COMMUNITY

This calendar should accompany you through Advent. With 24 tasks, we want to inspire you to make the world a little bit better. We live in a time in which humanity threatens the Earth more than ever. This cannot continue. Therefore, we want to change something. In small steps together with you and many, many other people who follow this calendar through December. You might ask how can one save the world - just me and an advent calendar, in the Christmas season. The first piece of good news is that you are not alone. There are many of us who want to take these steps this month, and with many people you can do many things. There is a German fable in which a Dove and a Coal Tit discuss the precise weight of a snowflake. The Dove maintains that it weighs no more than nothing. The Coal Tit however reminds the Dove that with many snowflakes a branch can break. So, we shouldn't be talking about saving the world. We should just try to soberly evaluate the big picture over the course of advent. It's great to have you here!

Give this calender as a present to your friends. Send the link to the online version or print the calendar on used paper and add your own designs. You can find the link to the calender here.

Researchers Seth Waynes and Kimberley A. Nicholas have compiled research on how many tons of Carbon Dioxide will be saved if a single person does without a car or eats a plant-based diet. You can read about the effects a single person can have on the climate here . Finally, how does society best move to become more sustainable? Researchers are working to find this out!

There are people everywhere who are looking for ways to save the world. The actor Mélanie Laurent and the activist Cyril Dion travelled through 10 countries to meet exactly these people, to get inspiration and to share their ideas. Their film Tomorrow shows how motivational and versatile these ideas can be. You can see the English language version of the film trailer here

geht es zum englischen Trailer des Films!

GRATITUDE

Have you ever stopped to think how beautiful our world is? Perhaps you found an unusual plant or animal and observed it for a while? Or you looked into the distance, your eyes focused with wonder at the horizon? Do you find you forget about all your daily worries when you are out in nature? Even a daisy which finds its own way through concrete and cobblestone can make us smile.

All of us, we experience from time to time the small and big wonders of the earth. We are amazed by our planet, by life here. Why do volcanoes suddenly erupt? How is it possible that one day it’s raining and the next, sunlight breaks through the clouds? Why do leaves fall off the trees, and then in spring all living existence starts again? We can be amazed and show gratitude that the earth gives home to all creatures on this planet. The earth is a gift!

Being thankful and to appreciate our earth with all its beauty is the very first step on the way to a more sustainable future for all of us. Together we will give something back to the earth during the upcoming weeks.

In what state do we want to hand nature over to our grandchildren? What wonderful phenomena, what types of animal and plants should your grandchildren also have the chance to be amazed by?

Please write down three beautiful things for which you are thankful and which you want to preserve. We are going to have a closer look at these things tomorrow.

Did you know that research about gratitude already started a couple of decades ago? This field of study is called Positive Psychology. In addition to gratitude, it’s all about further encouraging topics like happiness, optimism, mindfulness, feeling of security, trust, personal strengths, forgiveness and solidarity. A whole field of study which specifically deals with well-being and the good life! – Doesn’t that make you happy, already? This video gives you a short introduction to Positive Psychology:

For a more detailed TED talk by one of the founders of Positive Psychology, take a look here where he tells the story of how Positive Psychology began:

A huge number of studies now show that thankful people tend to think more altruistically, are more empathic, more generous and are more likely to be helpful. And hold on, that’s not all, it gets even better: Being grateful is a matter of practice! Today’s challenge is the start of your training, you can find many more inspirations for your workout towards the good life on the following page.

You still can’t get enough of gratitude?

Send us a picture which depicts something you are thankful for.

Write a letter to a person who you appreciate and tell her/him what you want to say thank you for. Or: What about a more detailed letter of gratitude to our mother earth? If you pin this letter somewhere in a public space or send it to your beloved, you can even multiply your gratitude! Warning: It’s contagious and makes people happy!

Start a gratitude diary: Every single day, write down three things which you are thankful for. This is especially easy to do before going to bed. And here’s a promise: When you have gratitude in your stomach and in your heart, you will fall asleep more gently – and with gratitude your day starts in a more relaxed way.

You have a vision for our common world?

Draw the earth the way you want it to look in the year 2050.

Ask people around you what their wishes are for a future world. What are their visions for our earth?

KNOWLEDGE

Be curious! If we always knew the consequences our actions had, we could all do more good. Yesterday you wrote down a list of three things in nature that you are grateful for. Today is about finding out how to protect them. Do you already know how we can preserve them, or is there something you would like to find out about them? Is there any human action that harms them, such as the loss of biodiversity, climate change or pollution? Let’s find the answers to these questions.

It doesn’t matter whether you wrote down “dandelions”, “ants” or “icicles”. Knowledge has been collected about all these issues: If you can’t find any information on the particular thing you mentioned, broaden your search: instead of dandelions, maybe you can find out about wild flowers, ants are insects and the existence of icicles is probably related to our climate (if you are not looking for them in your fridge).

