Sunbeams - Positive news

Slovenian embassy to celebrate 20 years of country's independence by planting trees with sunbeams

Tue, 01 Mar 2011 13:00:23 +0000

This year the Republic of Slovenia is celebrating its 20th anniversary of independence. To commemorate this, as well as the International Year of Forests, proclaimed by the United Nations General Assembly, and to help greening our Planet, the Embassy of Slovenia will join us at the tree planting event on Sunday, the 20th of March 2011 in Oetingen, 20 km west of Brussels.

The Ambassador of the Republic of Slovenia in Belgium, the embassy staff, and Slovenians living in Belgium will plant 20 linden trees (tilia europaea). In Slovenia, the linden tree has been considered much more than a renewable natural resource. From time immemorial, it has been regarded as a national symbol due to its special role. To this day, many a Slovenian village still clusters around an ancient linden tree, and for a good reason. Throughout history, the tree has served as a social and political center of the village. To its inhabitants it symbolized the "tree of life".

[Source]

How is the 2010 forest doing?

Mon, 21 Feb 2011 12:10:22 +0000

2010 saw the first ever Sunbeams Tree Planting Event. Here is some up-to-date information on how our forest has fared so far.

All parties involved, especially the land owner, guarantee that our forest is and will be properly taken care of, as is also stipulated in Flemish forest law. The trees grew well in spring 2010, until the dry summer caused some problems, especially among the chestnut trees. However, the total mortality on the site only amounts to about 10%, and measures are taken right now to replant patches where necessary. The seedlings came from one of the best tree nurseries in the country, the site is definitely adequate for the species selected (based on scientific information and soil and humidity characteristics. The planting was followed up by 5 forestry professionals and the owner of the site.

To repeat this success, we invite everybody to join our 2011 Tree Planting Event.

Video: Growing is forever

Thu, 03 Feb 2011 10:02:21 +0000

"I have a deep affection for the Redwood forests of Northern California. This is my best attempt to capture the reverence I feel when in the presence of these giants."

A Film by Jesse Rosten - twitter.com/?JesseRosten
Written & Read by Kallie Markle - twitter.com/?lightningvsbug
Music - "Window" The Album Leaf

A Happy Green 2011

Fri, 14 Jan 2011 13:35:16 +0000

Everybody at Sunbeams hopes you had a great start in 2011. Here is some advice on how to make the new year the greenest year yet. Are you in?

"Eco Warrior" Emma Portier Davis has a nice post in this year's first edition of Brussels Unlimited describing what the editors have resolved to do to green their life and work: swap the car for public transport, turn down the heating by one degree and switch it off at night (which saves both money and emissions), eat less meat, buy more organic and fair-trade food, take out a Villo subscription.
Emily of Live Renewed helps you set green goals for the New Year.
Mandi Ehman over at yourway.net gives you "111 New Years Resolutions and Tools to Make Them a Reality". We're quite sure you'll find something of interest there.

Want some Brussels-specific tips? Here you go:

Sign up for the Cambio car- sharing scheme. Here's more on Cambio.
Try Villo! bike-sharing.
Become a waste-sorting pro.
Join your local FreeCycle group and get rid of the stuff you no longer need. If you'd rather sell that stuff on eBay, here are some tips for doing it successfully.
Check out our Small Steps and Eco-Challenge sections and the Starting out green in Belgium article and sign up to our newsletter.

Car-free days done right - in Bogotá

Mon, 06 Dec 2010 21:41:04 +0000

Still remember the last Car-free Sunday in Brussels? That great atmosphere made you wish for more? Look at this video to find out how Colombian capital Bogotá has struck a balance between allowing for car-free fun and not preventing car drivers from using their vehicle. Brussels-Capital, are you listening? Ciclovía is the word!

