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 …

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 …

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 …

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 …

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 …

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 …

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 …