Like Finland, Sweden is absolutely covered in forests, and highly protected too. Despite having double Norway’s population, it’s still a peaceful serene place, where again in summer many people make use of summerhouses or swimming one of the 95,000 crystal clear lakes.
As well as recycling nearly every item of trash, it even imports rubbish from Norway and recycles that too. The third largest city of Malmö is due to become the first carbon-zero city in Europe, already storing rainwater in underground aquifers that provides geothermal heat in winter and cool air in summer. Just outside Stockhom, there is a new ‘eco quarter’ that has built thousands of bio-gas heated homes on an old gasworks site, along with electric car chargers and a new tram line.
What’s interesting is that the country has done all this in a country that’s so cold, Swedes use three times more energy than most other countries, yet still produces less emissions. Even the councils use electric cargo bikes for deliveries and the entire Stockholm underground runs on green energy (as have all public buses for years).
Sweden is one of the most vegan-friendly countries on earth, with one in 5 people under 30 saying they are vegan or vegetarian. The country is also on course to be the first country on earth to go totally cashless (many vegan fast food joints refuse to use cash, as the new paper notes are made with animal fat). And 50% of the population say they are interesting in becoming vegan. Although the country is often associated with dairy and fish, we all know that Swedes are very easy-going. So even if you have other beliefs, you are not going to get someone having a go at you, because you are plant-based!
