Today I had (probably) one of the most productive days of the year/my life. Ive been trying to nail my dissertation title and possibly a PhD proposal, but for months I've been going round in circles trying to figure out what it is i want to say. Ive been thinking of what Vuokko told me a few months ago about 'ecofeminism'*, that is that all environmental disasters or damage to nature in general has been caused by men who retain power. Parallel to this I have been thinking about a comparative study between Scandinavia/Germany/Holland and the rest of EU/world-why is it that the Nordic countries protecting nature and the environment. Some of them go even further than targets set by the EU Commission. In 2004 Sweden said that by 2020 it would not be relying on fossil fuels for energy resources, and Germany have been said to be the driving force for changes in EC environmental law. As for Holland, well you only have to think of the stereotypical dutch guy, riding along on his hybrid/town bike smiling at everyone through the car-less streets of Amsterdam.

But today was something else, it seemed as if everything made sense. For a long time I have been lecturing and moaning to anyone who would listen about cycling, taking trains, buses or walking rather than driving/flying. The majority usually answer with 'yeah I guess i should walk more, or hmm maybe i should get a bike. Others go as far as buying a bike and selling a there car (well only one of them has actually completed this substitution). Anyway today's answer came in the form of a book entitled 'Citizenship and the Environment' which pretty much summed up what's been spinning around in my washing machine of a brain. The introduction was so good i had to run downstairs to the toilets and do a little dance. However it was the third wave of citizenship (feminist virtue) that made me realise I am going in the right direction.

All in all i feel as if I'm finally getting somewhere with all this, and all the thinking and arguing, moaning and lecturing with others has paid off. Ah alas, If only everyday was as productive as this, but I guess that would be boring wouldn't it?


Some incidents that happened this week which made me realise im not young anymore:


- I was in a charity shop and saw a blur live CD (dated 1995) and an Oasis book (1996) which made me realise that all that happened over ten years ago. I am officially part of another generation.

-Vuokko found 5 grey hairs in the centre of my head, this is the new record.

*blogger.com's patriachal spell check did not recognise the word 'ecofeminism'.