Gozd ni kulisa. Je skupna odgovornost

Kolumna Bojana Budje: BicikeLJ The word "Kolo," meaning bicycle, has been written with a capital letter at least until Monday for a reason. New road surfaces exclusively for cyclists are being opened, while cars are increasingly dismissed for polluting the environment, whether powered by oil and gasoline or electric vehicles burdened with waste batteries. Ljubljana is becoming a cycling city. Not surprisingly, this was confirmed by the discovery of a wooden bicycle near the Ljubljana Marshes, on the site of former settlements. After restoration at the Roman-German central museum in Mainz, archaeologists estimated its age at an astonishing 5,200 years. Today, we boast having the world's oldest preserved bicycle under UNESCO protection. Humanity has indeed been cycling for at least five thousand years. However, the marshes' bicycle is the oldest among wooden examples. In fact, human civilization has used wheels since the fourth millennium BCE. From Central Europe to Mesopotamia, numerous depictions of wooden and clay wheels have been found. Every elderly mother can cycle a hundred or two hundred meters faster than even Usain Bolt. Modern bicycles bear little resemblance to these ancient models. In urban settings, especially in cities considered urban, two fundamental principles apply. As Mikael Colevill Andersen once stated, people cycle in cities mainly because it is the fastest and most convenient mode of transport in European-style cities. Other reasons such as environmental care, responsibility toward the city and its inhabitants, and health concerns are secondary. Cycling saves time, reduces stress, and offers a pleasant way to move from point A to point B. According to one percentage of cyclists, this form of mobility also helps solve global issues. The author admits not being a cyclist. However, what impresses him most about bicycles is their simplicity. Instead of walking, people roll along the circumference of the wheel. Every grandmother, grandpa, and elderly mother can cycle a hundred or two hundred meters faster than even the fastest sprinter, Usain Bolt. A bicycle is also a miracle, it continues moving for some time after stopping pedaling, especially downhill. Based on this logic, Ljubljana’s ‘bicikeLJ’ is a brilliant invention. Gozd ni kulisa. Je skupna odgovornost An article titled "Forest Is Not a Set. It Is Shared Responsibility" was written by Gregor Danev, director of the Slovenian Forestry Institute. Everything he wrote should hold true, but it would be almost fairy-tale-like if it were actually the case. If he did not live nearly in the middle of the forest on the slope of Menina, he might still believe it. However, he looks at certain things differently than described in the contribution. Indeed, everyone has their own view of the forest. Some would preserve it untouched, others would exploit it fully, if I may phrase it that way. No extreme is ever good, not even in the forest. He hopes to assert that most forest owners, primarily farmers in the hills on the slopes of Menina, manage their forests well, aware that the forest is like a bank or reserve, always keeping this in mind. Recently, however, they have had to deal with ...