Dutch stop subsidising heat generation by burning wood chips

DutchNews, April 23, 2022 

Ministers have agreed to immediately stop giving subsidies for the use of biomass, or wood chips, to generate heat for city heating schemes and greenhouses, the economic affairs ministry has confirmed. 

Dutch biomass plants, which are supposed to help comply with EU climate goals, have been given billions of euros in subsidies in the last few years. They have, however, become deeply controversial because of longer-term damage to the environment. 

‘Organic raw materials play an important role in achieving a climate-neutral and circular economy,’ climate minister Rob Jetten said in a statement. ‘They are also crucial in becoming less dependent on fossil fuels… at the same time, the government is aware of the concerns.’ 

The government, he said, would approve the use of sustainable bio-based raw materials where they make the greatest contribution to sustainability and where alternatives are limited. 

This includes bioconcrete, paint based on bio-based raw, green gas as a replacement for natural gas, or as a fuel for heavy road transport, aviation and maritime shipping. 

Pollution 

In July 2020, the Dutch government’s senior advisory body SER recommended that subsidies for the use of biomass in power stations be phased out quickly. 

However, the Dutch environmental assessment agency PBL says the use of biomass may be unavoidable if the Netherlands is to meet the EU targets. 

Without using biomass, the Netherlands will have to install wind turbines and solar panels more quickly than it is currently doing, and other difficult choices will have to be made, the PBL said. 

The use of biomass, such as wood chips, as a fuel generated an extra 19 megatons in carbon dioxide emissions in 2020, according to calculations by national statistics agency CBS. 

The Netherlands has also been under fire for importing wood chips from the US and the Baltic states to burn in power plants.

Shell ordered to slash CO2 emissions more quickly in landmark court case

DutchNews, May 26, 2021 

Photo: Sem van der Wal ANP

Anglo-Dutch oil giant Shell must do more to fight climate change and slash its carbon dioxide emissions more quickly than planned, judges in The Hague said on Wednesday. 

‘Shell must do its part to contribute to the fight against dangerous climate change,’ the court said. ‘The oil company is required to reduce the carbon dioxide emitted by the Shell group and its customers by 45% net by the end of 2030, compared with the level in 2019.’

Milieudefensie, the Dutch branch of Friends of the Earth, led the case against the The Hague-headquartered multinational, which was supported by other environmental groups and some 17,000 ordinary citizens. 

The environmental group argued that Shell is violating Dutch liability law by emitting two times as much carbon dioxide as the Netherlands as a whole. Shell argued that these emissions do not come from its headquarters but its subsidiaries in some 80 countries around the world, and any complaint must be taken up with them directly. 

Milieudefensie director Donald Pols told reporters before hearings started in December 2020 that the lawsuit was ‘unique’. He claimed that if the environmentalists were successful, this would be the first court to order a private company to change its business model to reduce its carbon footprint. 

Shell had argued that it cannot be held liable in the Netherlands for events that take place worldwide. ‘The scene of the crime, in this case, is the location where the emissions take place,’ a Shell lawyer told the court. 

Urgenda 

Activists worldwide are watching the case closely. Following a 2019 Dutch Supreme Court ruling, known as the Urgenda decision, the Dutch government was ordered to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 25% of 1990 levels by the end of 2020. 

That ruling found that the Dutch government was required to meet the conditions of international treaties, including the Paris climate agreement. 

In the present case, Shell argued that because it isn’t a party to such treaties, as they are between nations, it isn’t obliged to meet their targets. 

Shell is facing pressure to change its strategy on several fronts. Earlier this month, some 30% of Shell shareholders backed a motion by campaign group Follow This at the company’s AGM, calling on the oil and gas giant to draw up a more ambitious plan to help meet Paris agreement climate targets.

Related Articles:

ExxonMobil, Chevron investors vote for more action on climate change - New

Appeal court upholds Urgenda ruling – government must cut CO2 by 25%

Dutch government to appeal court ruling on emissions cuts

Dutch government ordered to cut carbon emissions in landmark ruling

Urgenda supporters celebrate at the Hague after court ruling requiring Dutch 

government to slash emissions. Photograph: Chantal Bekker/Urgenda

Use crisis to make post corona society fairer and sustainable, say scientists

DutchNews, April 13, 2020

Photo: D Nicholls-Lee

Dutch scientists are calling on politicians to use the coronavirus crisis as an opportunity to make society fairer and ‘radically sustainable’. 

