What are the Dutch doing to stop Global Warming?

[TheTibetanMonkey]

Are their diplomats in Washington telling the Americans, "Hey, you think you own the world or what!?" And the Americans go, "Chill out, man, there's no Global Warming!"

Who knows what's going on at those high levels of diplomacy, but what I want to know is that the Dutch people think about our polluting ways. Or they don't believe in Global Warming either?

Here they are getting ready to evacuate before rising waters, perhaps a drill for the final ocean assault...

http://news.yahoo.com/photos/dutch-e...174-slideshow/

[Dutchie]

Hello,

Many of the Dutch are (have been) worried about global warming. However, an increasing number of people likes to believe in what I personally would call "Simple Right-wing Solutions." Global warming does not fit into this belief. Global warming may, possibly, not be a complete lie, they say. Although all scientists are corrupt and suspect, which has been proven recently. It could be that there is some global warming. But it DEFINITELY is not due to the humans burning fossil fuels, and even if it would be, it is not up to us to stop burning those fuels unless somebody pays us to stop burning.

In all reality, the Dutch are probably the best equipped to cope with a rising sea level. What you see is not rising sea water -- it is an abundance of rainfall and conspiring situations with high tide and strong winds. Of course, the changing climate brings more rain and more storms, but hey, that is not due to burning oil. Anyway, the waterworks are up to it (mostly) and the Dutch do have the money and the technology to fix the problem. If you have enough money, you can hire them to fix your problem as well. Helping others out for free was canceled by the latest government after Simple Right won big time.

I am more worried about the coast line I see here in South Florida. Yaiks. Now THAT is a problem.



Dutchie

[TheTibetanMonkey]

Hello,

Many of the Dutch are (have been) worried about global warming. However, an increasing number of people likes to believe in what I personally would call "Simple Right-wing Solutions."

Maybe the Simple Right is lying, trying to divert attention from the real issues...

"As an economically and socially advanced nation, the Netherlands is a low-lying nation, with a sophisticated agricultural sector and high population density. Half of the country lies below 1 meter above sea level, with an eighth of the country lying below sea level. Without an extensive network of dams, dykes and dunes, the Netherlands would be especially prone to flooding. As a predicted outcome of Global Climate Change, sea level rise could impact the Netherlands drastically, leading to social and economic devastation."

http://www1.american.edu/ted/ice/dutch-sea.htm

I strongly believe in putting in place a system of PREVENTION. Riding a bike is still the best contribution one can make.

[moltobene]

Studies prove the earth has gone through many stages of cooling and warming... Ice ages ,Global warming will happen again with or without man's influence... 2012 ,Myan calendar,get ready for the end...

[TheTibetanMonkey]

Studies prove the earth has gone through many stages of cooling and warming... Ice ages ,Global warming will happen again with or without man's influence... 2012 ,Myan calendar,get ready for the end...

How can you trust the studies done about the past when you don't trust the ones about the future?

The scientific world knows CLIMATE CHANGE IS MAN MADE.

[moltobene]

Well many people promoting global warming are getting something out of it.. The agenda seems profit drivin and maybe there is more behind what's going on..-- A tiny car company backed by former Vice President Al Gore has received a $529 million U.S. government loan to help build a hybrid sports car in Finland that will sell for about $89,000. These are the same people that lobby the government ,so we know he has his own agenda and it's not to benefit us meaning U.S. Citizens....

[TheTibetanMonkey]

Well many people promoting global warming are getting something out of it.. The agenda seems profit drivin and maybe there is more behind what's going on..-- A tiny car company backed by former Vice President Al Gore has received a $529 million U.S. government loan to help build a hybrid sports car in Finland that will sell for about $89,000. These are the same people that lobby the government ,so we know he has his own agenda and it's not to benefit us meaning U.S. Citizens....

Then we should stop ALL WARS because it's about benefiting Blackwater, and who knows who. Let's see...

http://www.blackwaterjobs.org/

See? They are hiring, even though the risk of terrorism if far more remote than that of wild drivers. Oh well.

But in what way the simple act of riding a bike from South Beach to Hollywood feeds some corporation? Is someone paying to liberate that road?

