Imagine a newly-built apartment heated only with the excess energy produced by your television, your computer, even your own body. Now imagine that same apartment in Helsinki, Finland – one of Europe’s northern-most cities where winter climes can dip to -20C (5F). Sound impossible? Not at all. Finnish building contractors, Reponen Oy, are making it [...]
Posts Tagged ‘Environment’
Natural Capitalism Solutions’ Paul Sheldon Presents the Profitability of Going Green
Former US Representative Thomas Barrett once said, “Chaos in the world brings uneasiness but it also allows the opportunity for creativity and growth.” And it was this opportunity for creativity and growth, which Paul Sheldon, Senior Consultant for Natural Capitalism Solutions based in Longmont, Colorado, highlighted on September 21st to US Embassy contacts during an [...]
Finland and US: Partners in Tackling Climate Change
To say that the Finns have a certain reverence for their summer season is no understatement. From May to August, nearly every Finn heads outdoors to take advantage of the twelve-plus hours of sunlight before the long, dark winter creeps back in. Government and other activity slows down, prompting many to travel to forest cottages [...]
USAID Making Development Clean and Green
Having lived in Africa for six years, I consider myself a veteran traveler to the continent. This is particularly true of Mali in West Africa where I spent the last two weeks visiting good friends living in the city of Kayes. As this is my sixth or seventh trip to Mali (I have lost count), [...]
Earth Day
Mothers have Mothers’ Day. Dads get Fathers’ Day. In the US even the groundhog gets his own day on February 2. So it seems only fitting that Mother Earth should get her spot in the limelight on April 22. After all, without the Earth there would be no moms, dads or groundhogs.
Earth Day was founded [...]
Welcome to our new blog!
Terve!
I am Wendy Kahler, Environment, Science and Technology Officer at the American Embassy in Helsinki. I arrived in Finland in August 2008 and will be working here for three years to promote cooperation between the US and Finland on environment, climate and technology issues. This is my first time living in Europe, having spent the [...]