Deciding what to take with you when you travel have always been one of your main challenges – and that frustration is why I eventually created my own detailed packing list for travel essentials I want to share with you.
The most important things a woman should pack when traveling are her intuition and Diva Cup
Women on the Road’s Ultimate Long-Term Travel Packing List for Women
Documents & Bags
Passport + extra photocopy of the front page of your passport
Additional photo ID (such as a driver’s license, student ID) debit and/or credit cards
According to the EPI index in year 2016 (Environmental Performance Index) prepared by Yale and Columbia Universities, Finland is the world’s cleanest and greenest country.
The Environmental Performance Index is a method developed to measure the environmental quality of countries in numbers. The index compares how ecosystems and people’s health are protected in different countries. The index takes into account multiple factors such as care of air quality, clean water and their water resources and how they manage agriculture, forests and fish stocks, biodiversity, CO2 emissions.
In 2016, Finland had the highest EPI score in the world (90.68 out of 100), closely followed by fellow Nordic states Iceland and Sweden.
The index score is also influenced by energy solutions and the states’ attitude to the diversity of nature and climate change.
“Finland has the opportunity to develop into a gem of nature tourism. We have clean and exuberant nature all over the country in the vicinity of good connections and services.”
Finland’s air, forests, lakes and drinking water are exceptionally clean by global standards. More than 80% of Finland’s lakes are either good or excellent in quality. More than 70% of Finland’s land area is the forest, which makes Finland one of the most forested countries in the world. The air quality in Finland is good, because the country is situated far from big sources of emissions and because Finland’s own emissions have been successfully curtailed. According to WHO, Finland has the cleanest air of the EU countries and the third cleanest air in the world after Canada and Iceland.
The score justifying the country’s number one position in the EPI index is 90.68. After Finland came to Iceland, Sweden, Denmark, and Slovenia. The EPI report praises many of Finland’s environmentally-friendly objectives. Finland intends to create a carbon-neutral society by 2050, in which nature’s capacity is no longer exceeded.
The country has also passed a decree according to which as much as 38% of Finnish energy production will be renewable in 2020. Already now most electricity is produced in an environmentally-friendly manner in the nation.
Photo Credit: Quang Nguyen Vinh from Pexels
Comprehensive commitment
According to the EPI report, the environmental policy goals set by the nation are tough but practical. The key goal is to achieve a carbon-neutral society by 2050. Under that overarching goal, progress is made by setting smaller objectives aimed at protecting the environment and carefully measuring the success of their implementation. However, the core strength of Finland is that society as a whole is committed to protecting the environment.
In addition to legislation and government policies, Finnish businesses and civil society are also active in introducing sustainability initiatives. For example, the Helsinki-based Uusix workshop offers long-term unemployed people the opportunity to work converting and repairing recycled materials into newly useable items. Many other companies have shifted their focus on renewables. This year, use of renewable energy is set to surpass that of fossil fuels for the first time. Businesses are proactively rising to the challenge set by the government to reach 50% renewable energy consumption by 2030.
It’s all coming together because different sectors of Finnish society are supporting each other in pursuit of a greener tomorrow. The key question to ask is – why is that?
We’re providing 11 reasons to book your trip to the Azores
“Finland has the opportunity to develop into a gem of nature tourism. We have clean and exuberant nature all over the country in the vicinity of good connections and services. Holistic nature experiences can be built for tourists, for admiring the silent wilderness landscape, picking berries and mushrooms for food on an excursion, going to the sauna next to clean waters and waiting in a hide-out for the majestic bear to arrive from the shade of the forest as the night falls,” says biodiversity expert Riku Lumiaro of the Finnish Environment Institute.
Greenland is the world’s largest island, located between the Arctic and Atlantic oceans, east of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. It is an autonomous territory within the Kingdom of Denmark.
Here are five things to know about this autonomous territory located between the North Atlantic and Arctic oceans.
Facts about Greenland You Didn’t Know
It has the world’s lowest population density
With a population just over 56,000 people, Greenland has the world’s lowest population density and its capital Nuuk is one of the world’s smallest capitals. The national language, Greenlandic, is closely related to Inuit languages of the indigenous population of the Canadian and Alaskan Arctic regions, although people here also speak Danish and most have a good grasp of English.
They will be quite offended if you call them Eskimos. The proper name for an indigenous person from Greenland is Kalaallit, which actually means ‘Greenlander’ in the native Inuit language. 90 percent of its 55,000 inhabitants are Inuit, an indigenous group from Central Asia.
5000 people are Danes. Less than a 1000 people come from other countries – most of them from the Nordics, the other half from Thailand and the Philippines, Lena Lauridsen writes in Inussuk.
No Roads
Greenland is the biggest island with a land size of over 2 million square kilometers there are no roads or railway systems. All travel between towns is done by plane, boat, helicopter, snowmobile or dogsled.
Only two civilian airports have been built in the country, the largest of which is Kangerlussuaq Airport, in the south-west.
Largest national park in the world
Northeast Greenland National Park (Kalaallisut: Kalaallit Nunaanni nuna eqqissisimatitaq) is the largest national park in the world, with an area of 972,000 km2 (375,000 sq mi),[1] making the park larger than 163 countries. It is the only national park in Greenland, and the most northerly national park in the world, its most northerly point reaching slightly further than the most northerly point in Quttinirpaaq National Park in Canada. The park encompasses the entire northeastern coastline and interior sections of Greenland.
The Sun Never Sets
This only occurs in summer but it’s a pretty cool natural phenomenon. It’s known as the ‘midnight sun’ places north of the arctic circle do not see any darkness all summer. From late April to late August, the sun will rise and colors will change as the day goes on but the sun will still be visible in golden light even throughout the entire night. The longest day of the year, June 21, is also Greenland’s national day.
It was named one of Lonely Planet’s Top 10 Best in Travel for 2016
Perhaps a surprising entry on the Lonely Planet’s list of Best in Travel 2016, Greenland snagged one of the coveted top 10 positions. The organization attributed it to such qualities as the enchanting Northern Lights and the excitement of the upcoming Arctic Winter Games taking place in March.
This unique landscape is wonderful for visitors for here they’ll find fjords that are free of ice, with sparkling channels and relatively luscious landscapes of verdant rolling hills.
The capital and largest city in Greenland is Nuuk, with a population of approximately 17,000 people, almost one-quarter of Greenland’s population lives there. Vibrant and funky, the city is the biggest, most cosmopolitan town on the island. It’s home to the University of Greenland, an art museum, sports stadium, cultural center, the National Library of Greenland and the country’s international airport.
One of the best spots in the world to see the Northern Lights in winter
Though winters in Greenland may be long and dark, they do provide the opportunity to see the amazing Norther Lights (aka Aurora Borealis) in all its glory. From September to mid-April, you can see the lights on just about any night the sky is clear, and since there’s little light pollution here, the colors are extremely vivid.
Southern Greenland lies underneath the Aurora Borealis Oval Zone and is, along with Iceland, considered a prime spot for Northern Lights viewing.
Greenland is indeed one of the most fascinating and enigmatic destinations on earth. Alongside a formidable ancient culture that’s distinct, the Arctic wilderness here is simply out of this world.
Watch this increadible video about the Magic northern lights of Greenland from VisitGreenland!
Want to learn more about Greenland? Check our other posts.
