Shake-up coming for energy industry

Good evening everybody,

Today I am writing you from Lithuania, one of the three Baltic States in Europe.

This morning I was reading the newspaper and I read this article about the construction of a new waste-to-energy plant. The permission to build this plant was recently given; it will be completed in 2013 and will cost 140 million Euros.

The use of waste for energy is seen as one of the most important measures to reach Lithuanian energy independence. The draft national energy independence strategy foresees building waste-to-energy plants in the largest cities of Lithuania.

The idea of using waste instead of fossil energy resources, which are rapidly getting more and more expensive, is related not just with the target of energy independence, but also with the need to reduce energy prices for consumers. Some people still have doubts about the uncontrolled pollution produced by waste-to-energy plants, but the doubt is unfounded because the plant only has an economic benefit, namely the combustion of waste will provide cheaper heat and electricity. This is the first big advantage to this plant.

Second, the plant will potentially open up marketplace opportunities within the country. It’s a new possibility for waste and fuel markets.

And lastly, other than energy, the new plant will also offer employment opportunities in the region.

In my opinion this waste-to-energy plant is a great investment. More countries should develop waste-to-energy plants. If everyone becomes a little more energy independent, maybe our descendants will still have non-renewable resources like coal and natural gas.

This was our last stop of our trip. I really hope you enjoyed reading mine and my friend’s blogs!

Greetings Laura

Source: http://www.baltictimes.com/news/articles/28609/

European Council agrees to Lithuania’s proposals concerning nuclear safety

Hello bloggers

I can’t believe our journey comes to an end. Right now we’re in Lithuania and in two day we’re going home.

Today I would like to tell you something more about the proposals of Lithuania concerning nuclear safety.
The European Council agreed that maximum safety of nuclear energy must be ensured in Europe, and around Europe. All the objectives set by Lithuania for this meeting have been achieved, as the European Council agreed to Lithuania's suggestions that all nuclear power plants within and outside the European Union must be subject to safety tests.

Lithuania joins EU’s new economic pact barring economic populism. The Pact brings together all eurozone countries and is open to other EU Member States.
According to President Grybauskaitė, Lithuania is joining the Pact despite not being a eurozone country, as the country needs to continue responsible budget and fiscal policy.

“The Pact will be beneficial to Lithuanian people and the domestic economic growth in the future, as it promotes employment, business growth and, no less importantly, ties hands of those who may want to pass excessively populist decisions. On the basis of this Pact, Lithuania will have to develop and present to the European Commission a concrete action plan outlining the steps to be followed by Lithuania to meet its commitments under the Pact," the President said.

I could not agree more with the president of Lithuania to subject every nuclear plant to strict rules and safety controls.

I hope you all enjoyed these blogs and more important that you learned something out of the items that I wrote about.
If we have a government in Belgium by the time I’ll get back, I’ll write a blog about it.

Goodbye and greetings

Sarina

Source: http://www.euro.lt/en/news/lithuanias-membership-in-the-eu/news/6933/

The euro is not ready for Lithuania

Hello Blogfans!

After this incredible journey we finally arrived , unfortunately , at our last destination: Lithuania. Lithuania is an atypical destination so we were interested in what the country would had to offer.
Lithuania is part of the European Union since 2004 so we assumed their currency would  be the euro. Unfortunately we thought wrong..
So we had to go to the bank for Litai (LTL) , the official currency of Lithuania.

In the bank our curiosity took over and we asked the bank servant if he knew why Lithuania still didn’t join the Eurozone.
He told us that Lithuania aims for the euro but that the aim is political rather than economic. Many politicians are arguing that joining the Eurozone is necessary , but in fact Lithuania is performing better already than many Eurozone countries. The euro has obvious advantages but it also has some drawbacks.
That’s why , in the opinion of the bank servant , the question should not be whether Lithuania is ready for the euro , but if the euro is ready for Lithuania. Economics are unable to say what will happen to the euro in the next few years with several economies trying to avoid default.  So it would be wise to adopt the euro after the situation has stabilized.
Adopting the strict fiscal agenda required for entering the Eurozone would be beneficial, but there should not be a blind goal of adopting the currency.

In my opinion it’s a good decision of Lithuania to play a waiting game. Now the country is already performing better than many Eurozone countries so it wouldn’t be wise to take avoidable risks by entering the Eurozone. I’m sure that they will enter the Eurozone in the future but they have to wait for the right moment so it becomes a win-win situation for the Eurozone as well as for Lithuania.

