To Americans who trend left, Europe is a civilized utopia full of sophisticates and intellectuals where all is well with health care, environment, and society. To the right, Europe is a socialist purgatory where folks suffer from over-regulation and marginal opportunities. Neither assumption is correctly accurate.
While most European Union member states are flummoxed in trying to reach that 20% renewables goal by 2020, Spain is quietly a leader in the race. The country aims to have 30% of its electricity needs met by renewables by the end of 2010. Spain is only second behind Germany in sourcing wind energy, and [...]
The country in Eastern Europe to which I’d move in a heartbeat is Slovenia. I’ve never seen so many shades of green, and for a nation smaller than New Jersey, Slovenia offers much for the visitor: countless hiking opportunities, enchanting lakes such as Bled, a slice of the Adriatic coastline, and once you learn how [...]
I’m a huge fan of Ingmar Bergman. How could you not be smitten by his searing examinations of the human psyche? His films’ direction, often featuring one of his favorite actresses, Liv Ullmann, are a must for any film fanatic. One of my favorite Bergman projects was his epic Scenes of a Marriage, where Bergman [...]
It figures France should get a mention on its two hundred twentieth Bastille Day. We Americans are always happy to pick on France, but in its own way, France has undergone an impressive energy revolution . . . without losing too many heads.
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Finland is the quiet sibling amongst the Scandinavian family of nations. Bordering Russia, it doesn’t have the “brand” recognition that Sweden (Ikea and ABBA), Norway (fjords), and Denmark (Maersk). In the renewable energy debate, you don’t hear about Finland’s policies to the extent you hear about Germany’s solar, France’s nuclear, or Sweden’s biofuels. (more…)
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