Earth Hour 2012 and beyond

I spent an interesting afternoon thinking of and discussing global warming in Heureka, the Finnish Science Centre, where the WWF Finland had invited its supporters for a seminar on the issue. A great deal of information and inspiring action - not only talk. After the seminar, I visited the centre's exhibition Klima-X on global warming: the floor had been filled with 40 000 litres of water, an ice cube was melting in the middle and visitors wore yellow boots (see below). In the evening, it was time to switch off the lights for an hour to spread the message of climate change in the biggest voluntary environmental event in the world, the Earth Hour.

Let's start with the embarrassing facts. A Finn has a carbon footprint of around 10 tons, this is twice as much as for a Swedish person and 10 times as much as for an Indian (however, the Americans can make even us look ecological, they have a carbon footprint again twice as big as we do!). In order to reach a sustainable level of emissions, we should cut it at least by a half - to start with. In order to do so, we have to focus on three main issues:

1) Housing (the biggest source of CO2 emissions in Finland, around 30% of our footprint),

2) Transports (20%) and

3) Food (18%).

The WWF has analysed which actions would have the greatest impact on our emissions, here's the list and some thoughts about it:

1) Favour real local food. This means growing and gathering some of your food yourself. Replacing a fourth of your food consumption by real local food would decrease your carbon footprint by 150 kg/year. Having a vegetable garden would of course be fantastic, but I think, for pragmatism's sake, I'll content myself with eating local food that I can buy from the market or grocery stores. I don't know how much picking mushrooms on my own actually differs from buying local mushrooms picked by someone else (wondering around in a forest is of course great fun). My own idea is that eating local food is not only ecological but also contributes to the livelihood of the countryside communities and small family farms.

However (!), as we heard in the seminar, the transportation of food represents only a small share of the CO2 emissions in the food production chain. Actually, one of the speakers, Tuuli Kaskinen, said that it's better to eat even tropical fruits if they just are seasonal instead of demanding local arctic strawberries in the winter time. In short, the key is to buy seasonal products no matter where they are produced. Obviously still, a beetroot or potato is more ecological than an avocado.

2) Reduce the amount of wasted food. An average Finn throws away 60 kg of food every year. By reducing this amount, you can save 190 kg emissions in a year. In a very illuminating documentary film, it was revealed that almost half of the food produced in the world doesn't end up feeding us. This phenomenon also increases the food prices hurting the poorest people in the world the most. Living alone, it is easy to monitor my own food consumption and I hardly ever throw anything away, if I do, it is with awful shame and regret. I wish other people would have this same green consciousness when they do their daily groceries. I guess one of the underlying problems is (for this and other climate change issues as well) the long distance to super markets: as people try to manage with only one weekly trip to the super market they end up buying much more than they actually need. In contrast, I go to the local small grocery store every second day to get my single-persons's portion of fresh veggies and bread.

3) Reduce by half your meat consumption. This reduces your carbon foot print by 200 kg/year. I completely agree with the author Risto Isomäki who at the end of the seminar said that halving is an absolute minimum as he believes that the gas emissions of meat production are most probably even bigger than we think not to mention the huge consumption of water connected to it, the pollution of the seas due to factory farming and the farms being a potential birth place of many disastrous diseases as seen with the swine flu. Tuuli Kaskinen gave some information on the emissions of different products:

Tofu or soya 2,0 kg CO2 emissions / kg

Poultry 3,6 kg

Pork 5,6 kg

Cheese 13 kg

Beef 19 kg (also the biggest consumer of water and if the beef comes from Brazil, the CO2 rises to 41 kg per one kilo of beef)

4. Map the energy consumption in your house. This can save up to 1640 kg/year. This way you can easily improve the energy efficiency in your house. Recommended especially for those lovely old villas with leaking attics and catastrophic insulation. Economic incentives are of course pretty inviting.

5. Change to green energy. An impact of 1100 kg/year in your carbon footprint. I have luckily been using ecological sources of energy in my flat ever since I was able to choose the firm myself, it's actually not even more expensive really. The more there are people using wind power or switching to solar panels, the cheaper these alternative sources of energy will be. Risto Isomäki told how solar panels cost half of what they used to after the decision of Spain and Germany to purchase them in large quantities. This means that the decision of one person can impact on some others and eventually make an exclusive form of energy available to large masses.

