FFF week 5: Sort your trash

I would like to contribute to FFF (Fridays for Future) in my own way: by sharing one concrete action per week that YOU can do, and which I have done, for combating climate change. 

FFF week 5: Sort you trash

WHY: Recycling is very important as waste has a huge negative impact on the natural environment. Harmful chemicals and greenhouse gasses are released from rubbish in landfill sites. Recycling helps to reduce the pollution caused by waste. Habitat destruction and global warming are some the affects caused by deforestation. Recycling reduces the need for raw materials so that the rainforests can be preserved. Huge amounts of energy are used when making products from raw materials. Recycling requires much less energy and therefore helps to preserve natural resources.

WHAT CAN I DO: Sort you waste. Check what kind of sorting is possible in your house or near you. In my case it is: biowaste, paper, cardboard, glass, metal, plastic and mixed waste for the rest. Leftover medicines should be brought to the farmacy (in Finland). Always refuse any material you don’t need, especially packaging. Compost almost everything damp or squishy

Link to “13 Tips on Sorting Waste” below!

Above mentioned information gained from following websites:
http://www.recycling-guide.org.uk/importance.html
https://believe.earth/en/13-tips-on-sorting-waste/

World premiere of Nixus next week!

Next week its time for the world premiere of my new orchestra piece Nixus! Can't wait to hear Joensuu City Orchestra play my music under the baton of their fantastic chief conductor Eero Lehtimäki!

Composer Cecilia Damström and conductor Eero Lehtimäki

About Nixus:

Mental disorders, also called mental illnesses, affect people in very different ways, sometimes for a short period of time and for others it is a struggle throughout their life. Altogether 970 million people around the world suffer from mental disorders, according to the World Health Organization. The most common mental disorders are depression and anxiety, which annually affect 264 million and 284 million people respectively around the world. Mental illness is nothing you can imagine before you have experienced it yourself, and even then the experience is personal, and every experience is unique and equally significant.

The piece Nixus was finished on the 10th of September (at 4 a.m.), which also happens to be “world suicide prevention day”. This coincidence feels very symbolic. Every year around 800.000 people commit suicide and the connection between mental illness and suicide is demonstrable. Despite the fact that 13% of the world population suffers from mental illness, and one out of four people are affected at some point of their life by mental or neurological disorders, it is still taboo to talk about it, and probably in part therefore many people feel very lonely with their problems.

The Latin word “nixus” can translate as effort, pressure or strain. Nixus is dedicated to anyone who suffers from mental illness in any form. In this work, I try to illustrate how thoughts jump back and forth at a rapid pace, and often form a kind of hamster wheel, a vicious circle from which it is difficult to break out. I try to describe how the thoughts often lead to very gloomy moods and anxiety, which can even become physical manifestations in the body, like palpitations and pressure in the chest.

Premiere as a video release on 26.2.2021, available until 28.2.2021.

www.joensuu.fi/musiikkitalvi

FFF week 4: Sign the petition to stop plant-based dairy censorship

I would like to contribute to FFF (Fridays for Future) in my own way: by sharing one concrete action per week that YOU can do, and which I have done, for combating climate change. 

FFF week 4: Sign the petition to stop plant-based dairy censorship

WHY: On October 23 2020, the European Parliament voted yes on amendment 171 and if adopted, it will have massive consequences for the plant-based food industry. Dairy terms are already protected by law. Amendment 171 would go further and censor all use of dairy-related language, packaging, or imagery for plant-based foods. Depending on how Amendment 171 is interpreted, its adoption could herald a ban on essential information for those who suffer from allergies and intolerances to dairy. More broadly, on-pack labeling and visual cues are how we, as consumers, determine what a product is and what it can be used for. For example, presenting plant-based alternatives to dairy cheese in a classic block shape shows consumers how the product is intended to be used, and gives an indication of texture and flavor. Amendment 171 could result in a total ban on these visual cues for plant-based foods.

WHAT CAN I DO: You can sign the petition to stop amendment 171 and thereby stop plan-based dairy censorship. You can also spread information by sharing @proveg.inter#stopam171 posts (or this post).

GOOD NEWS! Already 66% of Europeans eat less meat to fight climate change. Also, this petition “Stop amendment 171” has soonr reached its goal and got 300.000 signatures! Thank you to everyone who signed! ❤ 

Sign the petition at:
https://stopam171.com/ 

© Cecilia Damström 

Above mentioned statistics and information gained from following websites:
https://stopam171.com/
https://www.oatly.com/int/stop-plant-based-censorship
https://www.reuters.com/article/climate-change-eib-survey/most-europeans-plan-to-curb-flying-eat-less-meat-for-climate-eu-poll-says-idINL4N2JJ381
https://www.politico.eu/sponsored-content/what-is-amendment-171-and-how-could-it-affect-plant-based-foods/

FFF week 3: Power your home with renewable energy

I would like to contribute to FFF (Fridays for Future) in my own way: by sharing one concrete action per week that YOU can do, and which I have done, for combating climate change. 

