*[Enwl-eng] SFB Weekly: How the Netherlands is turning its back on natural gas

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SFB Weekly: How the Netherlands is turning its back on natural gasView this 
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                              A solutions-oriented weekly digest from 
Struggles From Below
                              19/11/21

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                              IMPORTANT: Where we're at...

                              Hi guys,

                              Thanks for bearing with us in recent weeks as 
we've looked to raise the necessary funds to keep SFB in business. The 
lowdown is that we've managed to raise around £300/month: just about enough 
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                              Founder & Editor-in-Chief, Struggles From 
Below

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                              In our top read this week, BBC Future's Laura 
Cole looks at the Netherlands' bid to wean itself off its natural-gas 
addiction.

                              The heat transition has arrived in the 
Netherlands. The nation is among many starting a drastic shift to low or 
zero-carbon alternatives to fossil fuels for heating homes. The Netherlands 
has among the lowest share of renewables in its total energy use in Europe: 
this transition will mean a complete overhaul of its heating system. With 
some of the most ambitious climate targets for its residential heating 
sector, the nation is now hoping to set itself up as a climate frontrunner 
in this area. At the heart of the heat transition debate is the question: 
what can replace the gas boiler?

                              The country has proposed a raft of ambitious 
heat policies under its 2019 Climate Act, which aims to achieve an overall 
49% reduction in CO2 emissions across its economy by 2030 compared with 1990 
levels. At the moment, 38% of energy consumed in the Netherlands is used to 
heat buildings, with half of this going to homes. The government ruled in 
2018 that all new houses must not be connected to the gas grid, starting 
that same year. By 2030, 1.5 million existing homes must have changed their 
heat source. And all buildings in the Netherlands must be using a low-carbon 
alternative to fossil fuels by 2050.

                              Communities across the country are now faced 
with deciding what to replace this natural gas with. Loppersum village is 
one of 50 "natural gas-free districts" who are piloting alternative 
low-carbon technologies, supported by €400m ($460m/£340m) in government 
funding up to 2030. With the government's initial goal of converting 50,000 
houses by 2028, the government hopes that these pilots will show the country 
how to meet its goal of getting every house off fossil fuels by 2050. All 8 
million of them.

                              It will be an immense shift, says Casper 
Tigchelaar, senior researcher on energy in the built environment at the 
Dutch Organisation for Applied Scientific Research (TNO). "Five years ago 
this kind of scenario was just a hypothetical."


                              Read the article



--------------------------------------------------
                              What we're reading:

                              What the world did and didn’t accomplish at 
COP26
                              The biggest climate conference in history was 
a tiny step toward solving a gargantuan problem. VOX


                              Largest psilocybin trial finds the psychedelic 
is effective in treating serious depression
                              Eagerly awaited results of the largest-ever 
study of psilocybin were announced Tuesday, with Compass Pathways revealing 
the psychedelic drug was highly efficacious as a therapy for 
treatment-resistant depression. STAT


                              A father and son’s Ice Age plot to slow 
Siberian thaw
                              A father and son in remote Siberia are trying 
to engineer an ice age ecosystem. Peer-reviewed scientific papers show they 
are slowing global warming. REUTERS


                              Reimagining coastal cities as sponges to help 
protect them from the ravages of climate change
                              Infrastructure experts in the San Francisco 
Bay Area have begun replacing impermeable roads and stormwater drains with 
water gardens and restored marshlands. INSIDE CLIMATE NEWS


                              How a simple solution slashed child mortality 
in rural Kenyan villages
                              A new paper investigates the effects of 
chlorine treatment at water sources in some Kenyan villages. The findings 
were astounding. VOX


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                              One to ponder:

                              How to perform well under pressure
                              Ditch the tough talk, it won’t help. Instead 
cultivate your mental flexibility so you can handle whatever comes your way. 
PSYCHE

--------------------------------------------------
                              Quote of the week:

                              "Life is not a problem to be solved, but a 
reality to be experienced." – Soren Kierkegaard

--------------------------------------------------
                              Song of the week:

                              Ross From Friends - 'Life In A Mind'





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                              That's it for today, folks. If you're enjoying 
this newsletter, please do forward it on to any friends who might be into 
it.

                              All the best,

                              Ollie

                              Founder & Editor-in-Chief, Struggles From 
Below























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      From: Struggles From Below
      Sent: Friday, November 19, 2021 11:03 AM
      Subject: SFB Weekly: How the Netherlands is turning its back on 
natural gas



 
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