What are the countries where our Pioneers are from
doing about sustainable lifestyles? Ill start with
Germany and I invite all of you guys to write a blog
entry about your countries and send it to me.

On the governmental side, the Alternative Energy Law,
enforced for the first time in 2000, is one of the
pillars of sustainable politics in Germany. Renewed in
December 2006, the law enforces energy suppliers to
invest in renewable energies.For instance, electricity gained by solar or
geothermal technology has to be fed into the "normal"
grid. Subsidies are granted to the operators to cover
the additional costs that occur. These subsidies
decline year by year to implement the renewable
electricity into market mechanisms.In the beginning of July this year an Energy Summit
was held in Berlin with German Chancellor Angela
Merkel and delegates of the Energy Industry. Though
the industry did not want to, the chancellor has
demanded that energy efficiency climb three percent
per annum. Further, until 2020, the CO2 emissions have
to be cut by 40 percent (compared to those of 1990).

The energy sector complained that these aims were too
ambitious and would threaten the competitiveness of
the Germans. Merkel however did not buy into this
argument. Environmental organizations therefore
commended Merkel's stability.
Angela Merkel before the Energy SummitIt remains to be seen though if the adopted new course will lead to sustainable results.

Ole Tillmann is known as a presenter of "Top of the Pops", a music program of RTL, a private channel. Ole has achieved a certain reputation as actor as well in the soap "Unter uns". He further played in several TV-productions.
Ole presenting "Top of the Pops"In his private life he supports several charity and environmental projects, such as the bio-seal of the German Government or the fair trade-seal which approves trading conditions in the so called Third World.
Ole examines the working conditions himself for the "fair feels good"-campaignClub of Pioneers met him several times at pro environment events and asked him for an interview, which we did on the balcony of my apartment in Berlin. We accompanied Ole to the presentation of "Bio find ich Kuhl", an initiative of the Federal Ministry for Food, Agriculture and Consumer Protection for kids in schools.Find more Ole here

Well, I guess it sounds like a trick question or this special kind of jokes, you know: “What do men and women have in common?” – “Both mistrust men.”
But really now… what does have your salad for lunch in common with a journey from North Cape to the pyramid? The German TV Channel Pro7 has the answer: salad oil. The producers of the show Galileo started an experiment in April: the salad oil rally. Two people in one car for 10 thousand kilometres. The car, an old Opel Rekord with a diesel motor built in 1978, was reconstructed to run on natural oil: sunflower, olive, rapeseed – no matter which one, it only has to be edible. What makes the challenge so hard: the two drivers, Alexandra (21) and Markus (31), have to take the outside temperatures into consideration. Salad oil works the best in warm temperatures – a problem in colder regions like their starting point in North Cape. To make it even harder they also have to stick to three rules while taking on the journey.

First: Not one single drop of gasoline or diesel gets in the tank.
Second: Alexandra and Markus are not allowed to carry more oil than what fits into the tank (20 litres).
Third: At the end of their journey the oil left in the emergency tank will be weighed against a price – giving proof of how efficient the two drivers were able to organize the oil needed. That means for the drivers: they are on the hunt 24-7 for oil, for the best price. The result: they really get in contact with the people living in the countries they are driving through.Sounds like fun? It is - but it’s even more. It’s a rally to raise awareness for all alternative fuels – not just salad oil. The producers of this show are aware that salad oil is not the number one alternative fuel. Not all cars can be reconstructed to run on oil. Only diesel cars with a specific kind of motor. It’s also not that environmentally friendly than most people believe. Even though the CO2 released in the atmosphere is equivalent to the CO2 used by the plants for photosynthesis, the production of salad oil takes up fuel in the process. But what speaks mostly against salad oil: even if the whole of Germany would become a giant rapeseed oil field – it would only make enough oil for every fifth car in Germany. Apart from this: the idea to turn the serious topic of alternative fuels into a kind of a treasure hunt is new and exciting, not least of all fun to watch. The success of the show proves that it’s a channel which reaches a lot of people and a fun way to tackle their consciousness.Only one question left: where are Alexandra and Markus right now? Somewhere in Libya – probably bargaining for oil.


Fotos: ProSieben; www.bund-pfalz.de

Ever thought (but never said) Californian weather in Germany wouldn’t be such a bad thing? Don’t worry: you are not the only one taking global 'warming' as, in that extent, good thing. German biologist Josef Reichholf now said in an interview for the magazine Der Spiegel, that’s actually the natural way to think: “Biologically speaking, we are children of the tropics”! Wherever we go, we artificially create our own comfortable climate (through cloths etc.) – 27 degrees Celsius. That simply means: a milder climate won’t pose problems for mankind as a whole. We are flexible enough to change accordingly to the conditions around us. The same is also true for most plants and animals. But Reichholf goes one step further: his thesis is that warming temperatures in contrast to common knowledge promote biodiversity. He paints the picture of flourishing new habitats growing in numbers in the future parallel to global warming – if we manage not to destroy them through human intervention right away.
Read the whole article here
Foto: Denis Vallan