In a manifesto published in Trouw, a group of 170 sociologists and environmental scientists from eight Dutch universities said that the disruption of economic certainties caused by the pandemic offers a chance for radical reforms. These could include the introduction of a universal basic income and debt cancellation for poor countries, the scientists state. 

‘The neo-liberal economic system demands an ever-growing circulation of people and goods, despite the innumerable ecological problems and increasing inequality it is causing. The last few weeks have laid bare the great weaknesses of this machine for growth,’ the manifesto said. 

It is ironic that big businesses are now having to ask for financial support while sectors like healthcare and care for the elderly, which had to fight for sufficient finance not so long ago  are now labelled ‘crucial’, the manifesto continued. 

Political action 

Although the manifesto calls on politicians to act, citizens too would have to make different choices post coronavirus, the scientists say. ‘Luxurious and wasteful consumption and  travel would have to be cut back radically and replaced by necessary, sustainable and meaningful forms of consumption and travel,’ the scientists stated. 

A new economic policy geared towards a fairer division of prosperity would include a basic income, a higher tax on income, profit and capital, plus shorter working weeks and job sharing. 

Food  production, too, must be made more sustainable by promoting circular agriculture, they said. 

Developing countries, small businesses and freelancers have been particularly hard hit by the crisis and should be exempt from paying back their debts, the group argues, calling on the IMF, the World Bank and more affluent countries to come up with a plan to make this happen. 

These measures will contribute to a sustainable and fairer society which will be better equipped to fight future pandemics and protect groups that are now suffering disproportionately from the effects of the crisis, the scientists said.

Related Aricle:

IT IS NOW TIME FOR RIGHTEOUSNESS TO BE THE WAY OF LIFE

Builders’ pollution protest breaks up, after diggers dump earth on the Malieveld

DutchNews, October 30, 2019 

Photo: Ramon van Flymen / Hollandse-Hoogte

Builders protesting about government measures to combat nitrogen and PFAS pollution dumped tonnes of sand on the Malieveld in The Hague on Wednesday but the main demonstration passed off largely without problems. 

The construction workers began leaving the area early on Wednesday afternoon after listening to speeches by industry leaders and ministers. 

Thousands of projects have been halted after the Council of State ruled that more needed to be done to combat nitrogen-based pollution. In addition, the compensation scheme set up to head off the impact of nitrogen-based pollution was ineffective, the country’s highest administrative court said. 

Earlier on Wedneday it emerged that some rules are being relaxed and that work on smaller projects can resume. Nevertheless, farm minister Carola Schouten faced whistles and jeers when she addressed the crowd and told them the country did not have to come to a standstill. 

Junior environment minister Stientje van Veldhoven too told the crowd the government is doing all it can to break the deadlock. As the crowd chanted ‘now, now’, Van Veldhoven said: ‘Best of all now, I agree with that. No-one benefits from the delays.’ 

Hans de Boer, leader of employers organisation VNO-NCO said that the chairman of an industry body had never before gone on strike. ‘I am proud of you and what you have achieved,’ he told his audience ‘We have one of the best economies in Europe and one of the best countries to live in. 

‘So what is going on: people in politics are no longer listening to the people who work. People in politics, do not forget that we earn the money, we create the jobs and we take care of the tax receipts. You have to listen to us.’ 

Jobs 

According to national statistics office CBS, the construction sector generates some 5% of Dutch GDP and creates 6% of jobs. It is also three times as important to the economy as farming. 

Ministers have pledged to come up with a new package of measures by December 1 so building work can resume on some projects. And on Tuesday, it emerged that the tough rules for dumping soil and sludge polluted by PFAS, a toxic chemical, may also be relaxed. 

The coalition parties in parliament have also said they will back a programme to allow building workers who have no work on because of the crisis to claim part-time unemployment benefits. 

Last week angry farmers held a larger demonstration in The Hague, saying they are bearing the brunt of government efforts to cut pollution.

Related Articles:

Ministers aim to relax PFAS pollution rules after new limit halts earth-moving work

Netherlands farmers stage tractor protest, cause huge jams

Shell, other oil giants, spent €250m lobbying Brussels in 10 years

DutchNews, October 24, 2019

Anglo-Dutch oil giant Shell is among five big energy companies which have spent a combined €250m on lobbying the European Union in an effort to influence policy, according to Brussels-based research group Corporate Europe Observatory. 

