A Fun Little Game Turned Not So Fun

The one major fail I have noticed of the Danes "Greenness" is the way the light system is set up in my apartment's stairwell. Instead of the lights being motion censored, you push a button when you walk in the stairwell and the lights are on a timer. The reason this isn't the greenest approach is because the lights end up being on for a lot longer than it takes for people to walk up the stairs. 

For the past month I have made a little game for myself. If the lights are on when I walk into the stairwell, I don't push the button to reset the timer, I chance it. I race up the stairs to see if I can get to my floor before the lights go out. (There is no way of knowing how long until the lights go out again).  I had become quite good at this game, never actually getting stuck in the dark. 

However, going downstairs just now the lights went out and I was trapped in the stairwell too scared to move. Having come home from Oktoberfest today with 3 brand new stitches, I have decided this is no longer a good game for me to play. 

The Greenest Way To Get Your Drunk On

As I was strolling through Tivoli Gardens today, I noticed a group of guys handing out samples of something. Naturally, as a poor college student in Europe, enticed by the idea of getting anything for free, I went to investigate. It turns out that it was a group of guys from the Danish Technological University who, for a school project, created an environmentally friendly beer. 

Apparently it takes a lot of energy to create beer, but they found a way to make it with less. Everything they were explaining to me was way over my head, but it sounded like a project that could easily be adopted by beer manufacturers. 

With my very novice understanding of what a good beer tastes like (I'm only 11 days into being 21    ;-) ), I think this project has a lot of potential. Go to www.bryghus.dtu.dk to learn more about "Enzym Pilsner," which is the name the students gave their beer (they clearly do not have any Marketing Classes at DTU. Despite the unappetizing name, environmentalism is probably one of the best reasons to drink that I've ever heard. 

Skål Til Det!!

I BIKE COPENHAGEN

I went to another seminar on sustainability. This one was about living a Green Lifestyle. There we're so many interesting facts I learned about Copenhagen's history in Sustainability. Going Green is certainly not something they started recently. 

People ride their bikes in Denmark because Denmark makes it easy for people to ride their bikes. For example:

• They have integrated bike transport into other transportation, such as on the metro and trains, so you can bring your bike everywhere with you.
• On almost ever outdoor staircase, there is a little bike ramp so you can walk up the stairs but wheel your bike up the ramp. 
• There are bike lanes on every street, and several streets have been turned into walking streets (which still allow bikes, but no cars). 
• The waste baskets along the street are designed at an angle so it's easier for bikers to throw away trash without having to slow down. 
• There are foot rests at several stop lights to lean on so you don't have to dismount and remount your bike at every intersection.

The list goes on and on... 

The topic then changed to America's initiatives to create a Greener Society. The first big thing we have done as a nation to promote more walking and biking was to turn parts of the streets in Times Square into pedestrian areas. The thought was that if it becomes incredibly inconvenient for cars, people will become more inclined to walk or ride their bike. 


When living in New York this past summer, I experienced the Times Square leisure area first hand. I only heard one native New Yorker mention thoughts on the new area, but they were not positive. She stated that she doesn't like it because it gives people the opportunity to spend more time in Times Square, thus making it even more crowded than it already is. 


Although that was only one person's thoughts, I still believe Americans in general need to change their attitudes on biking, walking, and other green methods of transportation. Something I have learned is that even the Danes were resistant to these green changes at first, but Green Initiatives made it so it was much faster and more convenient to travel by bike, so that is the norm. 


Americans are all about convenience, so we just need our government to make driving less and less convenient. Also, it certainly wouldn't hurt the average American to spend a little time on a bike each day...

Friend of the Land, Foe of the Sea

I know it has been quite a while, so I need to get caught up- so they're going to be coming more often for a couple days here. I went on a sailing trip through the North Sea a few weeks ago. It was absolutely incredible. The water was so clear you could literally see through the swarms of jellyfish that were constantly present. 

It was great to see that even the ports were very clean, no litter or trash in the water. However, I very quickly noticed that our Captain and skipper constantly had cigarettes in their mouths. When I asked where they put the cigarettes, they said they threw them into the water, which really rubbed me the wrong way. How can Danes be so concerned about the environment but have no problem throwing burning cancer sticks into the ocean?


