It has become a continuous list in the daily news: the condition of our climate. Yesterday a report was published about the methane emissions from four garbage dumps in Argentina, India and Pakistan, which in terms of influence on the climate is comparable to the emissions of 2.4 million cars per hour. ‘Ha’, I thought, ‘luckily I take my bicycle as often as possible, otherwise it would have been 2,400,001 cars.’
Another news item was about the extremely low water levels of European rivers. This leads to unnavigable rivers and problems for the drinking water supply and agriculture. Furthermore, the lack of water is unfavorable for a few shrubs and critters, but of course the financial consequences are more urgent: if the Rhine becomes too shallow for shipping, it is dramatic for the German economy. Incidentally, nature throws a spanner in the works, because if our things cannot be transported by water, we simply increase the polluting air and freight traffic.
Bad news for North American tree species too: pines and spruces appear to be suffering from increasing drought and heat. Especially in Central Europe, many Norway spruces die, which in turn affects the ability of forests to absorb CO .2 to include. Now it has become a bad situation for trees in any case; if those things don’t succumb to drought or heat, the logging will take care of it, and anything that’s still shivering after that is still ravaged by massive forest fires.
It would make you desperate. As an individual I can boycott milk and meat, get rid of the car and ask my husband if we shouldn’t become a bunch of goat wool socks, but what’s the point? Influential companies remain primarily focused on yield, which is another word for indifference, as a result of which parties such as Rabobank and animal feed multinationals continue to abstain from any responsibility in the nitrogen crisis. Incidentally, the farmers’ loan bank has announced that it will set aside 76 million euros for dairy farmers who cannot repay their loan. Not that it’s really necessary; the bank expects the farmers to be compensated from the 30 billion nitrogen pot that the government has reserved. We’re all liberals until someone has to pull out their wallet.
I read happier news in the August issue of National Geographic. It contains a report on India, the fourth largest CO2emitter in the world. The average Indian has a modest lifestyle, but with a population of 1.4 billion, it is still quite impressive. Moreover, the growing middle class in India is creating an increasing demand for a comfortable life, which means that we have to take into account the scenario that all Indians will soon be able to afford an air conditioner. But now for the happy news: they are crazy about renewable energy sources in India. From gigantic solar parks and the development of green hydrogen to energy-efficient buildings and the construction of ‘smart cities’.
The best cure for despair came in the report of one Mr. Solanki, a solar energy professor in Mumbai. He has taken leave for an eleven-year (!) tour through India to mobilize people for the fight against climate change. He has also set up a foundation that guides women in rural areas with the installation and sale of solar lamps and panels. With his tour, Solanki wants to start a popular movement to unleash a solar revolution from below. No whining about the puny individual, but an unwavering belief in the ocean of countless drops that citizens can form together.