Ongoing citizen actions

Article updated on 21st June 2016

I’m listing here a few ongoing citizen and political actions in favour of the environment, sustainable mobility and a sustainable future. Thank you for allowing some time to check these links and give your support to the commitment of all those who refuse to head straight for disaster.

Europe and North America are currently negotiating two trade deals that could turn out to be the biggest corporate power grabs in history — TTIP and CETA. If passed, TTIP will jeopardise vital environmental and health regulations and threaten working standards in Europe, allowing corporations to sue governments behind closed doors. October 6th 2015 marked the end of the self-organised European citizens’ initiative (ECI) — one year after the start of what has become the largest ECI ever. In October, we delivered more than 3,263,900 signatures against TTIP and CETA to the European Commission. On May 2nd, Greenpeace Netherlands has released secret TTIP negotiation documents. You can download them here.

Protect our health, Stop Monsanto and their toxic glyphosate (Avaaz), more than 2’060’000 signatures. After two last minute cancellations following citizen pressure, a new vote will be held at the European Commission on Friday 24th June to extend Monsanto’s  glyphosate license – the present license will expire on June 30th. Let’s make sure it won’t be renewed. Please, also support these actions : SumOfUs and WeMove.EU.

International campaign for the preservation of night trains in Europe
The European night train network is being slowly dismantled by the various railway companies. Some of the trains I have been taking to leave or come back from a cycle journey have already been definitely cancelled, like for instance the Basle-Copenhagen and Irun-Hendaye-Geneva lines. Find more information on World Carfree Network website. The Swiss petition “Save the night trains” has been delivered to the federal authorities in Berne on 30.09.2015, with 11’141 signatures.

Other links

Act

Calculate your ecological footprint to start changing the world :
WWF Footprint Calculator

Ask Swiss National Bank and pension funds to divest from oil, gas and coal : Climate Alliance Switzerland

Express your own opinion together with millions of citizens of the world :
Avaaz – The World in Action

Support international actions and campaigns in favour of the environment : Greenpeace

Gather once a month and ride through the city to reclaim the streets in favour of sustainable mobility : Critical Mass

critical-mass

 

 

 

 

 

 

Films

A few films to make it clear that it’s time to change our way of life…

Disobedience, The rise of the global fossil fuel resistance (2016)

Overconsumption (excerpts from the movie Samsara, 2012)

Journey to Midway (ongoing project) – watch the beautiful trailer

GasLand (2010) – watch excerpts or full movie

The Age of Stupid (2009)

Home (2009)

The world according to Monsanto (2008)

Une vérité qui dérange (An inconvenient truth, 2006, in French)

… and some more, just for pleasure :

Danny MacAskill – Way back home (2010)

Danny MacAskill – Epecuén (2014)

Danny MacAskill – The Ridge (2014)

Hot bike !

Sylvain Tesson – 6 months in a wooden cabin at the Baïkal  (2011, in French)

Revolution murdered, in Burkina Faso :

sankaraCapitaine Thomas Sankara (2012-2014),
a film by Christophe Cupelin

 

 

 

 

Critical information websites

350.org : global climate movement. Their online campaigns, grassroots organizing, and mass public actions are coordinated by a global network active in over 188 countries.

World Carfree Network : the hub of the global carfree movement. Worldcarfree.net is a clearinghouse of information from around the world on how to revitalise our towns and cities and create a sustainable future.

 

Books

Must-read texts to disalienate oneself and live the best of life.

ABBEY Edward, Desert Solitaire: A Season in the Wilderness, 1968
ABBEY Edward, The Monkey Wrench Gang, 1975
BASS Rick, The book of Yaak, 1997
BOUVIER Nicolas, Journal d’Aran et d’autres lieux, 1990 (in French)
BOUVIER Nicolas, Le poisson-scorpion, 1981 (In French)
BOUVIER Nicolas, The Japanese Chronicles, 1990
BOUVIER Nicolas, The Way of the World, 1963
HARRISON Jim, Dalva, 1987
HARRISON Jim, A Good Day to Die, 1973
KRAKAUER Jon, Into the wild, 1996
LAME DEER John Fire & ERDOES Richard, Lame Deer, Seeker of Visions, 1972
MATTHIESSEN Peter, The Snow Leopard, 1978
TESSON Sylvain, Consolations of the Forest : Alone in a Cabin on the Siberian Taiga, 2013

 