On a brighter note, however, being along the coast line but outside of the city is exactly how I imagined all of Denmark to be- windmills everywhere. It was so incredible to see, because I feel that you hear about the renewable energy more than you actually ever see it. I would have taken a picture, but of course my camera broke a few weeks back. I'll try to find one from someone's camera though.

Amagerforbrænding

Last night, I went to listen to a speaker from a Renewable Energy company called Amagerforbrænding. He talked about his job, what his company does, and some of the environmental laws in Denmark. 


First of all, some stats on Denmark's waste. They recycle 70% of it, incinerate 20% (for heat, as mentioned before), landfill 5%, and the final 5% is Chemical waste that must be disposed of in a special way. Danes are not doing too differently over here that their waste isn't comparable to ours- which means we COULD be disposing of our waste in a similar manner. 


For some reason beyond my knowledge, bottles are easier to recycle than cans. There used to be a law in place that all drinks that came into Denmark had to be in glass bottles and the Danes were happy living in a can-free world. However, several years ago soda companies started requiring that Denmark accepted a mixture of both bottles and cans, or lose their soda fix all together. And thus, there are now cans sold in Denmark. However, rarely is a Dane seen drinking from a can (my opinion is that it is their passive aggressive way of revolting against all soda companies). 


In 1997, it became illegal in Denmark to landfill waste that could be incinerated. That was 2/3 of my life ago! How has this not caught on to America (or most other countries for that matter)?!?! 


Denmark uses a very manipulative (and Brilliant!!) way of teaching Danish people to recycle and care for the environment. Amagerforbrænding employees spend a lot of time going to children's classrooms to talk about how to be more environmentally friendly. By doing this, it 1. teaches children from a very young age the proper way to do things (instead of trying to teach an old cat new tricks), and 2. forces the parents to set a good example (I know I wouldn't want to be the parent that stares down at cute little pigtails and answers the question of why I'm not recycling the milk carton!). 


Education through children is definitely something we need a lot more of in America. That, and some sense of concern for the environment.

Christiania

On Saturday I did a biking tour around the city. It was very intense because the bikes travel like cars in this city. They are people's means of transportation, not just a strolling form of exercise. However, it was great to feel like a local. No wonder everyone is so fit in this city- not only do they bike everywhere, but they are biking on cobblestone, which gives your butt a nice extra workout. Needless to say, I was sore for a couple days. 

Part of the bike tour was through Christiania. Christiania is a section of Copenhagen that is very anti-law, anti-government, "let's do drugs and graffiti all the walls." The people of Christiania enjoy being the rebels of Copenhagen. However, no matter how rebellious and anti-civilization the people of Christiania are, they all still take their recycling very seriously. I found that fascinating because I thought that would be the first rule to break to defy Denmark's standards.

Reduce, Reuse, Recycle... a lot.

At my apartment building, it is a lot easier to find recycle bins than to find trashcans. We have one trash shoot for our entire building, but about 6 recycle bins (and even a recycle container solely for batteries!) This just goes to show that the Danish are really intense about their trash and recycling efforts. 

However, even the Danes can't be perfect all the time. People still do create trash, and that trash has to go somewhere. In Denmark, all trash goes to a factory that burns it up. However, instead of releasing toxins into the air, the fumes are put into an energy system to heat all the buildings in the winter. Fascinating! Not only do they not have landfills everywhere, but their electricity bills are significantly lower because they're using a system that does just that... reduces waste, reuses trash, and recycles energy. 

Also, 40% of the people in Copenhagen bike to work... in dresses, suits, and all other sorts of attire. Every single street has a bike lane, and it is often more crowded than the actual streets. Since they bike everyone, the Danes are just high on life... and endorphins. No wonder that even on a beautiful summer day like yesterday (where it was a high of 63 degrees F with extreme winds and rain showers- and that's just August) they're still the happiest people in the world!

Initial Findings

On the plane, the flight attendants did try to separate plastic and paper cups from trash during cleanup. However, I've also seen that done on American flights, so that was nothing too innovative. I did not see an recycling of wine bottles, soda cans, etc, but who knows what they do with all that stuff when they are done clearing. I guess when you have 400 passengers on a red eye flight, the last think people are worrying about is the environment (best excuse if I've ever heard one). 

