The Most Sustainable Countries

002-The Most Sustainable Countries_FINAL - 9-13-20 5.12 PM

[00:00:00] Welcome to the adventures and sustainable living podcast. Your host has lived an off-grid sustainable lifestyle for over 20 years. His homestead is run on solar energy. It has an earth shelter, greenhouse and produces much of his own food. And all of this takes place in the middle of the forest and Colorado.

Now let's join Patrick. The man that not only teaches the skills of sustainable living, but lives that life every day.

Hello everyone. And welcome to the Adventures in Sustainable Living Podcast. This is episode two and it is called The Most Sustainable Countries. This is your host, Patrick. Keith, if you listened to episode one, Then, you know, that it was simply an introducPon to [00:01:00] the podcast and where I want to go with various episodes.

But I also menPoned in that last episode, that episode two was going to be about enPre countries that have achieved a significant level of sustainability during my research for this episode. You know, I just want to share with you that I came across a really exciPng even startling informaPon about several different countries that are moving toward sustainability.

But I also realized that aVer 20 plus years of living off the grid, And developing a sustainable lifestyle. I was also amazed at all of the things that I sPll do not know. And it was only aVer my research for this episode that I came to a full understanding of several very important things. And that's part of what I want to share in this episode.

For [00:02:00] example, I discovered what it actually takes to move an enPre culture towards sustainability. I also realized and discovered even more reasons as to why we should be concerned about sustainability and in looking at it and showcasing these

countries that I'm going to discuss. I realized that these countries are actually some of the smaller countries in the world.

So I asked myself the quesPon. Is it possible for a larger country, such as a country, the size of the United States to actually move toward sustainability. So I want to address that quesPon as well. And also in looking at some of these smaller countries, what are some lessons that we can learn from these countries?

And you know, I think we lose track somePmes of the fact that what we do as individuals actually really ma[ers. [00:03:00] And it also wanted to touch on that. And I'm also going to have to admit some. Things that I discovered about my own lifestyle that I needed to change, and I did make those changes.

And finally, in the end, I want to, once again, give you an important takeaway. And also this Pme, I want to give you a free resource that I put together that will truly help you live your life the way you want. So you want to learn these things. And much more then sPck around through the enPre episode.

So that being said, let's get right down to business because we really truly have a lot of things to cover. So iniPally in this episode, I really wanted to answer some, just some very basic quesPons about what is sustainability, how did it all get started? What does it mean? Why should [00:04:00] we worry about it?

And of course, how it applies to all of us. The, the concept of sustainability really, truly affects every single thing that we do on a daily basis. For example, how you choose to get to, and from your place of employment, what products you buy, it affects your garden and affects what you choose to eat. Uh, how, and when you take a shower, how much electricity you use.

And these are some of the things I just want to point out on this episode, but what I've found in my research, I found it really very interesPng that this concept of sustainability or the modern

movement of sustainability really, truly started fairly recently. And it first appeared in 1987 in what's called the brute brute lend report it to be yeah.

R U N D T L a N D. it's [00:05:00] also called the reports also called our common future, but, I'll have a link to this report in, the blog posts that's associated with this podcast. But anyway, this country was produced or this report was produced by several countries for the United naPons. And it was produced by a commission that was led by dr.

Grill Harlan Fruitland. And in this report, this term of sustainable development was used for the first Pme and gives us an understanding of. What that means for all of us today, but the report came about due to an overriding need to understand the impact that human acPvity was actually having on the, on the environment.

And in this report, sustainable development was defined as. [00:06:00] MeePng the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generaPons to meet their own needs. And that folks that is the underlying concept of sustainability. So very simply put sustainable living or sustainability means.

Reducing your demand for natural resources and replacing what you can then to the best of your ability. And ulPmate sustainability can really kind of be thought of in terms of this concept of net zero, which simply means you've put in as much as you take out. And consequently, there's a, a net zero balance, but.

If this doesn't exactly make sense and think of it in terms of a net zero house. And this is basically a house that produces as much energy as [00:07:00] it consumes in consequently, there is a net zero energy balance, but in all this talk about sustainability in climate change and so forth. I think the problem for a lot of us, Ben, perhaps the frustraPon is that it's truly a global issue in much of the Pme.

And we are starPng to now recognize that our global resources are in fact, limited, and those resources need to be managed and [00:08:00] balanced in the face of ongoing human development, as well as the effects on my phone, the climate. And that's, what I want to talk about in this episode is the countries that are doing more than their part and have been taking acPon for decades now.

And in light of all this, and in compared to, to some of the countries I'll showcase here, I find it interesPng that the United States government, that their present naPonal leaders chose to completely walk away from. The Paris agreement. And this was an agreement that in which 160 countries agree to commit to reducing their emissions of greenhouse gases in order to, to take some effort, to take some acPon against global warming and on this one parPcular issue that has a global impact on all of [00:09:00] us.

The naPonal leaders in the United States just chose to walk away from it. So that now brings me full circle to put the spotlight on several countries that are doing more than their part. To promote a sustainable future. Now, in looking at all these different countries, I really needed a means of taking an objecPve look and not just randomly picking things.

Um, you know, the things that I found off the internet. And so consequently, I looked at a couple of different parameters. One is called the environmental performance index or epi. And the other is called the good country index. I know that sounds rather rather simplisPc, but, these are a couple of things that came across in my research and I'll have links to these, of course, on the, on the blog post for this podcast.

So anyway, I don't want to bore you with all the staPsPcs, but you can. Do some further reading on that, um, on your own. But I, again, I just needed a, an objecPve way to look at these, these countries, but I'm going to talk about six different countries, Norway, Switzerland, Iceland, Germany, Sweden, and Finland.

And these were just random choices that I made from. A whole group of country. So, you know, no favoriPsm they're in no [00:11:00] parPcular order or anything, but there are certain things about each one of these countries that I've found parPcularly interesPng. And, and that's why I chose these countries.

So, let's get right down to it. First on the list is Norway, the li[le country of Norway. It was actually somewhat in the middle of an enormous transiPon. The country discovered oil in the North sea in the late sixPes and aVer which Norway actually became one of the richest countries in the world.

But the good thing is that the government in Norway had the forethought enough. To invest that wealth into an oil fund, which conPnues to grow. And Norway used that money to produce an enormous social welfare system. And, and the country consistently works toward a sustainable future. But very soon aVer the discovery of oil, Norway form the ministry [00:12:00] of climate environment and aVer several.

InternaPonal instant incidences. This ministry recognized that global climate change was one of the greatest threats to future generaPons. It, consequently Norway iniPated a series of changes and commitments, and now is a world leader in sustainable energy.

And in fact, 97% of Norway's electricity producPon is from renewable sources, such as wind solar, hydro electric, and geothermal.

Now with this much renewable energy on hand, Norway is actually a world leader in the use of electric cars. In fact, Norway holds about 30% of the market share. And nearly one third of the cars that are sold in Norway are either fully electric or they are [00:13:00] plug-in hybrid vehicles in 2019, the European commission awarded Oslo, the Ptle of European green capital.

And this was the result of poliPcians. Businesses, all working together to reduce the carbon footprint of the capital. For example, the city planners iniPated a car-free city life and the government closed down street parking limited traffic in order to make room for benches, bicycles, block parPes of all things.

As well as many other things that made people happier, not only made people happier, but made for cleaner air in the city. And addiPonally, many of the restaurants in Oslo prepare organic meals that are simply based on local produce. And not only that, not far from the Oslo central staPon is a very large community garden that also promotes the [00:14:00] use of local produce.

Next on the list is Switzerland, low country of Switzerland is actually very, very fascinaPng it back. There's a link to an arPcle on the blog post about 42 interesPng things about Switzerland. So in Switzerland, actually very interesPng country, but, Switzerland has thousands of presPne lakes.

They have forests mountains, of course. And they are known globally for their exporPng cheese chocolates, the watches they produce. And of course the country is also famous for their. Uh, poliPcal neutrality, but on top of that, Switzerland is increasingly known for its strong stance on sustainable development and preserving the environment.

And this is simply due to their tough legislaPon combined with forward-thinking and public educaPon and public awareness. My, for example, uh, ciPzens into each one have to pay in order to get rid of their trash, but recycling is completely free. And Switzerland also has some of the cleanest water in the world with almost one third of the water, reaching the consumer without ever having to be treated or purified in any manner.

So. To bring out a couple of specific examples. in [00:16:00] 2016, Zurich was named one of the top sustainable ciPes in the world. And this was due, in parPcular to their focus on this concept. That's called a 2000 wa[ society, but that's is something that I'm going to discuss in the next podcast episode.

