “green” cars increase, more of them will be put to use – with the eventual goal of phasing fossil fueled cars out entirely.
Airport express train
Smaller groups of people will mostly be transported to and from the airport by express train, rather than by car.
Eco-driving/hypermiling course
Key personnel went through a course in economical and fuel efficient driving and will be teaching all drivers a condensed version of this course.
Fuel efficiency contest
Fuel consumption and mileage is tracked for all gas and diesel cars, and drivers are scored against each other. The top drivers – fuel efficiency-wise – win a prize.
Local artists
Okay, so maybe this isn’t really done to reduce emissions, but the effect is still relevant: By having a musical profile with a large portion of local musical talent, transport needs and emissions are reduced.
Carbon emissions tracking
Transport carbon emissions will form part of the entire festival’s year-to-year emissions tracking. An ongoing goal will be to reduce emissions significantly every year.

Want to read more about music, festivals and green issues? Take a look at the other posts in the Renewables At Home Green Music Special.

The Environmental Handbook

thomas — Wed, 20 May 2009 17:20:56 +0000

Are you involved in organizing a large event and would like to reduce the impact your event has on the environment?

Do you visit events that are less than stellar in their environmental practices?

Then you might want to take a look at the Environmental Handbook.

Originally conceived in 2004 by the Öya Festival (rumored to be one of Europe’s top music festivals), the Environmental Handbook was released in its second edition earlier this year.

It features a comprehensive walkthrough of “tips and advice on everything from waste handling and the use of energy to making lists of suppliers of environmentally sound products and services” (quoted from the handbook) – all seen from the perspective of an event organizer.

While the handbook’s printed edition can only be bought in Norwegian, a companion website for the handbook in English was also released this week. It features all the content of the printed edition laid out in a clear and concise manner, and will be kept updated.

If you’re not organizing an event yourself, don’t be shy – introduce the organizers of your favorite event to the Environmental Handbook. With any luck, they’ll follow some of the handbook’s advise and you’ll be indirectly responsible for the improvements they make

UPDATE: For a closer look at some of the environmental aspects of the Öya festival 2009, have a look at my Green Music Special.

Celebrate Earth Day- every day!

thomas — Wed, 22 Apr 2009 12:45:16 +0000

Today is Earth Day.

Here’s an excerpt from the relevant Wikipedia entry:

Earth Day, celebrated April 22, is a day designed to inspire awareness and appreciation for the Earth’s environment.

Although the above may sound a tad lofty, the Earth Day movement is in essence a grassroots movement. The first Earth Day celebration was held in spring 1970, with about 20 million Americans participating. Since then, it has grown to be celebrated on all continents in hundreds of countries, with Earth Day 2007 being one of the largest Earth Days so far: estimates indicate that about a billion people participated in various activities across the world.

I fully support the sentiments and goals of Earth Day, and encourage everyone to spread the word and find a nearby Earth Day event to participate in. However: once you’ve spent the day tasting, visiting exhibits and planting trees, please remember that there’s more to be done.

Don’t use your Earth Day participation merely as an opportunity to relieve your conscience and feel good about yourself. Use it the way it’s intended: as an inspiration to steer your daily habits in a more environmentally friendly direction.

It doesn’t have to be a sacrifice. Many of the changes you can make in your habits will save you money and/or effort in the long run. In fact, some of the things you can do will start saving you money rightaway, with virtually no effort.

Here’s an example: if you have a guest room or another room you rarely use, you’ll spend less money on heating simply by lowering the temperature in that room and keeping the door closed. The same goes for airconditioning: turn it off for that room and close the door. Done in one minute. Common sense, perhaps, but not necessarily something you consider if you’re not in the habit.

If you’ve been putting off “going green” because you think environmentally friendly products are too expensive, you could seize the opportunity to order some from amazon.com now. They’re running an Earth Day campaign with good discounts on quite a few green products; household products, organic groceries and low-energy lightbulbs being among them.

Speaking of low-energy lightbulbs – in a near future post, I’ll write about the different types of lightbulbs and their pros and cons, including the new LED-based bulbs.