‘Since 2010, just five oil and gas corporations and their fossil fuel lobby groups have spent at least a quarter of a billion euros buying influence at the heart of European decision-making,’ the organisation said on Thursday. 

‘We need a firewall that protects our democratic institutions and our political decision-making from fossil fuel industry interference,’ the organisation said. ‘No more private lobby meetings, partnerships, or collaboration.’ 

Shell, BP, Chevron, Total and ExxonMobile lobbyists have held 327 meetings with EU officials over the 10 year period, including 13 with Frans Timmermans or members of his ‘Better Regulation’ task force. This, the researchers say, is more than one meeting a week. 

In total, the oil giants have some 200 lobbyists working on their behalf in Brussels.

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Big firm products top worst plastic litter list: report

"Recalibration of Free Choice"– Mar 3, 2012 (Kryon Channelling by Lee Caroll) - (Subjects: (Old) Souls, Midpoint on 21-12-2012, Shift of Human Consciousness, Black & White vs. Color, 1 - Spirituality (Religions) shifting, Loose a Pope “soon”, 2 - Humans will change react to drama, 3 - Civilizations/Population on Earth, 4 - Alternate energy sources (Geothermal, Tidal (Paddle wheels), Wind), 5 – Financials Institutes/concepts will change (Integrity – Ethical) , 6 - News/Media/TV to change, 7 – Big Pharmaceutical company will collapse “soon”, (Keep people sick), (Integrity – Ethical) 8 – Wars will be over on Earth, Global Unity, … etc.) - (Text version)

“… 4 - Energy (again)

The natural resources of the planet are finite and will not support the continuation of what you've been doing. We've been saying this for a decade. Watch for increased science and increased funding for alternate ways of creating electricity (finally). Watch for the very companies who have the most to lose being the ones who fund it. It is the beginning of a full realization that a change of thinking is at hand. You can take things from Gaia that are energy, instead of physical resources. We speak yet; again about geothermal, about tidal, about wind. Again, we plead with you not to over-engineer this. For one of the things that Human Beings do in a technological age is to over-engineer simple things. Look at nuclear - the most over-engineered and expensive steam engine in existence!

Your current ideas of capturing energy from tidal and wave motion don't have to be technical marvels. Think paddle wheel on a pier with waves, which will create energy in both directions [waves coming and going] tied to a generator that can power dozens of neighborhoods, not full cities. Think simple and decentralize the idea of utilities. The same goes for wind and geothermal. Think of utilities for groups of homes in a cluster. You won't have a grid failure if there is no grid. This is the way of the future, and you'll be more inclined to have it sooner than later if you do this, and it won't cost as much…

Water

We've told you that one of the greatest natural resources of the planet, which is going to shift and change and be mysterious to you, is fresh water. It's going to be the next gold, dear ones. So, we have also given you some hints and examples and again we plead: Even before the potentials of running out of it, learn how to desalinate water in real time without heat. It's there, it's doable, and some already have it in the lab. This will create inexpensive fresh water for the planet. 

There is a change of attitude that is starting to occur. Slowly you're starting to see it and the only thing getting in the way of it are those companies with the big money who currently have the old system. That's starting to change as well. For the big money always wants to invest in what it knows is coming next, but it wants to create what is coming next within the framework of what it has "on the shelf." What is on the shelf is oil, coal, dams, and non-renewable resource usage. It hasn't changed much in the last 100 years, has it? Now you will see a change of free choice. You're going to see decisions made in the boardrooms that would have curled the toes of those two generations ago. Now "the worst thing they could do" might become "the best thing they could do." That, dear ones, is a change of free choice concept. When the thinkers of tomorrow see options that were never options before, that is a shift. That was number four.”

“Afraid of Love” + “What’s Wrong Today”, Laguna Hills, California, US(2), Dec 9, 2018 (Kryon Channelling by Lee Carroll)

• Stagnation of the current US Politics: Compassioned (US) leaders will arise in the future
• Shortage of fresh/drinking water: Invention to make salt from salt water magnetic and remove it with water desalination process in high volumes
• Pollution on Earth: 1 - Stop killing the environment! / 2 - The rise of temperature on Earth is “temporary” and is part of the "regular" Watercycle.
• Replacement of current fossil energy source: Use of magnetics based (small/big) engines to produces electricity / free energy
• Plastic pollution in the oceans: Invention to remove the plastics gradually from the oceans

Big Dutch banks sign up to UN charter for sustainable banking

DutchNews, September 23, 2019

Amsterdam’s Zuidas business district. Photo: DutchNews.nl

All the big Dutch banks have signed up to a United Nations charter for sustainable banking which was launched in New York at the weekend. 