But. What it refers to is the amount of electricity that you use every day in that amount of 2000 Wa[s is globally considered to be sustainable, but. Again, that's going to be something that I'll talk about in the next episode, but the city of Zurich also has other commitments towards sustainable buildings, renewable energies, and again, energy efficiency, public educaPon and public awareness.

another specific example. Uh, there's a, a waste to energy plant. That's called K V a thin T H U N. [00:17:00] That processes a hundred thousand tons of combusPble waste every year and uses that the energy generated to serve 300,000 residences. There is also a wastewater processing plant called a R a Bern, B E R N.

Which processes 90 million liters of wastewater per day. It is considered one of the most technologically advanced wastewater treatment plants in Europe. And they also, collect the Igas that's

produced from the sewage sludge and that gas is used to power, public transportaPon. In, another new concept for me was this concept of capturing carbon, but in 2017 outside the city of Zurich.

The first, the world's first industrial scale [00:18:00] carbon capture plant went online outside of Zurich. And what this plant does is it collects CO2 from the atmosphere. And in fact, they capture about 900 tons of CO2 a year, which is, the approximately the emissions created by 200 cars. And you can, Find some informaPon about this plant on a website called climb works.com.

It'sCLINEwORKs.com.Andit'sveryinteresPng. andonceI came across this concept, My quesPon was what is done with all this carbon, you know, and I figured I discovered it, it could be stored in various ways, but also there are many products that can actually be produced from the captured carbon.

And again, there's a, there's an arPcle on the blog post that talks about this. But [00:19:00] anyway, this was a concept that was completely new to me. So if you want to know more about Switzerland, There is a link on the blog post I'm about 42 interesPng facts about Switzerland. So Switzerland was at the top of my list, for one of the more interesPng countries.

All right. Next on the list is Iceland. I was having a conversaPon with a friend of mine a couple of weeks ago about the li[le country of Iceland and yeah, so I did some research and it was really the story behind the country. Of Iceland that inspired the producPon of this podcast. Uh, so I found Iceland to be a whole story to be actually quite interesPng.

But this li[le country is a perfect example of how renewable energy sources can truly be used to power a modern economy. And at present day, [00:20:00] The enPre country is run 100% off of renewable energy. Hydro electric provides about 73% of the electricity and geothermal provides the remaining 27%. But what

you should know is that it's not always been this way in Iceland, you know, unPl the early 1970s.

Iceland actually produced the largest share of their energy from imported fossil fuels. So why the complete tournament? Well, as it turns out, their transiPon from colon oil was actually driven out of necessity, not, not really a concern over climate change and how that came about is, you know, Iceland's a very small country.

And it's relaPvely isolated from the European community. And due to this Iceland really, truly could [00:21:00] not tolerate all the fluctuaPon. Then the global oil prices and the world energy market and the government realized. They needed to do something about that. And consequently, they set on a mission toward renewable energy because the country really, truly needed a stable and economically feasible, domesPc energy source.

And the enough, this whole process was spurred by local entrepreneurs. For example. In the early, in the early 20th century, a farmer built a primiPve geothermal heaPng system that he was using to heat his farm. And he was just simply using hot water that seeped out of the ground. Well, some of the local municipaliPes took noPce of that and they started building on his success.

[00:22:00] Semng up a geothermal heaPng systems on their own. And eventually they started drilling and that was used to obtain even ho[er water. And then they established what they called a geothermal heaPng dish. And, um, interesPngly enough, as well, the early generaPon of hydroelectric power was established by local entrepreneurs.

In fact, Farmers started using hydroelectric power to power their farmhouses. And somePmes there was a cooperaPve effort amongst several farms to where they could bring electricity in. And by 1950, there were approximately 530 small scale hydroelectric power plants that were sca[ered throughout the country.

And because of that, this a[racted. InternaPonal industries, the new industries in turn diversify, the economy created jobs and eventually established a naPonal power grid. This in turn gave Iceland the stable economy. And the energy independence that the country desperately needed. And to this day, Iceland is basic, basically run off of 100%.

Yeah. Renewable energy. So [00:24:00] you can see. The story behind Iceland is really quite interesPng. And, um, again, it was this whole story that inspired the producPon of this podcast on the most sustainable countries. So all that being said about Iceland next on the list. Is Jeremy. Jeremy also has a very interesPng story.

And personally, I think Germany is a perfect example of what it takes to move an enPre culture towards sustainability, but, Germany went about it a li[le bit of a different way, but overall journey with Jeremy has a 40 year history of sustainable policymaking and. So over a 40 year period, the German government started revisiPng some of their own policies and change them, basically to promote growth that was environmentally sustainable and there of course were.

[00:25:00] A lot of poliPcal challenges, which were eventually overcome. And now the so-called green policies in Germany affect energy infrastructure and transportaPon, and all of those policies are now. Acceptable in all levels of government. For example, the things that Germany did to promote renewable energy is you have to first understand that Jeremy is a member of the European union.

And by 2009, that was about 16%. But during that Pme, The German government even raised its own targets twice because they were ahead of expected their expected schedule. And in fact, they, their goal was that by the year 2020, they were going to try to produce 38% of their energy from renewable sources.

So I got interested in that and I actually came in across an arPcle just the other day that was published in March of. 2019 that stated 65% of Germany's electricity was produced from renewables. Now that to me is absolutely amazing to go from 6% in 2000 to [00:27:00] 65% in 2019. And consequently. With this used focus on renewable energy, technology and, and the renewable industry in Germany now employs about 340,000 people.

But the underlying key to this kind of success in Germany was really associated to their renewable energy sources act, which provided a feed in tariff that promotes renewable energy and a technology efficiency. So. StarPng about 1999, Germany started in forcing some new tax laws on energy usage. I think it was called the ecological tax reform act.

And this act required gradual increases in the tax rates on oil and gas. And, uh, also introduced a new levy on [00:28:00] electricity. And the end result was there was a gradual decline. On the use of fossil fuels and consequently, because of the gradual increase in energy cost. So what this did is it drove the industry toward renewable energy.

And at the same Pme, safeguarded the economy, Germany also, they have a lot of innovaPve ideas about green infrastructure, such

as green rooVops, green facades, permeable pavements, that that mimic the process of soils and vegetaPon in order to, to manage stormwater. And these did all of this innovaPon is really supported by.

A very complex assortment of incenPves and requirements at mulPple levels of government. So you're [00:29:00] starPng to see how a local industry and mulPple levels of government in Germany are working together all toward producing a low carbon economy. And also, you know, the important thing to think about is that.

The greening of the Germany. Connie was unmistakably the product of years, decades of targeted policy design and implementaPon. And this resulted in a huge change over in the economy and greening of the economy, all toward a stable economy and a green economy and renewable energy sources. So as a result of this, tax reform act, gasoline taxes, sales, taxes, and regulaPons in for automobile use and ownership [00:30:00] make automobile use very expensive in Germany.

And consequently people are pushed toward cars that are less polluPng and even smaller cars. And in fact, in 2008, the sales taxes on automobiles in Germany were three Pmes higher than the United States and gasoline taxes were nine Pmes higher. So, what this does is that it drives people toward alternaPves.

And this was one of the keys of Germany success. In fact, some of the ciPes in Germany completely changed their transportaPon systems and they promote bicycling and they restrict automobile use. And they encourage ciPzen parPcipaPon, through this whole process. So in summary, over a period of 19 years from the year [00:31:00] 2000 to the year 2019, Germany went from producing 6% of its electricity from renewables to 65%.

Now, folks, that is an amazing commitment to sustainability. So high five and my hats off to Germany. All right. Moving right along next on the list is Sweden. Sweden is truly one of the most sustainable

countries in the world, and it is ranking that has been earned because of the use of renewable energy and low carbon dioxide emissions.

One of the keys to. This access in Sweden and this kind of visits, the whole idea in Iceland, where there were geothermal heaPng districts, but Sweden started to shiV away from oil. Do you district heaPng? So they had central plants that would [00:32:00] produce heaPng for, apartment blocks. And consequently, this centralizaPon or heaPng districts enable these local plants to start focusing on more renewable, energy, energy systems.

Now, again, looking at this Andrew heaPng desk districts and so forth for, Iceland, this is sort of, um, a good comparison and revisiPng of the concept. one city in Sweden. it's called VOC box ho BA X, J O. And no, I'm probably mispronouncing that in 1996, this city became the first city in the world to set the goal of becoming fossil free by the year 2030.

And since then, that CD has backed up his words with acPons and is oVen referred to as Europe's greenest city. [00:33:00] In fact, the heaPng districts, the district cooling and heaPng systems, they've constructed energy, efficient buildings. They're public transportaPon runs on bio gas and renewable energies.

