I HAD ONE FULL, UNINTERRUPTED DAY OF SUNSHINE in my recent three weeks of traveling. All my friends I visited apologized for the rainy and cloudy weather. Honestly, after our summer here in California, rain and clouds were a welcome change. But those I visited in the Nordic countries (Sweden and Finland), in Ireland and in the Czech Republic had nothing but complaints about their summer. It seems that the summer weather has been a combination of blistering hot and humid, and unseasonably cold and rainy. For certain, everywhere I visited was very green from all the moisture.

My day of sunshine was the last day of my travels in Prague and it was glorious.

Getting around

It was good to note that in every country I visited, recycling and sorting of used materials seemed very well established and practiced widely. In Lund, Sweden, I was able to use my friends’ guest apartment. It was a total tribute to all things IKEA (pronounced Eh-KAY-AH in Sweden). The bathroom was roomy enough to hold a stackable washer and dryer and the shower system had two shower walls/sides attached to the bathroom walls with flexible gaskets that allowed them to fold against the wall when the shower was not in use, therefore allowing more space in the bathroom itself. Of course, public transportation was clean, efficient, very affordable and it ran frequently and on time.

In Finland, there were bicycle/pedestrian paths everywhere and they were off the road. In Ireland, the DART (Dublin Area Rapid Transit) provided an easy way into the city from Sandy Cove where I was staying (just two blocks from the Irish Sea and Joyce’s Tower). Prague’s Metro and trams made it very easy to move around.

What I especially liked about all the transit systems I encountered was a very clear digital text and audio announcement of the upcoming stop. When I was returning on BART last Friday evening, I noted the mumbled and inaudible announcements of what train it was and nothing else; the stops were definitely not called and the only way to verify where we were was by glimpsing the signage in the BART stations. One of the newer trams in Prague even had an LED screen that showed the location of the train and stops as it moved along its route. Surely this is something that we could do here.

The roads in the countries I traveled in were in good repair and there was very little sign of litter — anywhere.

Below the radar

Other than the issues of NATO, Russia and Ukraine, there was barely a mention of the United States. I took it as a sign of our waning global importance. Without a doubt in my mind, there is still so much to do locally and abroad to move toward a sustainable economy and environment. With the globalization of commerce and politics, issues of profits and power dominate the markets and the focus of governments. Denmark’s more conservative government, for example, has undone much of that country’s progress in developing sustainable energy sources.

Fortunately, previous policy initiatives and government investment in wind power means wind turbines, which are visible everywhere, are clearly reaping the wind for clean energy.

Time to learn more

In the five years of Benicia’s Community Sustainability Commission, one of the most important contributions to both our local economy and to greenhouse gas emissions reduction has been the initiative to bring a clean energy alternative to Benicia. This past Tuesday, Sept. 9, a study session was held at City Council Chambers to learn more about this very important issue. If you weren’t able to attend, it will be available on video.

I will devote my next article to this event and provide a link.

Constance Beutel is the chair of Benicia’s Community Sustainability Commission. She is a university professor and videographer and holds a doctorate from the University of San Francisco.