Small town involvement

A few days ago I met some very engaged people in Ulricehamn who work to reduce energy usage in the town and who give advice in how to live in an environmentally friendly way. It was a creative meeting and I wondered if it works the same way in other places. The green wave has certainly spread around the world and hopefully we can together change the direction of the climate changes. Ulricehamn is a place, which is usually filled with tourists during the winter but this winter they did not show up. There was not enough snow (except during the Easter break). For a small town this has a big impact on the economy but also on the awareness among people of a changing climate. What will happen if the snow stays away? Luckily people in Ulricehamn want to be involved. They want to take action and several ongoing projects have already been successful. So is spill over energy from the pellets factory used to heat up houses in town and several energy spending companies has reduced their energy levels between 30 - 50 % in the last 5 years by changing the way they work.

Before I came to Ulricehamn I had never lived in a small town (except for my year in Heisler Canada in 1989/90) but I think that one of the nicest things about a small town is the involvement of people. In a big city that involvement sometimes disappears. It is probably not needed in the same way. There are pros and cons where ever you live and big cities offer things that one can't find in small towns. However, often we forget that small towns offer things that one cannot find in a big city. Involvement and trust. Jochem gets to use an office for free and even got a key to it. If you rent something you do not have to pay a deposit. People offer their help and the neighbours bring us their newspaper so that we know what goes on in town. This might not be any news to most people but for us it is something new and something special. We are still finding our way around here and we still have a lot to discover but we are getting there. Hunting and ice hockey are the main themes of discussion during the coffiebreak. I guess that when I get into that I have integrated so much that it is time to move again :) !