blog

Budapest Pride?

Wed, 22 Jun 2011 18:26:31 +0100

June 18th, last Saturday, was the day of the pride march, one of the most significant events of the annual Budapest Pride Festival. The festival is a one week long celebration of homosexuality. It is a peaceful week of film screenings, presentations, and exhibitions, embracing homosexuality. One of its most anticipated traditions is a march from Heroes Square down Andrassy Ut, towards Oktogon.

I actually happened to be driving in the city on saturday, and I was surprised to see the massive amount of armed policemen crowding the streets. I found it a bit peculiar, to say the least.

However, it turns out that the police have been on patrol since friday night, since numerous protests against the gay march have been announced for the same day.

The march started at four pm., where about 2000 people gathered, representing and supporting lesbians, gays, bisexuals and transgenders.

At Oktogon however, 250 protestors, many dressed in black and covering their faces, were waiting. They were chanting "mocskos buzik", loosely translated into "dirty gays".
A video of the protestors

To avoid the clash, the police led the homosexual march away from Oktogon, taking a slight detour. This way, violence was avoided. Although there was a little bit of a struggle between the protestors and the police...

If you are hungarian, I advise you watch this video by HVG (a local newspaper), it interviews Hungarian's on the streets on Saturday about their views on homosexuality, it is quite interesting.
Hungarians towards homosexuality

It becomes pretty clear though, that the acceptance of homosexuality is an obvious problem in this country today. Some Hungarians seem openly intolerant of people with different sexual orientations, which might create an uncomfortable or even hostile environment for homosexuals in budapest.

This is why next year, one of the focuses of our Global Issues group will be sexual diversity! :)

Hanna K.

School is over. Is being eco-friendly also over?

Wed, 22 Jun 2011 13:42:42 +0100

Now that you are out of school, there is no one nagging you to throw your bottle into the blue bin instead of the green, turn of the lights in the bathroom or recycle your old paper. However, summer does not necessarily mean a break from being eco friendly. I imagine what most of you are doing is traveling, and how you plan your holiday might have a huge impact on how you affect your world. So lets look at some things that might make a difference this summer.

Some of the things you should consider are:

the type of transportation you are using and CO2 emissions
how you interact with the local community
how you treat their environment

Lets start with travel then. As you know transportation, and especially airplanes, produce massive amounts of CO2, and are very damaging to the environment.Therefore, you should try to fly a minimum amount, which can be easily done using the following tips:

Take fewer and longer holidays
Take some holidays closer to home
Travel by train and public transport where possible
Book direct flights avoiding transfers
Use public transport in destinations where possible

However, if you insist on flying you can try to make that trip count. You can make sure to benefit the local community and environment. A lovely example of this is Evelyn's and Linn's trip to Senegal, which in my opinion, they really made count.

Before you go, you should also check out a couple of things:

Read up on local cultures and learn a few words of the local language - travelling with respect earns you respect
Remove all excess packaging - waste disposal is difficult in remote places and developing countries
Ask your tour operator for specific tips for responsible travel in your destination
Ask your tour operator/hotel if there are useful gifts that you could pack for your hosts, local people or schools
Ask your tour operator whether there are local conservation or social projects that you could visit on your trip, and if/how you could help support them

On holiday, there are many ways you can support the locals, protect their environment, and respect their culture.

Buy local produce in preference to imported goods
Hire a local guide - you'll discover more about local culture and lives, and they will earn an income
Do not buy products made from endangered species, hard woods or ancient artefacts
Respect local cultures, traditions and holy places - if in doubt ask advice or don't visit
Use public transport, hire a bike or walk when convenient - its a great way to meet local people on their terms and reduce pollution and carbon emissions
Use water sparingly - its very precious in many countries and tourists tend to use far more than local people
Remember that local people have different ways of thinking and concepts of time, this just makes them different not wrong - cultivate the habit of asking questions (rather than the Western habit of knowing the answers).
Don't litter

There are so many ways in which you can make a difference with the way you travel, and completing any one of these changes will already help the world. Traveling responsibly is not a drag, I think it may result in you having an even better time somewhere, just planning a little more ahead. All the amazing destinations of the world are still open.

And if you are looking for places, why not look at the winners of Tourism for Tomorrow: 2010

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/hubs/greentravel/7771695/Tourism-for-Tomorrow-Awards-2010-the-winners.html

I guarantee that these places would blow anyone's mind, eco friendly or not!

Also, if you don't know how to plan a responsible holiday, there are countless organizations dedicated to the cause.
Responsible Travel (this is where I did most of my research)
Eco Tour
Organic Holidays
to name a couple!