Music

Not forgetting some music notes for the road…

Astor Piazzolla & Amelita Baltar – El gordo triste
Astor Piazzolla & Amelita Baltar – Nina
Bob Marley – Exodus
Dog Faced Hermans – Bella Ciao
Dominique A – Antonia
Dominique A – L’horizon
Dominique A – La mémoire neuve
Dominique A – Nanortalik
Grinderman (Nick Cave) – Electric Alice
Grinderman (Nick Cave) – (I Don’t Need You To) Set Me Free
Grinderman (Nick Cave) – Love Bomb
Grinderman (Nick Cave) – Mickey Mouse & the Goodbye Man Live
Hanni El Khatib – Fuck it. You win. (just for the sound, the clip is ridiculous !)
King Champion Sounds (feat. GW Sok) – Different Drummer
Les Ogres de Barback – L’Arménienne (live)
Les Ogres de Barback – Monsieur perd ses copains
Les Ogres de Barback & Les Hurlements D’Léo – Salut à toi (live)
Mahmoud Ahmed – Ere Mela Mela
Matthieu Côte – Qu’est-ce qu’ils sont cons
Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds – Finishing Jubilee Street
Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds – From Her To Eternity (full album)
Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds – Let love in (full album)
Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds – Murder Ballads (full album)
Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds – Tender Prey (full album)
Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds – The Firstborn Is Dead (full album)
Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds – Tupelo
Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds – Water’s Edge
Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds – We Real Cool
Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds – Your Funeral… My Trial (full album)
Noir Désir – Marlène
Noir Désir – Des armes
Noir Désir – Le fleuve
Noir Désir – Si rien ne bouge
Sun Kil Moon – Richard Ramirez Died Today of Natural Causes (Live)
The Ex – Frenzy
The Ex – House Carpenter
The Ex – The Art of Losing
The Ex – The State of Freedom
The Ex & Brass Unbound – Cold Weather (Live in Dublin, February 2010)
The Ex & Tom Cora – State of Shock
The Young Gods – Rue des tempêtes
The Young Gods – Gasoline Man
The Young Gods – L’Amourir
The Young Gods – Envoyé

Cyclist links

Bike shops and mechanical workshops in Switzerland

A very good shop and mechanical workshop in Geneva, since 1946 :
Jean Brun & Fils, 3 Place du Cirque, 1204 Genève.

jean brunThe travel bikes expert in Geneva : Viscacha Bike, 3 Bd James Fazy, 1201 Genève. Mathieu takes care of Claude Marthaler’s bicycle : isn’t that a recommendation ?

viscacha bike

In Sion (VS) : Cycles Ferrero, 27 rue des Casernes, 1950 Sion. Friendly welcome, faultless work, detailed invoices and cheapest prices.

 

Websites about travelling by bike and cycling in general

Betzgi’s Cycle Tours, in German and English. Equipment, routes and photos by Betzgi who cycled more than 125’000 km around all 5 continents.

Bicycle Traveler Magazine, in English and Dutch. Free downloadable magazine gathering travel stories, photos, informations about equipment and interviews.

Bicycle Travels, in English. Travel stories and photos. Western Europe, Australia and United States.

Claude Marthaler, in French and English. The new website of the tireless Swiss traveller and writer.

crazyguyonabike, in English. Travel diaries of many cyclists all over the world.

Cycletourer Website, in English. Comprehensive website focused on Northern Europe.

Cycling Challenge – Cycling in the Alps, in English. Mountain passes and alpine itineraries (Switzerland, France and Italy).

Cyclosite, in French. Travel stories and many links.

Europe Bicycle Touring, in English. Lots of informations about travelling by bike and numerous routes across Europe.

EuroVelo, in English. The official website of the European Cyclists’ Federation (ECF). News, projects related to sustainable mobility and trans-European cycle routes.

France Vélo Tourisme, in English and French. Information website about touring France by bicycle and launched by Tourism Federations. Itineraries, destinations and practical infos.

Freewheely, in English. Diary of a bike journey from Zurich to Cape Town (South Africa).

Patrick’s Schleppi’s bicycle pages, in English, French and German. Travel diaries, photos and gps tracks of tours in the Alps (Switzerland, France, Italy and Austria).

Pro Velo, in English, French and Flemish. Belgian association whose overall mission is “to improve the quality of life by actively contributing to the modal shift from car to bicycle”.

Routavelo, in French. Nicolas’ journeys across Europe, Africa and Americas – North and South.

Sustrans, in English. The official website of UK’s foundation for sustainable mobility. Numerous itineraries throughout the country (14’000 miles) and lots of other valuable informations.

the.mtb.biker – Unconventional Rides, in Italian. Beautiful website proposing MTB itineraries, mainly in Northern Italy, but not exclusively.

Trento Bike Pages, mainly in English. Links to numerous websites about travelling by bike. Sorting by country, author or date.

ViaRhôna, in English and French. The official website of the Rhone bike route, from Geneva Lake to the Mediterranean sea (Eurovelo 17).

 

Accomodation

Warmshowers, free accomodation for cyclists based on reciprocity : once back, you become a host and welcome cyclists at your place. I never tried it, as I travel disconnected (meaning I don’t know where are the warmshowers), but some friends told me that they enjoyed this community service.

 

Online maps & GPS app

Bikemap, over 4.7 million routes recorded by cyclists around the world, free download of gpx and kml files
Official interactive map of Switzerland
Official interactive map of France
Official interactive map of Austria
OpenCycleMap, based on OpenStreetMap data
OpenStreetMap, with cycle map layer
OSMAnd, GPS app for smartphones, including cycle and hiking paths

 

Travel equipment and clothing

All you need to load your bike and leave : Veloplus and Randobike.

In Geneva, much is available at friendly Cactus and Le Globe Trotter.

Great t-shirts : Share The Damn Road !