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"We
are learning how to operate in a new world," he told Reuters as
he pedaled a static bike with an eye on a screen showing him how
much charge he was generating to show a film in Warsaw's central
Pole Mokotowskie park.
"It's important to find a way to continue helping our planet."
He was one of dozens of Poles who showed up at the event to
watch the film "Knives Out". A row of bikes had been set up
behind fold-out chairs in front of a big screen on a clear, late
summer's night in the Polish capital.
The bikes were plugged into a generator that would provide at
least 50% of the power required to show the film.
The initiative is part of a series set up by services company
Impel that has toured Polish cities this summer, with the aim of
encouraging Poles to think about more environmentally-friendly
ways of living.
"The negative impact of companies...are felt on a daily basis.
Snowless winters, torrential rain, excessive temperatures. We
don't need to explain anymore what global warming is, we feel it
every day," David Frik, Impel's marketing manager said.
The events have been held as energy prices are set to spike
across Europe and many Poles wonder how they will afford their
bills.
Around 3.8 million people in Poland rely on coal for heating and
now face shortages and price hikes, after Poland and the
European Union imposed an embargo on Russian coal following
Moscow's invasion of Ukraine in February.
Patrycja Kowalkowska, 25, brought her boyfriend to see the movie
and said she's been spending more time thinking of ways to limit
her energy use.
"Before I got on the bike I even said that I want one to charge
my phone," she said with a laugh.
(Reporting by Joanna Plucinska and Kuba Stezycki; Editing by Ros
Russell)
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