6. Heating your house with geothermal heat. An important impact of 1360 kg/year. Sweden is already subsidizing the building of geothermal heat pumps, and we should definitely follow them. No wonder, our dear neighbour is so much ahead of us in terms of carbon footprint. In the seminar film director John Webster answered a question on how much we should reduce our carbon footprint: "Just anything lower than in Sweden would be good." I wish the Finns would take the carbon footprint battle against the Swedes as seriously as our ice hockey matches.

7. Reduce your commuting emission. One day of teleworking a week would reduce carbon footprint by 146 kg/year, while changing to public transports is of course a must. I'm in a good position of being able to walk to work. But I know many who wouldn't take the 30 minutes walk every morning. This issue shows again how our whole urban planning should be thought over from an ecological point of view. Remote suburbs cannot be sustainable unless you accompany them with a metro line.

8. Replace car with a bike. It's the season! Biking 100 km a week during the green season reduces CO2 emission by 470 kg/year. We need better biking lanes as well as more tolls and less parking slots for cars in the centre. Equals better health for you and the planet.

9. More travelling by train instead of air plane. Try to replace one trip to the Southern Europe by plane and visit e.g. St. Petersburg by train instead, you'll reduce your CO2 emissions by 1140 kg / year. I've already planned a trip to Russia this spring by train. And obviously elsewhere in Europe, it's only easier.

The problem of climate change is unavoidable but we can impact on the extent of the problem with our own action. One way to demonstrate our interest, worry and willingness to act is the annual Earth Hour, organised today, the 31st March, for the sixth time. Last year it gathered 1.8 billion people to switch off the lights for one hour and this year the expected number of participants is 2 billion. The lights on Eiffel tower, Olympic Stadium in Helsinki, Sydney Opera Hall etc. are switched off from 20h30 to 21h30 local time. I had candlelit tea and crêpes. Symbolic things like this give hope, I even got a bit emotional watching this video.

Solitary people

This morning I went running despite the grey and foggy weather. I could barely see hundred metres in front of me and the sea didn't have any horizon. At one point, I could spot a few men emerging from the sea. Six men, each one around 20 metres from the next one, sitting on their little foldable chairs ice-fishing by the small hole in the ice. An absurd sight, or rather, what a curious hobby (an example on this equally curious Youtube video, the basic ice-fishing vocabulary includes, at least according to this video, "jumalauta" = fucking hell, "saatana"= damn, "vittu"=fuck, "kahden kilon siika"=2kg whitefish).

Visit Finland website writes: "At some point in their life, almost every Finn has sat by an ice hole, ice-fishing for perch, the national fish of Finland. Many have got such a bite on the end of their lines that this has kindled a lifelong spark for fishing." Honestly, I can't imagine what kind of a bite would get me to try out ice-fishing.

At the same time, ice-fishing reflects so well the Finnish solitary mentality (Visit Finland calls it "Finnish meditation"). While the elderly Italian signori gather around the fountain in the central piazza of the town to sip some aperitif together, the Finns take their lunch packs and enjoy their solitude in the cold and wind, alone on the ice. I wonder if my generation of men continues to do so - if the behaviour and mentality haven't changed, maybe there won't be any cold winters to practice ice-fishing in 30 years time in any case.

P.S. Five years ago in South America me and my friends complained about the ubiquitous reggaeton music. Yesterday, I went to a reggeaton dance class to shake the booty. My moves surely need some polishing, but the two guys on the class were just hopeless and not making any difference between hips or shoulders. However, I appreciated them trying out. Two men less going ice fishing...

Sounds and sensations

During my cosmopolitan years, I forgot many of the sounds, odours, and other sensations familiar to Finland. What a great feeling to rediscover them again and the reminiscences they bring to my mind.

In the autumn, it was the wonderful scent of fallen leaves. Wading through the piles of colourful leaves and kicking them in the air, feeling like a child again. All the memories of the starting of the school year came to my mind, something new and exciting. I couldn't stop breathing in the autumnal parfum with long inhales.

In the beginning of the winter, it was the sight from the window of everything being covered in white one morning. The snow made the sounds softer and the city life seemed to decelerate. I had forgotten the ability to balance my walk on the icy street but the skill of guiding a sled downhill hadn't disappeared anywhere.

