Green Options » Netherlands

Study: Bio-Based Plastics Could Viably Replace Nearly All Plastics

Nick Chambers — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 19:58:57 +0000

In many ways plastics are simply synthetic compounds that mimic and try to improve upon substances we find widespread in nature—polymers such as you might find in wood, leaves, seeds and fur. Bio-based plastics (those derived from biological sources other than fossil fuels) have been around for more than 100 years. In fact, celluloid, the first synthetic plastic ever made was invented in the mid 1800s, and—you guessed it—was bio-based.

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DESERTEC $555 Billion Renewable Energy Project Moving Forward

Zachary Shahan — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 22:53:31 +0000

The huge project to build a $555 billion renewable energy “belt” in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, funded largely by German companies, moved another step forward a few days ago.

The articles of association for the DESERTEC Industrial Initiative (DII) were signed by the joint venture group of 12 companies and the DESERTEC Foundation in Munich on October 30.

Additionally, a CEO for DII was appointed — Paul van Son.

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#6 Groningen, Netherlands: Great Bicycle City Photo Tour

Zachary Shahan — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 10:23:27 +0000

Groningen would be number one on this list if we were looking at percentage of residents who bicycle for transportation purposes. About 57% of travel in Groningen is by bicycle!

The city has been named the world’s best bicycle city a couple of times (1993 and 2006). It is a university city which is part of the reason why it has so many people bicycling, but it has done amazing things to make the city more bicycle friendly as well. The bicycle facilities you can see on the following pages will probably blow your mind away.

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From Dikes to Natural Flood Plains: The Netherlands Changes Approach to Flood Control

Jennifer Lance — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 16:34:59 +0000

The Dutch have been fighting rising seas longer than any nation in the western world. Much of the country lies below sea level, including the capital city of Amsterdam. Traditionally, dikes and concrete barriers have been used to hold back the sea, but now the Netherlands is changing course in its flood control efforts due to climate change. The Dutch are embracing natural flood plains for rivers and mangrove swamps in lieu of levees.

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Ice Cap to Ice Cap, Which Countries Lead the World in Global Warming Emissions?

Zachary Shahan — Sun, 26 Jul 2009 13:30:21 +0000

Ever wonder who leads the world in global warming emissions? And by how much? A report released this month by the New Zealand government gives us this information.

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Holland Installs its First Ever Elektrobay Electric Car Charging Stations

Andrew Williams — Tue, 21 Jul 2009 15:26:03 +0000

Holland has announced plans to install five electric car charging bays, the first of their kind ever seen in the country.

To move to set up five Electromotive Elektrobays follows a government drive to improve air quality. The stations will be located at strategic points across the country, including Schipol International Airport and central Rotterdam. Another will be based at Amsterdam’s Centraal Station railway hub, where it will power-up the city’s spanking new fleet of all-electric Tuc Tuc taxi vehicles.

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The EV Infrastructure chicken-and-egg problem: Resolution

Richard Lowenthal — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 10:11:49 +0000

Coulomb Technologies was founded in 2007 with the mission to ensure that anyone who is considering the choice to buy an electric vehicle will have adequate access to fuel for the cars.

In the US there are 247 million cars but only 53 million home garages, meaning that a lot of electric vehicles will need to be fueled outside the home garage. Exacerbating the situation, according to studies at UC Davis, 80% of owners of electric vehicles will want to charge more than once a day.

It comes to this: we need charging opportunities where our cars are parked when we sleep and when we work. Since Coulomb’s founding, much as been written regarding the “chicken and egg problem” with infrastructure and vehicles. Will people buy electric vehicles if they don’t have a place to charge them, and conversely, will anyone buy infrastructure if they don’t see cars?

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A New, Open Source Model of Car Design Emerges

Paul Smith — Thu, 16 Apr 2009 10:00:51 +0000

As the auto industry as we know it continues to crumble, a new model is emerging out of the Netherlands, known currently as c,mm,n. Open source design has proven itself successful in a number of arenas from software to restaurants. But a car? Yes, one where the design will be made available to the public, with the provision that their design be likewise made open to the public to do their own revisions and modifications on it.

With the focus being shifted to creating a vehicle that meets people’s needs in conjunction with other modes of transport, the experience of driving it enhanced by currently useful information, and the profit centered on the services rather than the product itself, this is a radical shift from tightly reigned intellectual property, proprietary after market parts, and a rather slow development curve when it comes to becoming a truly green car.

The thinking about and creation of the c,mm,n car is being done both online and in person, with the three c,mm,n garages happening so far. 800+ people are on their wiki, with 80 actively participating in conception and design at the moment.

What’s the actual car like?

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Dutch Sponsored Biodiesel Operation in Northern Peru Will Create Jobs and Reduce Poverty

Levi Novey — Fri, 13 Mar 2009 10:55:19 +0000

The Dutch organization SNV has agreed to plant approximately 10,000 acres of land near the coastal Peruvian city of Piura for a biodiesel operation that will provide new jobs for Peruvians and help reduce poverty through sustainable development.

According to one of Peru’s major news sources, El Comercio, “The coordinator of SNV, Jhony Heredia Paivo, indicates that 5000 hectares have been identified in the coast and highlands of Piura where piñón blanco can grow, an almost wild plant that actually can be contained on small farms, that produces olive seeds that can serve as raw materials for biodiesel plants.”

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Saltwater Power Could Supply Energy for Most Dutch Homes

Bryan Nelson — Sun, 08 Mar 2009 03:56:08 +0000

A new proposal to improve a 75-year-old dike, the Afsluitdijk, in The Netherlands could make it the world’s leading site for generating saltwater power— a clean, renewable energy source which is 30-40% more efficient than burning coal.

The breakthrough process, which is called reverse electrodialysis, captures the energy created when freshwater becomes saltier by mixing with seawater. Although scientists in the 1950s discovered that electricity could be generated this way, no one knew just how efficient the process could be until a recent study proved that a remarkable 80% of the energy could be recovered.

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First Ecovillage in the Netherlands

Zachary Shahan — Sun, 01 Mar 2009 20:04:57 +0000

The ‘Ecovillage’ movement is not new, but, along with many other green ideas, it is growing steadily these days.
Ecovillages come in different varieties, but they hold a few basic characteristics in common. They try to combine great ecological sensibility and responsibility with innovative social environments that are supportive and fair. Different communities use or establish different systems of governance, but they tend to stand apart from the larger societies in some clear ways, whether it be their own system of rules or laws or just a very clearly defined sense of community.

Many such societies also address spirituality or religion to some degree or another, but it is not the case in all places. Ecovillages vary from one to another and it is up to the people who live there (and especially founding members) to bring different issues and ideas to the forefront of their community.

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Netherlands Train Station Features World’s First Energy-Generating Revolving Door

Ariel Schwartz — Wed, 10 Dec 2008 19:04:21 +0000

I’ve noticed an increasing trend recently of people trying to squeeze out energy from every possible nook and cranny. The latest example of this is the world’s first energy-generating revolving door located at Natuurcafe La Port in the Netherlands.

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Dutch Town Paving Street With Air-Purifying Concrete

Ariel Schwartz — Fri, 08 Aug 2008 21:47:13 +0000

Now here’s an innovation that might make me consider moving back to New York City: air-purifying concrete. The small Dutch town of Hengelo is testing out the concrete paving stones, which contain a titanium-dioxide based additive that binds to nitrogen particles emitted by car exhaust and turns them into harmless nitrates.

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