FFF12: EcoEgg

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 12: EcoEgg

WHY: Laundry detergents are full of chemicals that aren’t foot for our nature. The detergents are often packed in plastic, which is a shame.

WHAT CAN I DO: Switch to the EcoEgg! One egg lasts 140 washes, is free of chemicals and allergens! And you save loads of plastic composed if you would buy liquid detergents. And yes, I’m very happy with my EcoEgg and the end result of laundry. Such a easy thing to do for our planet. ❤️

(Just for being clear: this is not an add😂I haven’t been paid nor given the product. I’m just honestly enthusiastic about washing more eco friendly! 😍)

Internationales Künstlerhaus Villa Concordia Bamberg

So it was finally officially announced today: I’m super happy to be chosen to be one of the 15 artists in residence at the Internationales Künstlerhaus Villa Concordia in Bamberg! We are 7 artists from Germany and 8 artists from Finland who were able to choose from receiving a 5 or 11 month stipend from the Freestate of Bavaria and are invited by the Bavarian State Minister for Science and Art Bernd Sibler, to stay at the Villa Concordia in Bamberg. Artists cannot apply for this scholarship themselves, because the scholarship holders are invited by a board of trustees and thus awarded by the Free State of Bavaria.

I am excited to share the upcoming year with my fellow scholarship holders! The scholarship holders for 2021-2022 are:

Visual art: Dieter Froelich (D), Lena von Goedeke (D), Emma Helle (FI), Heikki Marila (FI) and Tuukka Tammisaari (FI)

Literature: Benedikt Feiten (D), Lucy Fricke (D), Veera Kaski (FI), Arja Rinnekangas (FI), Johanna Sinisalo (FI) and Antje Rávik Strubel (D)

Music: Cecilia Damström (FI), Elina Lukijanova (D), Steffen Schleiermacher (D) and

Sauli Zinovjev (FI)

An ever so big THANK YOU to the Board of Trustees, to Minister Bernd Sibler and to the Free State of Bavaria for giving me this amazing opportunity I couldn’t even have dreamt of! I am truly humbled!

Villa Concordia Bamberg April 2021. Photo © Cecilia Damström

FFF week 11: Reduce food waste

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 11: Reduce food waste

WHY: An estimated 1.3 billion tonnes of food is wasted globally each year, one third of all food produced for human consumption, according to the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations. The amount of food lost or wasted costs 2.6 trillion USD annually and is more than enough to feed all the 815 million hungry people in the world - four times over. About 8% of all greenhouse gas emissions each year are due to food loss and waste

Food waste has also always been a big issue for me personally, which I’m constantly fighting. With a hectic life style, I often don’t plan my meals well enough, which results again in food going bad before I have had time to use it. This is of course not okay, in any way, and I’m really struggling to get better on this point.

WHAT CAN I DO: Shop smartly, don’t buy more food than you can eat. Store correctly. Don’t be a perfectionist (looking for the perfect apple in the store or throwing away food when it doesn’t look perfect anymore). You can forinstance use “not so pretty fruit” for smoothies. If you eat eggs: eat the yolk. You can both save money by looking for food that is “soon going off” in shops, and help reduce food waste at the same time. Link to a list of tips to reduce food waste is in my bio. Moreover you can inform yourself and participate in the online events organised by “Stop food waste day” on Wednesday the 28th of April. (Link below)

Cecilia Damström in Bamberg 2021

P.S. Vegan dark chocolate gelato! 😍❤️

Links:
https://en.reset.org/knowledge/global-food-waste-and-its-environmental-impact-09122018
https://www.ekopaasto.fi/suurin-ymparistoteko-on-havikin-pienentaminen/
https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/reduce-food-waste#TOC_TITLE_HDR_4
https://www.stopfoodwasteday.com/en/events.html

FFF week 10: Consume less

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 am trying to do, for combating climate change. 

FFF week 10: Consume less

WHY: Earth Overshoot Day marks the date when, according to calculations, people's consumption exceeds the Earth's biocapacity, or the capacity to generate renewable resources and process the carbon dioxide released into the atmosphere from the burning of fossil fuels. Finland already passed its own Overshoot Day last Saturday on 10th of April, which means if all people in the world would consume like people in Finland, we would need about four planet earths. It is estimated that when the corona crisis eases people will spend all the money they have saved while being at home, on shopping, which might be “great for the economy” but is terrible for our planet!

WHAT CAN I DO: Consume as little as possible. Buy second hand as often as possible, and things you need seldom you can rent or borrow. Take care of your possessions and electronics and prolong their life. If all Europeans for instance would use their phone one year longer than they do now, we would reduce our CO2 emissions by 2 million tons! (The same amount of emissions that 2 million cars make!).

Any personal tips on how to consume less? Please share!

Cecilia Damström Helsinki 2021. Photo by Tuuli Solhagen

 

Links:
https://wwf.fi/uutiset/2021/04/nakokulma-ilman-koronapandemiaa-suomen-ylikulutuspaiva-olisi-tanaan-kulutamme-edelleen-yli-maapallon-kestokyvyn/
https://wwf.fi/uutiset/2019/07/nailla-teoilla-voit-vahentaa-ylikulutustasi/
https://yle.fi/uutiset/3-11141662
https://www.hs.fi/paakirjoitukset/art-2000007871246.html
https://www.tekniikkatalous.fi/uutiset/kayta-puhelintasi-vuosi-pidempaan-vahennat-roimasti-paastoja-tutkimus-euroopan-tasolla-paastovahennys-vastaisi-kahden-miljoonan-henkiloauton-vuotuisia-paastoja/8bdb71cd-ad20-4cf9-b28e-d51f008dbdf6
https://www.aamulehti.fi/uutiset/art-2000007244909.html

FFF week 9: Invest in energy-efficient appliances.

 FFF week 9: Invest in energy-efficient appliances.

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. 

Invest in energy-efficient appliances.

WHY: Since energy-efficient appliances were first implemented nationally in the US in 1987, efficiency standards for dozens of appliances and products have kept 2.3 billion tons of carbon dioxide out of the air. That’s about the same amount as the annual carbon pollution coughed up by nearly 440 million cars.

WHAT CAN I DO: “Energy efficiency is the lowest-cost way to reduce emissions. Change only happens when individuals take action,” Aliya Haq, deputy director of NRDC’s Clean Power Plan initiative, says.. When shopping for refrigerators, washing machines, and other appliances, look for the Energy Star label. It will tell you which are the most efficient.

Composer Cecilia Damström

Links:
https://www.nrdc.org/stories/how-you-can-stop-global-warming
https://www.saveonenergy.com/learning-center/post/energy-efficiency-appliances/

Happy Easter!

Composer Cecilia Damström with her rabbit Viljo 2021. Photo by Jacintha Damström

 

Happy Easter from me and my inpatient Easter Bunny! 🐰