It’s all about (completing) visionary cycles, at least at NAWARO.
This company not only started building the biggest biogas plant ever in the German province of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern (to be finished and all running by fall 2007). NAWARO is also the first in Germany to develop a business concept for generating energy from biogas on an industrial scale. Topping it all, the young company manages to include and use all products and by products (the latter to produce biofertilizer) till….literally nothing is left than pure water. All in all: a closed cycle.
Behind it stands the vision that electricity from biogas can play an integral part of the energy market worldwide – if produced the right and most efficient way.
The vision is backed up by numbers: German biogas units produced 2.9 billion kilowatt-hours of electricity in 2005, or about three times as much electricity as the amount supplied by photo tovoltaic solar cells. The new plant promises to push biomass energy to new levels - using all of its standardized modules it will generate electricity with a total capacity of 20 megawatt. That's the demand of a small city. The electricity generated at NAWARO is fed into the power grid.
The NAWARO concept appeals - nationally as well as internationally. But NAWARO plans first to complete the project phase in Germany - before conquering the worldwide market.
The NAWARO cycle:Fotos: Website

Geothermal power - the wonder weapon in the war of energy supply?
Highly praised in the media as the clean and efficient solution for our global warming problem, not many people actually believed that geothermal projects could stand up to the hopes (Club of Pioneers reported on geothermal energy in the past).
Even experts couldn’t have been further from it – the German pilot project Unterhaching near Munich surprised everyone exceeding all expectations with the second deep drilling. The water found at a depth of 3,577 meter, tops that of the first drilling in both temperature (127 °C) and yield – which directly translates into energy supply.
Giving a perspective on the range of the success: The most optimistic prognoses promised a temperature of 120 °C and a yield of up to 150 l/s.
Christian Schönwiesner-Bozkurt, head of the geothermal project in Unterhaching, therefore states: “This is the breakthrough for geothermal energy as an alternative energy source in Bavaria” – if not all of Europe.
Besides the current success this Bavarian project is exceptionally innovative and pioneering for a number of other reasons:
For the first time, the Molasse Basin in Southern Germany is tapped for geothermal electricity production.
Unlike conventional geothermal plants, the hot water will not only be use for the local district heating network but also for power generation according to demand.
Made possible through the power generating technology known as the KALINA-process used on an industrial scale – another first-timer in Germany.
To sum it up: yes, geothermal power so far really looks like a wonder (weapon) and could become an export hit, capitalizing on the technology and know-how of German experts in this field.

Time to celebrateFotos: Website

“Forest Campus” is written on the signpost that leads to the University of Applied Sciences (FH) in Eberswalde. The university is located on the periphery of Eberswalde, 50 kilometers northeast of Berlin.
It stands to reason that here in the middle of the forest one can study forestry. Young women and men stand at buzz saws. The wooden facades of the buildings emphasize their proximity to the forest – and forests will provide a livelihood for most of the students here.What does not necessarily stand to reason is that here one can major in a program of study with the far-ranging title: “Global Change Management”. Here in such untouched nature, nothing seems farther removed than the thought of climate change. “We want to be a bit provocative with this title,” states Professor Martin Welp, head of the new international master’s degree study program. Behind the title is the economic concept of “change management” that is usually used for persons who are appointed the task of making changes in an organization. “In the next 10 to 15 years we have a window of opportunity. It is scientifically grounded that we have the opportunity in this time period to avoid dangerous climate change and repel the many consequences of changes already existing, “ explains the scientist. Exactlly that is the aim of the new study program: to bundle all existing knowledge and to make it utilizable for politics, industry and natural resource management. The student who finishes this study program will work someday not in the forest, but in an office.

The library on the campus surrounded by trees.Martin Welp came from Finland to Germany 13 years ago to do his doctorate in Coastal Zone Management at the Technical University Berlin. One of his first students here in Eberswalde, Johannes Enssle, studied forestry. The 24-year-old is now taking courses in the first post-graduate program “Global Change Management”. “This is genuine pioneer work and a real challenge,” he says. The study program makes it possible for me to begin work in two years as a ‘climate coach’ with an international institute, an NGO or a government project.”
Johannes EnssleThe secret of this new study program is the unique bundling and interfacing of knowledge from various sciences – natural sciences, forestry, and social economy – with practical study modules provided by potential employers. Partners of the FH Eberswalde are the German Association for Technical Cooperation (GTZ), Germanwatch, the Munich Re-Insurance Group,the Nature and Biodiversity Conservation Union (NABU), and the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK). In Enssle’s post-graduate program are post-grads who studied biology, international forestry and sociology. That he and his professor are both foresters is purely coincidence. “It is quite clear that many questions concerning climate change are closely connected to whether we can stop deforestation on a global basis,” maintain both of them. Global change management in regard to forestry means the concrete quest for future climate models and, on the basis of calculations, determining how many trees and which vegetation will have a chance in 20 to 30 years.Enssle last worked in El Salvador where he issued eco-certificates for coffee. He is convinced that the new study program will equip him to understand not only ecological matters, but also their economic and political context. “We are discovering that markets in the US and the EU are already changing their supply and demand in favor of ecologically compatible products, “ he relates. He estimates that in the future consumption will be influenced and changed even more by such value decisions of the consumers. Which people are studying this new subject? Tree huggers? “I would describe myself as an environmentalist, an idealist and a pragmatist,” says Johannes Enssle. His professional goal: “To be an expert consultant for an environmental organization or a government.” The study program serves the mindset of the “new green movement, according to which ecological and economic interests should not contradict each other, but can be fruitful in the pursuit of mutual goals.”Twenty-five students can be accepted into this study program in Eberswalde each year. “Too few”, says Welp resolutely. “The demand for climate coaches is growing.”

Students of Eberswalde University
Fotos: FH Eberswalde