For a moment I think I am looking at an old swimming pool with green, smelly water. But then I see a big bubble coming to the surface, and then another one. We are in Bath, a town in South West England, where a hot spring is the center of an ancient complex of Roman …
The vegan who ate yoghurt
I hesitate in front of the refrigerator in the supermarket. Being a vegan, I usually fast-track past the dairy section, but today I deviate from my normal round. I study the different types of yogurt. Organic, of course. Hmm, blueberries. This excursion into the realms of dairy, now more than a month ago, is part …
Work and play
A famous writer, a community worker who brings people together, a successful animal activist, a screenwriter… I look up from my notebook. Outside, the wind plays with the long strands of hair of the birch that stands in front of the window. Inside, people are reading quietly among endless rows of books. This is my …
Message in a bottle
Our Plastic Challenge is over. For seven weeks we have forced ourselves to find alternatives for plastic packaging. Now that we are used to these changes, we keep avoiding plastic as much as possible. But individual choices are not enough — we need major social changes. Everything flows to the sea If I have learned …
Don’t push it
I cycle through Aberdeen, a bag of groceries swinging from my steering wheel. I have been to the Lidl where you can buy, for example, cauliflower and zucchini without packaging. Shopping vegan and plastic-free by bike, it doesn’t get much more environmentally friendly. But the warm, fuzzy feeling stays away. Instead, I feel anger bubbling …
Doughnut, anyone?
A full moon rises over a snowy Aberdeen. The merciful, white blanket covers not only streets and gardens, but also the litter at the side of the road. Last week I found a lot of plastic while running (it turns out this new sport is called plogging), but I can’t motivate myself to go out …