side note: thought you might enjoy quick story about another tree planter in upper state New York, USA. nut trees
electric bikes. Non-heated green house for year round food. Of course in Iceland you'd need artificial sunlight for the darker times.
My Dirty Cheap eUTV : One Year On A Sur-Ron Light Bee Electric Motocross Bike
I tried building a "large greenhouse on a budget" at one point - the idea was to put a roof and two walls over a section of that ravine. I had been told by the county office that greenhouses didn't need a permit. So I did a ton of work on the project. I later talked to the county again, and mentioned the size of the greenhouse, and was told that because of that, they're going to need to see some architectural diagrams - they don't need to be done by an architect, just to give them info about the building. So I finished up all of the prep work - literally doing FEM simulations (with an engineer volunteered his time to assist me) to make sure it'd be structurally sound, tracking down suppliers for the panels, etc etc... tons of work. And then I took them to the county... and was told, "No, that's large enough that you're going to have to go through a formal architectural and engineering process" (which costs tens of thousands of dollars). Even though I'd already given him exact dimensions before. Sigh...
Maybe some day. For now, it's outdoor trees only on the land
So, it's been nonstop rain here. That said, I did make it out for the climate protest today (I got there late, as I was at work). I made a sign:
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ELECTRIFY TRANSPORTATION
* A ban on gas and diesel vehicles after
2025, not 2030!
* Extend and improve the VAT exclusion on electric cars - the "2020" and "10k cars" limits
do not suffice.
* "
A right to charge" for renters
* No more parking lots without charging spaces!
It's
unacceptable that there would be places in Reykjavík where there are no or too few charging spaces.
Drive, park, charge -
everyone should be able to do it,
everywhere, and
without difficulty.
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That said... since students were the focus of the protests, and we were just there to support them, I stayed around the periphery; I wanted them front and centre.
The drizzle made the crowd smaller than I would liked to have seen, but the organizers seemed happy with it.
There was both music and speeches... some by adults, some by children.
I had mixed feelings about the whole thing. On one hand, it was awesome that people were there in front of parliament, speaking out. The kids were really passionate - one was even crying as she gave her speech, making it really powerful. On the other hand... almost nobody even mentioned energy and transportation. Which is mind-boggling for a climate protest. Lots of talk about plastic grocery bags, which a tiny portion of the total trash picture and an almost meaningless relevance to the climate. Lots of talk about going vegetarian or vegan, which is to its credit a very meaningful climate impact... but giving up meat is something that many people would
never do, and if you over push on it, they'll just dismiss you as a crazy hippie.. And much of our food's emissions all come back to transportation and energy anyway.
While some kids were awesome - one pair of kids for example went into a lot of nuance on climate issues that adults usually skim over in a black-or-white fashion - they never should have let this kid (however cute) on the stage:
He rambled on (mostly about plastic) for a ridiculously long time, with a lot of statements that were questionable at best... but what can you do except just sort of nod along with everyone else? He got everyone so bored that by the time he was ushered off the stage, half the crowd started drifting off during the next speaker (who I felt bad for
).
By the time of the last musician, most people were gone. But the small crowd that remained still kept their spirits up.
A variety of signs were left in front of parliament.
Above, front and centre: "
Everything is dying".
Below: "
I'm sure that the dinosaurs thought that they had time, too."
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The weather forecast is looking up for a window tomorrow. Fingers crossed!