[jegordon]

global warming/cooling is inevitable. all us humans can do is evolve and learn to live with it otherwise we're as dead as the dinosaurs

[TheTibetanMonkey]

global warming/cooling is inevitable. all us humans can do is evolve and learn to live with it otherwise we're as dead as the dinosaurs

Death is inevitable, but PREVENTION IS GOOD MEDICINE.

[1776]

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970204301404577171531838421366.html

Editor's Note: The following has been signed by the 16 scientists listed at the end of the article:

A candidate for public office in any contemporary democracy may have to consider what, if anything, to do about "global warming." Candidates should understand that the oft-repeated claim that nearly all scientists demand that something dramatic be done to stop global warming is not true. In fact, a large and growing number of distinguished scientists and engineers do not agree that drastic actions on global warming are needed.
In September, Nobel Prize-winning physicist Ivar Giaever, a supporter of President Obama in the last election, publicly resigned from the American Physical Society (APS) with a letter that begins: "I did not renew [my membership] because I cannot live with the [APS policy] statement: 'The evidence is incontrovertible: Global warming is occurring. If no mitigating actions are taken, significant disruptions in the Earth's physical and ecological systems, social systems, security and human health are likely to occur. We must reduce emissions of greenhouse gases beginning now.' In the APS it is OK to discuss whether the mass of the proton changes over time and how a multi-universe behaves, but the evidence of global warming is incontrovertible?"
In spite of a multidecade international campaign to enforce the message that increasing amounts of the "pollutant" carbon dioxide will destroy civilization, large numbers of scientists, many very prominent, share the opinions of Dr. Giaever. And the number of scientific "heretics" is growing with each passing year. The reason is a collection of stubborn scientific facts.
Perhaps the most inconvenient fact is the lack of global warming for well over 10 years now. This is known to the warming establishment, as one can see from the 2009 "Climategate" email of climate scientist Kevin Trenberth: "The fact is that we can't account for the lack of warming at the moment and it is a travesty that we can't." But the warming is only missing if one believes computer models where so-called feedbacks involving water vapor and clouds greatly amplify the small effect of CO2....

[TheTibetanMonkey]

The Wise Man follows the experts, not the ignorant person...

"The predominant scientific opinion on climate change is that the Earth's climate system is unequivocally warming and it is more than 90% certain that humans are causing it through activities that increase concentrations of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, such as deforestation and burning fossil fuels."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scienti...climate_change

***

Thought of the day:

"Each class of society has its own requirements; but it may be said that every class teaches the one immediately below it; and if the highest class be ignorant, uneducated, loving display, luxuriousness, and idle, the same spirit will prevail in humbler life."

I think I get the hint.

[TheTibetanMonkey]

Some news from Denmark (I think they'll get flooded too)

> Not to most Danes, who use the bike to get from A to B. There is a large
> faction here who go for rather heavy work horse bikes that don't need
> much maintenance, and they are used by all ages up to over 90 year olds.
> OK, there are also more expensive racing bikes around and yes, there are
> people who like to show off their fancy bikes but most are not like that.
> I know some people with more money than I have who have bought a fancy
> carbon frame bike, but I think mainly to have a better experience on their
> daily bike ride.
>
> Those heavy work horse bikes tend to be dark green here.

Thank you for that info. There seems to be a bike fashion trend coming out of Copenhagen, and I welcome that. To me, bicycles are a statement about personality, but I understand that for many people it's a mundane tool. I certainly reject those cheap "mountain bikes" for the most part, and they are below proletarian to me. They are bikes for "survivors." I certainly hate when they skip on lights and racks. I think they even give us an image of "hobos."

Beach cruisers and Dutch bikes have a simple design though, and that's all you need. Folding bikes tend to come with "everything" but the lights. They are a real solution in many crowded places.

Some elitist cyclists reject those who do fewer miles, but those into lycra and carbon bikes are making a fashion statement too. They sure go fast and do many miles (often in loops), but never accomplish anything other than some personal goal.

Something to think about.

[TheTibetanMonkey]

The news from Denmark couldn't be more encouraging...

http://velorbis.com/velorbis-news-bl...copenhagen-way

That's the kind of people we need in power. The SUV sends the wrong message.

"Copenhagen, Copenhagen" everywhere. They deserve it. They are paradise, close to Nirvana...

