Driving less and eating less meat will probably save you more than 2 EUR a day. When we save time we should think what we save it for… if we can do something in a slower way, why not do it?

Right.

Something else has just crossed my mind.
2 euros for an European is not the same as 2 euros for someone living in Bangladesh or Kenya for example.

Although there are poor countries in Europe, too (and Romania is one of them, 2euros/day =60euros/month = 1/3 of the minimum monthly income here), but still it’s not impossible for us Europeans (and I include here my nation, too) to give them up.

True. I guess one should not think 2 EUR literaly - the amount can be adapted to the circumstances I guess. But the idea still shows how cheap it could be to act, if we decide to do so.

2 liters of gasoline are 2 euros
2 litres of gasoline are much more then 2 EUR in Italy.

Now, I’m very much sceptic of this report.

Europeans could help cut climate warming emissions to much safer levels for just 2 euros ($3) each per day,

Now, don’t get me wrong, I do think that have to change our way of living. So much that this seems to a gross underestimate. China and India alone can produce enough pollution and CO2 to make the world inhabitable in the next 50 years, at the current rate of growth.

I don’t see how a small reduction from the Europeans can change that, IMHO we need a much more radical approach.

cut European air travel by 10% - if you’re working in the business sector, every bit of time you lose means losing money. How can you explain to your boss that you’re wasting a work day by taking a train?
Plus, at least in Germany it is a lot cheaper to take a plane than to take the trains. In my view we need a much greater subsidization of the rail network by the European states so that high speed train travel becomes more affordable for everybody.

@André , I know you are right. But something about this is not reasonable. Why do we have to stress so much as we do? When I was working in the business sector, I spent endless hours blogging, twittering and facebooking and I know I am not alone. Still my boss would insist that time is money…

@Federico
2 liters of gasoline are 2 euros -
Bread & gasoline were Romanian examples I gave of what you can do with 2 euros here.

And yes, I agree that China & India can produce enough pollution by themselves, but the report is about EU (which is one of the big polluters, too).

And there’s something else to ponder about. For many of the citizens of Europe 2 euros is not a large amount of money & there wouldn’t be a problem to let it go, as part of sustainable changes for the future.

@André - Well, Germany has always been a top example for efficiency. And from the time saving side, it’s great that planes are cheaper than trains, but is it worth hurrying today just because there is no tomorrow?

I do agree that high speed trains should be more affordable, but this works for the Western world only. Come to Romania and see the infrastructure, the only high speed train that used to link Iasi to Bucharest made 5h 30 minutes, while a classic train makes 7h.

@Daniel In Romania, there are many people who do the same. I hear it everywhere. But here many don’t care, they’re lazy and twitter or play solitaire waiting to go home sooner while not doing anything at work.

On the other hand, a couple of years ago a young, healthy girl had a heart attack and died at work because of the constant stress.

The idea is to find the right balance because nobody should be inefficient, but at the same time no job is worth your life.

Well… the work I was thinking aboutwas in Bulgaria, so I don’t expect Romania to be different   On the other hand, I know from my own experience that people work and stress way much more in Bulgaria and Moldova than here in Sweden. And twittering is probably not the best way to relax.

Horrible story about the girl that died :(

Of course inefficiency is a bad thing,but I think we as a society should take some time to consider what is actually efficiency. Consider the amounts of fossile fuels wasted when taking the airplane in stead of the plane… how can it not be more efficient to do that what requires less resources?

I think the point is that relatively small changes at the individual level can translate into massive gains at the global level. Coincidentally I just blogged on something similar - the need to focus on quick-wins. I think that rather than only looking at blue-sky options for saving the world, we should be examining where we could make savings (waste, energy, goods) and in doing so not only save ourselves money, but contribute to reducing the global carbon footprint.

@Daniel: from an economic standpoint, one reason we have stress so much is the competition from Asia. Every major enterprise today will tell you that we have to be better and quicker than we have been before, because our goods can be produced in China at a much lower labor cost. I like it, naturally, but there is a spiral…we work hard, we earn money, we buy clothes from China, our money drips away and we have to work even harder.

@Adela: especially if trains are not developed as much in Romania, there should be a large investment in them! The EU is doing a lot of work on Trans-European Networks, and I believe they also finance a better railroad access to Romania. For more info, check here: http://ec.europa.eu/transport/infrastructure/maps/maps_en.htm.
I also believe there should be more research into high-speed technology. If China can buy the Metrorapid train, why would it not be possible to give a faster rail network to Romania?

I’m sorry, I meant to say I don’t* like it

sorry to correct myself again…I meant the Transrapid train, not the Metrorapid. sorry, no spamming intended

@Daniel I believe people stress more in Bulgaria, Moldova or Romania than in Sweden because the mentality is different and because Eastern Countries (unlike Sweden) are poor have small wages, insecure work places, etc.

@Jodi I agree, I’ve read your post & commented there.

@André Your point makes a lot of sense, but ‘large investment’ is always a problem in Romania. On paper it is possible, in reality - until corruption is eradicated, it’s not going to work.

From the initial large investment, some % would pay bribes, some % would pay different commissions and authorizations and leftovers would actually be invested in modernization of the transport system.

Thank you for the European Commission transport link, I have bookmarked it to study the system more.

On my side it is not just about 2 euro, it is about lifestyle and attitude towards things, food, planet.

I think that there is an urge need for developing the rest of the world.

About trains - if you compare time spent and money paid, flights are still one I prefer. There is no train network for long distance that would be on a price range with plane. Sorry, but this is a way we function and I love, would like to change the way we live but I am not ready to give 48h I can spend with my family to take train.

Aija, you are right but Andre is also right.

High speed trains - with the proper infrastructure & cheaper tickets are a good alternative to planes.