Mainstream news in The Netherlands is depressing. It has to be shocking, sensational and topical. Because of this news gets negative and people who only follow this news feel like the world around them is changing in a bad way. They lose trust in people and companies and they lose hope. Besides that, it makes people feel powerless. Yet, it has been scientifically proved that the world gets better every single day for humans. And so, I share 7 news-article once a month in these posts. A mix of positive and bad news, but mostly positive, to make sure that positive news has the upper-hand. Along, I share a practical tip on what you can do to change that news. This could be a lifestyle change, a petition to sign or a social media campaign to support, anything. To make you feel in power, because we are! This way you’ll know about the positive news, how to keep it that way, the negative news and how to change that!
The Netherlands is Creating a Hydrogen Network 4-7
Finally! The Dutch government has finally announced that it will build a good hydrogen network. Right now, the Netherlands is still highly relying on natural gas and this accelerates the climate crisis. The existing network for natural gas will be renovated in the Netherlands so that hydrogen can replace the natural gas, leaving no emissions. It’s not clear when the network will be renovated, but it now is sure that it will happen. Hydrogen can be a sustainable replacement for natural gas when the hydrogen is produced using renewable energy.
Personal practical tip: in order to make hydrogen truly sustainable we need more sustainable electricity from windmills, solar panels and more renewable energy. We need to invest more money into renewables. A good example to invest in solar panels is Zonnepanelendelen.
Animals Can’t Be Moved if it’s Warmer Than 30 Degrees in the Netherlands 8-7
Last year the Dutch Government made a rule that animals can’t be moved around when it’s hotter than 35 degrees Celsius. That’s obviously ridiculous, 35 degrees Celsius in insanely hot. This year that level has been lowered to 30 degrees Celsius, which is an improvement. There is one exception: animals can be moved around in a truck when that truck is cooled. With moved around I mean moved to a slaughterhouse, since that’s the place most animals go in the Netherlands.
Personal practical tip: 30 degrees is still way too hot. We shouldn’t want animals to be moved around stuffed in trucks when it’s 30 degrees Celsius. But we shouldn’t want animals to be stuffed in trucks and slaughtered anyway. Just go vegan and these horrific practices will stop.
First Electrical Car to Reach 710 Kilometers 11-7
Lightyear has created the first electrical car which can drive 710 kilometers on just one full battery. It’s the first electrical car ever to have reached this far. It is great news really, since a lot of people don’t choose an electrical car because they think it doesn’t drive far enough in one go. It’s funny really, since most people only drive that far maybe once a year, when they go on holiday. But the further the electrical cars can go, the better, because more people will consider buying one. We really need to lose the fossil fueled cars.
Personal practical tip: electrical cars are great, way better than cars which drive by fossil fuels. But still: public transportation, biking and walking are always better. If you can, choose those. If you really need a car for something, consider sharing an electrical one. It’s not realistic for everybody to have an electrical car since we don’t use them 95% of the time.
Extreme Flooding in Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium 19-7
Due to extreme rainfall and some dikes breaking, more than 200 people have died because of floodings in Germany, the Netherland and Belgium. It is awful. This again shows how climate change takes lives. I mean, nobody can say that this event was specifically caused by climate change. What we do know is that these extreme events occur way more often due to climate change. People think of climate change and think of their children and grandchildren. That doesn’t go anymore, it’s happening right now and people are dying.
Personal practical tip: we need governments to act, we need companies to act, but we also need people to act. What we can do on an individual level is to live an eco-neutral lifestyle. We need to live within the borders of what the earth can take. There are boundaries and we have been breaking them for a long time.
Court Rules that People can Put an X on their Passports 21-7
If people feel like they don’t fit in the box ‘male’ or ‘female’, they can now decide to put an X on their passports in the Netherlands. This hasn’t been possible before. It was done for the first time in 2018 by a non-binary person but that was an exception. As from now, all people who wish to can do so. This really broadens the gender spectrum in the Netherlands. People can finally escape from the binary boxes we’ve created. This is a step forward.
Personal practical tip: when introducing yourself say which pronouns you prefer. I usually say: My name is Romee, I live in Groningen and my pronouns are she or her. This way we normalize all the different available pronouns.
Attack on Frédérique in The Netherlands Goes Viral 26-7
A person in Amstelveen was attacked on the streets when they didn’t want to reveal their gender. Someone asked this person what their gender was very aggressively. When this question wasn’t answered the boy attacked them. The attack went viral and the father of the victim has been on a lot of television programs after. The attack once again showed the violence against the lhbti+ community in the Netherlands.
Personal practical tip: when introducing yourself say which pronouns you prefer. I usually say: My name is Romee, I live in Groningen and my pronouns are she or her. This way we normalize all the different available pronouns
We’re Heading to the Highest Amount of Emissions this Year 27-7
A new research by IEA shows that emissions will be the highest ever in 2023 and will continue to rise after that. IEA has researched the plans governments have made around the world to combat climate change and concluded that it’s not enough. We’re heading to disaster because governments aren’t doing enough. Only 2% of all the money spend by governments goes to clean energy. It’s a huuuuge red flag.
Personal practical tip: we can vote green (which I would really recommend), but if that doesn’t work it’s up to us. People are suing governments to do the right thing and it’s working. That’s great! But we as individuals need to work as well. We should try to live within the earth’s boundaries on a personal level and try to change things within our communities. This creates a butterfly effect. Other individuals will move too this way.
Yours sincerely,
Romee