“I don’t have any special talents, I am just passionately curious” said Albert Einstein. We gain our knowledge by staying curious. Use your curiosity, be informed, do your research, ask others. It isn’t that hard at all, thanks to the internet!

Choose a natural beauty from yesterday. Take 15 minutes to inform yourself on what we have to do to preserve it for future generations.

- If you want to start your research with an overview over sustainability, we suggest this video:

When searching for information, make sure you use this search engine that uses their profits to plant trees: https://www.ecosia.org

EXCHANGE

We all know how it goes with good intentions. New year’s resolutions are often forgotten. But we want to keep you motivated to follow through with your plans. What always motivates us is talking to other people who are enthusiastic about the goals we choose (which in this case is living a sustainable life).

It is inspiring to talk to someone else about your goals. You will remember why you chose to do good things in the first place and you will remember that the goal is not your enemy making your life harder, but an idea you once were enthusiastic about, and hopefully still are. In conversations with others you can also talk about the difficulties you had and share advice on how to overcome them. Or else, if you have been successful, sharing your achievements can also be encouraging and make you happy. Last but not least, talking about your values with friends can make you realize that we are all in the same boat and sharing a lot of goals. Reaching them together is motivating, and there are lots of us!

Do you know anyone who inspires you with their environmentally friendly way of living? Have a conversation with her or him, about why the environment is important to them.

Are you are looking for more people to share your goals of a better world? We’re here to help! Our community is posting and connecting on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter – you are welcome to share your experiences and wishes with us!

FOOD

Vegetarian and vegan diets make a huge difference to the environment, the soil, the climate, animal species and water quality. Additionally, it is also good for you, when you limit your fish and meat consumption. A lot of national health organisations in Europe recommend eating less meat and fish products. For example, the German Nutrition Society recommends to not consume more than 300 to 600 grams of meat per week and not more than 1 - 2 portions of fish http://www.dge.de/index.php?id=322. However, on average German people consume more than 60 kilograms of meat per year - more than twice as much as the recommendations. You do something good for yourself when you consume less meat products.

But there is more to come! There are plenty of delicious recipes that don’t need meat, for example pasta dishes, oriental curries or warming soups for the cold season. Or beer. You can discover an unsuspected variety with a diet that is more focussed on plants - from old types of vegetables, fruits, mushrooms to legumes, nuts, oils, grains and more. Just try it today!

Try to not consume any fish or meat products today. There are no limits to your creativity! If you are already vegetarian, then try a vegan diet today! That is a plant-based diet, that also excludes dairy products and eggs.

Try out plant-based products

You don’t know what to do to transform your favourite dish into a vegetarian or vegan one? It is not that complicated as you think! Your favourite dish is spaghetti Bolognese? Substitute the meat with lentils. You eat your muesli with cow’s milk? There are so many plant-based milks made from nuts, seeds and grains - maybe you want to try oat milk or almond milk? Eat you bread with (vegan) cheese, plant- based spread or salad. You don’t know how to substitute an ingredient? Here is a vegan substitution guide for you: http://www.vegkitchen.com/tips/vegan-substitutions/

More information on animal products

Did you know that meat production has a big negative impact on climate change? Livestock is responsible for more than 14 per cent of all human-caused greenhouse gas emissions http://www.fao.org/news/story/en/item/197608/icode/ - gases, that have been proved to contribute to climate change.
If you want to eat animal products, just try to eat „the right ones“. Intensive livestock farming just causes non-essential harm to animals. There are more ecological alternatives for a more conscious, reduced consumption - just try to research some biological labels in your country!

You want to do more for the environment with your diet? Try to buy local and seasonal products. Maybe there is a nice weekly market in your neighbourhood? You can research what kind of vegetables and fruits are in season.

REFLECT

In Germany, Santa Claus visits children on December 6 th to reward them for their good deeds and to tell them how they could do better. We would never play the arbiter of morality and tell you what you should or shouldn’t do. We want to get you enthusiastic about sustainability, but of course you can do whatever you want to. However, Santa Claus behaves a little differently—he does make judgments about what’s naughty and nice! This year he’s going to have a look at your ecological footprint. What will he write on his list about you?

Does your foot fit the planet? Your ecological footprint shows the consequences of your lifestyle for the climate. How many planets would be necessary to provide enough resources to sustainably support all human activities, if everyone lived like you?

Find out if Santa Claus can reward you for your good deeds this year by using the Global Footprint Network’s ecological footprint calculator.

Want to know more about ecological footprints? Watch this video:

If you don’t feel like you really know how to make sustainable decisions, this video can give some advice on strategies and tools that can get you started.