"It’s great to see 'wonderful' Copenhagen recognised as the world's cycling paradise. It’s something that we’ve known all along and have been lucky to experience firsthand."

Once the important people do it, the other people follow. Remember, MONKEY SEE, MONKEY DO.

[TheTibetanMonkey]

Contrast Copenhagen with Miami Beach, also going through a "bike revolution"...

http://decobike.com/

Hot weather, sexy bodies, lots of beach and... NO SPACE. You got some 20 blocks by 10 blocks of streets that are still ruled by the cars. Officially the program extends some 85 blocks but winding, grinding sidewalks await you. There are bike paths and bike lanes around but they seem to be designed with "casual disregard for the cyclist" and they are never connected. Sharrows (bike painted on traffic lane) seem to be the latest trend but they appear and disappear into thin air. Another sign tossed around says, "bicycles may take full lane." That's a joke, a cruel joke. Bridges, oh don't get me going. I just want to jump off and end the suffering. The pedestrians are friendly when they squeeze through the narrow passage, but three lanes for cars and 3 feet for bike and pedestrian is just too much.

Of course, all these "bike facilities" count toward a "grand total," and that's the bottom line. The Dutch experts came to town but they are gone, and we are not sure what they did. Maybe they quit their job, maybe they fulfilled the contract. Oh, contracts, contracts and more contracts. Everything is contracted and no engineer ever enjoys their design. I think that's what makes a difference with Copenhagen. The designer is doing a job, not looking forward to be part of it.

And so life goes on as always.

[TheTibetanMonkey]

> It isn't just Copenhagen, it's all of Denmark, cycle ways everywhere, and
> lots of cyclists using them every day. This morning it was -7 C and as I
> cycled past a cyclist counter set up here, I was no. 260. Yesterday we
> had -6C and at 2 pm I went past the counter and it was at 915. And this is
> on a fairly minor road. Bikes are big here.

Bicycle counter? It sounds like the number don't lie. Here we would found out that some bike lanes are totally useless. But those temperatures (-6C=21F) require a strong determination. Hey, the monkey got to be out of the cage one way or another. Here we often cite the heat (middle nineties plus humidity) not to go out. A helmet would not protect me from the sun. The secret is in dressing properly plus having the determination.

And at the end of a trip you may take a plunge in a nice beach --clothing optional-- to reward yourself. I don't dare though. The traffic is too hostile to get there.

[TheTibetanMonkey]

> It may be sexist of me but honestly I don't
> see anything wrong with a gender bias that
> results in the world being run by hot babes.
> "It's bad for hair" sounds like a perfectly
> good reason to take nuclear weapons off the
> table. Likewise, voting for someone because
> she's pretty and knows how to use it seems
> no less defensible than voting for someone
> because he gives good speeches.
>
> They are calling this the winter that didn't
> happen over here. I don't think anyone will
> die from their snowmobile breaking through
> the ice this year because the ice will never
> get thick enough to even try it. And just
> to fire a broadside at the "climate change
> is a hoax" crowd our local groundhog Wiarton
> Willy threw his support behind the early
> spring theory. Do you even have climate
> predicting rodents in der Ureauzone?

I'm afraid the "climate change is not man made" crowd is mostly found in America, particularly among the Christians and the Republican Party. They even say that's good for the planet, but that implies ignoring a lot of science. So this is an American phenomenon.

There may be some scientists outside of America --I think one is from Denmark of all places-- that deny or welcome climate change but they are truly clowns looking for celebrity. How can you stand out in the scientific community if not by saying something crazy, particularly if you can sell a book to American audiences?

Well, that's my humble opinion anyway. I'd like to hear though what's the opinion of the Dutch and Danish cyclists who put themselves through wind and snow about climate change. Nothing matters? Individual effort is insignificant?

[TheTibetanMonkey]

> For many USAsians Copenhagen is Danmark and Amsterdam is The
> Netherlands. For the Netherlands cycling in Amsterdam is not a very good
> representation of cycling in general.

Perhaps the verb "Copenhaganize" is tossed around with casual
disregard...

http://www.copenhagenize.com/

We should Copenhaganize every city in America to be centered around
the human being not the machine. But that's only my humble opinion.