Inflight Magazine of Brussels Airlines

Eco

We start the new year with the planet in mind and talk to three eco campaigners about their work and advice for the coming 12 months

"It’s up to each of us to make a diff erence"

Environmental and political activist Professor Wangari Maathai is the founder of the Green Belt Movement and the first African woman to receive the Nobel Peace Prize

“2011 is the United Nations International Year of Forests. This is an opportunity for us to celebrate the great strides made but to also push even harder to protect the world’s forests. Covering 31% of all land, forests are the world’s lungs and contain rich biodiversity – some of which may be essential for the future survival of humanity. This is why I have dedicated myself to protecting forests.

“The Green Belt Movement (GBM) supports women and communities and helps them find a space in decision making in environment governance and management. Since the inception of the GBM, over 45 million trees have been planted in Kenya. The longer a community’s resources degrade and diminish, the more likely there are to be conflicts over the few resources left. The simplest of gestures can cumulatively make a lasting impact. In 2011, let’s protect standing indigenous forests and plant more trees!”

Visit GBM’s website to help ensure 2011 is another bumper tree planting year. www.greenbeltmovement.org

"Good food and a simple, more sustainable life"

Carlo Petrini, the Italian founder of the ‘eco-gastronomy’ Slow Food movement - believes good, sustainable food is the best start to the year.

“The values that have dominated the last few decades are in deep crisis. The problems we face in the economic, financial and climate sectors aren’t passing cycles, as they were in the past – they call for radical change.

“I think the easiest and best response is to start again, putting food at the centre of our lives. It’s the only thing we can’t live without. Preferably, we should have good local and seasonal food that we can justify from a social point of view. Therefore with respect to those who work the land, let us do a favour not only to ourselves but also to the Earth itself, as the whole of humanity continues to toil on her fields and in her atmosphere.” www.slowfood.com

”Clothes aren’t just products – they’re packaging for humans”

Eco designer Marie Cabanac uses ecological, natural and renewable fibres and processes

“Fashion is often regarded as frivolous but it is a good place to start looking for solutions to the most serious global challenges. The clothing industry’s impact on the economy and environment, from chemicals to transportation, is tremendous. Fashion is also a tool of self-expression, a key part of our human life. In 2011 we should try to select clothes thoughtfully, and wear them for as long as possible. Choose natural, renewable materials such as organic cotton, linen, wool, hemp and silk, and avoid chemical fibres. Buy and sell second-hand clothing. Avoid energy- hungry dryers; if you lack the room for flat drying, find old plastic hangers and dry your clothes vertically. Read labels, ask for information, know your fashion brand commitments and share this information with others.” www.marie-cabanac.com

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