DO IT YOURSELF

Did you know that many people report not only being more stressed, but also unhappier and more impatient with their life, during (pre-) Christmas time? This time should instead be a time of calm and contemplation. One stressor for most people is buying Christmas presents. You try to find the perfect present for everyone and you run through crowded shopping malls, buying presents while not knowing if the recipients will actually use them.

But no worries: Christmas without consumption craze is possible. You can easily gift your family and friends something homemade instead. It’s not only more personalized than a purchased gift, but the recipient will be happy about you spending time for them. And you will be happy that you don’t have deal with crowded shopping malls.

Who could you gift something homemade for Christmas? You have a lot of possibilities for homemade presents. Maybe something crafted like a scarf that you knitted yourself? Or some present out of the kitchen - who wouldn’t be happy about home-baked cookies?

Need some more ideas for DIY Christmas presents?

You can find some great recipes and instructions to craft and epicycle on online platforms like Pinterest. Maybe some individualized chocolate bars. Or some nice prints for textiles made out of leaves from your house plant!

Want to also pack your gifts in a more sustainable way? Just re-use materials that you already have at home. Maybe some old newspaper for wrapping! You could also avoid plastic ribbons by using fabric ribbons instead.

Do you know about Make Something Week? It is a Greenpeace campaign with the slogan "Buy nothing, Make something" that calls for you to make something yourself – and thus limit your consumption. Many events celebrating this week are held in Germany and around the world. You can find more information here.

TIME, NOT STUFF

16 days until Christmas! Did you get all your presents for your friends and family yet? The fifth tie for your dad, a book for mum - that will lie around on a shelf - and for your brother or sister a videogame, although they already have more games than they have time to play? For Christmas we often give stuff to people, to make them happy.

But come to think of it, we notice that actually we already have enough stuff. Yet there is one thing that is always missing, which we never have enough of. This thing is time, and even more, time spent together with our loved ones. In our busy everyday lives, we often don't find the time to do things with the people we love. Yet studies, as well as common sense, tell us that what makes us happiest are social encounters and the beautiful memories of these encounters that we carry with us.

So, why not give your loved ones precious time spent together instead? A positive side-effect: with this present you will not take part in the mass consumption folly that calls itself Christmas, and you save valuable resources.

Make a present out of time spent together – instead of stuff that will only clutter your homes. Better to do something nice together with your loved ones.

Can you think of someone you know who really needs time? What could you give to that person to help them? A walk in nature, a picnic? A massage? Some help around the house? Prepare for a day together, write some kind words on a nice Christmas card – done!

Do you know the project „Zeit statt Zeug“ This means time instead of stuff, and the people behind it want to make our consumer society rethink their behaviour. They have a lot of nice ideas how you can find alternatives for the most common „stuff“-presents, like cooking together instead of a cook book. You can even make your own gift vouchers that they will send for you via Email on a date you choose. For example, the 24th of December? Give it a try!

SWAPPING AND SHARING

It is not always necessary to buy new things - you can also share or swap them. Through swapping and sharing you contribute to greater sustainability and environmental protection. No new resources have to be used to produce things, and you help extend the product’s life cycle by using it more thoroughly. There are also benefits for yourself. You can get to know your neighbours better by ringing their bell and asking them if they could lend you something. Or you can use stickers from pumpipumpe.ch, which you can stick on your door to show which products and services you would be willing to lend to others.

Additionally, there are many online platforms to facilitate swapping and sharing. For example, you could share the economic and financial costs of a car ride through car sharing or borrow some tools from the new friends that you’ve made in your neighbourhood. It doesn’t matter if you want to share or swap tools, cars, clothes, knowledge, furniture, books or films - any of these are a nice alternative to classical consumerist behaviour.

Want to buy something new? Try to find it used instead.

Only need it for a short time? Ask people that you know if they can lend it to you or have a look on different online platforms for sharing and lending.

Have something that you don’t need anymore, even though it’s too good to just be thrown away? Try to find a person who needs it!

Both online and offline, there are many possibilities to share and swap with other people. Do you know about “Fair-Teiler“? These are places where you can bring your own food that you are not able to eat anymore. You can also get some food from there without paying any money. Maybe there is also some place like that in your hometown.

Do you prefer to raise your own vegetables and fruits and share them with others? Community gardens are collectively driven gardens. They can be found in many major cities and are intended to strengthen our connection to our own food.

Many cities also have their own free boxes or swap boxes, where people donate and swap various goods like toys or books. You could also host your own swapping party where everybody can bring some of their goods and swap with others.

The German research project Peer Sharing shows the propagation of the principle of sharing in Germany. You can find some more information here.

