Monday 14 January 2008

Is the Tide Turning?

Maybe it is just that I am more observant when reading in my native tongue, but I think that the environment is being treated quite differently here than in Sweden. Swedish media are full of advice on how you make an ecologic dinner and travel in responsible ways.

In Catalonia, the negative effects of climate change are obvious. For example, natural reservoirs are now at so low levels that Barcelona might soon need to bring in water in huge tanker ships. In spite of that, environmental issues seem to be something for politicians to solve.

For this reason, a full-page advertisement in the latest Diari de Vilanova came as a positive surprise. It was a list of concrete measures on how we all can save water. True, the advertisement was placed by the ajuntament of Sant Pere de Ribes, but I have a feeling that the recommendations work in Vilanova as well.

2 comments:

Monica said...

And also - the saving of water is like the only environmental issue that swedes don't bother about! Playing at the sink seems to be a normal behaviour and developping for swedish children, and when I let our 2-yearold play, our teenager got very upset! You can't let him waste water like that, she said very concerned... Eh..oups, hadn'r really thought about that...

Erik Wirdheim said...

Possibly the younger generation is more aware. Here in Vilanova winds from the sea bring in quite a lot of sand on our balconies. We sweep it away every now and then, but some neighbours hose it down with water - every day.

Honestly, I think that water needs to be more expensive. Only then will people understand.