In total, banks with more than $47tn in assets, or a third of the global industry, signed up to the charter which, the UN says, provides a ‘massive boost for climate action and the shift from “brown to green” models of economic growth’. 

ING’s Ralph Hamers, Kees van Dijkhuizen of ABN Amro and Peter Blom from Triodos were at the ceremony which took place on Sunday. Rabobank and Volkskbank (SNS. ASN and RegioBank) are also signatories. 

Dijkhuizen told broadcaster NOS that ABN Amro will phase out its loans to oil and gas companies and plans to invest only in sustainable energy. ‘It is too early to say when that will be, but it will be well before 2050,’ Dijkhuizen said.

Pollen, not pollution: Utrecht’s new bus stops are buzzing

DutchNews, August 16, 2019

One of Utrecht’s green roof bus stops. Photo: Mobilane

Utrecht’s bee friendly bus shelters are capturing the world’s imagination with media from across the globe reporting on a solution to urban pollution that is both simple and effective. 

From Mexico City to Melbourne, local officials have been in touch about how to make bus shelters a part of efforts to combat pollution and protect bees, the Volkskrant reported on Friday. 

When Utrecht city council started looking for ways of making the city more sustainable Reclamebureau Limburg (RBL), which specialises in advertising in public spaces, was quick to take up the gauntlet. 

Apart from bamboo seats, RBL’s new bus shelter, of which there are now over 300 in Utrecht, has a green roof . The hardy sedum plants provided by family firm Mobilane reduce the amount of lung-damaging fine dust, store rain water and combat heat. They also promote biodiversity, and the ‘bee stops’, as the foreign press dubbed them, could well play a part in saving this endangered insect. 

With July entering the history books as the hottest ever recorded the shelters were put to the test almost immediately. RBL, which built and maintains the shelters from the proceeds of advertising, told the Volkskrant that the plants survived the heat wave ‘surprisingly well’. Sedum plants need little water and are able to withstand extreme temperatures.

But convincing sceptic Utrechtenaren was not always plain sailing. ‘People in Utrecht initially said “oh not another GroenLinks scheme that will only cost tax money and won’t do anything. And will I be stung by a bee while I’m waiting for a bus?” But it’s become the summer hit of 2019,’ the paper quotes council spokesperson Jacqueline Rabius as saying. 

While the sustainable shelters are not going to save the world, the 2,000 m2 of additional green roofs will contribute to cleaner air in the city and 96 of them have also been equipped with solar panels. 

Stimulus 

They are also proving a stimulus to others because requests for subsidies for green roofs have been multiplying since the bus shelters hit the headlines,’ Utrecht public space manager Maurice Prijs said. Nijmegen, Rotterdam, Hoorn and Apeldoorn are reportedly also looking into replacing conventional shelters with bee stops. 

To put things in perspective, spokesperson for environmental organisation Milieu Centraal Puk van Meegeren told the paper that the effect on air quality of the shelters will not equal that of a number of big trees in a park.

‘But the shelters are a start and other bigger roofs may follow. Green roofs help to store water which would otherwise disappear into the sewage system. For homes with a flat roof they make a good alternative for air conditioning systems.’

Amsterdam brings in ‘bizarre’ plan to ban all but electric cars by 2030

DutchNews, May 3, 2019

A charging station in Amsterdam. Photo: DutchNews.nl 

Amsterdam city council has published plans to ban all but electric cars from the city by 2030 in a move that officials hope will extend locals’ life expectancy by three months. 

From next year, diesel-powered cars which predate 2005 will be banned from the area within the A10 ring road and further restrictions will be brought in gradually as the plan is put into practice. The first evaluation will take place in 2022. 

Amsterdammers, says alderman Sharon Dijksma, have their lives cut short by one year because of airborne pollution. 

The most effective way to change this, she said, is to bring in emissions-free transport. ‘This is something the city council has a direct effect on, hence my mission to make Amsterdam the “world capital of emissions free mobility”‘.’ 

Last month junior environment minister Stientje van Veldhoven said she planned to give local authorities the opportunity to ban old diesel cars and vans by setting up ‘environmental zones’. Some 4,100 cars would be affected by the Amsterdam ban. 