And also there's a lot of promoPon about. individuals taking acPon, toward some renewable pracPces and they promote bicycling and alternaPve transportaPon means and presently the city of Boxhill they've reduced their CO2 emissions and more than 90% of their energy is used for heaPng the city.

And about half of its electricity actually comes from the burning of waste products from, from the forest industry. And that burning of those products is what's used to produce electricity and produce power. [00:34:00] And addiPonally, There are several other communiPes, even former shipyards that have been converted to ecologically friendly communiPes.

There are a lot more gardens. He has long been a favorite for this wheat and it promotes local growth producPon of vegetables and produce so that people can take advantage of local organic foods instead of things that are shipped in also in Southern Sweden. There is a collecPon of [00:35:00] solar powered buildings that consistently produced more energy than they use.

They have plant walls that purify air comfort dreams that are passively heated, and these buildings, as it turns out or extremely energy efficient. But. You know, what the Swedes have done is they've embraced the three most important dynamics for building a sustainable prosperous community. And those three dynamics are the economy, ecology and equity.

Very simply stated economy of course, is the management of resources to meet the needs of the community as well as each individual household. Ecology. It's the simple relaPonship between environment and all living things, equity or fairness is of course means that everyone is treated equally. They're given an equal opportunity.

They're treated with [00:36:00] dignity and given a fair say in the decisions for the community. Now what I want to point out here. This is another hint of what it takes to move an enPre culture toward sustainability. The three principles of economy, ecology and equity. All right, folks, last owner list is the li[le country of Finland.

The mill actually announced that it was going to reduce its dependency on, uh, Faso imported fuels by half, and is actually banning the use of coal in, in power generaPon by the year 2030. In

fact, fill-in made that announcement in 2016. And since Finland has no domesPc source of coal, that's actually a pre[y dramaPc announcement because all of their coal has to be imported.

And, actually that coal comes primarily from Russia, [00:37:00] but this would make them the first industrialized country in the world to ban the use of coal power Finland's ministry of trade and development States that. We are making a determined move towards a cleaner energy system in Finland. And this has required a total shiV in our thinking of what could and what should be the sources of our energy and how our transport and power systems should be structured.

So their target to reduce all the imported oil has brought about massive reducPons in CO2 emissions. And once again, as with the case with Iceland, both of these measures create room for investment in renewable energy. In fact, Finland's, they foresee that one 10th of the cars in Finland. Will be electric by the year of 2030 [00:38:00] Finland's minister of economic affairs States that we are facing a global and fundamental change in energy economics.

And we are working to build a lasPng bridge toward a fully emission free and carbon neutral energy economics in Finland by the year 2050. And. You know, one of the more interesPng things that I found in researching Finland is there really, there is a huge move. The defense have a very do it yourself amtude anyway, and there's a huge move toward looking at alternaPve protein sources.

And the reason behind this is. They, you know, take a very serious look at how farming agriculture in parPcularly the livestock industry, and the kind of impact that that industry has on the environment. [00:39:00] So the fins are very keen on looking at some alternaPve, protein sources and also environmentally friendly gardening.

So Finland has a law that's called every man's, every man's right law, which means that anyone is allowed to pick wild grown berries and mushrooms. and there's a very interesPng business called Helsinki

There's also quite a bit of public moPvaPon toward alternaPve protein sources. And [00:40:00] interesPngly enough, some of these companies are even focusing on insect based proteins, that are actually very affordable. And there's one company called E N T I S that has developed. For insect based proteins.

First next in chocolates. And I actually have a couple of links in the podcast, or a couple, the links in the blog post associated with this podcast that, you can go to and check out their li[le cricket snacks. And incidentally, aVer I came across this idea of an insect based proteins, I actually decided to give it a try.

Because aVer all, I don't really want to write,or speak unless it's based on personal experience. And in many ways, you know, I refuse to promote any products or any ideas that I have not [00:41:00] tried myself. So what I did as I ordered some Hickory smoked crickets, which are a product of the United States, and I ordered some grasshoppers, I think they were Adobe recipe.

That's a product of Mexico and actually tried them. And they're really not too bad. If you can just get past that idea that you're actually eaPng an insect, but anyway, there's one other company. That's called the solar food. And this company says that they can actually make a protein source out of thin air.

Uh, so there, there is actually a link on the, in the blog post to this company. And you can go read about these guys and check it out. But anyway, there's a few different concepts there that are promoted in Finland that I found, Finland to actually be one of the more interesPng countries.

So my congratulaPons to the thins for taking that move towards sustainability and finding some alternaPve sources of protein. Okay. Now that we've discussed Everly for countries that have achieved a great degree of sustainability. So what are the lessons that are, that can be learned here? If you truly examine the process of each one of [00:43:00] these countries, you'll noPce.

There are several very important factors that have promoted a pa[ern of development and transiPon toward renewables and sustainability. For example, obviously long-term planning for the implementaPon of renewable energy is very important. And what promotes that implementaPon is of course, a favorable legal and regulatory framework because this speeds development, Cora collab, collaboraPon and cooperaPon between municipaliPes, local state and federal governments is key toward a successful long-term transiPon.

And. It's also clear that in all countries making this kind of transiPon, whether those countries are richer, poor, strong leadership is needed in order to make that transiPon, but also good public [00:44:00] engagement, local empowerment, public awareness, public educaPon. Is key because the general public is going to parPcipate in a transiPon that they not only understand, but they also appreciate the value in making that transiPon.

In fact, the success of one. community can be used as a showcase example of success, and then other people would get excited about it and want to make that kind of success possible in their

community so that they can be an example as well. And lastly, the greening, the economy, and this is a very important lesson.

The greening of the economy is no longer a theorePcal idea. Several countries now have put this to the test. Germany is a perfect example. As they, you know, emerged from a recession with [00:45:00] a very strong economy, simply because they had a dominant market share in various green technologies and that folks.

There's a set of condiPons is how you move an enPre culture towards sustainability, with favorable poliPcal condiPons, public educaPon, awareness, and engagement. People will want to become involved as well as become an example for others. But certainly, you know, with these issues revolving around climate change or so much at the forefront these days, I think that.

Many poliPcal and scienPfic leaders have realized that the shiV toward renewable energy is not the only soluPon. We have to take a complete societal approach towards sustainability and embrace the advanced technology that we have today to help us reverse some of the [00:46:00] environmental changes that have already occurred.

Now, obviously, As you can see from the examples in both Iceland and Germany, creaPng an environment of sustainability also creates a more stable economy, Iceland as a very small country, couldn't deal with the volaPlity of the world energy market and consequently, they moved toward renewables and solve that problem on a naPonal level.

Now remember that one, that economy is born of the three most important principles for creaPng a sustainable community. And this is exactly what Iceland and Germany addressed. So my quesPon is why should we, as a naPon in the United States, be subjected to a volaPle world energy market when we can actually move towards his day, inability.

So the quesPon becomes why not make a move towards sustainability and be in more control of your resources as you well know, hundreds and thousands of people on the West coast of the United States conPnue to experience rolling blackouts for more than one reason. Consequently, I want to point out that they would not be experienced experiencing such difficulty if they had implemented renewable energy sources long ago, [00:48:00] you know, and for me personally, when some major winter storm or moves through my area and knocks out the power grid, all I really have to do is walk outside and clean off the solar panels.

So all I'm seeing here. Is there is a very real way. You can not only incorporate sustainability into your life, but you can also increase, create increased stability and security in your life. I mean, look what Iceland did. So now maybe I can't exactly save the world. But I did manage to create a sustainable insecure life for myself, but I will say that I started making that transiPon about 20 years ago.

Well, okay. Let me step back and say, there actually was no transiPon for me. It was, it was really more like jumping off of a cliff because when I moved onto my property, [00:49:00] With nothing and uPliPes are really not available. So at the Pme, my concern was not necessarily sustainability, but an absolute need and having no choices really, truly what moPvated me iniPally.

But I guess in some respects, similar to Iceland, my transiPon or my jumping off the cliff as it was, was simply out of need. But in the end, the, the result was the same, which was a more sustainable lifestyle. And, you know, and just recently I was having a

conversaPon with some friends of mine that had installed solar on their house.

And my friend Dave was telling me that the solar provides about 90% of their energy needs in the summer and about 60% in the winter. But these guys are a family of five. And they managed to make that transiPon all on their own. [00:50:00] So now if you're thinking, well, this is just fine for li[le countries like Iceland, Germany, and Sweden, and all these other small European countries.

But what about a country? As large as the United States is such a thing even possible. And the answer is yes. For example, did you know that it would take an area of about 21,000 square miles of solar panels in order to produce enough electricity to power the enPre United States? Now that may seem like a lot, but that is actually less than one half of 1% of the land that's available in the enPre country.