EXPERIENCE NATURE

You are sitting in front of your computer (again). Your eyes are starting to hurt. Is this getting a little dreary? That’s how many people feel all over the world, sitting in front of an electric device for hours. Young people in Germany for example spend over three hours on the internet, and over two hours in front of the TV – a lot of screen time here’s the full study, in German.

Do you wonder whether life has more to offer? Like a real 3D world out there? Then we have a suggestion for you!

Turn your smartphone off, leave your laptop at home, dress warmly, because we are sending you out into nature! Maybe you have a forest nearby, a lake or even some nice snowy mountains? Take some time off and enjoy nature with open eyes. From time to time it helps to get a good look at the landscapes and living things that make a sustainable lifestyle worthwhile!

A little nature can work wonders. Did you know that just the sight of some green plants in the room can help decrease the pain suffered by someone who is ill? Also, a walk in nature is restorative, decreases stress and makes you happier and more satisfied. That has been shown in a variety of studies in the field of environmental psychology. It goes without saying that activity and fresh air are also good for health.

WATER

There are many things you can live without - but you need water to survive! But why do we buy overpriced and partly contaminated mineral water even though tap water is cheaper and waste free? In many countries, such as Germany, the standards required of tap water are much higher than those required of bottled water. Bottled water can pose health risks when packaged in plastic bottles. Plastic bottles can contaminate the drinking water with harmful chemicals– the impacts of these chemicals aren’t even fully understood. In addition, when thrown into landfills, plastic bottles take centuries to decompose.

Many consumers are buying bottled water that was bottled from a faraway spring. The transportation required to get these bottles to consumers causes substantial greenhouse gas emissions. You can easily avoid these harmful results by drinking tap water instead. Still not convinced that tap water is better than bottled water? Why not just try it and find out!

Today, don’t buy water in plastic bottles; buy some reusable bottles made out of glass or stainless steel instead. You could also reuse a glass bottle that you already have at home - for example, an empty lemonade bottle.

You could also put a reusable bottle on your wishlist for Christmas! Or think about for whom a drinking bottle would be the perfect gift for Christmas.

The amount of plastic that has been produced since the beginning of the plastic age is enough to wrap the whole world in plastic - and not only once or twice, but six times around! That’s scary, isn’t it? Need further convincing to not buy water in plastic bottles? Have a look on the documentation Bottled Life. See the trailer here:

INSPIRE

Half-time! Great, that you have come this far. With all our actions, we could make the world a little better. Maybe in the last few days you have learned something new, thought about you and your environment, have become active and even enjoyed a feeling of success? We hope so, after all this work you can be a little proud of yourself.

Feelings of success are even more fun when shared with others. That is why today we want to share our success stories with the world! Have you received interesting information through this advent calender that you think other people you know might not know about? Or is there something that you did that went especially well? Maybe they would like to know more about your experiences…

Talk to someone about an action you did in the last 12 days, that worked well for you. There’s no need to be modest: your friends and family are probably happy to hear about the nice things you are doing.

Why do we want you to boast about your environmental actions?

- Psychological research has shown time and again, that one of the key motivators for behaviour are so-called social norms. Descriptive social norms in particular guide our behaviour: that means, if we see others do something, or they talk about having done something, more often than not that makes us move in the same direction and take action. So, go ahead and brag, it’s all for the environment!

- Most things are easier when we do them in groups. Would you like to organize an event, achieve a difficult work task or repair something at home? Support from others is motivating and helpful, and we get way more done together. This is why human beings are social beings, and cooperation is one of our key success factors. Sustainable movements are also good at this: be it in NGOs, cooperations or initiatives.

PLASTICS

"I'm a Barbie girl in a Barbie world, Life in plastic, it's fantastic" – plastic surrounds us everywhere. Take a moment to consciously perceive all the plastic in your surrounding: the case of your laptop or phone you’re using to read this text, clothing made from polyester, shoes, toothpaste, packaging material. Plastic can be used in many ways, but for life on our planet, it’s actually not that “fantastic”.

Did you know that there is a whole continent of plastic trash floating on the world’s oceans that covers an area bigger than India? Did you know that a plastic bag takes several centuries to decompose?

The problematic consequences of all this plastic for oceans, ecosystems, and our nutrition (by eating fish, we inevitably consume microplastic that they took in from the ocean) won’t vanish into thin air. Yet there are many good alternatives to plastic! You can wear clothes made from (organic) cotton, use reusable water bottles of glass or metal, and in general reuse more products to cut down on plastic production!

Reduce, reuse, recycle.

Why don’t you start right now?

Grab a bag and try to buy as little plastic or as few products wrapped in plastic as possible today. You can do it!