But now the time has come to say goodbye.. I hope you guys enjoyed reading my blogs and don’t hesitate if you want to discover the world yourselves. It’s a real adventure to travel around the world with some friends so.. I look forward to read your blogs in the future!

Greetings

Nelson

source: http://www.lithuaniatribune.com/2011/04/08/the-euro-is-not-ready-for-lithuania/

Anti-nuclear sentiment of the Lithuanians

Hi everyone,

Lithuania is our last country that we visit, and that means my last blog. Before we all get to sentimental, I have another interesting story to tell you. This is about the anti-nuclear manifestation that I saw today. The sentence “I’m for Lithuania without nuclear energy!” and “”Think how you will explain it to your children!” are still in my head, like you have that sometimes with a song.

The green protesters were standing in front of the Prime Ministers Andrius Kubilius’ building. Because the Russian are building two nuclear plants at a high speed, both of them are situated on Lithuanian borders. This is actually the first time in world’s history. The arguments of the protesters are that the waters of rivers will be polluted and change their ecosystem, used for cooling the reactors in the Nuclear plant. The plants are too close to the civilization and neighboring country. 

The intention of the Lithuanian officials was building another nuclear plant, on the border with Belarus. Luckily, they have changed their mind after Fukushima accident, in Japan.  This reminds the public also of the Chernobyl disaster, just 25 years ago. So this subject carries has a huge sentimental value for the citizens of Lithuania. Because there were catastrophic consequences for 7000 Lithuanians and almost 1000 who found death.

The protestors created also posters with strong slogans. For instance: “Do you know where to evacuate?”, “I want to have a child with one head, and you?”. But the stubborn dictator Alexander Lukashenko, from Belarus, will not surrender under any kind of pressure made by the protesters or the EU.  I found the consequences are too hard to neglect, but what did you think if the prime minister has to choose between money and the safety of his civilians?
I already know the answer, do you?

My last friendly greeting to you,

Céline

Sources: http://www.baltictimes.com/news/articles/28596/

Women Still an Untapped Labor Force in Turkey

Hi everyone,

In the European countries almost 64% adult women were employed, but only 23,5% in Turkey. Remarkable is that 50% of all Turkish women enters in the labor market. That’s doesn’t last long, before many women quit their job. This is just unbelievable! The means reasons why they stop working are due to the fact that women have family obligation or they have poor working conditions.

The International Labor Organization did also some research to know where most women worked. Almost 50 % works in the agriculture sector, then 35% in the service sector and only 15% in the industry. The migration to larger cities is also an important factor.  They move away from rural areas to find proper education and legal employment otherwise women can only rely on their spouses.

The most important reason why women don’t stay on the job is… MARRIAGE! Yes, marriage destroys almost every woman’s dream to have a successful job and her level of education doesn’t even matter. In fact 90% unmarried women with university graduation participate in the labor force.

Gulsen Cigdem is also one of those women with an university degree, she had a well-paying job and was responsible for logistics (air, truck and sea) and sales. Cigdem was doing fine, until she gave birth to her first child three months ago. Hopefully she finds an affordable babysitter before her maternity leave expires. Otherwise she will end up like all those other women, and that is difficult to understand that this still happens in the 21ste century. Or is it just me who thinks that?

Friendly greeting from Turkey,

Céline 

Source: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/05/world/middleeast/05iht-M05-WORK-WOMEN.html?scp=11&sq=turkey&st=cse

Today I want to talk to you about the opportunities for woman in Turkey.  In the 21th Century, women still have to choose between work and children. This in unbelievable, but it exists, namely in Turkey.  Saturday is a special day for all the women, the annual gathering to discuss the goals of the 2011 Global Summit of Women. The meeting is for the first time in Istanbul, Turkey. 

Turkey still wants to join the EU

Hello Blogfans!

After our difficult time in Iran we decided it was time to explore another country. So we packed our bags and steered course for Turkey. After a long journey we finally arrived and the first thing we realized was that Turkey still isn’t a country of the EU. But why is it that Turkey still hasn’t joined? Doesn’t Turkey want to join? Or are there other reasons?

The opinions about Turkey joining the EU are various. Turkey wants to join for a long time there are some problems.
To start with the EU has laid out certain principles if a country wants to join the EU. Turkey has looked at those principles and on the basis of these principles they said ‘All right , we want to become part of your club”. But now in the middle of the ‘soccer game’ the EU is changing the penalty rules.

