22 VOLUME 100 ISSUE 10

Pamela Peeters, born in Antwerp and raised in Keerbergen and Den Haag; moved to New York

City on July 4, 1999. She talks about a wonderful city that underwent many changes, both positive and negative ones, over the years.

Peeters: “A lot of things have changed. Of course there was 9/11 and more re-cent Superstorm Sandy which shook up thousands of people’s lives. Many new buildings have been constructed, numerous restaurants and shops have closed and even more new ones came along. The waterfront on the West side has been developed and added a new, green dimension to the Big Apple. Also for me personally my life has expanded quite a bit!”

The American Dream come true Before she left her home country Pamela set some goals for herself. “My initial goal was to be the first woman to ever make a TV show on sustainable lifestyles. My train of thought took me to the USA, because of the leverage of possibilities here. Everybody remembers Frank Sinatra’s ‘If you can make it there, you can make it anywhere ...’ Nothing could be truer in my case.

I succeeded brilliantly and am currently hosting my third TV show. I exceeded my goals and in the meantime I have written three books with a fourth on its way. I also added the launch and production of the ‘Sustainable Planet’ Film Festival and very recently ‘Sustainability Week’ to my resume.”

Short term, long term, ultimate dreamPamela’s list of accomplishments is already very impressive, but like every good American she still has many dreams. “My ultimate dream is to produce a feature length film based on a novel I am writing. It blends futuristic societ-ies with a planet Earth in the middle of an ecological crisis, threatening the very foundation of life on our planet. Then I would really be able to say ‘I have accomplished all of my dreams.’”

“But my short term plan is to finish the production of a new 8-episode long TV series that brings me – and the audience – back to the tribal wisdom of living in harmony with Mother Nature. Also on the to-do list: finishing my fourth book Elements. On the long term I wish to expand my Sustainable Styles online presence into a multimedia channel, including a sustainability lab and incubator. On a more personal level, I would love to go on expedi-tions with the man I love ... Starting my own family while I continue enjoying my life in the States is another one of those long term plans.” (smiles)

Awesome? “There are some things I really miss from my home country. First of all there is the great food of course. Secondly, I sometimes miss the ‘down to earth’ attitude of the people. Here in the US all things are ‘great’ and ‘awesome’, but of course life is not always like that. Finally I miss the beauty of our cities and the richness of our culture. Compared to Europe, the USA is a very young nation. But I have always stayed in touch with the many friends I made during my life in Belgium. Sometimes I’ll organize a reunion in my hometown. My friends and I can catch up over a good glass of red wine by the fireplace. Awesome!”

– Leentje De Leeuw (from-chicago-with-words.blogspot.com)

PuzzleSolutions

Sudoku

Translation Crossword

Kruiswoordraadsel

Crypt-O-Quote

SOLUTION

Live your life and forget your age.– Norman Vincent Peale

Pamela Peeters at home in New York City.

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ILLIE D

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Pamela Peeters: ECO HERO in New York

A Closer LookPamela Peeters is an environmental econo-mist who has specialized in sustainable de-velopment for more than 15 years and ad-vocates for sustainable living. Sustainable living is a lifestyle that attempts to reduce an individual’s or society’s use of the Earth’s natural resources and personal resources. At its most basic, sustainable living means liv-ing a lifestyle that uses as few resources as possible and causes the least amount of envi-ronmental damage for future generations to deal with.

Ms. Peeters consults with companies and personalities on how to “Go Green” and be “Sustainable”. She has produced over 200 television episodes of the lifestyle magazine, Our Planet, various short films and several radio segments. She lectures internationally and contributes in making sustainable devel-opment topics become a part of the main-stream media. Since 2005, she has produced the Sustainable Planet Film Festival.

In 2007, her first book, Urban Ecology, was released. Recently, she published, ECO HERO, a book about a little girl who travels the world solving environmental imbalances often caused by human pressure. In the first book, she visits Sweden, makes new friends and solves the problem with this group.

Visit her website, www.sustainablestyles.com, to learn more about sustainable lifestyle solutions. For additional information on Pame-la Peeters see www.pamelapeeters.com.