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How will it end? It’s the old motto: “trust is good, but control is better”. We are sitting in a small circus tent in Monchique, eagerly awaiting the performers. It’s dark and cosy. There are more than 500 people filling the tent tonight. There is still a quarter of an hour to go. In my mind, I’m thinking of a film about the acrobat Philippe Petit. He’s the man who, one day in August 1974, when I was a young man, I saw dancing whilst balancing on a high wire reaching more than 60 metres between the Twin Towers of …

Municipalities and local representatives can be pioneers and drivers of deep decarbonisation and profound social transformation. This is the firm belief of BEACON, or “Bridging European and Local Climate Action”. The European project seeks to promote climate action, co-operation and learning amongst municipal representatives and the dissemination of good practices – in order to implement the Paris Agreement and the targets for 2030. Financed by Germany (the European country with the highest emissions and the sixth highest worldwide), in Portugal the project involves five municipalities and is coordinated by the Centre for Ecology, Evolution and Environmental Changes – cE3c (Faculty …

When our behaviour and knowledge don’t match one another, this is known as Cognitive Dissonance. The term refers to a situation in which we have conflicting feelings, thoughts and behaviours, creating an uncomfortable inner tension. It only disappears when one or other of the components changes and harmony is restored. The Norwegian psychologist Dr Per Espen Stoknes writes that many people behave in the same way as smokers do, when it comes to climate change: I smoke. I also know smoking leads to cancer.* Action and knowledge are at odds with each other and generate the type of discomfort known …

The Nissan Leaf 40 kWh N-Connecta was the most comfortable car of the three models tested by ECO123, which included the Hyundai Kauai EV and the Renault Zoe. Its selection of features has made this vehicle the top choice of Portuguese buyers where 100% electrically-powered vehicles are concerned. The Nissan Leaf has been strengthening its lead in Portugal among fully electric cars. This model, the market leader, has registered an increase in sales in Portugal. In 2018, 1593 units were sold, while in 2019, the number of sales increased to 1639 cars. This allowed the model to remain in first …

by Theobald Tiger How are you coping without your football on Sundays, dancing on Saturdays and Mass on Fridays? Were you content with a slower way of life during the State of Emergency? And are you content now, during this current State of Calamity? Maybe your life isn’t that easy. There are several factors that complicate our relationship with the world, like fear of the pandemic and anxiety surrounding economic survival. Fear kills our connection to others, and prevents us from accessing the world around us. It makes us retreat into ourselves. In modern societies, people often put off the …

Could culture survive without being dependent on subsidies? Giacomo Scalisi has been working for a number of years as an actor, artistic director and cultural programmer, and during his career he has worked on different projects, in different theatre companies and on the organisation of international festivals. In 1998, he came to Portugal to join the Centro Cultural de Belém (CCB) as a cultural programmer for theatre and new circus, leaving here in 2008. At present he runs his own projects in the field of artistic production. This Portugal-based Italian recognises that culture depends on subsidies for its survival, but …

Erika Dux (65), a doctor of medicine from the University of Düsseldorf and trained in a wide range of additional disciplines, such as Chinese-Japanese Bo-Meridian Shiatsu therapy, has been living in Portugal for 35 years and works privately as a doctor. She has three grown–up daughters. Why do people become ill? I’m afraid I really can’t answer that question for you. What are the causes of illness? For different reasons: people get an infection, have a genetic illness or a metabolic disorder, or are affected by exhaustion and intoxication caused by pollution, environmental degradation, or precarious housing. How do you …

Indigenous forest A current website recently attracted my journalistic attention. Here I must point out that I only recommend websites these days where the creators identify themselves with their name and address. I no longer look at anonymous rubbish as a matter of principle. I do the same with telephone calls. I do not waste valuable time or my attention on people who call me from hidden numbers. As the creators of this website worked in a transparent way, I simply rang them up and asked them for an interview on the topic that had led them to put this …

Dear Reader, Life goes on. We are all slowly finding our way back to so-called normality, which will undoubtedly be very different to what it was before the country declared a State of Emergency. We are all faced with the task of tackling the greatest challenge ever to have confronted humanity: how to solve the problems of the climate crisis now. In this respect, we wish to say THANK YOU for reading ECO123. As from today, Monday 4 May, we are preparing to return to your homes, once more, in printed form, but we will also continue to be available …

ECO123 met Vítor Aleixo (aged 64), the Mayor of Loulé, in the corridor of the Town Hall at 8:45 am. He approaches us and takes a bunch of keys from his pocket. He finds the right key, opens the large door and invites us to go into his office. We want to know how he manages the political balance between the tourism economy and climate change. Good morning, Mayor. What does a politician need to bring to his role, in order to strengthen trust in the democratic system? A politician has to uphold ethical principles and values ​​of respect for …