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 week 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 today 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!
Saturday 17-10
Today there was an episode of Kassa again. It’s a Dutch show about basically anything when it comes to consumers. It makes you aware of sketchy businesses and they test products sometimes too. Like today! They tested face-masks which are during this pandemic, which are really important these days. It showed that most face-masks don’t work that well, but you can see which one did best (besides a medical one of course, those are for professionals). The single-use blue ones are best. Source: Kassa.
Personal practical tip: choose to wear the best face-mask when you go out. Even though I hate that they are disposable, you can choose to clean them of course and re-use them. I would advice you to do that. This way you have the most safe option and it creates no waste.
Sunday 18-10
Oh my, oh my. This news of today was really big news in our entire country. Our king has gone on a holiday to Greece (which is a code yellow country due to COVID-19) while the whole country is in a lock-down. We should sit at home while he enjoys a holiday. I can totally understand why this pisses people off. I personally have never been a fan of having a royal family in the first place. They take huge amount of tax money just because they were born in a certain family (estimates are around 345 million each year, well, I know how we can spend that money somewhere else). The king hunts a lot too and I hate that. They don’t serve any political function either because we live in a democracy. I think the difference between rich and poor in a country should be as small as possible.
Personal practical tip: there are no political parties as far as I know who want to get rid of the royal family (I mean, that will be no king or queen after the one we have now). There are parties who would like to decrease its function, like PvdD, GreenLeft or SP. I would suggest to take this in consideration when you vote. Parties who don’t want to change anything are for example SGP, CDA or VVD, all conservative parties.
Monday 19-10
From the 1st of July in 2021 it will be easier to find charging points for your electrical car. The stress of not knowing where to charge is for many people a reason to not drive electric. This has to change and so the government is working on that. From the 1st of July in 2021 all charging points will be available in apps like Google Maps or apps that compare prices. This way it will be a lot more accessible to charge electric and thus buy an electrical car! Source: DuurzaamNieuws.
Personal practical tip: the most sustainable way to travel is by public transportation. Sometimes this takes a little bit more time but that also depends on the way you look at it. 1 hour by train (in which you can read, work and do all sorts of things and so is time-efficient) or 0,5 hour by car in which you can’t do anything except for staring at the road. Anyhow, if you find yourself really in need of a car, consider sharing or buying an electrical car or buy. And if you can, buy secondhand. That’s the second best sustainable option after public transportation.
Tuesday 20-10
Recycling numbers of plastic in The Netherlands are fake. Today De Volkskrant published an article about that. Plastic waste that is burned, shipped to other countries or sent to landfill is also considered to be ‘recycled’. But obviously, this is not recycling at all. Some people think recycling is the solution to our waste problem. I don’t think it is and this proves that again. It is sad news though. Source: Volkskrant.
Personal practical tip: try to live as low-waste as possible. There are good and easy switches! Buying secondhand and making your own cleaning products are examples. But remember this guide on how to eat sustainable, packaging creates the lowest impact when it comes to our food. Eating vegan or organic for example is more important. So try to live as zero waste as possible, but within some principles when it comes to food.
Wednesday 21-10
TooGoodToGo has launched a magazine! It is a free magazine focused on preventing food waste. TooGoodToGo is an app with which you can save food for small amounts of money. I literally ordered a package just today. Also, I ordered the magazine to learn tips and tricks to prevent even more waste. I am excited to learn more! It was only available in paper which I find quite a bummer. I contacted them to ask if you can also get an online version, because the paper is not necessary. Source: TooGoodToGo.
Personal practical tip: use the app of TooGoodToGo to save food. It’s, beside a vegan diet, the most sustainable way to eat. Also, lean more about tips and tricks to prevent even more waste by ordering their magazine (if I hear back from them for an online version I’ll let you know) and another book I really loved about this subject is ‘Lekker Koken met Restjes‘ (in Dutch).
Thursday 22-10
Pope Francis has backed same-sex civil unions! This endorsement came in an interview in a documentary film, Francesco. He said: ‘Homosexual people have the right to be in a family. They are children of God. What we have to have is a civil union law; that way they are legally covered’. It’s a great step in the right direction and I hope this makes more people realize that all people should have the same rights, not just cis-heterosexuals. Source: The Guardian.
Personal practical tip: what I can only say about this is: be open and kind. Accept every single person on this world. No matter what they sexual preference, religion, gender or physical appearance they have. I want to say something about the Netherlands, because in our country a lot of hate goes to all kinds minorities. Today I want to highlight Muslims in particular. Educate yourself on Islamophobia, it’s a big issue in our society. Check out of Islamofobie to educate yourself.
Friday 23-20
Today I watched the TED Talk of Hans Rosling again. I’ve seen it before but I just love it. To give a quick summary on the talk: it shows how the world is progressing a lot in the past 50 years or so. Most people think our situation is getting worse, but this proves it really is not. This video is not news of this week at all, it came out in 2006. Yet, I think it’s so important, that I just had to share it after I’d seen it again. Source: TED.
Personal practical tip: check out the website of the organization that Hans has set up, Gapminder. On this site, you can see statistics about the world just like the ones he used in his TED Talks. You can search anything. Income, infant mortality, life expectancy, etc. You can see the numbers for each year and therefore the progress (in very clean graphs). It’s really uplifting!
Your sincerely,
Romee