Christian Science Monitor reports about Kalmar’s – region in southeastern Sweden – pilot program to help four American families in Virginia become more environmentally friendly in the daily life.
“On July 1 last year, four households in the Washington metropolitan area were designated “Climate Pilots” and embarked on a seven-month program. Two were couples with children, one was a childless couple, and one was a single woman. The first order of business: looking at four areas of their lives – food, spare time, energy, and traveling – and how those affect the environment.
A series of worksheets guided group members through exercises designed to increase their awareness and cut down on their use of nonrenewable resources.
The Swedish Embassy in Washington facilitated the program, but the impetus behind it belongs to the city of Kalmar in southern Sweden. It’s part of a region that has pledged to be fossil-fuel-free by 2030, and officials there ran a similar, although more rigorous, initiative in 2007 with 12 Swedish families.
Coping with climate change is a priority for Sweden, so to highlight both the issue and the program’s success, Kalmar suggested that the embassy re-create it in the US on a smaller scale.”
