During the past decades an often discussed theme was that of global warming, as it still is today. The information given to the worldwide populations by newspapers and media has proven to be well founded for just in 2015 the earth’s surface temperature was around 0.9 degrees Celsius warmer than the 20th century average. As a result of global warming the planet is experiencing an increase in sea level, a decrease in arctic ice and a growing number of weather-related catastrophes. This climate change is also causing an increasing number of deaths due to tumors and health problems at the respiratory system. Especially in cities the daily quantity of CO2 emissions exceeds those of other territories such as agricultural zones, industrial areas and open fields areas. This phenomenon is explained by the fact that cities concentrate a great part of the world’s population in a very limited area. In 2016, for instance, the capital of China, Bejing, had a population of approximately 21.5million inhabitants living in an area of 16,411 square km. These facts correspond to a density of population of approximately 13,100 inhabitants/square km.
An elevated population density implies a great quantity of energy being used in a limited surface of territory by a great quantity of individuals. Cities in fact consume great quantities of energy for heating, lighting and a vast transport system. Problematic seems to be the common use of cars for private mobility. It is estimated that the average car emits approximately six tons of carbon dioxide every year.
Therefore, what can be accomplished by the world’s population in oder to decrease CO2 emissions?
Gandhi once stated: “You must be the change you want to see in the world”. The local governments are in fact expressions of the most dominant and most influential classes. The party which includes the majority of citizens has therefore the power to decide the future and the political orientation of the whole country. It therefore appears evident that the political views of a population are in great way influenced by the educational teachings provided by the State itself. If the single individuals are educated with precise standards, these will most likely have a precise mental disposition that has been in great part influenced by their education and institutional systems.
One example of such a country is that of The Netherlands, a highly dense populated country located in the Northwest of continental Europe. The Dutch people have always had mentality that pointed towards clean, renewable energy in order to sustain their territory. In the 1850 there were in fact 10,000 windmills in The Netherlands that were used as gristmills and windpumps to pump water. Such energy could be considered 100% clean as provided entirely by the wind and not by any other source. Still today, there are about 1000 windmills in the country and a great quantity of wind turbines. The tradition of long ago has thus been shifted to our days and the mentality has not changed. A fact that not many know is that the entire railway system in The Netherlands is entirely powered by wind turbines, therefore 100% clean energy ensuring a complete sustainable railway network. “Since 1 January, 100% of our trains are running on wind energy”, said NS (Nederlandse Spoorwegen) spokesman, Ton Boon. The Dutch citizens “are the first in the world” to travel thanks to wind energy. One windmill running for an hour can power a train for 120 miles. This fact is even more surprising upon discovery that NS operates 5,500 train trips a day along a railway network of 6,830km of track.
Dutch Railway powered entirely by 100% clean energy!
Cycling is a very common mode of transport of the Netherlands, with 36% of the population listing the bicycle as their most frequent way of transport on a typical day. Cycling has a modal share of 27% of all trips nationwide. This common way of transport is made possible by an effective cycling infrastructure that includes numerous cycle paths and bicycle parkings. Tourists just marvel at the lifestyle that is found in Amsterdam. There are in fact approximately 881.000 bicycles in Amsterdam (four times the number of cars) that can be found along the 400km bike paths found in the city. The bikes exceed also the number of people, as the population of the Dutch capital is approximately of 851,573, thus proving that the ratio of bike/person is approximately of 1.03. In the Netherlands there are estimated to be 18million bicycles, which makes twice as many as the 9million motor vehicles on the road.
Like the tradition of the windmills also the tradition of the bicycles seems still to be dominant throughout the country. The Netherlands appears to be a perfect example of how the citizens are educated according to local traditions and precise standards. Many of the dutch children are in fact not accompanied to school by car but use their bicycles to reach the educational institutions, thus demonstrating that even as young humans they are instructed according to the mentality of the country, to maintain eco-sustainable solutions for public traffic and local movements.
The Dutch Government, as expression of the majority of the citizens, expressed it’s full will to search for sustainable solutions, not only by the construction of the cycling infrastructure and of the wind turbines to power the railway network, but also by the initiation of a plan to establish over 200 recharging stations for electric vehicles across the country. This plan will aim to provide at least one station within a 50 km radius from every home in The Netherlands. By 2025, the Dutch Government has planned to abolish from the roads all vehicles that are not powered by electrical sources thus supporting the mentality of the citizens.
The Government and the majority of the Dutch population are thus acting according to their traditions and their mental disposition that has been inherited from their forefathers to demonstrate that the environment is of vital importance to maintain human dignity and civilisation. In such a manner the Netherlands proves to be an example for all countries to imitate as humans discover their most developed state of all time.
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