Illuminated Greenhouse, Finland

With a quarter of its territory above the Arctic Polar Circle, Finland is the country most to the North of Europe. At such high altitudes, agriculture defies nature : in winter, night falls for almost two months in the North whilst the sun does not shine for more than six hours in the south of the country. In the early dusk, the light from the greenhouses where the daily length of photosynthesis is extended with artificial lighting can be seen on the snow, like here, near Sauvo in the southeast of the country. In 2007, Finland thus managed to produce 244 000 tons of fresh vegetables including 38 000 tons of tomatoes. But the main activity of this country mainly covered in conifer and birch forests (72%) is still forestry. This provides over a third of its export revenue. Waste from the forest industry is used as fuel and constitutes a significant source of renewable energy that covers 20% of the country's energy consumption.