Opinion

Saturday, the 17th of December 2022 Now, the other day I was reading in ECO123 that the town of Monchique was threatened with extinction. And the same magazine carried an online job advert. What can I say? I’ll blame coincidence for the fact that I left Leipzig, unable to resist my curiosity, and started on my way to Monchique, nestling in the mountains of the same name. I wanted that job. And here is my story.   Travelling is supposed to be fun; it should be safe, as fast as possible and cheap too of course. Now for years we …

I was asked to write my thoughts about COP26, which has just ended in Glasgow. As if I were somehow an expert, or even what I believe is now called an “influencer” of some kind. I’m not, I’m afraid. So, I decided to write an open letter. Dear God (if you’re still around nowadays) I need your help. As you know, I’m just an ordinary guy. I’m concerned about the environment and climate change, and I’d like to contribute in some way. But, I’m confused: what can I myself do? You may remember that some time ago, you sent us …

Bank robberies? Subsidies fraud? Financial transaction tax? Money is an endless topic that we could argue about here, laugh and cry, and make up over again. This is an issue we could fill hundreds of pages with. And from many different perspectives: as winners and as losers. We could write about that one night at the casino and the millions that two men got to take home, or about the Inland Revenue which didn’t hesitate in trying to charge income tax from the year 2016 twice over. Or how about the story of all that fake money being printed at …

Ten years ago, I decided to get rid of all machines, motors and engines that were powered by fossil fuels. At the time, I was driving an old petrol-guzzling Renault Kangoo and felt a pang of conscience each time I ate a piece of meat. Some of my colleagues were buying new cars at that point. Thinking about what I could do with my money, I decided to become independent, to liberate myself from the constraints of a society running on fossil fuels. I made a fundamental decision and didn’t buy a new car. Instead, I simply carried on driving …

Are we Portuguese enemies of trees and forests? The great agronomist Joaquim Vieira Natividade (1899-1968) drew attention to our dendroclasm or dendrophobia, seeking instead to cultivate a love of trees among the population. Few listened to him. We don’t really have forests in the ecological sense of the word, just a few remnants. What is commonly referred to as a “forest” is in fact a chaotic collection of shrubland, woodland and tree plantations of an industrial nature, frequently monotonous and dangerous because its trees are highly flammable. Are they monocultures? Perhaps not even that, since most of them are not …

Here is some more good news! Over the next ten years, ECO123’s employees, friends, sponsors, subscribers and customers will plant more than 1,000 different young trees in the new botanical garden of Caldas de Monchique. To plant a tree, it’s not enough just to make a hole and put a plant in it. A biotope is a complex system that lives by giving and receiving, waiting and growing, while also resting in order to gain new strength and the ability to interact. This story will cover everything that is needed to make a tree feel good on the planet Earth. …

Thunberg stopped going to school and sat down in front of the Swedish Parliament. She was striking against the lack of action against the climate crisis. Her initiative very quickly went global and reached thousands of other young students across the world. Today, more than 4,175 strikes are taking place according to the #FridayForFuture website. Their message is straightforward: they want politicians to fight climate change to guarantee a safe future for the younger generations. Greta was able to involve not only her peers, but all generations, in the call for tackling the climate crisis, thanks to this existential narrative. …