I’ve always wanted to go to Europe, and got the chance this summer… visiting small German villages, as well as large cities like Munich and Vienna.
While everyone dwelled on the amazing history, I focused instead on the hopeful future. I took pictures of obscure things like rooftops and trash cans, searching for evidence of the “eco-conscious” Europe I had heard about and was eager to share back home… "In Honor Of Planet Earth.”
Here are my top 10 ‘photo opps.’ They represent our future, and lessons we can learn from our European neighbors, for a more globally responsible existence:
1. Trash – Recycle bins on many corners, in rainbows of colors, organized by glass, paper and plastic. Bins designated for “dog poop only,” presumably reused for fertilization. An electric powered vacuum picked up trash on sidewalks. Nowhere did I spot an unsightly trash dumpster.
2. Trash Incinerator – The building was colorful and funky, you’d never suspect such operations inside. The government in Austria uses the recycled heat from incinerated trash to supply warmth for 1/3 of the social apartment homes in Vienna. How is that for recycling?
3. Gardens – All types of colorful plantings, on the ground and in the air; you can see rooftop gardens atop grocery stores, on condominium terraces and most low roofs. In Vienna alone, there are 830 parks, and the city claims a whopping 50 percent in green space… now that is green!
4. Bicycles – Streets in ancient times were very narrow, never intended for vehicles. Bicycles are a common mode of transportation all over Europe, so there are bike racks everywhere. Interestingly enough, even with the heavy foods they eat, most Europeans appear to be pretty fit…and even the elderly were easily spinning their wheels.
5. Wind Turbines - Very tall and powerful structures blowing in the wind, scattered among the valleys, they add a sense of high technology to the rolling hills, although some have been in place for decades. According to the European Wind Energy Association, in 2008 there were 5,000 turbines built and 4.2 percent of energy in Europe was derived from wind.
6. Solar Panels – Found on many buildings, but also on phone booths and streetlights, these panels are prominent, obviously in mass at solar farms. Not the prettiest pictures, but another hopeful sign of future dependency on the sun instead of the utility giants.
7. Overpasses – They are all unique, many have pedestrian and bike paths, some have greenhouse plantings inside glass enclosures. What better location for trees and bushes, than atop a sea of exhaust on the Autobahn…can you say “carbon offsets”?
8. Retaining walls – Using natural resources, no concrete block or poured cement, they were built using stones stacked inside wire. Interstates are flanked with walls, too, designed in different colors and materials, solely intended to minimize noise pollution to adjacent homes.
9. Vienna Woods – I love their laws on tree destruction: a tree removal permit is available, but only if the tree is already dying according to an arborist – never for development purposes – with a conditional three trees planted in it’s place - AND accompanied by a fine. Over 30 percent of Vienna is under ‘nature protection.’ The air in Vienna is crisp and unpolluted because of the trees they protect…a novel concept that we need to embrace in America.
10. Me hugging a big tree – Just for posterity, I found a huge European tree, but sadly it wasn’t the 1,000-year-old Yew Tree still living from Roman times. But unlike the trees in Yellowstone, or even my neighborhood, I trust it will still be there when I return.
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