I just came back from a trip to Sweden (and Denmark) and I was very surprised with what I saw. It was my first time in Scandinavia and I never realised that they are way ahead then the rest of Europe when it comes to taking care of the environment.
My first hint was the cycle lanes. Their cycle lanes are well integrated with the road system, clearly not an afterthought like the ones in London. Not only that but they did not attempt to do something so stupid as to put the cycles in the bus lane. In most cases cyclists share the sidewalk with pedestrians, with clear painted lines and signs showing who gets which part. In Kristianstad, where I was, it seemed like everyone cycled. Cycling is the choice of transport unless you have to carry something or you are going a far way.If you decide to take the bus, then you will be on a biogas burning vehicle. The busses are painted green and make sure that everyone getting on them knows that they use biogas.
Recycling is another big thing in Sweden, you seperate everything and then throw it away accordingly. Driving around proved that the Swedes d not have the same problem British people have with wind turbines. They are scattered all over the place. The lower parts are painted in shades of green in an attempt to blend in with the scenery, but overall they just look natural there. They fit in fine, and no one seems to mind.
It seems that the Swedes have found a way to live more in harmony with nature than most of us do. We should definetly be looking at Scandanavia to learn. What makes it really clear how enviornmentally aware they are is that your fast food meal does not only come labeled with how many claoris and how many grams of fat it contains, but how much CO2e was emitted in making it.