FFF week 3: Power your home with renewable energy

WHY: Many electricity companies still produce electricity through fossil fuels, for instance 23% of all Finnish electricity  was produced in 2014 with oil and 23% of all the energy in the USA was produced in 2019 with coal. In 2018, carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from fossil fuel combustion (burning) for energy were equal to about 75% of total U.S. anthropogenic GHG emissions (based on 100-year global warming potential) and about 93% of total U.S. anthropogenic CO2 emissions. Fossil fuel companies cause water pollution, deadly air pollution and perpetuate environmental injustice. 

WHAT CAN I DO: Choose an electricity company that generates at least half its power from wind or solar and has been certified by Green-e Energy, a certification program that is the trusted global leader in clean energy certification. Choose a company with a green option, like for instance windpower. An easy choice for most of us, which can have a huge impact on the climate.

GOOD NEWS! The petition I asked you to sign two weeks ago has gathered over 50.000 signatures! So it will be passed to our government and hopefully Finland will stop burning peat soon! Peat is a fossil fuel that atm only produces 6% of all electricity but 12% of Finland’s CO2 emissions. Thank you to everyone who signed! <3 

Cecilia Damström in Oulu 11 February 2021. Photo by Alexandra Silocea

Above mentioned statistics and information gained from following websites:

https://www.greenpeace.org/usa/research/8-reasons-why-we-need-to-phase-out-the-fossil-fuel-industry/

https://www.nrdc.org/stories/how-you-can-stop-global-warming

https://www.eia.gov/energyexplained/electricity/electricity-in-the-us.php

https://fi.wikipedia.org/wiki/Energia_Suomessa

https://www.eia.gov/energyexplained/energy-and-the-environment/where-greenhouse-gases-come-from

Surprise visit to Oulu!

Super happy to be in Oulu this week to hear the marvellous Oulu Sinfonia play my piece "Tundo!" conducted by the fantastic Leo McFall! 

Oulu 10 February 2021. Photo © Cecilia Damström

And it seems that every time I come to Oulu it is at least -20 degrees or below! Last time I was here in 2006 to participate in the Madetoja Piano competition. Back then I prepared Shostakovich second piano concerto (for the competition), so it is fun that the very same piece is also included in the concert program on Thursday, performed by the fabulous Alexandra Silocea. 

Oulu 10 February 2021. Photo © Cecilia Damström

Welcome to join the live stream wherever you are in the world on Thursday at 7 PM (UTC+2)! 

FFF No.2: Go vegan for a month #Vegabruary

Like I wrote in my previous post, I would like to contribute to FFF (Fridays for Future) in my own way: by sharing one concrete action per week that YOU can do, and which I have done, for combating climate change. 

FFF week 2: Go vegan for a month #Vegabruary

WHY: Animal agriculture is responsible for 18 percent of greenhouse gas emissions, more than the combined exhaust from all transportation. Transportation exhaust is responsible for 13% of all greenhouse gas emissions. Livestock and their byproducts account for at least 32,000 million tons of carbon dioxide (CO2) per year, or 51% of all worldwide greenhouse gas emissions. Livestock is responsible for 65% of all human-related emissions of nitrous oxide – a greenhouse gas with 296 times the global warming potential of carbon dioxide, and which stays in the atmosphere for 150 years. Recent analyses have shown that it is unlikely global temperature rises can be kept below two degrees Celsius without a shift in global meat and dairy consumption.

WHAT CAN I DO: Try to go vegan for a month. February is the shortest month of the year and we are already on day 5, so only 23 days left! ;) Or if a month feels too much, try it for a week? Or one or two days per week? 

Global meat consumption increased by 58% over the 20 years to 2018 to reach 360 million tonnes. Population growth accounted for 54% of this increase and per person consumption growth accounted for the remainder. Per person consumption was influenced most strongly by changing consumer preferences and income growth. 

Imagine if we could turn around these consumer preferences and make climate friendly food as one of our priorities!

Moreover, I believe the way to making the world a better place is through love and compassion, so why not show some compassion by letting a few animals less be slaughtered for your sake this month?

Above mentioned statistics and information gained from following websites:

https://www.cowspiracy.com/facts

https://www.chathamhouse.org/2014/12/livestock-climate-changes-forgotten-sector-global-public-opinion-meat-and-dairy-consumption

https://www.agriculture.gov.au/abares/research-topics/agricultural-outlook/meat-consumption

Composer Cecilia Damström. Photo by Marthe Veian