So going back to Iceland again. Remember how early on there were about 530 small hydroelectric plants sca[ered throughout the country. Well, the same sort of [00:51:00] thing can be done in the United States gathering of solar faciliPes, along with wind and hydro electricity, we could easily meet the enPre, the energy needs for the enPre country, even something as large as a United States.

So it is feasible. Not only that, but such a large focus on renewable energy would drive and support a stable and sustainable economy. Now you heard me menPoned in the last podcast, uh, how I was, I was almost embarrassed to admit when I was younger, that I never thought that I would, would see the results of climate change.

Well, obviously I was wrong because I see it. I've experienced it and I hear about it on a regular basis. And on that note, I want to put another thought in your mind, the global demand, a compePPon for natural resources is increasing and it is very real [00:52:00] things, such as fresh food, fresh water and oil are good examples.

In fact, Just the other day, I was reading a naPonal geographic arPcle about water demand and usage in the United States. And most of the scienPfic folks agree that unless something changes there will be significant shortage of fresh water in United States by the year 2050. [00:53:00] No. I want to discuss this a li[le bit more of my next next podcast, which is going to be Ptled how much is one person allowed to use.

But this is just an example of the changes and the move towards sustainability that we need to make. Now if you're thinking, you know, this is a global issue. And, you know, what can I do as an individual to promote sustainability, but there's so many things that you can do. You can minimize your waste producPon, curb, your uPlity usage, purchase more energy efficient appliances, recycle compost, your kitchen waste, plant your own garden.

Or if that's not possible, just simply buy local produce. And, you know, if you think what you do as an individual, does it make a difference then really in truly you are wrong. Just take a look at what [00:54:00] the individual innovated farmers in Iceland did and how that was truly the iniPal driving force that led to substanPal changes in the enPre country.

Now, if you remember from episode one, that. Despite what I've been doing for the last 20 years, that in my own life, you know, my own life is sPll not the perfect example of sustainability, but you know, that being said aVer I did research on this, for this episode, I decided to make even further changes in my life and even further steps towards sustainability.

And also some other things that I did. I, I tend to travel a lot for work. And I go into different, medical faciliPes and all their kitchen areas of course have disposable dishes and so forth. And I purchased some very durable, reusable they're camp, camping dishes, basically that I now take with me.

I put them in my li[le lunch box and take them with me so that I do not use disposable products any longer. And on that [00:56:00] note, I also purchased 40 12 inch square, cleaning cloths for about $10. And instead of using paper towels at home, I actually use these a reusable cloth and also. Since I work in medical faciliPes and I of course wash my hands 50 Pmes a day.

I now just take my own personal hand cloth that I keep with me. And instead of using 30, 40, 50 paper towels a day, I now have my own personal hand towel. And again, I, I make it a goal to try and get through the enPre day without using a single paper towel. And somePmes they can't do that, but. For the most part actually been really successful at it.

But, you know, some other examples, you know, I've been using plasPc disposable razors for years. so I bought a safety razor, which is [00:57:00] one that, you just have to change the blade so that I'm no longer. Throwing away a piece of plasPc. And I also went a couple of steps further. I started making homemade deodorant and homemade laundry detergent and the containers that these products, her story are reusable.

And, you know, I've made some, some further changes in my life recently, so I don't expect. Every one, of course, to, to make those changes. But what I want to point out is [00:58:00] you have to make very simple changes, one at a tone. And what that does for you is, you have some success with simple changes. You have a li[le more success with simple changes, and then suddenly you realize that it is possible to make substanPal changes.

And, you know, it empowers you to take another step and another step and another step. And so, you know, I got to thinking about this concept of you know, how one simple thing can make a huge difference. And I actually did a li[le bit of research and I'm going to start at that verge from this whole concept of sustainability and for a second.

And I realized that. These examples have absolutely nothing to do with sustainability, but they're just, just some interesPng examples about how one simple thing can in fact [00:59:00] change the course of history, even. So for example, In 1947 VDL Castro came to United States to try out for a baseball team. That's called the Washington senators.

And incidentally, this team is now relocated and now called the Minnesota twins. But the team decided. He wasn't exactly cut out to be a professional baseball player. so he actually went back home and turn to a career in poliPcs and STEM and also, here's another really good example. Adolf Hitler when he was six years old.

He was experiencing some, dramaPc nightmares. And at the Pme his, it was recommended that his parents take him to a mental

health facility and they [01:00:00] of course declined that suggesPon because they were afraid that the authoriPes would find out that his, his father was actually very abusive.

so you have to wonder. If that man had received a mental health assistance that he needed at that young of an age, would he have been mentally sound later in life? And if he was, would that have changed the enPre course of history? Now, one other just kind of fun example, did you know. That unfortunately for the crew and the passengers of the Titanic there was a change in the crew, the crew master was replaced right at the last minute that crew master forgot to give the keys to the locker that contained all the binoculars.

So you have, I do wonder if the [01:01:00] crude at sailed on the Titanic had had access to that simple equipment. Would that have changed the whole course of history or the Titanic and all the passengers. So as you can see, this has been used very simple examples, but one person can in fact make a difference. And if you don't believe that who would have thought that one single teenager.

Gre[a Thornburg could bring internaPonal a[enPon to the subject of climate change. And you know what that is part of what I'm trying to do here. Just bring your a[enPon to a number of different issues, gemng you thinking a li[le bit in a li[le bit of a different way, and perhaps to be that one person that truly makes a difference.

[01:02:00] Well folks, this is going to wrap up episode two, Ptled the most sustainable countries. I know this has been a li[le bit of a lengthy episode. I appreciate you hanging in there. And as I promised, there's going to be a couple important takeaways that I want to leave you with from this episode. The first one, you know, if you remember what I said, that as long as someone else is in control of your resources, They are in fact, in control of your life.

And this way you will receive. Uh, regular Pps on how to live more independently. And that leads me to my second takeaway. I put together a, a free resource. It is a simple ebook that is Ptled seven ways to live your life. The way you want, it may not be what you think. So go to my blog, off-grid living news and click or search for the podcast, or you can also search for the post seven ways to live your life the way you want.

Now this resource, it's not necessarily about sustainable living, but it does provide numerous things that I did over Pme in order to live my life the way. I want in order to live my life the way I do today. And if just so you know, my next episode is going to be Ptled how much should one [01:04:00] person be allowed to use?

So sign up and stay tuned for my next episode. So for now, folks, this is Patrick, your host for the adventures and sustainable living, signing off. I hope to see you next Pme.

Episode Transcript

002-The Most Sustainable Countries_FINAL - 9-13-20 5.12 PM
[00:00:00] Welcome to the adventures and sustainable living podcast. Your host has lived an off-grid sustainable lifestyle for over 20 years. His homestead is run on solar energy. It has an earth shelter, greenhouse and produces much of his own food. And all of this takes place in the middle of the forest and Colorado.

Now let's join Patrick. The man that not only teaches the skills of sustainable living, but lives that life every day.

Hello everyone. And welcome to the Adventures in Sustainable Living Podcast. This is episode two and it is called The Most Sustainable Countries. This is your host, Patrick. Keith, if you listened to episode one, Then, you know, that it was simply an introducPon to [00:01:00] the podcast and where I want to go with various episodes.

But I also menPoned in that last episode, that episode two was going to be about enPre countries that have achieved a significant level of sustainability during my research for this episode. You know, I just want to share with you that I came across a really exciPng even startling informaPon about several different countries that are moving toward sustainability.

