By Mosa Telford –January 8, 2022
The year 2021 has ended but the ending of a year does not signal the disappearance of the challenges we grappled with the previous 12 months. A new year beginning in the middle of winter in some countries at midnight can be seen as peculiar. One would imagine that the most fitting time to start a new year would be at the beginning of spring when it starts to get warm, trees come alive, animals are born, and the days become longer. Starting a new year in the dark and cold, when the leaves of trees have died and animals are hibernating, does not particularly align with the laws of nature. Continue reading
CLIMATE CHANGE: Embracing a Wetter Future, the Dutch Turn to Floating Homes – YALE E360
Faced with worsening floods and a shortage of housing, the Netherlands is seeing growing interest in floating homes. These floating communities are inspiring more ambitious Dutch-led projects in flood-prone nations as far-flung as French Polynesia and the Maldives.
When a heavy storm hit in October, residents of the floating community of Schoonschip in Amsterdam had little doubt they could ride it out. They tied up their bikes and outdoor benches, checked in with neighbors to ensure everyone had enough food and water, and hunkered down as their neighborhood slid up and down its steel foundational pillars, rising along with the water and descending to its original position after the rain subsided.
“We feel safer in a storm because we are floating,” said Siti Boelen, a Dutch television producer who moved into Schoonschip two years ago. “I think it’s kind of strange that building on water is not a priority worldwide.” Continue reading →
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