Not wrapping vegetables in plastic seems straightforward enough. But your shampoo is totally harmless, right? Unfortunately, not quite. Besides the plastic in the bottle itself, there are also tiny little components called microbeads that are used in many toiletries and will ultimately get into our food if they enter the sewage system. No one really knows about the long-term effects of microbeads on our health. What can you do? Try to avoid products with microbeads or even make your own shampoo and toothpaste. Find instructions and suggestions here.

Young people sometimes have awesome ideas. Learn more Boyan Slat, who started the Ocean Cleanup Project when he was 18 and has been inspiring millions of people ever since.

CLOTHING

Self-knitted jumpers, batik shirts and birkenstocks? There are a lot of unflattering clichés when it comes to “sustainable clothing.” But thanks to the emergence of many hip sustainable fashion labels, these old negative stereotypes are now vanishing.

How many pieces of clothing hang unused in our closets, and how many of those end up in landfills or already over-filled old-clothes containers? In Germany, for example, 15 tons of clothing go to waste every year. In many countries, „fast fashion“ has become the unfortunate norm. Every day, we are buying new fashion that is just destined for the trashcan. This has severe consequences for humans and the environment –and all for no good reason, because we actually have enough clothes already!

We all know that our favourite pieces of clothing aren’t lying on a shelf in the store -- they’re already in our own closets! Is there a pair of shoes you loved to wear but now the sole is falling off? Does your favourite shirt have a little hole? Often it is quite easy to repair the things you love. Apart from having a more unique style, there is another plus to stocking your wardrobe with fewer but timeless favourites. You save time in the morning by not having to ask yourself which of the many half-perfect pieces of clothing in your closet you should wear today!

Make yourself a present out of something you already have!

Give a second chance to a favourite piece of clothing.

Repair it or let a friend or family member help you repair it (maybe you even know someone with a sewing machine you can borrow?)

Not a fan of doing crafts and needlework yourself? Support a local tailor by having him/her do the repair instead!

- The price of our hunger for clothing in the Global North is mainly paid by people in the Global South. Cotton production decreases soil quality and increases water consumption in already dry areas, and fabric dying produces pollution. Although big companies are making huge profits off us fashion victims, the wages of labourers who produce our clothing are often are not even enough for them to make a living. https://www.publiceye.ch/de/themen-hintergruende/konsum/mode/.

- Do you know about Repair Cafés? They can help you with all sorts of repairs!

- Clothes swap parties are also a great place to find new favourite pieces, or to give a longer life to the less loved pieces. Look online to find „Clothes Swaps“ or „Walk-In- Closets“ near you, or consider organizing one yourself!

- More info on why old stuff can be better than the new: www.fashionrevolution.org

YouTuber Verena Erin shows how sustainable fashion and a hip lifestyle can be compatible in her channel My Green Closet:

https://www.youtube.com/user/MyGreenCloset/about

MOVE

Ok, fair enough, in winter the idea to leave your car might not be the most appealing. It can be freezing cold on your bike or on the walk to the bus. But think of all the advantages that alternative transportation can have: You get some exercise, you see much more of your surroundings, you gain a new awareness of the city or town where you live - and you give your brain an oxygen boost, which improves its health and productivity. No annoying traffic jams or hour-long searches for a parking spot—instead: time to read, listen to podcasts, daydream, or even talk to other people. You can save money, and (of course!) also a lot of resources.

How could you get to work, school or university without a car? Make a plan today for how you will commute tomorrow using your feet, your bicycle or public transport instead!

Love bikes as much as we do? Get involved in the “Critical Mass” Movement.

And whilst we are on the topic of cars anyway…

…there has been a lot of critique about the typical automobile combustion engine. And with good reason! As of yet, there is no really sustainable fuel for these engines. For a time, there was some talk about biofuel, but in fact these options are not eco-friendlier when you consider how much energy is required to grow the plants that these fuels are made from. The fertilizers and tractors that used to grow biofuel plants are only part of the problem. A bigger concern is that the land is used to grow biofuel plants can’t be used to grow food, which is also a necessary resource. Even electric cars only make a difference if they are produced in a sustainable way, and the use of rare earth minerals required to make electric cars, plus the resource-intensive electricity generation that is needed to power electrical cars, can actually eliminate their net environmental benefit. It’s a lot to wrap our heads around! The easier solution in the end is not to have a car at all, right?

TRAVELING

Imagine you are on holiday. A break, vacations, finally time to relax. You can do everything that you want! Discovering something new - enriching experiences and expanding one’s horizons. Learning new things and meeting new people. We think that traveling is fantastic! But seriously: Who wants to stand in never-ending queues, waiting hours just to check-in? Eat bad food in airplanes? Be jet-lagged for days? Are the likes of your vacation snaps on Facebook really worth this pain?

