cafebabel.com

Forget environment! Cars rule the road in Athens

('Nicola Potter',) — Fri, 19 Aug 2011 15:38:58 -0000

In Athens driving is quite frankly a way of life. Doctors and environmentalists sound the alarm, yet it’s the financial crisis that’s on everyone’s mind, while health and environmental issues take a backseat. Take a walk around the city, but don’t expect a breath of fresh air

Environmental art in Athens: art project for Kifissos river

('hkeet',) — Thu, 18 Aug 2011 16:57:55 -0000

Whoever asks the Athenians about the Kifissos river hears mainly legendary tales, as Yvonne Senouf and Corinne Weber, the creative minds behind the international art platform MELD’s Project Nero, can testify. Their project for a vanished river aims to deal with urbanisation and pollution creatively

'Green' weddings – a Strasbourg myth?

('Annie Rutherford',) — Fri, 08 Jul 2011 17:09:43 -0000

It's meant to be the best day of your life, but this is hardly the case for the environment - just take into account the mountains of waste produced. However, the American trend of 'green weddings', where importance is placed on organic and ecological products from clothes through to food and hairdos, has now reached Europe. Strasbourg-based Caroline Lindenlaub, an ethical wedding dress designer, is a pioneer of the movement

Seville’s photovoltaic energy, as invented by Archimedes

('English language version of cafebabel.com',) — Fri, 20 May 2011 11:00:00 -0000

In March 2011 wind energy production surpassed that of nuclear energy production, marking a first in the history of renewable energy in Spain. Yet the underlying paradox is that wind has supplied 16% of the electricity produced in 2010 in the sunniest country in Europe - but the sun is responsible for a mere 2.7%...

Green Rome’s periphery: get thee to the Casale Podere Rosa cultural centre

('English language version of cafebabel.com',) — Wed, 27 Apr 2011 17:00:00 -0000

On the urbanely disfigured periphery of the Italian capital, activists have spent the last two decades using tools such as squats, organic food markets, film projections, solar panels and the idea of Italian environmental memory to promote a more convivial and environmentally friendly way of life

Pigs can fly or the pope is green

('English language version of cafebabel.com',) — Fri, 22 Apr 2011 13:00:00 -0000

Does Benedict XVI really have green fingers? He’s been branded the ‘green pope’ for his advocacy of global environmental protection for years – but is it merited?

Being green: German lifestyles are less sustainable than they'd think

('Carol Howard',) — Thu, 17 Feb 2011 19:35:42 -0000

In Germany sustainability is in. Germans are buying organic yoghurt, separating their rubbish meticulously and not leaving the tap on when they brush their teeth. But, to be honest, they are actually being inconsistent, for they do also sometimes use a low-cost airline to jet across Europe, they cannot resist new trainers and they eat tomatoes in winter. So why are they more eco-friendly in their minds than in reality?

'Eco hippies' on carbon-neutral weekend in the Vosges, France

('Lindsey Evans',) — Fri, 30 Apr 2010 10:00:00 -0000

Four months on from the Copenhagen summit, the failure of a global climate change policy hasn't crushed or reinvigorated the motivation of environmental activists. In the Vosges region of France, Elise's carbon-neutral weekends indicate that changing our way of life may be key to saving the planet

Renewable energy: Europe's economic and mythological reign

("naomi o'leary",) — Wed, 21 Apr 2010 14:44:11 -0000

In January 2009, the interruption of natural gas supplies to 18 European countries due to a spat between Russia and the Ukraine was a chilly wakeup call to the reality of energy dependence. Energy historians and directors explain more

Kinda green: five myths about sustainable development in Bulgaria

('Hanna Sankowska',) — Wed, 16 Dec 2009 12:17:57 -0000

Ah, the Bulgarians. They're relatively apathetic. Most companies are interested in either doing only the legally required minimum for the environment or in using their ‘green’ activities as marketing tools. But counterintuitive though it may seem, the financial crisis actually promotes sustainability