Now, as the winter is discreetly turning into spring (at least, in my hopes), I'm rediscovering the sound of drops as melting snow is running down the rain pipes. Tip, tip, tip! Every day is longer than the previous one. The forgotten brightness of the sun getting more strength from the icy sea and the snow-coated fields dazzles the eyes.

The snow piles in the shadowy sides of the streets look like everlasting, they will be there for another month probably. They are dirty; the exhaust fumes, city's pollution and sand have been accumulating there for the past two months. The melting snow is creating brown channels in the streets.

Soon, the snow will give way to the spring, to the smell of decomposing organic life. The lovely feeling of first unzipping the winter coat, getting rid off the thick gloves, and the gradual undressing until the Midsummer, a process unfamiliar to the Southern countries where the change is faster and less striking.

No wonder, the Finns are among the happiest people in Europe (after the Danish). Only after the dark, long and cold winter can one appreciate life as we do. The Finnish winter offers us an opportunity for a collective survival. The affordable winter holidays in Thailand must be hampering the social cohesion in Finland...

P.S. The two bears in the Helsinki zoo woke up after their 4 months of winter sleep. Lucky bastards - but oh so cute!

Severe weather warning from Florence

I need to add here this warning I received in my Florentine email account. It fits so well with my previous entries about my problems with the slippery streets in Helsinki. Why didn't anybody warn me about these things in Finland???

SEVERE WEATHER WARNING

Weather forecasts for the next 24 hours report heavy snow falling all over the region of Tuscany, including Florence, and very low temperatures (as low as -10° C), so we recommend:

your utmost attention when walking on slippery and/or icy ground;

driving your car only if equipped with winter tyres or snow chains (as requested by the local authorities);

using the telephone number set up by the Comune di Firenze (Public Safety Service) in case of emergency

The Institute will salt all access roads (both for vehicles and pedestrians) and pavements.

In general, we recommend the utmost caution when driving or walking.

Snow or La donna è mobile

Today, perfect weather for a Sunday walk and yesterday I even went running (exclamation point). Hah, just a day before I had written here about the impossibility of running in the snowy streets. But guess what, it was pretty great and I finally signed up for the half marathon as well. So, at least temporarily, I've won my snow and winter angst (maybe because in three days I'll be in the sun!). This is positive as my current running capacity seems to be 9 km...

Above: My neighbourhood, Eira.

Above: Uunisaari, just off the seaside boulevard, and connected by a little bridge during the winter.

The sea was amazingly beautiful in the pale winter light, so I decided to put here some photos of the snow and ice. (Again acting for the Finnish tourism industry...)

Snow angst gone for the moment but I'm note here yet:

On winter - by B. Jones

Remember when, about four weeks ago, I declared my aim to practice for a half marathon? Well, the snow remains on the ground and it's too cold and dark to run voluntarily if not for a bus. I have tried to minimise my time on the snowy ground in general. And still, I've fallen twice (Italian shoes + lack of practice).

The first time in front of a male friend. He didn't gallop to help me. This lack of gentlemanly behaviour should have signalled me already something more that I grasped at the moment when I tried to get up with my knee hurt. Indeed, this leads me to the conclusion I've reached during the last five months (and my adult life in Finland at large): the Finnish guys just lack all the balanced passion and attention, playful devotion and courage that can inspire me in some guys I've met abroad. Oh yes, on a weekend trip in Paris and a work trip in Brussels I noticed so clearly what I was missing in Finland besides sun. God dammit, how can the French guys be so bloody cute?

The second time in front of an 8 o'clock tram stop busy with people. Left me with a mark on my thigh but less visions about the people in Finland.

Of course, it's pretty outside. But in the back of my mind I hope that the snow will melt during my trip to the Philippines. And yes, this blog is turning into a Bridget Jones Diary...

Tuloerojen kasvusta ja superrikkaista

(Except for the video, this time I'm writing in Finnish about income inequality and the super rich!)

Helsingin Sanomien suomalaista luokkayhteiskuntaa käsittelevän sarjan artikkeli muutama viikko sitten käsitteli tuloerojen kasvua ja etenkin kaikkein rikkaimpien tulojen suoranaista paisumista. Sen tilastot eivät hämmästyttäneet aiheeseen vihkiytyneitä asiantuntijoita, mutta niille, jotka ovat tuudittautuneet uskomaan Suomen olevan tasa-arvon edelläkävijä muiden pohjoismaisten hyvinvointivaltioiden kanssa, sen sisältö saattoi olla yllättävä. Kuitenkin jo vuoden 2008 OECD:n julkaisu “Growing Unequal?” osoitti Suomen olevan yksi niistä maista, joissa tuloerot kasvoivat 1990-luvun jälkeen kaikkein voimakkaimmin. Vaikka Ruotsissa ja Norjassa trendi oli samansuuntainen, huomasin omassa väitöskirjassani, että Suomi on jäämässä jälkeen naapurimaistamme taistelussa eriarvoisuutta vastaan.