Travelling can be enriching, can cost little money, is a great opportunity for new insights, to release tension - and it can also be environmentally friendly on the same time! You don’t believe us? We have some inspiration for you.

Let your vacation dreams come true! Think about how you could reach your next favorite destination without taking the airplane. By feet, by bike, by train, or by a shared car? Of course you can do it! We are already looking forward to you post card! (Send it to our address which you find on our website under “Legal info”.)

Flying is one of the worst things you could do as an environmental friendly person. Probably you have seen how much CO₂ is emitted on a long-distance travel when you have calculated your ecological footprint. According to this survey going without taking a flight is one of the three most effective individual steps towards climate change. During a flight from Berlin to Grand Canary 1.5 tons of CO₂ are emitted. That is as much as the emissions caused by one person living in India - in one year! One long-distance train emits less than a fifth of CO₂ of air planes for the same distance.

And watch out! According to the Federal Environmental Agency the life cycle assessment of a flight is distorted massively by only consulting the CO 2 emissions. The effects of CO₂ for the climate like condensation trails or ozone are approximately two to five times stronger than carbon dioxide alone. You want to know more about the impact of air travel on our climate? Read here.

You don’t know where to travel? Get your inspiration from travel documentaries. You want to do more?

Here are some tips for climate-friendly travel.

Besides cycling, hitchhiking is the most climate friendly way to travel. When you want to get yourself in this adventure on the roads you could get all helpful information from the website hitchwiki.org.

Energy

Most eco-advices are about saving energy. Sure we all should change to eco-power - which is quite easy to do online at a lot of electric companies. Especially in Europe and North America it is necessary to spend less energy. You can easily do that in your everyday life: Switch off the light when you don’t need it, turn off the heating, take a short shower instead of a long bath. But is that enough?

No, quite the opposite: the energy that we use up at home only represents a small amount of our whole consumption. Also the raw material extraction, production and disposal of everyday items that we need to furnish our home or dress ourselves use up a lot of every. Something that uses up more and more energy at the moment is the internet.

But why the Internet? If the internet would be a country, it would be the country with the sixth highest electricity consumption in the world. The energy consumption of all datacenters in Germany nearly doubled from 2000 to 2012. Especially video-streaming is responsible for more than half of all data traffic on the internet.

Energy is also spent where we don’t notice it - especially while streaming videos. Try to go without watching movies on the internet today.

You want to do more for your digital footprint? Get a email-account at posteo - a provider, that saves your mails safe and sustainable with eco-power. Also use Ecosia instead of Google as your standard search engine.

"How viral cat videos are warming the planet" - The Guardian reported on the effects of our internet routines in this article

… and not only the power demand of our digitalized life leaves one’s mark. To provide the hardware belonging to it - computers, smartphones or giant server farms where our data is saved - tons of raw material like aluminium, copper, cobalt or rare earth elements are necessary.

New technologies

Also the newest digital technologies have unexpected high consumptions - their use should be deliberated. A current example: The Blockchain technology. Vice writes: „One Bitcoin Transaction Now Uses as Much Energy as Your House in a Week“

SETTING GOALS

Fantastic! You’ve come so far! We hope that you’ve learned a lot of new things over the past few days, have thought about yourself and our environment, have told other people about this calendar and have been pleased with your achievements!

Together with all the other people that have been inspired by this calendar, you can make a difference! In this movement, you are important. You can be proud about what you could accomplish with your actions.

We all know this situation: We want to do something, that is so important for us - but then we lose sight of our goals and our weaker self prevents us from creating the life we want. We have some routines that we do automatically without thinking about them - and it is a challenge to not fall back into old patterns.

That’s why we support you today with the task of listening to your heart and putting your ideals into action. Let’s go!

Which door was most exciting for you? Cover that topic over the long term. Note down your first steps which you can track tomorrow! You don’t know exactly how to set goals? We can help you, it’s so easy:

At first, look into the mirror and ask yourself: What do I want to achieve in my life? What is important to me? What do I believe in? What are my values? - As an example: I want to live in harmony with the nature, so I don’t want to harm people living on other continents or other plants and animals. And you? What is important to you?

Choose a topic from the past days that means a lot to you. Make a specific plan on how to approach that topic in your everyday life by answering the questions „What? Where? When? Who?“. Aim high but stay realistic and focus on a foreseeable period - As an example: During the next 4 weeks, I will eat vegetarian meals on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays by replacing meat with lentils and soy and choosing the vegetarian meal in cafeterias.

Write a note with your goals in a place you see every day. For example, there is a note in my kitchen above the stove, so I can see it every time when I am cooking.

