About sustainability... ORGANIC FARMING.

The common definition of organic farming is "farming without chemicals". 
As a matter of fact, all living or dead things are made up of chemical compounds. Therefore, organic farming does use chemicals, though naturally derived, in plant protection, fertilizing and livestock husbandry. 
It is a system which tries to avoid the routine use of chemicals and to exploit natural renewable resources. 

The principles of organic farming are: 
- work with natural systems rather than trying to dominate them;
- to encourage and enhance biological cycles within the farming system involving microorganisms, soil flora and fauna, plants and animals;
- to maintain and increase the long term fertility of soils: 
- to use, as far as possible, renewable resources;
- to give all livestock conditions of life that allow them to perform all aspects of their innate behaviour; 
- to avoid all forms of pollutions;
- to maintain the generic diversity of the agricultural system. 

It is the duty of humanity to fix the mess we've made and everyone have to do it in its own sector, beginning with agriculture. 

(Thanks to Lorenzo S. for helping me writing this post)

About sustainable agriculture...BIOPESTICIDES.

A growing number of farmers is realizing how important is to protect the environment, so they are starting to use biopesticides and biological control agents, such as plants, bacteria, fungi, predatory and parasitic insects. 

These methods allow to create a compendium between minimum crop losses and a greater protection of the environment. 

Of course, biopesticides are less harmful to humans and break down faster than typical agrochemicals. 

Some fungi are even good for the soil, as they liberate its nutrients which promote plant growth. 

Towards sustainable agriculture...

A growing movement emerged during the past two decades whose aim is to promote practices that contribute to solve many environmental and social concerns. 
Sustainable agriculture consists in reducing (but not eliminating) the use of chemical products, developing integrated farming systems. This all received considerable attention from researchers, who see it as a compromise between conventional and organic farming. 

Sustainable agriculture has within it three main goals: 
- to improve agricultural production and systems;
- to fulfil farmers' needs and lifestyle choices;
- to meet the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. 

"Sustainable rural development must become a key priority for the European Union. Public health must not be endangered. It is more important than commercial interests." (Franz Fischler, 1996)

(Thanks to Lorenzo S. for helping me writing this post) 

Green cities, Sweden: Malmö and Stockholm.

Malmö

It is the biggest town in Skane and at the end of the '80s it was in desperate decline after the dismissal of thousand Kockums shipyards workers. 

Today it is a completely new coastal city, which has worked hard and has been staking everything on sustainability and the environment. 

The first neighborhood to be converted was Västra Hamnen: this former industrial area has become a residential and commercial zone, powered by 100% 0 km renewable energy. It's the symbol of Malmö's transformation into a sustainable city. 

Another green neighborhood is Augustenborg: it is home to the largest concentration of green roofs in the world! 

In 2000 it was decaying and abandoned; the city administration adopted a sustainable approach to the problem, posing 10,000 square meters of green roofs to avoid floodings, extending the green areas and improving energy efficiency and the access to recycling facilities. 

Furthermore, Malmö was the first Swedish fair and equitable city. 

Stockholm 

It is one of the greenest capital cities in the world and its inhabitants pay much attention to the sustainability and the environment to better preserve their city. 

There are lots of cycle paths and the public transport in environmentally friendly and clean.

The city is full of parks and natural reserves and in and around the town nature is the undisputed protagonist. 

Hammarby Sjöstad is a known in the world ecological neighborhood. It is located on the shores of the lake which bathes the city and the water is its main source of energy. All domestic waste is used to produce energy and the hydroelectric plant and the solar panels produce electricity. 

The aim is to create a sustainable resources based residential system and a new way of life, compatible with the environment and nature. 

These two Swedish cities are fantastic examples of urban sustainability and respect of nature. 

NAU! optics: fashion and environmentally friendly.

Today my eyeglasses have finally arrived! Yes, I have some eye problems...
Anyway, I couldn't buy a pair of glasses which were not sustainable...! So, I bought them from NAU!, which is an Italian optics with a fixed idea: offering their customers eyeglasses which are full of color, design and respect for the environment. 

They create glasses made from up to 96% recycled plastic. Moreover, in their shops they use recycled materials for the furniture and their bags are reusable for the waste separation. 

The mounting of their glasses and the coloring of their lenses are entrusted only to companies performing a proper waste disposal of these processes and operating respecting the environment. 

It is the first italian brand of optics to have earned the environmental certification "UNI EN ISO 14001", which fixes the requisites for a correct environmental management system. This certification defines the adequate business management system to keep under control the environmental impacts of the activities and to search for an improvement in a coherent, effective and sustainable way. 

NAU! minimized all packages, to reduce waste and unnecessary costs. 

NAU! uses energy derived from renewable sources for the lighting of stores and offices, minimizing the environmental impact even in small things. 

These are my new NAU! glasses!