Have a great summer!
Hanna

Eco-fashion: Transforming Trash Into Treasures

Tue, 08 Mar 2011 14:16:50 +0100

An article by CNN.

Fashion designers are giving new life to worthless candy wrappers, newspapers and plastic bags; turning trash into trendy tote bags, purses and jewelry. From "post-consumer and industrial waste" comes durable, funky accessories reportedly worn by celebrities such as Lindsay Lohan, Cameron Diaz and Petra Nemcova. One self-described eco-fashion label, Ecoist, has partnered with Coca-Cola, Luna Bar and Aveda to create handbags made from misprinted and discontinued packaging. "We tap into that source of waste because it is reliable, and unfortunately, it's abundant," Ecoist co-founder Jonathan Marcoschamer said. "We believe that for the next few years, there's going to be a significant amount." How about 7.6 billion tons of waste? That's how much American companies toss each year, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. During the past four years, Ecoist said, it has sold more than 100,000 accessories created by its designers in Peru and Miami, Florida. The bags -- some of them one-of-a-kind -- are priced from about $30 for smaller versions to about $180 for larger ones. "For now, we're an immediate solution for many of these companies to utilize waste for something that's creative and promotes environmental awareness," Marcoschamer said.

Ecoist isn't alone. Katherine Rasmussen, owner of the label Reiter8, creates totes from recycled boat sails. Nicola Freegard and Robin Janson, the design team behind Vy&Elle, have recycled 100 tons of vinyl billboard ads to create wallets, bags and a variety of other products. Another designer, Anna Built, has opted to create jewelry from recycled tin cans. But it's not always easy being green. Timbuk2, a company famous for its messenger bags, has encountered resistance in its attempt to produce totes made from discarded plastic bags. The idea seemed feasible when Timbuk2 formed a partnership with RootPhi, which developed a machine capable of bonding plastic bags together. The machine, called the Lamitron, allowed them to produce a new fabric while maintaining the visual details of the original plastic bag. The timing seemed appropriate; San Francisco had banned the use of plastic bags, and other cities worldwide were considering similar initiatives. Despite a following of 3,000 potential customers on the Timbuk2 Web site, the bags are unlikely to be sold any time soon, if at all. The companies have encountered legal and technical hiccups in their efforts to mass produce the bags.

source: http://articles.cnn.com/2008-05-13/tech/trashy.fashion_1_plastic-bags-totes-ecoist?_s=PM:TECH

Eco-fashion websites:

http://www.ecoist.com/

http://www.ecofashionworld.com/

The Effects of Hamburgers on Our Society

Wed, 22 Jun 2011 12:44:14 +0100

When asked which industries produce the most greenhouse gasses, many people would probably answer transportation, coal plants, or oil refineries. What most people don't think of, is actually the most pressing one.

The food industry has grown to incredible sizes in the past few decades, and is posing as a huge threat to our climate.

It generates over one fifth of the world's greenhouse gasses (more than transportation!) and over 30% of Earth's ice free land is directly or indirectly involved in just livestock production! Livestock are huge consumers of water and crops, and rainforests need to be cut and burnt for their feed. And once they eat the crops and drink the water its still not over, because even their gasses are endangering our environment! Yes, I'm talking about cow farts, which from each cow alone pollute the air with 10 kg of methane in one year, which might account for more pollution then cars in certain areas!

And while we pump our burping and farting livestock with feed, there are over 800 people in the world suffering from hunger in malnutrition, where instead of food production, agrilcultural output is diverted towards soy and corn crop to feed livestock.

Nice.

But what are our governments doing about this? Well subsidizing meat of course! Subsidizing means that governments are supplying the meat industry with extra money, because the production would be too expensive to make it profitable, and subsidies are increasing with the ever growing demand for meat.

But to look at yet another angle, lets consider what kind of animals we are all eating. Industrial farms are a little different from the sunny and grassy ones you see on TV. Loosely described, they usually stand around in their own manure (yes, often they are not properly cleaned, and we all know what that means), are confined to tiny, enclosed spaces, and are lucky if they ever see sunlight. They are not fed the foods their bodies actually require, the aim is to make them nice and fat. The stomachs of cattle are not designed to digest grain, while most can't even support their own body weights.

I guess everyone was able to draw the most important, meat eating is bad.

And then you would say that meat and animal by products, such as milk and cheese, are essential to a healthy lifestyle.
But are they really?