Besides the ideas mentioned above, there are many more ways to make it easier to implement your ideals in your life. These tips come from various fields of Psychology. Here are just a few more:

- Look forward! Find your very own sustainable role model that inspired you to live a more sustainable life

- Think positive! It’s time to celebrate. More than 8 million people in Germany are vegetarian and vegan - this is more than 10 % and the number is growing every day. (Daily a lot of people are cycling to school, university or work. You have also lived more sustainable in the last days)

- Write down your goals, preferably together with a small group of friends or family. Which common goals do you have for a more sustainable life?

- And, if your plan proves to be unsuccessful, try to think about what you could do to solve these problems.

ENJOY

Touching encounters, pleasant sensations, cool experiences – all of that is enjoyable and makes us happy. Let’s find sustainable activities that we can enjoy! Of course, this might mean different things to different people. Some of you find it relaxing to cook, garden or even read. Others might prefer to be more active, go for a run, take a bike ride or be creative when sewing or woodworking.

There are many ways of enjoying things without consuming goods: very often they are less expensive and simpler than finding pleasure in buying and consuming stuff. Sometimes, really indulging in one activity consciously brings more joy than rushing from one event to the next or buying things we will never use.

How about you? What is fun, relaxing and at the same time environment-friendly?

Take some time to laze around, to read a good book or whatever you enjoy without using energy.

Here is why enjoyment can help you and the environment:

The ability to enjoy oneself, to consciously experience every sensual impression will raise your well-being. This can mean using your senses to smell, taste and hear, as well as drawing on intellectual experiences such as literature, arts or conversations.

Part of this is perceiving the intensity of an experience instead of letting it accumulate. Single experiences, events and things are so consciously enjoyed that you actually need less of it. Most of it is free and accessible to everyone: last rays of sunshine at the lake, smell of lilac or the silence in the woods.

Time for yourself: Meditation for beginners:

Book recommendation: Alan Watts: Live fully now

Sufficiency

Is your friend jetting to Bali for a yoga retreat and flooding your Facebook timeline with sunset photographs? Did your sister get a great deal on the newest hipster outfit? Is your colleague’s latest smartphone so new and shiny?

We all know situations where we wish we had something. Even more so when comparing what we have to others. We are social beings and it’s very normal to compare ourselves to others. However, it often makes us unhappy. Pretty annoying!

What helps? Frugality: being content with yourself sounds like something out of a strange self- help book. It can kill two birds with one stone: it makes it easier to follow a frugal life- style without chasing the latest trends and shiniest products and gives you a certain peace of mind. In a nutshell: we are pretty good, just the way we are!

Higher, faster, further? It’s not easy to be content with yourself. Ask a friend what she/he really appreciates about you.

That is why frugality can help you and the environment! Sufficiency means asking how much is enough for us. What do we really need to be happy? Is more always better?

Research from Positive Psychology found that there is almost no correlation between life satisfaction and income after reaching a certain saturation level. As soon as basic needs are covered, more material wealth does not increase the well-being of the subject.

Want to know more? Check out the Politics of Sufficiency.

Self-acceptance refers to the ability to embrace and appreciate oneself with all positive and negative qualities. It helps you and the environment. It strengthens the resistance against consumption as a way of increasing one’s status and reduces negative feelings. If you are content with yourself, you do not need moments of “happiness” achieved through consuming.

Money cannot buy happiness. The saying points out the fact that we are often happier to spend time with people that are important to us than when we find something we can buy.

The initiative Good:Matters//Goods:Don’t invites you to do a year without buying “stuff”. How is this possible and how does this self-experiment effect people? Try it yourself!

SELF-EFFICACY

Self-efficacy, the confidence in your own abilities, can strongly promote sustainable behaviour. Additionally, it fulfills our needs for competence and autonomy. Anyone who has already fixed their own bike, has been to a Repaircafé, knitted their own socks or eaten their homegrown tomatoes knows what we are talking about!

Excessively packed supermarket shelves and the internet’s boundless consumption choices have made us pretty dependent. It’s about time we get back our (sense of) autonomy!

Marmalade, clothes, or your bike – self-made or self-repaired is sustainable, cheap, and makes you proud.

Therefore, whatever you need today, do it yourself today!

How?

- Ask your granny! (or any other older and/or more experienced person): How is all this DIY-stuff done?

- You are the granny? All the better! Have a chat with those spring chickens about your tips and lifehacks for a self-determined life.

-- No granny in sight? Fortunately, the internet also has knowledge to offer: smarticular.net, ifixit.com

"I boycott everything that´s not made by my hands"

This is how self-efficacy helps the environment and yourself:

Self-efficacy is the certainty, that you can master the challenges in your life based on your own competences. So you feel like you can shape your life and the world around you. People with high self-efficacy are more motivated to make use of opportunities to participate politically and to show civic engagement!

