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Living in a consumer society
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Decades of relatively steady growth in Europe have changed the way we live. We produce and consume more goods and services. We travel more and live longer. But the environmental impacts of our economic activities at home and abroad have become bigger and more visible. Environmental legislation, when implemented thoroughly, achieves results on the ground. After taking a look at what has changed in the last twenty years, however, can we say that we are doing our best
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Signals — every breath we take
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Signals 2012
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Articles
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A European view on sustainability
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Through a series of legislative measures, EU policymakers aim to make Europe more ‘resource efficient’. But how does Europe strike a balance between the economy and nature? In the context of the Rio+20 conference, what does sustainability mean for the EU and the developing world? Here is one point of view.
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Signals — every breath we take
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Signals 2012
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Interviews
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Local and global
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When faced with scarcity or increasing pressures on vital resources such as water and land, the question of who decides can be as important as how natural resources are managed and used. Global coordination is often essential but without local endorsement and involvement, nothing can be done on the ground.
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Signals — every breath we take
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Signals 2012
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Articles
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EEA Signals 2012 – Building the future we want
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Signals 2012 brings together environmental
issues such as sustainability, green
economy, water, waste, food, governance
and knowledge sharing. It is prepared in the
context of the United Nations Conference on
Sustainable Development — Rio 2012. This year's Signals will give you a flavour of
how consumers, forward-thinking businesses
and policymakers can make a difference by
combining new technological tools — from
satellite observations to online platforms.
It will also suggest creative and effective
solutions to preserve the environment.
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Publications
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The path to global sustainability
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Four decades of environmental governance helped us build institutions to better understand and tackle environmental problems. Twenty years after the Earth Summit of 1992, world leaders meet once again in Rio de Janeiro to renew the global commitment to the green economy and improve global governance.
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Signals — every breath we take
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Signals 2012
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Articles
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From mine to waste, and beyond
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Almost everything we consume and produce has an impact on our environment. When faced with daily choices to buy certain goods or services, we often do not think about their ‘footprints’ on the environment. Their shelf prices hardly ever reflect their true costs. But there are many things we can do to green our consumption and production.
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Signals — every breath we take
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Signals 2012
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Articles
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Waste in Greenland
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From densely populated cities to remote settlements, everywhere we live, we generate waste. Food leftovers, electronic waste, batteries, paper, plastic bottles, clothing, old furniture - they all need to be disposed of. Some end up re-used or recycled; others are burned for energy or sent to landfills. There is not a single way to manage waste that would work everywhere. How we do it needs to take into account local circumstances. After all, waste starts as a local issue. Given its sparse population, long distances between settlements and lack of road infrastructure, here is how the Greenland government approaches the country’s waste issue.
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Signals — every breath we take
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Signals 2012
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Interviews
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Getting the price ‘right’?
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Many developing country economies are centred on exploiting natural resources to lift their populations out of poverty, potentially damaging the natural systems they depend on. Short-term solutions often undermine the population’s well-being in the long-term. Can governments help the markets set the ‘right’ price for nature’s services and influence economic choices? Here is a closer look at what water use in cotton production means for Burkina Faso.
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Signals — every breath we take
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Signals 2012
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Articles
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Building the future we want – new report launched on World Environment Day
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While much of Europe is still suffering the effects of economic recession, a new report argues that efforts to increase prosperity should not damage the environment. Indeed, Europe’s economy depends on a healthy environment, including the materials and services provided by the natural world, according to the new edition of Signals from the European Environment Agency (EEA).
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News
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Food waste
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Around one third of the food produced globally is lost or wasted. When more than one billion people around the world go to bed feeling hungry, it is impossible not to ask what can be done. But food waste is not only a missed opportunity to feed the hungry. It also represents a substantial loss of other resources such as land, water, energy - and labour.
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Signals — every breath we take
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Signals 2012
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