But I also realized that aVer 20 plus years of living off the grid, And developing a sustainable lifestyle. I was also amazed at all of the things that I sPll do not know. And it was only aVer my research for this episode that I came to a full unders
tanding of several very important things. And that's part of what I want to share in this episode.
For [00:02:00] example, I discovered what it actually takes to move an enPre culture towards sustainability. I also realized and discovered even more reasons as to why we should be concerned about sustainability and in looking at it and showcasing these
countries that I'm going to discuss. I realized that these countries are actually some of the smaller countries in the world.
So I asked myself the quesPon. Is it possible for a larger country, such as a country, the size of the United States to actually move toward sustainability. So I want to address that quesPon as well. And also in looking at some of these smaller countries, what are some lessons that we can learn from these countries?
And you know, I think we lose track somePmes of the fact that what we do as individuals actually really ma[ers. [00:03:00] And it also wanted to touch on that. And I'm also going to have to admit some. Things that I discovered about my own lifestyle that I needed to change, and I did make those changes.
And finally, in the end, I want to, once again, give you an important takeaway. And also this Pme, I want to give you a free resource that I put together that will truly help you live your life the way you want. So you want to learn these things. And much more then sPck around through the enPre episode.
So that being said, let's get right down to business because we really truly have a lot of things to cover. So iniPally in this episode, I really wanted to answer some, just some very basic quesPons about what is sustainability, how did it all get started? What does it mean? Why should [00:04:00] we worry about it?
And of course, how it applies to all of us. The, the concept of sustainability really, truly affects every single thing that we do on a daily basis. For example, how you choose to get to, and from your place of employment, what products you buy, it affects your garden and affects what you choose to eat. Uh, how, and when you take a shower, how much electricity you use.
And these are some of the things I just want to point out on this episode, but what I've found in my research, I found it really very interesPng that this concept of sustainability or the modern

movement of sustainability really, truly started fairly recently. And it first appeared in 1987 in what's called the brute brute lend report it to be yeah.
R U N D T L a N D. it's [00:05:00] also called the reports also called our common future, but, I'll have a link to this report in, the blog posts that's associated with this podcast. But anyway, this country was produced or this report was produced by several countries for the United naPons. And it was produced by a commission that was led by dr.
Grill Harlan Fruitland. And in this report, this term of sustainable development was used for the first Pme and gives us an understanding of. What that means for all of us today, but the report came about due to an overriding need to understand the impact that human acPvity was actually having on the, on the environment.
And in this report, sustainable development was defined as. [00:06:00] MeePng the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generaPons to meet their own needs. And that folks that is the underlying concept of sustainability. So very simply put sustainable living or sustainability means.
Reducing your demand for natural resources and replacing what you can then to the best of your ability. And ulPmate sustainability can really kind of be thought of in terms of this concept of net zero, which simply means you've put in as much as you take out. And consequently, there's a, a net zero balance, but.
If this doesn't exactly make sense and think of it in terms of a net zero house. And this is basically a house that produces as much energy as [00:07:00] it consumes in consequently, there is a net zero energy balance, but in all this talk about sustainability in climate change and so forth. I think the problem for a lot of us, Ben, perhaps the frustraPon is that it's truly a global issue in much of the Pme.

It seems almost overwhelming. And we lose track of the concept that we as individuals can actually do something about it. But thanks to the Brut Lynn report, we now have a concept of a sustainable development in modern Pmes. And the fact that we just need a global, global approach cheers to these soluPons.
And we are starPng to now recognize that our global resources are in fact, limited, and those resources need to be managed and [00:08:00] balanced in the face of ongoing human development, as well as the effects on my phone, the climate. And that's, what I want to talk about in this episode is the countries that are doing more than their part and have been taking acPon for decades now.
And in light of all this, and in compared to, to some of the countries I'll showcase here, I find it interesPng that the United States government, that their present naPonal leaders chose to completely walk away from. The Paris agreement. And this was an agreement that in which 160 countries agree to commit to reducing their emissions of greenhouse gases in order to, to take some effort, to take some acPon against global warming and on this one parPcular issue that has a global impact on all of [00:09:00] us.
The naPonal leaders in the United States just chose to walk away from it. So that now brings me full circle to put the spotlight on several countries that are doing more than their part. To promote a sustainable future. Now, in looking at all these different countries, I really needed a means of taking an objecPve look and not just randomly picking things.
Um, you know, the things that I found off the internet. And so consequently, I looked at a couple of different parameters. One is called the environmental performance index or epi. And the other is called the good country index. I know that sounds rather rather simplisPc, but, these are a couple of things that came across in my research and I'll have links to these, of course, on the, on the blog post for this podcast.

But these two indices looked at [00:10:00] comparing all the countries in the world in their efforts to protect him, preserve the environment. looked at air quality, CO2 emissions, waste management, a number of public health factors. the indices, the looked at science and technology culture, internaPonal peace and security, health, and wellbeing as well as many other categories.
So anyway, I don't want to bore you with all the staPsPcs, but you can. Do some further reading on that, um, on your own. But I, again, I just needed a, an objecPve way to look at these, these countries, but I'm going to talk about six different countries, Norway, Switzerland, Iceland, Germany, Sweden, and Finland.
And these were just random choices that I made from. A whole group of country. So, you know, no favoriPsm they're in no [00:11:00] parPcular order or anything, but there are certain things about each one of these countries that I've found parPcularly interesPng. And, and that's why I chose these countries.
So, let's get right down to it. First on the list is Norway, the li[le country of Norway. It was actually somewhat in the middle of an enormous transiPon. The country discovered oil in the North sea in the late sixPes and aVer which Norway actually became one of the richest countries in the world.
But the good thing is that the government in Norway had the forethought enough. To invest that wealth into an oil fund, which conPnues to grow. And Norway used that money to produce an enormous social welfare system. And, and the country consistently works toward a sustainable future. But very soon aVer the discovery of oil, Norway form the ministry [00:12:00] of climate environment and aVer several.
InternaPonal instant incidences. This ministry recognized that global climate change was one of the greatest threats to future generaPons. It, consequently Norway iniPated a series of changes and commitments, and now is a world leader in sustainable energy.

And in fact, 97% of Norway's electricity producPon is from renewable sources, such as wind solar, hydro electric, and geothermal.
Now with this much renewable energy on hand, Norway is actually a world leader in the use of electric cars. In fact, Norway holds about 30% of the market share. And nearly one third of the cars that are sold in Norway are either fully electric or they are [00:13:00] plug-in hybrid vehicles in 2019, the European commission awarded Oslo, the Ptle of European green capital.
And this was the result of poliPcians. Businesses, all working together to reduce the carbon footprint of the capital. For example, the city planners iniPated a car-free city life and the government closed down street parking limited traffic in order to make room for benches, bicycles, block parPes of all things.
As well as many other things that made people happier, not only made people happier, but made for cleaner air in the city. And addiPonally, many of the restaurants in Oslo prepare organic meals that are simply based on local produce. And not only that, not far from the Oslo central staPon is a very large community garden that also promotes the [00:14:00] use of local produce.
Next on the list is Switzerland, low country of Switzerland is actually very, very fascinaPng it back. There's a link to an arPcle on the blog post about 42 interesPng things about Switzerland. So in Switzerland, actually very interesPng country, but, Switzerland has thousands of presPne lakes.
They have forests mountains, of course. And they are known globally for their exporPng cheese chocolates, the watches they produce. And of course the country is also famous for their. Uh, poliPcal neutrality, but on top of that, Switzerland is increasingly known for its strong stance on sustainable development and preserving the environment.

Switzerland is Mo it's a small country and is oVen at the top of the list of some of the most green [00:15:00] and eco-friendly countries in the world. And in 2017, this li[le country was in the top five countries. For reaching the UN's, the United naPons sustained animal development goals, but Switzerland for decades now has been considered an eco-friendly desPnaPon.
And this is simply due to their tough legislaPon combined with forward-thinking and public educaPon and public awareness. My, for example, uh, ciPzens into each one have to pay in order to get rid of their trash, but recycling is completely free. And Switzerland also has some of the cleanest water in the world with almost one third of the water, reaching the consumer without ever having to be treated or purified in any manner.
So. To bring out a couple of specific examples. in [00:16:00] 2016, Zurich was named one of the top sustainable ciPes in the world. And this was due, in parPcular to their focus on this concept. That's called a 2000 wa[ society, but that's is something that I'm going to discuss in the next podcast episode.
But. What it refers to is the amount of electricity that you use every day in that amount of 2000 Wa[s is globally considered to be sustainable, but. Again, that's going to be something that I'll talk about in the next episode, but the city of Zurich also has other commitments towards sustainable buildings, renewable energies, and again, energy efficiency, public educaPon and public awareness.
another specific example. Uh, there's a, a waste to energy plant. That's called K V a thin T H U N. [00:17:00] That processes a hundred thousand tons of combusPble waste every year and uses that the energy generated to serve 300,000 residences. There is also a wastewater processing plant called a R a Bern, B E R N.
Which processes 90 million liters of wastewater per day. It is considered one of the most technologically advanced wastewater treatment plants in Europe. And they also, collect the Igas that's

