Short Stories

Saturday the 31st July 2021 If this was a comedy at the theatre and if we could just have a good old laugh about it, heave a sigh, or just find some distraction, then this story could feature a proper happy ending. Maybe it might result in a success story, if we were able to use it to solve the …

Saturday the 24th July 2021 Avoiding emissions, reducing our footprint… – life today is really a lot about mindfulness. Mindfulness? asks one of ours volunteers who comes in on a Friday morning to water the trees she looks after in the Botanical Garden. What is it I should be mindful of? The birds in the forest, for instance. Listen to …

Saturday 17th July 2021 At the moment, several climate lawsuits dealing with the pollution of the atmosphere by emissions of CO2 and other gases are either pending before the European Court of Justice, and other national European courts (the Netherlands, Germany, Austria etc.), or have already been won. The plaintiffs, mostly young people active in the global www.fridaysforfuture.org climate justice …

Step One: Learn to cook vegetarian food… So here I am sitting at the breakfast table, set with bread, butter, cheese, an egg – just the way we’re used to in a hotel – the cup of coffee, the orange juice, the granola mix. I’m thinking back to the previous evening and trying to put myself in the place of …

You’d better believe it. This one is not about counting humans, their houses or their cars – but about gulls, their nests and their chicks: the first census of urban gulls has only just begun. This citizen science initiative organised by the Portuguese Society for the Study of Birds (SPEA), is asking all residents of Portugal to register online the …

The Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research, PIK for short, is a scientific institution whose renown extends far beyond country borders. Currently working with 356 international scientists from countries from all over the world, the Institute uses an interdisciplinary approach to look for realistic solutions – even advising governments – and publishes information on current developments in scientific journals. Four …

Saturday 10th July 2021 Do we know the extension of the protective layer we call the atmosphere that envelops planet Earth? Yes? No? I’d be happy to tell you. It is ten kilometres. This pouch of air, which extends up a mere ten kilometres above the earth, provides the living space for all life forms on this planet. For you, …

Saturday 3rd July 2021 Really? And the first step is taken in which direction exactly? These days I only watch weather forecasts where meteorologists will actually shed light on the background to our chaotic weather events and explain how things are connected. You see, this is not only about WHAT happens WHEN, HOW and to WHOM, but also about WHY …

Saturday 26th June 2021 One of the things we do here at ECO123 is to come up with ideas for tomorrow’s democracy. My Via-Algarviana represents in fact another project to protect the climate. To start with, walking is climate neutral. This now is a challenge to see whether we can join forces to achieve something positive that people will still …

Saturday 19th June 2021 Today the question is not which job I go for. It’s about a single principle which is a part of every job: to end the burning of fossil-fuels, while at the same time using cleanly produced energy. With a farmer it’s about the use of the tractor, the combine harvester, of tools powered by petrol or …