Cancun and the End of Climate Diplomacy (Recommended reading)

Mon, 06 Dec 2010 21:32:26 +0000

The next round of top-level climate change negotiations is currently underway in Cancun, Mexico. Nigel Purvis, writing for the German Marshall Fund, has an interesting take on why these top-level talks may not be the be all and end all for achieving progress:

Global climate talks have begun to resemble a bad soap opera — they seem to never end, yet never really change and at times bear little resemblance to reality. This is why climate diplomacy as we know it is losing its relevance.

Instead, Purvis suggests:

We need to place less emphasis on international promises and more on domestic action, less on burden sharing and more on smart development policies.

Interesting read.

25 percent more sorted waste collected

Mon, 29 Nov 2010 21:11:56 +0000

The good news: Brussels waste collecting agency Net Brussel/Bruxelles Proprété has collected 25 percent more sorted waste during the first ten months of 2010. Sorting waste has become mandatory last January. The bad news: A lot of people are still unsure what exactly belongs in the blue bag. You too? Fear not, just check out their website at www.netbrussel.be/www.bruxelles-proprete.be for more information. Happy sorting!

Man saves chimp - a Jane Goodall story

Thu, 25 Nov 2010 19:46:24 +0000

If you have attended Jane Goodall's lecture at the Vrije Universiteit Brussel this November, you will probably remember one of the stories she told: a man, Rick Swope, saves a chimpanzee from drowning at the Detroit Zoo. If you want to re-read the story or share it with somebody, here are two links for you:

Brussels adopts latest version of its Local Agenda 21

Mon, 18 Oct 2010 18:39:29 +0000

The City of Brussels adopted the new Local Agenda 21. The 2010 version will strengthen and broaden the 2008 actions on sustainable development on the territory of the City.

The City adopted its first Local Agenda 21 in 2008. The program translates concrete actions of the Agenda 21 to the local level. The Agenda 21 is an international declaration with 2,500 recommendations on sustainable development for the planet in the 21st century. The local version allows the recommendations to suit the terrain and its inhabitants.

What are the main goals?

In 2008, 86 actions were organized around 14 goals. In 2010, the Local Agenda 21 passes to 154 actions in 22 domains of action, themselves structured around 5 key objectives. These 5 main goals must be reached via concrete, realistic and easily measurable actions.

The 5 goals of the Local Agenda 21 and its fields of intervention:

a modern and effective governance, with fields of intervention: tools of follow-up and evaluation, transparency and access to information, the participation in and raising awareness on sustainable development, the quality of services and management of human resources, public finances, procurement contracts, sharing of experience
a management responsible for natural resources, with fields of intervention: biodiversity and green spaces, water policy, energy policy, reduction and valuation of waste, labelling and control of the impact
a harmonious urban development, with fields of intervention: town planning, housing environment and housing, mobility
more social cohesion and strengthened solidarity, with fields of intervention: health, sports and leisure activities, social integration and equality of opportunity, access to culture and knowledge, international solidarity, living environment
a dynamic policy of employment and economic development, with fields of intervention: employment, economic development, social economy

What are action cards?

The 22 fields of intervention contain 154 actions. These actions each have an 'action card' that summarizes:

the action
its objectives
its context

The action cards establish the process of implementation and propose a series of indicators of evaluation to allow to judge the relevance, the concrete results and, if necessary, the development of each action.

Measuring the progress

From 2011, the City of Brussels will publish a report with a balance sheet of the current actions and their progress. This report will allow to know the progress in terms of sustainable development and the development of the Local Agenda 21. It also allows to modify, delete or add certain actions.

see the original article on the Brussels city website

Sweden introduces climate labelling for food

Tue, 04 May 2010 08:34:49 +0000

Sweden is developing standards to help consumers make conscious choices about the impact of their decisions on global warming. Products with at least 25% greenhouse gas savings will be marked in each food category, starting with plant production, dairy and fish products. The label is a joint initiative by the Federation of Swedish Farmers, two food labelling organisations and various dairy and meat co-operatives. Read more..