produced from the sewage sludge and that gas is used to power, public transportaPon. In, another new concept for me was this concept of capturing carbon, but in 2017 outside the city of Zurich.
The first, the world's first industrial scale [00:18:00] carbon capture plant went online outside of Zurich. And what this plant does is it collects CO2 from the atmosphere. And in fact, they capture about 900 tons of CO2 a year, which is, the approximately the emissions created by 200 cars. And you can, Find some informaPon about this plant on a website called climb works.com.
It'sCLINEwORKs.com.Andit'sveryinteresPng. andonceI came across this concept, My quesPon was what is done with all this carbon, you know, and I figured I discovered it, it could be stored in various ways, but also there are many products that can actually be produced from the captured carbon.
And again, there's a, there's an arPcle on the blog post that talks about this. But [00:19:00] anyway, this was a concept that was completely new to me. So if you want to know more about Switzerland, There is a link on the blog post I'm about 42 interesPng facts about Switzerland. So Switzerland was at the top of my list, for one of the more interesPng countries.
All right. Next on the list is Iceland. I was having a conversaPon with a friend of mine a couple of weeks ago about the li[le country of Iceland and yeah, so I did some research and it was really the story behind the country. Of Iceland that inspired the producPon of this podcast. Uh, so I found Iceland to be a whole story to be actually quite interesPng.
But this li[le country is a perfect example of how renewable energy sources can truly be used to power a modern economy. And at present day, [00:20:00] The enPre country is run 100% off of renewable energy. Hydro electric provides about 73% of the electricity and geothermal provides the remaining 27%. But what

you should know is that it's not always been this way in Iceland, you know, unPl the early 1970s.
Iceland actually produced the largest share of their energy from imported fossil fuels. So why the complete tournament? Well, as it turns out, their transiPon from colon oil was actually driven out of necessity, not, not really a concern over climate change and how that came about is, you know, Iceland's a very small country.
And it's relaPvely isolated from the European community. And due to this Iceland really, truly could [00:21:00] not tolerate all the fluctuaPon. Then the global oil prices and the world energy market and the government realized. They needed to do something about that. And consequently, they set on a mission toward renewable energy because the country really, truly needed a stable and economically feasible, domesPc energy source.
And the enough, this whole process was spurred by local entrepreneurs. For example. In the early, in the early 20th century, a farmer built a primiPve geothermal heaPng system that he was using to heat his farm. And he was just simply using hot water that seeped out of the ground. Well, some of the local municipaliPes took noPce of that and they started building on his success.
[00:22:00] Semng up a geothermal heaPng systems on their own. And eventually they started drilling and that was used to obtain even ho[er water. And then they established what they called a geothermal heaPng dish. And, um, interesPngly enough, as well, the early generaPon of hydroelectric power was established by local entrepreneurs.
In fact, Farmers started using hydroelectric power to power their farmhouses. And somePmes there was a cooperaPve effort amongst several farms to where they could bring electricity in. And by 1950, there were approximately 530 small scale hydroelectric power plants that were sca[ered throughout the country.

And furthermore, The government also established a what was called a geothermal [00:23:00] drilling miPgaPon fund in the late 1960s. And that fund loaned money for research for test drilling and even provided some cost recovery for projects that failed and all at the same Pme simultaneously. The government in Iceland was also focusing on large scale hydroelectric power.
And because of that, this a[racted. InternaPonal industries, the new industries in turn diversify, the economy created jobs and eventually established a naPonal power grid. This in turn gave Iceland the stable economy. And the energy independence that the country desperately needed. And to this day, Iceland is basic, basically run off of 100%.
Yeah. Renewable energy. So [00:24:00] you can see. The story behind Iceland is really quite interesPng. And, um, again, it was this whole story that inspired the producPon of this podcast on the most sustainable countries. So all that being said about Iceland next on the list. Is Jeremy. Jeremy also has a very interesPng story.
And personally, I think Germany is a perfect example of what it takes to move an enPre culture towards sustainability, but, Germany went about it a li[le bit of a different way, but overall journey with Jeremy has a 40 year history of sustainable policymaking and. So over a 40 year period, the German government started revisiPng some of their own policies and change them, basically to promote growth that was environmentally sustainable and there of course were.
[00:25:00] A lot of poliPcal challenges, which were eventually overcome. And now the so-called green policies in Germany affect energy infrastructure and transportaPon, and all of those policies are now. Acceptable in all levels of government. For example, the things that Germany did to promote renewable energy is you have to first understand that Jeremy is a member of the European union.

And consequently, their energy policies are kind of a mix of EU and naPonal legislaPon, but this whole thing started in about 2009. The European union passed some legislaPon staPng that. Each member state needed to raise their overall share of renewable energy. And in, I think it was about a year, 2000 Germany produced about [00:26:00] 6% of their energy from renewable energy sources.
And by 2009, that was about 16%. But during that Pme, The German government even raised its own targets twice because they were ahead of expected their expected schedule. And in fact, they, their goal was that by the year 2020, they were going to try to produce 38% of their energy from renewable sources.
So I got interested in that and I actually came in across an arPcle just the other day that was published in March of. 2019 that stated 65% of Germany's electricity was produced from renewables. Now that to me is absolutely amazing to go from 6% in 2000 to [00:27:00] 65% in 2019. And consequently. With this used focus on renewable energy, technology and, and the renewable industry in Germany now employs about 340,000 people.
But the underlying key to this kind of success in Germany was really associated to their renewable energy sources act, which provided a feed in tariff that promotes renewable energy and a technology efficiency. So. StarPng about 1999, Germany started in forcing some new tax laws on energy usage. I think it was called the ecological tax reform act.
And this act required gradual increases in the tax rates on oil and gas. And, uh, also introduced a new levy on [00:28:00] electricity. And the end result was there was a gradual decline. On the use of fossil fuels and consequently, because of the gradual increase in energy cost. So what this did is it drove the industry toward renewable energy.
And at the same Pme, safeguarded the economy, Germany also, they have a lot of innovaPve ideas about green infrastructure, such

as green rooVops, green facades, permeable pavements, that that mimic the process of soils and vegetaPon in order to, to manage stormwater. And these did all of this innovaPon is really supported by.
A very complex assortment of incenPves and requirements at mulPple levels of government. So you're [00:29:00] starPng to see how a local industry and mulPple levels of government in Germany are working together all toward producing a low carbon economy. And also, you know, the important thing to think about is that.
The greening of the Germany. Connie was unmistakably the product of years, decades of targeted policy design and implementaPon. And this resulted in a huge change over in the economy and greening of the economy, all toward a stable economy and a green economy and renewable energy sources. So as a result of this, tax reform act, gasoline taxes, sales, taxes, and regulaPons in for automobile use and ownership [00:30:00] make automobile use very expensive in Germany.
And consequently people are pushed toward cars that are less polluPng and even smaller cars. And in fact, in 2008, the sales taxes on automobiles in Germany were three Pmes higher than the United States and gasoline taxes were nine Pmes higher. So, what this does is that it drives people toward alternaPves.
And this was one of the keys of Germany success. In fact, some of the ciPes in Germany completely changed their transportaPon systems and they promote bicycling and they restrict automobile use. And they encourage ciPzen parPcipaPon, through this whole process. So in summary, over a period of 19 years from the year [00:31:00] 2000 to the year 2019, Germany went from producing 6% of its electricity from renewables to 65%.
Now, folks, that is an amazing commitment to sustainability. So high five and my hats off to Germany. All right. Moving right along next on the list is Sweden. Sweden is truly one of the most sustainable

countries in the world, and it is ranking that has been earned because of the use of renewable energy and low carbon dioxide emissions.
One of the keys to. This access in Sweden and this kind of visits, the whole idea in Iceland, where there were geothermal heaPng districts, but Sweden started to shiV away from oil. Do you district heaPng? So they had central plants that would [00:32:00] produce heaPng for, apartment blocks. And consequently, this centralizaPon or heaPng districts enable these local plants to start focusing on more renewable, energy, energy systems.
Now, again, looking at this Andrew heaPng desk districts and so forth for, Iceland, this is sort of, um, a good comparison and revisiPng of the concept. one city in Sweden. it's called VOC box ho BA X, J O. And no, I'm probably mispronouncing that in 1996, this city became the first city in the world to set the goal of becoming fossil free by the year 2030.
And since then, that CD has backed up his words with acPons and is oVen referred to as Europe's greenest city. [00:33:00] In fact, the heaPng districts, the district cooling and heaPng systems, they've constructed energy, efficient buildings. They're public transportaPon runs on bio gas and renewable energies.
And also there's a lot of promoPon about. individuals taking acPon, toward some renewable pracPces and they promote bicycling and alternaPve transportaPon means and presently the city of Boxhill they've reduced their CO2 emissions and more than 90% of their energy is used for heaPng the city.
And about half of its electricity actually comes from the burning of waste products from, from the forest industry. And that burning of those products is what's used to produce electricity and produce power. [00:34:00] And addiPonally, There are several other communiPes, even former shipyards that have been converted to ecologically friendly communiPes.