Dijksma’s plan envisages this environmental zone being gradually extended and then, once it covers most of the city, bringing in a complete ban on petrol and diesel cars in smaller areas. Nine streets in the city currently break EU pollution standards. 

The city will need 16,000 to 23,000 charging stations by 2025 to make the project a success, she says. There are currently some 3,000 charging stations for electric cars in the city. Grants and subsidies will also be used to encourage motorists to make the switch. 

‘The switch to emissions-free travel will require everyone to contribute: companies, residents and visitors,’ Dijksma said. 

The city has already banned the most polluting vehicles from the area within the ring road and from 2022 buses and coaches will not be allowed in the city centre if they produce exhaust emissions. 

Bizarre 

Reactions to the proposals have been extremely mixed. The RAI Vereninging motoring lobby described them as ‘bizarre and impossible to put into practice’. 

However Maarten Steinbuch, a professor at Eindhoven University of Technology, told broadcaster NOS that the plan should be seen as something to aim at. ‘We’ve still got 11 years,’ he said. 

Electric cars are becoming cheaper and are already cheaper than petrol-driven cars to maintain, he pointed out. 

The plans still have to be approved by the full city council, and before that they will be put out to public discussion.

Related Article:

European alliance to invest up to 6 bn euros in electric car batteries

Dutchman ends 'world's longest electric car trip' in Australia

Yahoo – AFP, April 7, 2019

Wiebe Wakker took just over three years crossing 33 countries in his 95,000 km
journey by electric car (AFP Photo/PETER PARKS)

Sydney (AFP) - A Dutchman completed an epic 95,000 kilometre (59,000 mile) journey by electric car in Sydney Sunday in a bid to prove the viability of such vehicles in tackling climate change.

Wiebe Wakker drove his retrofitted station wagon nicknamed "The Blue Bandit" across 33 countries in what he said was the world's longest-ever journey by electric car.

The trip from the Netherlands to Australia took just over three years and was funded by public donations from around the world, including electricity to charge the Bandit, food and a place to sleep.

Wakker drove across a variety of countries and environments including Turkey, Iran, India, Myanmar, Malaysia and Indonesia, with the route determined by the offers he received on his website.

"I wanted to change people's opinions and inspire people to start driving electric by showing the advantages of sustainable mobility," Wakker said.

"If one man can drive to the other side of the world in an electric car, then EVs (electric vehicles) should definitely be viable for daily use."

Wakker said before the car was modified, it would have used 6,785 litres (1,800 US gallons) of petrol to complete the journey.

The modified vehicle can travel 200 kilometres on a single charge, with Wakker saying he spent just US$300 on electricity, much of it in the remote desert Outback of Australia.

Despite damning report ‘we will reach climate targets’, minister says

DutchNews, January 25, 2019

Photo: Depositphotos.com

The cabinet will reach its climate change targets next year, infrastructure minister Cora van Nieuwenhuizen told reporters after Friday’s cabinet meeting, broadcaster NOS reported. 

‘We have to comply with the verdict,’ Van Nieuwenhuizen said, referring to the Urgenda climate change court case which said the state has to meet its earlier agreements. 

The Dutch environmental assessment agency said on Friday that the Netherlands will not meet its target of cutting carbon dioxide emissions by 25% by 2020, when compared with 1990. Instead, the reduction is likely to be no more than 21% the agency said. 

The agency was asked to evaluate the cabinet’s plans in the wake of an appeal court judgment last year that ruled the state had a duty of care to its citizens to meet the targets. Fines and compensation rulings will be imposed if it fails to achieve them, although the government is appealing against the ruling. 

The agency’s findings were leaked earlier this week to the Volkskrant and show that efforts to speed up the conversion to green energy by building more wind farms have been offset by the economic recovery, which has led to more traffic on the roads and increased consumption. 

Other measures being considered to cut emissions include closing coal-fired power stations sooner than planned and cutting the speed limit on motorways from 130 to 100 km/h. However, experts say even these plans will not be enough to achieve the 25% target.

Related Article:

Appeal court upholds Urgenda ruling – government must cut CO2 by 25%

Dutch government to appeal court ruling on emissions cuts

Dutch government ordered to cut carbon emissions in landmark ruling

Urgenda supporters celebrate at the Hague after court ruling requiring Dutch 

government to slash emissions. Photograph: Chantal Bekker/Urgenda

Limited network capacity casts shadow on solar energy growth

DutchNews, January 11, 2019

Solar batteries background

The Dutch might have been some of the world’s best green energy farmers, with their ubiquitous windmills. 

