Today is the 29th of February of 2020. About ten days ago it was the 19th and the farmers came to The Hague to protest again because they were unhappy again. In short, in the Netherlands there is legislation in the making to reduce the production of greenhouse gasses that can harm the environment and implementation of that legislation has been hit or miss for decades.
“Hit or miss” you ask? Well if you have ever gone to the Netherlands, chances are that you likely went by air-plane and landed on Schiphol. Guess what, Schiphol has for decades found excuses to say “combustion creates greenhouse gasses, oh dear but what about our business?” and not much happened. I used to live next to Schiphol and if air quality was not a concern then noise would be. Good thing I grew up with chickens, I sleep through most noises. Some people though suffer.
Back to the topic of this essay, environment blues and environment dues. You see, I do not mind being more aware and more careful with my shared dusty blue and green ball of life. Separate waste, consume less, avoid plastic and so on, fine. Planet earth is a place we have to share, I agree. What I do mind is the fact that some people make it so hard for others.
All you Captain Planets and wannabe Greta Thunbergs, you can preach all you want until your lungs give out and you gasp for air. Practice what you preach and lead by example. Yes I just referenced “Captain Planet” (because I am a 90-ties kid), watch it and you will appreciate how over the top it is yet ironically unaware of that aspect. The moment you walk around with that new iPhone or you step into that air-plane you cannot go deny your own hypocrisy.
All you deniers of pollution and climate change, keep doing that until you find “your BP” and have no way out. You can say sorry to your family, friends, children and maybe even grand-children. When one of them asks “did you ever notice?”, try lying out of that one. You cannot get out of that one and everybody knows it. You can pretend to be blind and deaf for anything until it hurts someone you care about, than accept the facts or remain stupid.
The people who remain are in the middle. I detest fanaticism in this issue because it will not solve anything in current and future times. Let me give you a few examples of how environmental issues can hit you right away.
When you have dust allergies you become sensitive to changes in air quality. Every day you have to take medicine to not cough all the time because “bad air” you will understand (my situation).
Clean drinking water is becoming scarce on earth. We humans use it for many things, not just consumption and personal hygiene. After use we can recycle it, but that is not a given everywhere (investments in technology are costly).
Electronic devices with exciting features can be fun, be aware though of their components. When you throw them away someone has to take them apart for the bits of metal inside them. Guess where that happens? Thus why I refuse to buy devices that are not easy to recycle (think glued together iPhones).
Whether you care about the environment or not, you cannot ignore the consequences when things go wrong. It is like the Blues, you can like the music or detest it. There is still an artist and/or band on the stage and when the song works you sing along. When the song is not to your liking you can boo but you still have to pay your respects to the person(s) on the stage.
I am still grumpy. I shall spare you the profanities. I had to go to work and the farmers had to protest again. Fine, they have a point because like the building companies they, do not want to pay for something we all have a part in. At least they did not invade The Hague again, that was really annoying. Well security measures were taken and certain parts of The Hague were difficult to reach.
Like other people, I still had to go to work. Getting to work was difficult. I arrived just in time with a lot of effort. Have your demonstration and make your stand. Do keep in mind that other people still have to go places and have jobs.
Whatever you complain about, you have to find a solution for. That is the bitter lesson that keeps me on my toes. Additionally if you still complain about something, you might as well ask for help. Sing the Blues and pay your dues. At least win your audience.
Personally I am getting fed up with all this noise without a way out. I do not like either side in this issue and the science behind it is still improving. Who knows what insights will follow in the future? The earth is finite, that is certain.
Radjah's 2 cents 