Mr. Erdogan’s (the Turkish prime minister) Justice and Development Party (AKP) made joining the EU a top priority and opened accession talks in December 2004. But the effort stalled even as Turkey implemented democratic reforms and saw unprecedented economic growth.
Now Turkey is fully integrated into the European society , economy , politics even in a general sense of foreign policy. Turkey namely has a membership in a range of European institutions as well as trade with Europe that exceeds half of Turkeys total. So in theory there’s no more problem for Turkey to join the EU.

But another problem is that inside Europe, the notion of an increasingly religious Muslim nation joining a club of secular countries with Christian roots has ignited fierce debates about European identity at a time when many EU member states are struggling to integrate growing Muslim minorities. So  The fact that Turkey is improving their relations with Muslim countries and particularly with the bad guys of the Middle East also doesn’t help the situation. 
Moreover opponents of Ankara’s bid note that if demographic trends persist, Turkey would soon overtake Germany as the most populous EU member.

So it isn’t as easy as it seems . An accession to the EU requires the 27-member body’s unanimous approval , which gives veto power to small nations such as Cyprus. The leaders of Britain , Italy and Spain all support Turkey’s entry. But other powers like France and Germany have proposed a “privileged partnership” instead.
Turkey rejects the idea of France and Germany and says that the EU will have to choose either for full membership or full rejection. There’s no in between.

Turkey’s response to these problems is: “It will not be the end of the world for us if we are not accepted into the EU , but if Europe becomes and intolerant continent  it will be Europe that will lose in the end.”

It’s clear that the last word about this situation hasn’t been said. Turkey really tries to come up to the expectations in order to join the EU but the religion and political situation of the country makes it very difficult to decide.
In my opinion they should give Turkey a chance. It’s a developing country with a strong economy and it would strengthen the position of the EU. If there are clear rules , the fact that Turkey isn’t a Christian country shouldn’t be a problem. We now live in a world of diversity so multicultural countries are in my opinion the future.
All countries should realize that we only have one world and one life , so we’d better work together in order to create a win-win situation instead of making problems .

Greetings,

Nelson

Source:  The Washington Times by Ben Birnbaum - Sunday, January 30, 2011

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2011/jan/30/turkey-cites-prejudice-in-delay-of-bid-to-join-eu/?page=1#

Growing investments in Turkey creates new tourism products alluring to travelers

Good morning everybody!

I am writing you from the beautiful country Turkey, the fifth stop on our trip. I had never been to Turkey before but my first impression is overwhelming. Everywhere you look, you discover something so lovely and magnificent that I can’t stop making pictures!

Turkey has gone from a normal country to a must-see destination for tourists and globetrotters. This is the result of a significant number of investments to further increase tourism. And thanks to the selection of the multi-ethnic city Istanbul as the 2010 European Capital of Culture, the country garnered an enormous amount of attention and as a result, an increase in visitors.

Today, Turkey is a modern country with an appealing mix of antiquity and contemporary and of East and West, it is one of the fastest-growing tourism destinations in the world. Turkey was the site of the first human settlement; the seat of the Byzantine, Roman and Ottoman Empires; the birthplace of Homer and the last home of the Virgin Mary and now it is one of the world’s most fascinating travel destinations, with its spectacular coastline, majestic mountains, cosmopolitan cities and charming villages.

The worldwide recession affected tourism dramatically for most destinations, but that wasn’t the case at all in Turkey, moreover there was a large growth in the amount of tourists. But in order to attract those new visitors, new developments and investments had to be made. New hotels that range from luxurious to affordable, a new museum and the largest convention centre in Istanbul are keeping the tourism stats steady and growing.

A small selection out of the newest hotels in Turkey includes the Novotel Gaziantep, the Ibis Gaziantep, The Radisson Blu Hotel and the Shangri-La Hotel. If you want to come on holiday here you should absolutely try one of these hotels!

If you go to Ankara, Turkey’s capital city, a must-see is The Cer Modern. This is a modern art facility and exhibition centre in the Sıhhiye district. In Istanbul you can find the Ora Arena and Convention Center, designed by Valerio Mazzoli. This unique venue brings an arena, a convention center, two hotels, a theme park and an outlet mall together on a 70,000 square meter site in Bayrampasa.

The Baksı Museum is located in the city of Bayburt in the Eastern Black Sea region of Turkey and is another must-see. It’s a museum that blends both traditional and contemporary art.

My last tip is the land art park Time and Space in Cappadocia that features twelve major hand-built structures, or Geoglyphs. These 12 structures are part of the largest contemporary land art undertaking in the world.

I hope you enjoy Turkey as much as I am!

Greetings, Laura

Source: http://www.tourismturkey.org/catalog/de00ed34-2467-4b83-b204-cef3c82f86cf.aspx