For example, they produced carbon-free neighborhoods. Food waste is being converted into bio gas too, to power public transportaPon. They have rooVops that absorb rainwater to help with flooding solar panels are being installed on public and private buildings in order to harvest energy. But there are also urban farming iniPaPves.
There are a lot more gardens. He has long been a favorite for this wheat and it promotes local growth producPon of vegetables and produce so that people can take advantage of local organic foods instead of things that are shipped in also in Southern Sweden. There is a collecPon of [00:35:00] solar powered buildings that consistently produced more energy than they use.
They have plant walls that purify air comfort dreams that are passively heated, and these buildings, as it turns out or extremely energy efficient. But. You know, what the Swedes have done is they've embraced the three most important dynamics for building a sustainable prosperous community. And those three dynamics are the economy, ecology and equity.
Very simply stated economy of course, is the management of resources to meet the needs of the community as well as each individual household. Ecology. It's the simple relaPonship between environment and all living things, equity or fairness is of course means that everyone is treated equally. They're given an equal opportunity.
They're treated with [00:36:00] dignity and given a fair say in the decisions for the community. Now what I want to point out here. This is another hint of what it takes to move an enPre culture toward sustainability. The three principles of economy, ecology and equity. All right, folks, last owner list is the li[le country of Finland.
The mill actually announced that it was going to reduce its dependency on, uh, Faso imported fuels by half, and is actually banning the use of coal in, in power generaPon by the year 2030. In

fact, fill-in made that announcement in 2016. And since Finland has no domesPc source of coal, that's actually a pre[y dramaPc announcement because all of their coal has to be imported.
And, actually that coal comes primarily from Russia, [00:37:00] but this would make them the first industrialized country in the world to ban the use of coal power Finland's ministry of trade and development States that. We are making a determined move towards a cleaner energy system in Finland. And this has required a total shiV in our thinking of what could and what should be the sources of our energy and how our transport and power systems should be structured.
So their target to reduce all the imported oil has brought about massive reducPons in CO2 emissions. And once again, as with the case with Iceland, both of these measures create room for investment in renewable energy. In fact, Finland's, they foresee that one 10th of the cars in Finland. Will be electric by the year of 2030 [00:38:00] Finland's minister of economic affairs States that we are facing a global and fundamental change in energy economics.
And we are working to build a lasPng bridge toward a fully emission free and carbon neutral energy economics in Finland by the year 2050. And. You know, one of the more interesPng things that I found in researching Finland is there really, there is a huge move. The defense have a very do it yourself amtude anyway, and there's a huge move toward looking at alternaPve protein sources.
And the reason behind this is. They, you know, take a very serious look at how farming agriculture in parPcularly the livestock industry, and the kind of impact that that industry has on the environment. [00:39:00] So the fins are very keen on looking at some alternaPve, protein sources and also environmentally friendly gardening.
So Finland has a law that's called every man's, every man's right law, which means that anyone is allowed to pick wild grown berries and mushrooms. and there's a very interesPng business called Helsinki

wild foods, and they have a range of food products and courses. That helps to promote public awareness and of the wild foods that are around them and how to take advantage of this and these things in combinaPon, encourage people to eat locally and take advantage of food sources that are more environmentally friendly.
There's also quite a bit of public moPvaPon toward alternaPve protein sources. And [00:40:00] interesPngly enough, some of these companies are even focusing on insect based proteins, that are actually very affordable. And there's one company called E N T I S that has developed. For insect based proteins.
First next in chocolates. And I actually have a couple of links in the podcast, or a couple, the links in the blog post associated with this podcast that, you can go to and check out their li[le cricket snacks. And incidentally, aVer I came across this idea of an insect based proteins, I actually decided to give it a try.
Because aVer all, I don't really want to write,or speak unless it's based on personal experience. And in many ways, you know, I refuse to promote any products or any ideas that I have not [00:41:00] tried myself. So what I did as I ordered some Hickory smoked crickets, which are a product of the United States, and I ordered some grasshoppers, I think they were Adobe recipe.
That's a product of Mexico and actually tried them. And they're really not too bad. If you can just get past that idea that you're actually eaPng an insect, but anyway, there's one other company. That's called the solar food. And this company says that they can actually make a protein source out of thin air.
Uh, so there, there is actually a link on the, in the blog post to this company. And you can go read about these guys and check it out. But anyway, there's a few different concepts there that are promoted in Finland that I found, Finland to actually be one of the more interesPng countries.

[00:42:00] But before we move away from talking about finan, I wanted to menPon one more thing. The principle reason that the fans are so interested in finding alternaPve sources of protein is because they realized that. 40% of the land, surface area on our planet is actually used for agriculture. So when you think of it, in that respect, you, you suddenly realize what an impact on our planet that agriculture has in order to support our populaPon.
So my congratulaPons to the thins for taking that move towards sustainability and finding some alternaPve sources of protein. Okay. Now that we've discussed Everly for countries that have achieved a great degree of sustainability. So what are the lessons that are, that can be learned here? If you truly examine the process of each one of [00:43:00] these countries, you'll noPce.
There are several very important factors that have promoted a pa[ern of development and transiPon toward renewables and sustainability. For example, obviously long-term planning for the implementaPon of renewable energy is very important. And what promotes that implementaPon is of course, a favorable legal and regulatory framework because this speeds development, Cora collab, collaboraPon and cooperaPon between municipaliPes, local state and federal governments is key toward a successful long-term transiPon.
And. It's also clear that in all countries making this kind of transiPon, whether those countries are richer, poor, strong leadership is needed in order to make that transiPon, but also good public [00:44:00] engagement, local empowerment, public awareness, public educaPon. Is key because the general public is going to parPcipate in a transiPon that they not only understand, but they also appreciate the value in making that transiPon.
In fact, the success of one. community can be used as a showcase example of success, and then other people would get excited about it and want to make that kind of success possible in their

community so that they can be an example as well. And lastly, the greening, the economy, and this is a very important lesson.
The greening of the economy is no longer a theorePcal idea. Several countries now have put this to the test. Germany is a perfect example. As they, you know, emerged from a recession with [00:45:00] a very strong economy, simply because they had a dominant market share in various green technologies and that folks.
There's a set of condiPons is how you move an enPre culture towards sustainability, with favorable poliPcal condiPons, public educaPon, awareness, and engagement. People will want to become involved as well as become an example for others. But certainly, you know, with these issues revolving around climate change or so much at the forefront these days, I think that.
Many poliPcal and scienPfic leaders have realized that the shiV toward renewable energy is not the only soluPon. We have to take a complete societal approach towards sustainability and embrace the advanced technology that we have today to help us reverse some of the [00:46:00] environmental changes that have already occurred.
Now, obviously, As you can see from the examples in both Iceland and Germany, creaPng an environment of sustainability also creates a more stable economy, Iceland as a very small country, couldn't deal with the volaPlity of the world energy market and consequently, they moved toward renewables and solve that problem on a naPonal level.
Now remember that one, that economy is born of the three most important principles for creaPng a sustainable community. And this is exactly what Iceland and Germany addressed. So my quesPon is why should we, as a naPon in the United States, be subjected to a volaPle world energy market when we can actually move towards his day, inability.

And dust more stability. So on a [00:47:00] naPonal level, that is the very reason why you should care about sustainability, but what I want to point out one very important thing. I remember this because you're going to hear me say this over and over again. And that is as long as someone else is in control of your resources, someone else is in control of your life.
So the quesPon becomes why not make a move towards sustainability and be in more control of your resources as you well know, hundreds and thousands of people on the West coast of the United States conPnue to experience rolling blackouts for more than one reason. Consequently, I want to point out that they would not be experienced experiencing such difficulty if they had implemented renewable energy sources long ago, [00:48:00] you know, and for me personally, when some major winter storm or moves through my area and knocks out the power grid, all I really have to do is walk outside and clean off the solar panels.
So all I'm seeing here. Is there is a very real way. You can not only incorporate sustainability into your life, but you can also increase, create increased stability and security in your life. I mean, look what Iceland did. So now maybe I can't exactly save the world. But I did manage to create a sustainable insecure life for myself, but I will say that I started making that transiPon about 20 years ago.
Well, okay. Let me step back and say, there actually was no transiPon for me. It was, it was really more like jumping off of a cliff because when I moved onto my property, [00:49:00] With nothing and uPliPes are really not available. So at the Pme, my concern was not necessarily sustainability, but an absolute need and having no choices really, truly what moPvated me iniPally.
But I guess in some respects, similar to Iceland, my transiPon or my jumping off the cliff as it was, was simply out of need. But in the end, the, the result was the same, which was a more sustainable lifestyle. And, you know, and just recently I was having a

conversaPon with some friends of mine that had installed solar on their house.
And my friend Dave was telling me that the solar provides about 90% of their energy needs in the summer and about 60% in the winter. But these guys are a family of five. And they managed to make that transiPon all on their own. [00:50:00] So now if you're thinking, well, this is just fine for li[le countries like Iceland, Germany, and Sweden, and all these other small European countries.
But what about a country? As large as the United States is such a thing even possible. And the answer is yes. For example, did you know that it would take an area of about 21,000 square miles of solar panels in order to produce enough electricity to power the enPre United States? Now that may seem like a lot, but that is actually less than one half of 1% of the land that's available in the enPre country.
So going back to Iceland again. Remember how early on there were about 530 small hydroelectric plants sca[ered throughout the country. Well, the same sort of [00:51:00] thing can be done in the United States gathering of solar faciliPes, along with wind and hydro electricity, we could easily meet the enPre, the energy needs for the enPre country, even something as large as a United States.
So it is feasible. Not only that, but such a large focus on renewable energy would drive and support a stable and sustainable economy. Now you heard me menPoned in the last podcast, uh, how I was, I was almost embarrassed to admit when I was younger, that I never thought that I would, would see the results of climate change.
Well, obviously I was wrong because I see it. I've experienced it and I hear about it on a regular basis. And on that note, I want to put another thought in your mind, the global demand, a compePPon for natural resources is increasing and it is very real [00:52:00] things, such as fresh food, fresh water and oil are good examples.