But they are having more problems rolling out solar energy cultivation, according to media reports on Friday. 

The Volkskrant claims that network managers Enexis and TenneT cannot agree to take energy from any more farmers, companies or corporations in parts of Groningen and Drenthe who want to install panels – because there apparently isn’t enough capacity in the system. 

New solar farms in certain areas, where solar farming provides more than enough energy, will also not be connected to the national network. 

According to the Volkskrant, supply of the panels in 2017 and 2018 has somewhat outstripped the demand. 

‘The capacity of the energy network is a bottleneck for transition to green energy,’ Siward Zomer, director of eco-friendly energy organisation ODE Decentraal reportedly told the paper. 

Netbeheer Nederland association said that the problem is most acute in parts of Groningen, Drenthe and Overijssel. 

Jeroen Brouwers, spokesman for TenneT, reportedly told the Telegraaf that the problem was ‘the result of the current subsidy policy’, adding that the panels ‘are mostly possible, but just not all in the same space’. 

Expanding the network capacity to increase the capacity for solar energy – and help fulfil the Netherland’s obligations to combat climate change – is expected to take years and cost millions.

Related Articles:

More solar power in the Netherlands but networks may be unable to cope

20TH KRYON SUMMER LIGHT CONFERENCE, US (7), June 2-4, 2017 (Kryon Channelling by Lee Carroll) (Text version "The State of the Earth")

"....  A mini ice age is coming. "Kryon, isn't that doom for the planet?"  Many have seen the artist's rendering of major earth cities under ice and all of the other things that go very well with science fiction movies. That's simply a painting of someone's doom scenario, not reality based in the history of the cycle. If you want to know what a mini ice age is like, just flash back in history and study what took place in about 1650. That was a mini ice age. Due to the change in the Gulf Stream (the ocean), the river Thames froze in London. Dear ones, it was cold, but it did not doom the planet. That's a mini ice age.

That's what you're facing, and I'll say it again. If you live in a cold climate, heed this advice: It's going to get colder. Get off the grid! Within the next 15 years, find a way of producing electricity independently or in smaller groups. This can be done neighborhood-wide or separately in homes. You're going to need this, dear ones, because the grid as it exists right now all over the world is not prepared for this coming cold, and the grid will fail. That's not doom and gloom, that's just practical, commonly known information. Your electricity infrastructure is delicate, too delicate. Prepare for a cold spell that may last for a couple of decades. That's all it is. Technology is racing forward to allow this. Don't let your politics get in the way of your survival. ..."

"...  This is controversial. The planet can't just "change the water". It does it instead with a "reboot of life in the ocean" using the water cycle. Watch for evidence of this as it occurs, and then remember this channel. This weather cycle is to refresh the life in the ocean so that everyone on the planet will have needed food from the ocean. Gaia does this by itself, has done it before, and it does it for a reason - so it will not stagnate.

Dear ones, indeed, you have put compromising things into the air and the water, but it has not caused this cycle. We have said for a very long time, stop killing the environment! The reason? It's going to kill you, not Gaia. Gaia is spectacularly resilient and will survive anything you do. However, it is you who may not survive if you continue polluting. All this is starting to change with your awareness, and you're starting to see this and move with it. But Humans are not causing the current weather shift. This will be known eventually.

What is happening has happened before, and it's almost like a reboot for the oceans and it carries a lot of dichotomous events. You're going to see reports of a dying ocean, but at the same time you're going to see unusual reports of too many fish and other sea life in places that were supposed to have a decline. You're going to see the life cycle of the ocean itself start to change and reboot.

The chief player in this renewal is a place you would not expect: Antarctica. I want you to watch for magic in Antarctica. It has always been the core of the refreshing of microbes and other kinds of life in your oceans and it's especially active during these mini ice ages. The process will cause currents under the sea to be filled with new life, delivering it to both hemispheres almost like an under-sea conveyor belt. ..."

