babette: “I remember exactly how it all started. It was Sunday afternoon, January 12, 2014. Rick and I were sitting on the couch and he talked about his research that showed that producing a new car takes as much energy as driving for five years. He also said that much damage to nature, such as erosion, drought and flooding, is related to deforestation for animal feed and palm oil, among other things. Realizing at that moment that my choice of food can lead to deforestation, I dived into that problem and I have never stopped. I used to be a designer, now I’m working full-time on sustainability and researching how we can create a safe future.”
Rick“That moment changed our lives. Fortunately, we already lived in a small, well-insulated house, but now we have also set the boiler to 60 degrees, the thermostat is lower and we buy less and less stuff, because those are the biggest polluters.”
babette: „We have sold our car and no longer fly. I recently received an invitation to speak to the Google design team in California. Very honorable, but I turned it down anyway.”
Rick: „I found it difficult to sell the car, on the other hand it was a relief: never again be afraid of a dent or what comes out of the MOT. Now we do as much as possible by bicycle, public transport or electric shared car.”
babette: “The big steps, such as not eating meat, buying less stuff and not flying, don’t cost me any effort. I find things like clothing much more difficult: then you have to make endless trade-offs between material, new or second-hand, and whether it involves child labor and exploitation. Then I won’t buy anything. Sometimes I do go too far: for example, I use a totally worn-out T-shirt with holes as pajamas for a while.”
Kind of inventor
babette: “One of my main sources of inspiration is my father. He barely survived a concentration camp and spent the rest of his life committed to connection, dialogue and a safe world. After his death, I wanted to take over that baton and I am now doing so with my pursuit of a sustainable world. A world with crashing ecosystems, environmental pollution and natural loss is more prone to conflict and war.”
Rick: „We both studied industrial design in Delft. I have my own studio for sustainable design and renovation of retail chains. I also like to calculate the ecological impact of, for example, white and brown goods, to see where the waste is. It is neither a hobby nor a job, more an enthusiasm. Moreover, the knowledge I gain from this often comes in handy in my work. I also like to think about issues. For example, I recently came up with a combined tunnel bridge over the IJ. And I am also learning French, which is great fun!”
babette: „You also started with that to enthuse our son for his homework. But Frans still doesn’t like it, haha.”
Rick: “When I was frantically training for the marathon, I came up with the ultimate training schedule. That is also a kind of design process. I just get really excited when I can discover things.”
babette: “Actually, he is a sort of inventor.”
Rick: “No, then it seems as if I come up with endless crazy ideas, while I prefer to work on applicable solutions.”
babette: “When I first met Rick, the Palestinian-Israeli conflict once woke him up. He then decided that there should be an artificial island off the coast of Israel where people can live.”
Rick: “Yes, a kind of Flevopolder. There is now fighting over a small piece of land. By making that piece of land bigger, space is created.”
Transparent bracket
Rick: „We have money left over now that we live as students, without a car and flying holidays. That gives Babette the financial scope to write books about sustainability.”
babette: “And we have already paid off almost the entire mortgage. We also both have transparent braces at 4,000 euros each. Others spend that money on road tax and petrol in six months.”
Rick: „Our trips also look different now that we no longer fly. Recently we went to Madrid by train for a lecture by Babette.”
babette: “When our son is 18, Rick and I take a year off and we go on a big trip, by bike. And if we want to go overseas, we try to hitch a ride on a container ship. But for now we will stay in Europe. I can sometimes long for a nice trip to a faraway country, but that kills me when I think about all the pollution I am doing with it.”
Rick: “My parents are in their eighties and take long cycling or walking trips every year. They experience great adventures along the way, perhaps more than during an all-inclusive flight to Thailand.”
babette: „Our children can decide for themselves how they want to live, we set them free. Although I recently put a stop to my daughter’s plan to go to Italy by plane. Then she took the train. I don’t worry about what others do or don’t do. I am not a missionary. But if people want to do good and don’t know where to start, I can show you what can make the most difference.”