Tree huggers

('Aatish Pattni',) — Wed, 12 Aug 2009 11:00:00 -0000

The times in which eco-warriors and nature lovers raged unrest in the downtown areas whilst kitted out in hand-knitted wool jumpers and Birkenstocks are now over. Now that the trend of being eco-aware has come to the forefront of society, the whole of Europe is witnessing a bloom in eco-green ‘cusswords’

Cem Özdemir: ‘The biggest disgrace is when the modern generation walks out on its responsibilities’

('Aatish Pattni',) — Tue, 07 Apr 2009 10:30:00 -0000

He joined the green party at 15, and today the 43-year-old is the first non-German native party chairman. His ethnic background has led to the national press giving him the epithet of ‘the green party’s Obama’, and a Facebook group called ‘Yes, we Cem’

The EU puts the GDR flag up in Brussels

Mon, 09 Mar 2009 12:44:09 -0000

An awkward EU faux pas - for the European green capital ceremony on 2 March in Brussels, where Hamburg won capital of 2011, an ancient GDR flag was put up to represent Germany - ups. Latest titbit of news from Brussels

Stockholm and Hamburg are Europe's 'greenest' cities

('Nabeelah Shabbir',) — Mon, 23 Feb 2009 16:30:00 -0000

On 23 February, environment commissioner Stavros Dimas announces the European green capitals of 2010 and 2011. Latest titbit of news from Brussels

Solúcar: renewable energy platform in Andalusia

('Gemma Turner',) — Wed, 16 Jul 2008 11:30:00 -0000

Taking advantage of a potential of an average of almost 3,000 hours of sun a year, the Spanish region is a pioneer in the ‘third economic revolution’

Europe begins to go green

('Chris Yeomans',) — Tue, 17 Jun 2008 12:00:00 -0000

For an economy to reduce its carbon emissions whilst still continuing to grow requires certain flexibility. Such malleability is going to be necessary when the European Climate and Energy Package comes into being.

Bike traffic: return of the scorchers

Tue, 15 Apr 2008 12:00:00 -0000

Environmentally conscious cyclists regularly battle errant cars in European cities

Traffic jams go on in Vilnius

Tue, 15 Apr 2008 12:00:00 -0000

Cities are home to more than half the world's population, whilst EU urban congestion causes 40% of CO2 emissions, according to the European parliament ...

Robin Wood: Germany's bare branch avenger

Tue, 11 Mar 2008 12:00:00 -0000

Several urban landmarks have been used to great effect by environmentalists as a political canvas to preserve forests. Today, creative and spectacular actions are still somewhat of a trademark

Eco-housing renaissance: put less carbon in the air!

Tue, 11 Mar 2008 12:00:00 -0000

The ‘built’ environment in the UK, Germany and Sweden are good examples of how our lifestyles have to adapt in a changing world

Turin, world design capital 2008: the keyword is sustainability

Fri, 29 Feb 2008 12:00:00 -0000

This year, the northern Italian city becomes a laboratory of large-scale projects such as industrial conversion, development and eco-compatibility

Strasbourg is bikes

Wed, 27 Feb 2008 12:00:00 -0000

With the inauguration of the TGV to Strasbourg, the city is staking its claim for modernity and the environment. The bicycle rules in this city that wants to overtake Fribourg as model of sustainable growth

Eco-neighbourhoods: green housing boom

('Daniel G. Ross',) — Mon, 23 Jul 2007 12:52:00 -0000

Having finally awoken to the danger faced by our planet due to global warming, politicians and citizens are working to build green and sustainable living spaces. From ecologically-friendly homes to ‘eco-neighbourhoods’, Europe is going greener by the day.

Edouard François: urban chameleon

Mon, 19 Feb 2007 00:00:00 -0000

The Parisian architect mixes architecture with ecology: a fashionable fifty-year-old with a diverse background and designer of the offbeat Tower Flower in Paris