An average American consumes 110 grams of protein a day, of which 75 grams come from animal protein. This is more than twice the reccommended allowance, considering that even that is considered too high by some experts.(and you will find most meat full of pesticides, antibiotics and hormones anyway)

As for milk, its awesome! We've grown up with it and drink it every day! It might be surprising to you, that only a fraction of people on Earth drink cow's milk, namely us, Caucasians. Humans are the only species that drink milk at an adult age. I find that a little bit weird. Also, the following is from an interesting article I found on the sight notmilk.com, which might make you raise a couple of questions.

Consider for a moment, if it was possible, to drink the milk
of a mammal other than a cow, let's say a rat. Or perhaps
the milk of a dog would be more to your liking. Possibly
some horse milk or cat milk. Do you get the idea? Well, I'm
not serious about this, except to suggest that human milk is
for human infants, dogs' milk is for pups, cows' milk is for
calves, cats' milk is for kittens, and so forth. Clearly,
this is the way nature intends it. Just use your own good
judgement on this one.

Hmm? We are all also familiar with the condition of lactose intolerance, which is the inability to digest milk. There are more people affected by it then you would think, since the adult stomach is not designed to digest milk, especially that of a cow. Over the many, many year of milk consuption, many people have simply adapted.
But to comfort you, most of the milk you drink has nothing to do with what the cow actually produces. Fifty years ago, a cow produced about 2000 pounds of milk per year, today top producers manage 50,000 pounds. I will leave the rest to your imagination.

What to do

You don't have to cut these products out of your life, but it is really easy to reduce your carbon output by limiting your consumption.
Most importantly perhaps, you can switch the type of meet you consume, beef is by far the most harmful, to for example chicken, which is four times less in carbon output.
Foods that can replace nutrients found in meat and dairy products include:
cereals, legumes, soybeans and tofu, dried fruit, pumpkin seeds, boccoli, tomatoes, orange juice, greean leafy vegetables, nuts, rice, grains, seeds, and many other things.

And the best way to eat meat and dairy is definitely to go organic! These producers will not use harmful pesticides and antibiotics, and will keep livestock production natural!

Bon Appetit!

by Hanna Kereszturi

Red Sludge, Hungary: Global Perspective

Wed, 19 Jan 2011 12:55:36 +0100

On Monday, October 4th at 12 o’clock, a dam of a lake that had kept red sludge (fluid holding rust, acquired through the processing of aluminum) broke and flooded several villages. The red sludge flooded communities below the hill which the dam was located on: Devecser, Kolontár, Somlóvásárhely, Tuskevár, Apáctornát and Kisberzsényt. But how did this happen? Due to a combination of heavy rain fall and poorly built infrastructure, the wall of the dam broke and the sludge streamed down toward the villages. There were a total of 10 deaths. Most of them were due to drowning, but some people also got toxicated and burnt themselves.

The red sludge is not the only climate-related disaster that has happened the last couple of years. Worldwide, we see dramatic climate change, which has been connected to the increase in major flooding, and hurricanes. As mentioned above, the red sludge was caused by both human error and heavy rainfall. We can help the victims of the affected villages by donating important supplies. But most importantly we should become more responsible for our consumption because the bad choices we make are contributing to climate change and a build up of toxic pollution.

Carbon emissions are one of the greatest causes of climate change. This change is most noticeable in the re-distribution of water. Some areas suffer from droughts such as parts of Northern Africa and Australia, whereas other places are getting short but intense levels of precipitation. This causes destructive floods and mud slides. Between 1990 and 2001, flooding affected 1.5 billion people, which is almost a quarter of the world’s population, and it’s clearly getting worse. However, humans are not the only ones who are being displaced. Some animal species cannot cope with the changing weather conditions and are becoming more endangered.

But who is to blame? Companies and governments, with weak policies, are not the only contributors to climate change, as they are looking to us who demand cheap goods. Everyone consumes products that contain toxic wastes and are damaging to the environment if they are not properly recycled. Everyday we are releasing e-waste, which in combination with flooding is destroying communities all over the world. Some of us may still remember when a dam holding toxic cyanide in Romania flooded in year 2000. The contaminated water reached the Tisza river and the Danube where it killed 2000 tons of fish. Also, no-one could have missed the oil spill in the Mexican gulf earlier this year. It put hundreds of species at risk, but it could have been ever more devastating if the hurrican season was stronger.

Right now, nearly one-fifth of Pakistan is covered in water. Right now, New Orleans is still trying to recover from one of the world’s most powerful hurricanes. Right now, many Hungarians have lost everything they had. We can help by contributing to collection drives, but we must also tackle the essential problem from the roots. Every little thing we do can help improve our environment. So use the recycling bins, bring your own water bottle to school, turn of the lights, and pay attention to the products you buy. Be a smart consumer!

By Linn Ternsjö and Evelyn Cools