*Reference: We will tell in door 24!

TIME WEALTH

Time is a scarce resource. The feeling of not having enough time is stressing out a lot of people. This is why “Zeitwohlstand”, or time wealth, wants us to do things differently.

The gains in economic productivity should no longer result in more productiveness, but rather we should finally experience a relief with reduced workload and more free time! Let’s savour a Utopia: less expensive consumption equals less income required, equals more free time, more social capital, more freedom. It’s a no-brainer: if you spend less money, you don’t need to work as much (if the labour market plays along of course). Because what we tend to forget is: when we buy things, we are not paying with money – we are paying with our life time.

Time wealth means creating free spaces and taking time for things that matter. More and more people are asking themselves: what is a good life, and how do we want to spend our time on this planet?

Advertisement is one of those things that takes up so much of our time and material resources, and it pushes us to buy more things than we actually need. Don’t let it distract you from the things that truly matter to you.

Put a “no advertisement“ sticker on your post box and unsubscribe from commercial newsletters.

For the more ambitioned: Try spending a day without any social media (WhatsApp and the likes included), without Internet (not including work of course) and without a TV.

This is how time wealth helps the environment and you:

Along with the reasons already mentioned, more time also helps you to be more mindful. Mindfulness is a non-judging state of mind that gives full attention to the here and now. It means to experience the moment with all senses and feelings instead of being somewhere else in your head. It is also an inner posture of openness, kindliness, and acceptance and, thus, vital for feeling empathy for other people, animals, or the environment. It makes you realise how meaningless material accumulation is and what things are more meaningful instead. This is why many studies show that mindfulness and meditation also come with increased well-being.

All the more reason to decelerate! How about a little mindfulness exercise? And if you should feel bored while meditating, think about it this way: whenever we are bored, time passes more slowly. That is almost like having a longer life!

*Reference: in two days we will tell you, in door 24!

PURPOSE

People who speak up for something often feel that their lives make more sense. Many people even feel the need to do something meaningful in their lives, and that gives them pleasure and content. Helping for example makes many feel happy and purposeful. And hey, what a coincidence: our planet with all its plants, animals and humans is also in dire need of help at the moment.

So, why not try an experiment: can speaking up and acting for the environment fulfil you with a sense of purpose and happiness? Research at least points in this direction – civic engagement and activism do increase life satisfaction!

Social and environmental organisations need our support. You know how to organize, tackle problems, motivate people, cook, garden or repair? Get engaged!

Don’t just be a consumer: Become politically active, participate in local communities, join a non-profit organization of your choice. Most organizations don’t only need money but also many helping hands.

This is how a sense of purpose helps you and the environment:

People find meaning in their lives in all sorts of ways – consumerism fortunately is rarely one of them. Rather, what has been found to make people happier is to dedicate their time for sharing and implementing benevolent values in society, like justice, equality, kindliness, religion, or the respect for nature.

SOLIDARITY

No, not the holiday where you stuff a ridiculous amount of presents under a decorated tree. , This day is all about altruism, charity, solidarity. This makes us feel connected and trustful – things without which we would all be pretty lost.

So, for this Christmas we wish you a lot of time with your family and loved ones, mindful enjoyment of being together, and maybe some happy faces when unpacking the immaterial Christmas presents. Thank you very much for participating in our joint adventure of a sustainable Christmas time! von nachhaltigen Weihnachtsgeschenken. Wir danken euch fürs Mitmachen!

Spend time with your loved ones today and show them how important they are for you.

This is how solidarity helps you and the environment:

Solidarity means to let social justice guide your actions. Many things are not just at the moment: Why can you go nearly anywhere with a EU passport, but not with a Somalian? Why are people in the Global South suffering more from climate change than us in the Global North, who are actually responsible for it? Power differences hinder us to have equal chances in life.

What can we do about this injustice? We can show solidarity with less fortunate people, be it locally by welcoming refugees, helping homeless people, growing your own food or protecting the local nature and wildlife, or globally by supporting environmental and social organizations, such as the Pacific Climate Warriors.

Solidarity can be a new paradigm that hopefully will overcome the „higher, better, faster, more“ we are currently running after. If we succeed to free ourselves from seeing the world as a field of competition, we can start cooperating. When thinking about climate justice, this might mean consuming and polluting less.

We hope our advent calendar inspired some change for you! Maybe we see you again next year?

*References of doors 19-24: „Psychologische Ressourcen für einen nachhaltigen Lebensstil (Psychological resources for a sustainable lifestyles)“, a German book by Marcel Hunecke, 2013

Greenpeace Report "Clicking Clean", 2015  http://www.greenpeace.org/usa/wp-content/uploads/legacy/Global/usa/planet3/PDFs/2015ClickingClean.pdf