Euroopan komission tuore julkaisu ”Employment and Social Developments in Europe 2011” nostaa eriarvoisuuden ja tuloerojen kasvun yhdeksi suurimmista haasteista myös talouskriisin syövereissä painiskellessamme – tai ehkä etenkin tässä taloustilanteessa. Osa maailman rikkaimmista ihmisistä on jo itsekin huomannut, että heidän verotuksensa on kaukana oikeudenmukaisesta ja taloudellisesti tehokkaasta. Niin Ranskassa, Saksassa kuin jopa Yhdysvalloissa miljardöörit ovat vaatineet hallituksia verottamaan heitä tiukemmin. Esimerkiksi Ranskan rikkaimmat henkilöt, kuten L’Oréalin perijätär ja Air Francen toimitusjohtaja ovat Ranskassa allekirjoittaneet vetoomuksen asian puolesta. Siinä haluttiin kannattaa sitä ranskalaista järjestelmää ja eurooppalaista ympäristöä, jotka ovat hyödyttäneet heitä monipuolisesti rikkauksien kartuttamisessa.

Yksi maailman rikkaimmista henkilöistä Warren Buffet kirjoitti The New York Timesin mielipidesivulla otsikolla ”Stop Coddling the Super Rich”, ettei häntä ja hänen mega-rikkaita ystäviään pidä suojella, kun tehdään yhteisiä uhrauksia talouden kuntoon panemiseksi. Ei yhtään ihme, että Espanjassa kansa on suuttunut rikkaiden – ja aiemmin ehkä myös rakkaiden – jalkapalloilijoiden veroetuuksista, kun keskiluokkaa ja köyhiä kuritetaan tiukalla valtiontaloudella. Superrikkaiden korkeampaa verotusta on kannattanut myös esimerkiksi näyttelijä Matt Damon (juuri se, jonka hölkkätyyliä olen saanut itse New Yorkin Central Parkissa läheltä ihailla). Samaa osviittaa antoi HS-artikkelin pieni otos suomalaismiljonääreistä, jotka eivät vastustaneet korkeampia veroja. Tässä mielessä valtiovarainministeriön epäily roiman verotuksen poliittisesta mahdottomuudesta ei pidä täysin paikkaansa. Päinvastoin, tehokkaat toimenpiteet kasvavien tuloerojen kitkemiseksi ovat tässä taloudellisessa tilanteessa myös symbolinen viesti äänestäjille ja finanssikaduilla mieltään osoittaville, joilta luottamus poliittista eliittiä kohtaan on kadonnut.

Wilkinsonin ja Pickettin loistavassa teoksessa ”The Spirit Level” (2009) tuloerojen yhteys useisiin sosiaalisiin ongelmiin niin yksilö- kuin yhteiskuntatasolla sai The Guardianin otsikoimaan kirja-arvionsa nimellä ”Inequality, the Mother of All Evils”. Kun perussuomalaiset samaan aikaan kuuluttavat EU:n tai monikulttuurisuuden olevan piru kaikkien ongelmiemme taustalla, köyhyyden ja tuloerojen tutkijat toivoisivat tämän poliittisen agendan kaappauksen jo päätyvän, että voisimme vihdoin keskittyä niihin oikeisiin ongelmiin, jotka vaikuttavat sosiaaliseen koheesioon, kilpailukykyyn ja ennen kaikkea jokaisen suomalaisen hyvinvointiin.

Vaikka suomalaiset miljonäärit mielellään piileskelevätkin arkisten harrastustensa takana eikä tuloerojen kasvua ole aina helppo huomata, niin varallisuuden keskittyminen johtaa huolestuttaviin eroihin poliittisessa osallistumisessa, terveydessä ja koulumenestyksessä. Samalla kun perinteisen suomalaisen tasa-arvon rooli arvoissamme murenee, katoaa luottamus kanssaihmisiin ja demokratiaan antaen sijaa ääriliikkeille ja suvaitsemattomuudelle, mikä on Suomessa lähiaikoina näkynyt selvästi. Toivottavasti kansanedustajilla olisi alkaneena vuonna rohkeutta puuttua näihin todellisiin ongelmiin ja medialla älykkyyttä ja osaamista keskittyä yhteiskuntaamme muokkaaviin tekijöihin eikä vain poliitikkojen möläytyksiin.

