Solarnia: How to sustain paradise

Something truly amazing has happened in the last few days.

In Italy, Spain, Croatia, Greece and Hungary, local residents, tourists, activists and volunteers have been teaming up to worship the sun. Their sun-soaked countries hosted creative peaceful protests that demanded the protection of the Mediterranean solar paradise against the threats of new dirty fuel projects financed by their governments and authorities. 

We call this vulnerable Mediterranean solar paradise “Solarnia”.

In Italy, hundreds of volunteers wanted to make sure that their demands made sense.

So, they visited 20 cities and asked the people there what they would choose given two options: living in a place threatened by the risk of oil spills or a place where solar is the only energy source in their country.

The responses, based on common sense, were pretty clear: solar energy is the way to go.

However, for certain governments, the answer is, apparently, not so clear. So, our Croatian friends made sure our demands were made very visible. Literally.

Meanwhile, Greenpeace Greece had started up a crowdfunding project aimed at installing solar panels for families in need and to support the economy in a sustainable and long-term way.

But, the Mediterranean isn’t just for the locals – it’s for everyone. Everyone has a stake in keeping this paradise a solar paradise and we should all join forces to protect it.

This is why, in Hungary, a press conference was organised to speak up against the dirty energy madness and also to get the public to take a clear and decisive stand against them.

That’s why, many people decided to jump on a boat (not a real one this time!) to pass on their messages and to show what a future without solar energy would look like.

For those who know us, we never give up the fight for a bright future, but we can’t do it by ourselves. We need the support of everyone in the world.

Over 27,000 people already took a stand to make our Solarnia dream come true, we can’t wait to hear your voice added to the call.

So, What can you do to make the Solarnia dream come true?

1. Add your voice and sign the petition.

2. Tell your friends that you are against oil drilling and for renewable energy, like wind and soalr.

3. Take selfies on the beach (or wherever) and share them on your social media channels with the #SolarParadise hashtag.

Let’s make our messages very visible and stay tuned for more fun activities to come!

Cristiana De Lia is a Communications Coordinator with Greenpeace Central Eastern Europe.