And it's becoming obvious if there is not some major shiV towards sustainable living. We all may very well see intensified compePPon and maybe even military conflict over the ownership and usage of those natural resources. Now I really don't want to promote gloom and doom, but this is something that even me at my age, I may see this in my lifePme.
In fact, Just the other day, I was reading a naPonal geographic arPcle about water demand and usage in the United States. And most of the scienPfic folks agree that unless something changes there will be significant shortage of fresh water in United States by the year 2050. [00:53:00] No. I want to discuss this a li[le bit more of my next next podcast, which is going to be Ptled how much is one person allowed to use.
But this is just an example of the changes and the move towards sustainability that we need to make. Now if you're thinking, you know, this is a global issue. And, you know, what can I do as an individual to promote sustainability, but there's so many things that you can do. You can minimize your waste producPon, curb, your uPlity usage, purchase more energy efficient appliances, recycle compost, your kitchen waste, plant your own garden.
Or if that's not possible, just simply buy local produce. And, you know, if you think what you do as an individual, does it make a difference then really in truly you are wrong. Just take a look at what [00:54:00] the individual innovated farmers in Iceland did and how that was truly the iniPal driving force that led to substanPal changes in the enPre country.
Now, if you remember from episode one, that. Despite what I've been doing for the last 20 years, that in my own life, you know, my own life is sPll not the perfect example of sustainability, but you know, that being said aVer I did research on this, for this episode, I decided to make even further changes in my life and even further steps towards sustainability.

So. If you remember, one of the challenges that I gave you in the last episode was to try and go two weeks without using any plasPc and also to try and encourage someone else to do the same thing. Well, I [00:55:00] realized I wasn't a perfect example of that challenge. So I took that challenge myself. And I purchased more reusable, grocery bags, mesh produce bags, and now I make it an absolute point that when I go into the supermarket, I do not walk out with anything, plasPc in my hands.
And also some other things that I did. I, I tend to travel a lot for work. And I go into different, medical faciliPes and all their kitchen areas of course have disposable dishes and so forth. And I purchased some very durable, reusable they're camp, camping dishes, basically that I now take with me.
I put them in my li[le lunch box and take them with me so that I do not use disposable products any longer. And on that [00:56:00] note, I also purchased 40 12 inch square, cleaning cloths for about $10. And instead of using paper towels at home, I actually use these a reusable cloth and also. Since I work in medical faciliPes and I of course wash my hands 50 Pmes a day.
I now just take my own personal hand cloth that I keep with me. And instead of using 30, 40, 50 paper towels a day, I now have my own personal hand towel. And again, I, I make it a goal to try and get through the enPre day without using a single paper towel. And somePmes they can't do that, but. For the most part actually been really successful at it.
But, you know, some other examples, you know, I've been using plasPc disposable razors for years. so I bought a safety razor, which is [00:57:00] one that, you just have to change the blade so that I'm no longer. Throwing away a piece of plasPc. And I also went a couple of steps further. I started making homemade deodorant and homemade laundry detergent and the containers that these products, her story are reusable.

And not only that ingredients that I purchased to make these products at home or in containers that are, reusable or something that can be recycled. So, you know, if that sounds like a lot, you know, I know that, you know, it may seem overwhelming I'm course, you know, jumped off the cliff years ago and decided to live without electricity.
And, you know, I've made some, some further changes in my life recently, so I don't expect. Every one, of course, to, to make those changes. But what I want to point out is [00:58:00] you have to make very simple changes, one at a tone. And what that does for you is, you have some success with simple changes. You have a li[le more success with simple changes, and then suddenly you realize that it is possible to make substanPal changes.
And, you know, it empowers you to take another step and another step and another step. And so, you know, I got to thinking about this concept of you know, how one simple thing can make a huge difference. And I actually did a li[le bit of research and I'm going to start at that verge from this whole concept of sustainability and for a second.
And I realized that. These examples have absolutely nothing to do with sustainability, but they're just, just some interesPng examples about how one simple thing can in fact [00:59:00] change the course of history, even. So for example, In 1947 VDL Castro came to United States to try out for a baseball team. That's called the Washington senators.
And incidentally, this team is now relocated and now called the Minnesota twins. But the team decided. He wasn't exactly cut out to be a professional baseball player. so he actually went back home and turn to a career in poliPcs and STEM and also, here's another really good example. Adolf Hitler when he was six years old.
He was experiencing some, dramaPc nightmares. And at the Pme his, it was recommended that his parents take him to a mental

health facility and they [01:00:00] of course declined that suggesPon because they were afraid that the authoriPes would find out that his, his father was actually very abusive.
so you have to wonder. If that man had received a mental health assistance that he needed at that young of an age, would he have been mentally sound later in life? And if he was, would that have changed the enPre course of history? Now, one other just kind of fun example, did you know. That unfortunately for the crew and the passengers of the Titanic there was a change in the crew, the crew master was replaced right at the last minute that crew master forgot to give the keys to the locker that contained all the binoculars.
So you have, I do wonder if the [01:01:00] crude at sailed on the Titanic had had access to that simple equipment. Would that have changed the whole course of history or the Titanic and all the passengers. So as you can see, this has been used very simple examples, but one person can in fact make a difference. And if you don't believe that who would have thought that one single teenager.
Gre[a Thornburg could bring internaPonal a[enPon to the subject of climate change. And you know what that is part of what I'm trying to do here. Just bring your a[enPon to a number of different issues, gemng you thinking a li[le bit in a li[le bit of a different way, and perhaps to be that one person that truly makes a difference.
[01:02:00] Well folks, this is going to wrap up episode two, Ptled the most sustainable countries. I know this has been a li[le bit of a lengthy episode. I appreciate you hanging in there. And as I promised, there's going to be a couple important takeaways that I want to leave you with from this episode. The first one, you know, if you remember what I said, that as long as someone else is in control of your resources, They are in fact, in control of your life.

Now, that being said, you have to remember that having a sustainable lifestyle actually creates more security and stability in your own life. And this is because. You are actually in more control of your resources. In fact, if you have the desire to be even more independent, it didn't go to my blog off grid, living news and sign up for my email [01:03:00] newsle[er.
And this way you will receive. Uh, regular Pps on how to live more independently. And that leads me to my second takeaway. I put together a, a free resource. It is a simple ebook that is Ptled seven ways to live your life. The way you want, it may not be what you think. So go to my blog, off-grid living news and click or search for the podcast, or you can also search for the post seven ways to live your life the way you want.
Now this resource, it's not necessarily about sustainable living, but it does provide numerous things that I did over Pme in order to live my life the way. I want in order to live my life the way I do today. And if just so you know, my next episode is going to be Ptled how much should one [01:04:00] person be allowed to use?
So sign up and stay tuned for my next episode. So for now, folks, this is Patrick, your host for the adventures and sustainable living, signing off. I hope to see you next Pme.

The Most Sustainable Countries

002-The Most Sustainable Countries_FINAL - 9-13-20 5.12 PM

Now let's join Patrick. The man that not only teaches the skills of sustainable living, but lives that life every day.

For [00:02:00] example, I discovered what it actually takes to move an enPre culture towards sustainability. I also realized and discovered even more reasons as to why we should be concerned about sustainability and in looking at it and showcasing these

So sign up and stay tuned for my next episode. So for now, folks, this is Patrick, your host for the adventures and sustainable living, signing off. I hope to see you next Pme.

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