Let it snow!

First of all, happy New Year 2012! Let us face it with tolerance and adventurous mind and without prejudices.
Secondly, let's start complaining...

So far it has been a very grey winter and it hasn't snowed at all in Helsinki. People were unhappy. I, on the other hand, considered the +4 °C temperature perfect, especially because I could still use my autumn coat (of the style that, I only now discovered, was basically the symbol of bourgeoisie in France).

It started snowing today. Big white flakes outside of my office window, but I didn't feel at all excited. Immediately, there were responses on Facebook: "Snow :)" or "S-N-O-W" and maybe three exclamation points.

I expected that my Italian leather shoes would be destroyed and I would need to walk in a weird position in order to avoid slipping or to veer around the melted snow. When outside, I didn't dare to use the umbrella. First, because it didn't seem to snow that much or that wet. And second, because I didn't know the appropriate umbrella convention any more: was it OK to use umbrella in the snow or would I look like someone who doesn't enjoy the first snow and spoils other people's excitement? Normally, I don't care that much about what strangers think of me but somehow umbrella use is one of my weak points. The social custom in the streets seemed divided but I made my own decision, the next time I'll be using an umbrella!

I went to buy new running shoes. I doubt now that I will use them soon if the weather continues like this. However, I was inspired by my sister's decision to run a half marathon in May. Even though the lower early bird fee didn't apply any longer (of course I had missed it by a day), I was also considering of finally doing it. I should mention that this has been my plan ever since the summer 2006 when I started practising in Paris under the dictation of my professor. I bought my Asics then...

God dammit, someone wrote on Facebook about going to run in the snow with the Arctic jogging shoes. I had seen those in the sport shop just before. They have iron spikes! It can't be normal to want to run that much that you start wearing iron spikes in your shoes. Haven't these people heard of port wine, candle light and a good book??

Anyway, I got my new pair of Asics (not the Arctic ones, obviously) and went to Musiikkitalo, the new Music house of Helsinki, to get the free tickets they distribute in the beginning of the month to a chamber music concert (it's not that I don't want to pay, but this is the only occasion they play chamber music). Through the wet snow and wind. And god dammit, there were no more tickets even if this was the first day of the distribution and I had thought this would be a nice thing to do with a guy I like. They had run out of tickets already at noon. Little old ladies being pretty active, huh? Yes, the girl replied.

I went to Ruohonjuuri, the eco-fair trade shop, to get some comfort food. Mascara running down on my cheeks, I was offered a free bite of hemp tofu. I was at the same time trying to blow my nose (another annoying side-effect of this weather, though: "Boogers are a sign that your nose is working the way it should". Great!) and listening how to use tofu in a dessert (I completely missed the recipe as I was trying to look civilized with my combined mascara, sweat and booger problem, but it should be on www.soya.fi). I bought some hemp tofu and run for the bus in this stupid "oh, falling down, oups, missing the bus" -way. I got it and wondered if I looked cute like I would be looking in a Hollywood film under the same circumstances (at home I discovered that I had seen better days and mascara definitely looked better on my eye lashes).

I got home and was a bit disappointed that there were no more Facebook status updates on snow, it would have been useful for this blog entry. The snow does seem like a minor thing now that I'm inside and drinking the leftovers of the New Year's Eve prosecco (you see the excellent flow in the writing; it's the prosecchino!).

Anyway, a third point should be made. Even though I hate to disappoint my family who laugh of the idea that I regard myself as a quite positive person, I understood a couple of days ago that year 2011 had been pretty excellent and there's no way I can complain about my life in Helsinki. Most things in my life had fallen in right spots after all; the magic was to not yield to the temptation of existentialist analysis and the allure of cynicism (hey, maybe we all have something to learn from the presidential candidate Paavo Väyrynen!). So, I think I'll just lay on the sofa now, have some port wine, put on some candles and read a good book (alternatively watch an episode of the West Wing with my pet (soft toy) rat laying on my chest).