Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/739032
maltatoday, SUNDAY, 16 OCTOBER 2016 40 As a matter of global justice and responsibility, it is vital that the EU acts to reduce its overconsumption of global land and the destructive impacts caused to ecosystems and communities worldwide as a result. This means adopting demand-specific measures at the macro level, including EU policies addressing its land consumption, support of citizens' initiatives like urban farming, repair cafes or libraries of things, which can help change European consumption patterns and reduce pressure on virgin land resources, and supporting a radi- cal transition to an alternative agricultural system that works for all people and the environment. This Week Dragonflies are fabulous insects of extremely ancient pedigree, and we're lucky to have them here. I say lucky because Malta is very poor in dragonfly des res, namely freshwater lakes, rivers, streams, etc. So perhaps it is with mother nature's kind concession that we get over a dozen of these beauties zooming about. A handful of them are red or reddish in colour – at least the males are – one of which is the broad scarlet, our most common dragonfly. Medium-sized as dragonflies go, the broad scarlet (M: skarlat) is nonetheless conspicuous: the male is deep red throughout, eyes and legs included, while the female is the colour of burnished gold. Males are very territorial and promptly see off all other males invading their patch, which is usually a garden pond, a fountain, or a water tank or open cistern in a field. They're harmless, by the way. GREEN IDEA OF THE WEEK 431: RETHINK BOTTLED WATER: Unless they are recycled, plastic water bottles take thousands of years to decompose. Buy a reusable container and fill it with tap water, a great choice for the environment, your wallet, and possibly your health Visit Friends of the Earth's website for more information about our work, as well as for information about how to join us. You can also support us by sending us a donation - www.foemalta.org/donate Text Victor Falzon Photo Aron Tanti 528. BROAD SCARLET EU's Land Footprint – Solutions and Recommendations Bestselling Bulgarian author Alek Popov to participate at Malta Book Festival BULGARIAN writer Alek Popov will be the among the special guests of this year's edition of the Malta Book Festival, taking place next month at the Malta Mediter- ranean Conference Centre, Vallet- ta. His participation will feature in two events – he is one of the guest speakers at the conference on Lit- erature and Totalitarianism and he will also have an event dedicat- ed to himself and his work, where he will be talking to journalist and writer Teodor Reljic about the concerns and themes that inform his fiction. During this event, the Bulgarian writer will also answer questions from the public and be available for book-signing. Popov is very well-known in Bulgaria, mainly for his satirical work Mission: London which is a complex parody of the Bulgar- ian political system, revealing a not-so-well-hidden underbelly of corruption, favouritism, and sheer incompetence. In this brilliant parody, overlaid with multiple plot lines, the delusions of a post-com- munist country facing assimilation into the fold of capitalist nation- hood are brought out powerfully and convincingly. Scenes from the popular film adaption of the novel will be shown during the interview with the writer, which will be held at Sir Temi Zammit Hall of the Medi- terranean Conference Centre) on November 12 at 19:00. For more info about the Festi- val five-day cultural programme of events, log on to: http:// ktieb.org.mt/?page_id=137 or search for the event on Face- book: https://www.facebook.com/ events/1951963831697045/ Malta Comic Con 2016 reveals new guests ORGANISATION for Malta Comic Con 2016 continue apace, as the 8th edition of the annual event dedicated to comic books and their related sub-cul- tures has just added a few names to its list. Leaving their traditional Val- letta-based venues in favour of the Malta Fairs and Conven- tion Centre (MFCC) in Ta' Qali, this year's edition – taking place in early December – will host Sean Azzopardi (Necessary Monsters), John Fleming (Ba- dassical), Cliodhna (Strumpet) and Andreas Michaelides (Last Flight of the Swordbreaker), who will be joining the already- announced Tom Foster, David Hitchcock, Collette Turner, and Roger Langridge. Malta Comic Con 2016 will be held on December 3 (10:00 to 18:00) and December 4 (11:00 to 19:00) at the south end of the MFCC (next to the Millenium Stand). Speaking ahead of his visit to this year's edition, frequent Malta Comic Con guest Sean Azzopardi said, "I am really ex- cited to be attending MCC 2016. It's a brilliant, friendly conven- tion run by an amazing group of people". For more information about the Malta Comic Con, log on to: http://www.maltacomic-con.com Alek Popov