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
Copenhagen is one of the greenest cities in Europe and in the world. In 2014 the city received the European Commission’s European Green Capital Award for ranking number one on the European Green City Index and it is rated continuously among the most livable cities in the world as an example in municipal sustainability.
The urban population of Copenhagen is just a little bit over 1.2 million and it is the capital of Denmark and the country’s most populous city. Combining sustainable solutions with growth and high quality of life make the city and country at all often top international happiness surveys. The city is surrounded by water and parks. You can experience some of the many sustainable hotels, eat organic, and ride the electric city bikes around the old maritime city.
What are Copenhagen goals?
Copenhagen is growing, but this fact doesn’t stop the city’s ambitious plan and it is on track to be carbon neutral by 2025. New sustainable city districts are designed with an approach to urban planning and green living to be livable and people-friendly.
The carbon-neutral goal is supported by the CPH 2025 Climate Plan, which the City Council adopted in 2009. The city already met its goal to reduce carbon emissions by 20% by 2015. For comparison since 1995, Copenhagen has reduced carbon emissions by 50 percent. The CPH 2025 Climate Plan is a combined collection of specific goals and initiatives within four focus areas:
Energy Consumption
Energy Production
Green Mobility
City Administration Initiatives
Some of the sustainable city solutions are:
Increased mobility through integrated transport and cycling solutions has helped to reduced congestion significantly and improved the health of the citizens. Denmark is one of the countries with the highest investment in bike lanes and super cycle highways.
Attractive urban areas with a better quality of life, improved local business life, created jobs and generated revenue in the area. The harbor has been cleaned, which now allows Copenhageners to swim in it.
A very efficient district heating system where 98 % of all households are connected.
An implementation of a new district cooling system where cold is taken of the harbor water. This helps save over 70% of the energy compared to traditional air-conditioning.
The city is achieving these goals through a transition of our energy supply, building retrofits, waste management, public infrastructure, and other initiatives to support the transition on a long-term basis.
But to be successful, Copenhagen is collaborating with companies and knowledge institutions to find new solutions to specific challenges, which secures and improves the quality of life in Copenhagen and creates opportunities for innovation, jobs and green growth.
By 2025 based on analysis and forecast, the direct city investment in the decarbonization efforts will have reached around $472m, while private investors may have provided as much as $4.78 billion.
“We’ve looked at how climate change will affect Copenhagen in the long-term future”, says Lykke Leonardsen. “For Copenhagen, the most serious effect of climate change will be increased precipitation, so we’ve developed a plan that addresses how to catch all the rainwater in the city.” Leonardsen, a city planner, part of the team working on long-term climate change adaptation.
“In adapting to climate change, cities can choose either grey or green infrastructure,” says Professor Stuart Gaffin, a research scientist at the Center for Climate Systems Research at Columbia University.
They are successfully combining growth, development, and quality of life with reduced CO2 emissions.
Some of the reasons are a large number of green areas, some of the cleanest water in the world – for drinking and swimming, a clean harbour and a world-famous cycling culture overflowing with bicycles, and high availability and consumption of organic produce. Denmark has been ranked as one of the safest countries in the world.
“The difference between Copenhagen and other major cities is that they’re very concrete in the short term and also look at what they need to do for the very, very long-term future”, says Brian Vad Mathiesen, an associate professor of development and planning at Aalborg University.
Want to learn more about sustainable travel? Check our other posts.
Water purifiers can give you the best of both worlds: clean, safe water on demand, without destroying the environment in the process.
Clean water is the key to overall health and survival. Sadly much of the water in the world is polluted, particularly in third world countries. Even within North America, truly clean water can still be difficult to come by.
A pump filter will work better for large volumes of water, but most are larger, pricier, and harder to carry. A UV pen, meanwhile, is a simple purification option, but it won’t work on murky water, as the light won’t be able to reach as deeply as it needs to.
The piped water that comes from taps is often chlorinated or fluoridated, or both, and pass through old water pipes on its way to homes and business, where it can absorb heavy metals that have very harmful effects on our body.
According to WorldWaterReserve, of the waters covering 70% of the earth’s surface, only 3% is fresh, and only 0.4% is actually available to us.
Below you’ll find a summary of the best portable water purifier filters for travel.
The most well-known portable water purifier, the various models of Steripen use a UV lamp to kill the bugs and bacteria. You just dunk the lamp into a cup or water bottle, stir for a minute or two, then drink.
Ultra model charges via USB, compare to the cheaper versions use hard-to-find disposable batteries.
The LifeStraw Personal Water Filter is one of most highly rated, popular and acclaimed water purifiers on the market with an almost cult-like following.
The good thing about LifeStraw is, that it is really small and light and thus it doesn’t take much additional space. It is also very convenient.
The manufacturer of the LifeStraw is a Swiss-based public health company called Vestergaard.
Sawyer’s water filtration products are known for their ability to filter contaminated water to a higher standard than US bottled water.
Sawyer has a humanitarian mission to bring safe drinking water to developing countries
Being able to keep the filter in a pocket close to the warmth of your body will help prevent the filter from freezing if you’re using it in sub-zero temperatures.
The Filter Pro has three-stage filtration, with the carbon filter capable of handling 2000 liters before needing replacement, and the other two filters handling up to a huge 100,000 liters.
It works very well for filling from rivers and lakes, but can be a bit fiddly to use from a tap. Still, there’s always the sink!
Outdoor Gear Lab’s favorite pump filter wins praise for its light weight and easy use, especially in shallow water sources. The Katadyn Hiker Pro is a classic and reliable hand pump. It filters out both bacteria and protozoans like Giardia and Cryptosporidium
It is estimated that by 2025, 1.8 Billion People will live in water-scarce areas.
Water is finite. The amount of water circulating through the earth’s hydrologic cycle is the same amount that has been there since the earth’s beginning, not a drop more or less. What has changed is the number of people living on earth, and thus, the amount of drinkable water required for human sustenance.
With humans being made up of 60% water, our natural instinct might be to fight for it. But by collaborating to find ways to access the untapped groundwater beneath us, helping to conserve clean water use, and preventing further pollution of our clean water sources, it is possible for all peoples to have access to clean water.
If you want to learn who are some of the market’s best solutions in portable water filters check our Filtered Water Bottles for Travel article.