Once arriving to my dorm, I found that my bathroom toilet has two different buttons. I assume it's for the difference in water power (one high and one low). However, neither are marked so naturally I've tried both over the last 36 hours... haven't noticed a difference yet but that's probably something I should look into. I have seen toilets like that in America, although VERY sporadically. After 36 hours of being in Denmark, I just realized that I haven't used a public bathroom yet, so I don't know if all toilets have two flush buttons, or just in my apartment building. I'll keep you posted on that...

The city is VERY clean. No trash on the streets anywhere. Even the smokers are pretty good about not throwing their cigarettes on the ground. 

I don't know if this is the most environmentally friendly way of doing things, but I sure do enjoy it- My bathroom floor is heated! It is wonderful when getting out of the shower (which is just a shower head spraying onto the floor of the bathroom- like on a small boat) or when coming in from the rain (and yes, there is a LOT of it).

It's 2am here. More later...

Shop Til You Drop

I have yet to arrive in Denmark (or even finish packing!) and have already found that in Denmark, you either bring your own bags to the grocery store, or you pay. From my Pre-Arrival Information, I was informed that everyone uses reusable shopping bags. If you do not, you are charged for every plastic or paper bag that you use. What a simple concept! 

Americans use over 100 Billion Plastic Bags per year, 98% of which are thrown away after the first use. Stores give away these bags like Halloween candy! In the money driven country that we live in, Supermarkets would be very wise to sell plastic bags, as it would increase their profits AND encourage customers to carry reusable shopping bags. This would show that companies were taking an environmental initiative, benefiting the world and themselves all at one time. 

Yes, that would require some thinking on the customer's part to carry the bags with them. However, people never seem to forget their coupons when going shopping. Americans need to just get in the mindset that reusable shopping bags are environmentally-friendly coupon. 

In fact, all stores should implement this. There's no reason that people can't use reusable shopping bags for all their wants and needs. I understand that people take pride in  wearing brand names and there is a distinct satisfaction about carrying a certain store's bag around the mall. However, hopefully Americans aren't THAT materialistic to kill the environment for that short walk- when there's such a simple alternative.

How It All Began...

It all started when a friend of mine stated, "It's actually cheaper to throw stuff away than to recycle." This comment bubbled inside me as my frustration with the ignorance of Americans grew. Americans tend to not realize the environmental implications that go beyond taking out the trash. Believe it or not, when the garbage men drive away, the trash they take with them doesn't just disappear. Here are the current options for American disposal methods. 

The most common solution is landfills. What people need to realize is that 1. we've run out of room in our landfills and 2. all our trash just sitting is killing the environment as well. Animals eat plastics and paper, which kills them. All the trash keeps plants from growing, which inhibits oxygen from being produced, which in turn raises the carbon dioxide levels around the world. 

Another method of trash disposal is dumping into the ocean. Now let's think about this for a minute: seafood is some of the most expensive food on the market. Simple economics will tell you that as availability decreases, price increase. In the current state of the economy, mixed with the gravitation for Americans to eat healthier, why would we self-create a situation where we have to shell out (no pun intended) more money because we're ruining the aquatic environment  and therefore decreasing availability of fish?


The final way that garbage is disposed of often is by incarceration. When burning plastics, glass, metals, and cardboard, cancer-causing toxins are released into the air for people to breathe in. You tell me what is cheaper- recycling something or hundreds of thousands of dollars in medical bills and an early death? Yeah, that's what I thought. 


Now that I've completely undermined the way the entire United States Waste Management system is set up, let me make a couple things clear. First of all, I do not blame the government or the American people for the environmental issues we currently face. When this system was set up, no one was yet knowledgeable of the harmful affects trash has on the environment. Everyone is just doing what they know. Secondly, I am not a person to complain without coming up with solutions. Complaining only hurts people's ears, solutions can save people's lives. Now that we are very knowledgeable of environmental issues, it's time we take charge. It's time to stop thinking about America's today and to start thinking about how small changes truly can make a big difference. 


This blog is going to track my journey through Copenhagen, Denmark, rated one of the Greenest city in the world. I will talk about all my findings, and how being environmentally friendly has a huge impact on the happiness of the Danish people (rated the happiest people in the world). 


And thus the journey begins...