A little bit of history this time, especially about the Dutch Energy Strategy of 1974. In the period leading to that bill, we had two moments in history where we had taken the wrong turn . In the 19th century… Continue Reading
In the context of end-of-year fireworks, lets discuss nuclear energy. Because its back on the agenda. Its indeed an option, but then, the discussion should use the right arguments. Up to now, the discussion is about the advantages or disadvantages… Continue Reading
Big headlines in Nature last week: [1]” Emissions are still rising: disaster up the cuts “And” Leaders at climate summit get bad news: CO2 emissions are rising again “. Astonishing that may not be, however: if the economy continues to… Continue Reading
Years ago I came across Hans Rosling. A phenomenon when it comes to fact checking, and eve more about the way he presented his data. Originally a medical professor, who worked a lot in developing countries, . He got annoyed… Continue Reading
If we want to solve the problem with CO2 emissions in practice, then we have to assess CO2 emissions, and nothing else, as I argued earlier. And we do not. As for much of our policies or building and retrofit… Continue Reading
How are we going to ensure that buildings will be sustainable, that is to say, with the least impact on the environment, concerning raw materials depletion, loss of biodiversity and, above all, CO2 emissions as the most urgent effect of… Continue Reading
I frequently run into the dilemma that we, in the ‘energy-intensive world’, want to switch to a sustainable approach, and want to switch to renewable energy sources, but that we absolutely do not want to give up anything of our… Continue Reading
The national organization for road works in the Netherlands, RWS, has a slogan: from A to Better. It has not brought us much so far: The roads are widened, more traffic lanes , so now we are not in a… Continue Reading
The Tetra Materia (see previous article) approach might be useful for practice, its not the whole story. It guides direction, but does not set targets. And our system has an overall limit as well. Materials, even renewables, come exclusively from… Continue Reading
The Trias Energetica is one of the generic guidelines that has a wide adoption in the Netherlands since the nineties: it states that, in order of importance: 1 reduce energy demand, 2 use renewable energy 3 use fossil fuels as… Continue Reading