"Recalibration of Free Choice"– Mar 3, 2012 (Kryon Channelling by Lee Caroll) - (Subjects: (Old) Souls, Midpoint on 21-12-2012, Shift of Human Consciousness, Black & White vs. Color, 1 - Spirituality (Religions) shifting, Loose a Pope “soon”, 2 - Humans will change react to drama, 3 - Civilizations/Population on Earth, 4 - Alternate energy sources (Geothermal, Tidal (Paddle wheels), Wind), 5 – Financials Institutes/concepts will change (Integrity – Ethical) , 6 - News/Media/TV to change, 7 – Big Pharmaceutical company will collapse “soon”, (Keep people sick), (Integrity – Ethical) 8 – Wars will be over on Earth, Global Unity, … etc.) - (Text version)

“… 4 - Energy (again)

The natural resources of the planet are finite and will not support the continuation of what you've been doing. We've been saying this for a decade. Watch for increased science and increased funding for alternate ways of creating electricity (finally). Watch for the very companies who have the most to lose being the ones who fund it. It is the beginning of a full realization that a change of thinking is at hand. You can take things from Gaia that are energy, instead of physical resources. We speak yet; again about geothermal, about tidal, about wind. Again, we plead with you not to over-engineer this. For one of the things that Human Beings do in a technological age is to over-engineer simple things. Look at nuclear - the most over-engineered and expensive steam engine in existence!

Your current ideas of capturing energy from tidal and wave motion don't have to be technical marvels. Think paddle wheel on a pier with waves, which will create energy in both directions [waves coming and going] tied to a generator that can power dozens of neighborhoods, not full cities. Think simple and decentralize the idea of utilities. The same goes for wind and geothermal. Think of utilities for groups of homes in a cluster. You won't have a grid failure if there is no grid. This is the way of the future, and you'll be more inclined to have it sooner than later if you do this, and it won't cost as much…

Water

We've told you that one of the greatest natural resources of the planet, which is going to shift and change and be mysterious to you, is fresh water. It's going to be the next gold, dear ones. So, we have also given you some hints and examples and again we plead: Even before the potentials of running out of it, learn how to desalinate water in real time without heat. It's there, it's doable, and some already have it in the lab. This will create inexpensive fresh water for the planet. 

There is a change of attitude that is starting to occur. Slowly you're starting to see it and the only thing getting in the way of it are those companies with the big money who currently have the old system. That's starting to change as well. For the big money always wants to invest in what it knows is coming next, but it wants to create what is coming next within the framework of what it has "on the shelf." What is on the shelf is oil, coal, dams, and non-renewable resource usage. It hasn't changed much in the last 100 years, has it? Now you will see a change of free choice. You're going to see decisions made in the boardrooms that would have curled the toes of those two generations ago. Now "the worst thing they could do" might become "the best thing they could do." That, dear ones, is a change of free choice concept. When the thinkers of tomorrow see options that were never options before, that is a shift. That was number four.”

THE RELATIONSHIP TO GAIA - April 2010 (Kryon channelled by Lee Carroll)

New Mini Ice Age

"The weather you have today, and all the alarming attributes of it, is a scenario of what was scheduled to happen on Earth anyway. I review again that the weather changes you are seeing prophesied by myself, 21 years ago, are not a surprise. The changes are not caused by the pollutants you put in the air. You call it global warming and that's a nice phrase, and perhaps that will get you to put less pollutants in the air – a very good thing. But what you are seeing in the weather shift today was not caused by Humans putting things into the air. It would have happened anyway in about 300 years."

"We've called this process the water cycle, since it's all about water, not about air. The water is the predominant attribute of Gaia and of the weather cycle you're seeing. More predominant is the temperature of it. The cycle is ice to water and water to ice, and has been repeated on this planet over and over and over. It is not new. It is not exceptional. It is not frightening. But it's a cycle that modern humanity has not seen before, and it's a long cycle that is beyond the life span of a Human Being. Therefore, it tends to be overlooked or not seen at all !"

"In the days of the Lemurians, the water level of the Pacific Ocean was almost 400 feet lower, and that's only 50,000 years ago. [Kryon invites science to check this out – the water level at that time.] That was a water cycle working, and the reason it was lower was due to so much of the water being stored as ice. Today you're going through another water cycle that will eventually lead to cooling. The last one was in the 1400s."

"Science sees that at about 1650. As mentioned, they are so slow there is no remembrance that a Human has of them except in past writings and in the rings of the trees. The time span of the changes is so great that environmental record keeping does not exist in the form that it does today. But you can still look at the rings of the trees and at the striations of the rocks and can generally figure out that a few hundred years ago, you had a mini-ice age. Now you're going to have another one."