Patterns

The Dutch have learned the hard way; no matter if you are king, if you are a thief, if you are holy or a sinner poor or learned, you have to work together to avoid natural catastrophes that may otherwise kill you. Advancing rising waters will drown you all if you have not build a dike to protect the land you live in if that is below sea level. A culture has grown where the biggest adversaries know that communicating and rising above their differences is required for the best solution, requiring contributions from all involved on par with the means available. And this we do, sometimes stumbling and restarting, but in the end, everybody knows that the alternative will be drowning for all, figuratively speaking. Instinctively, intuitively we know that everybody is involved and should be participating, 'we all live in the same polder'. This method will be applied in Holland to all really important issues. On minor things we can disagree passionately as they are, in the end, not important.

On a countrywide scale this is a pattern recognised by many within and outside the Netherlands. It is recognised as this pattern is distinctly different from conflict resolution in many other places. The distinction makes the pattern visible. O a global scale our world is not different from 'a polder'. Our planet earth, when global patterns endanger us, will kill us all or severely effect our way of lives.

We can squabble about unfairness, that the neighbour is the cause and he is the one to act and pay; but in the end, it makes no difference. On global issues global solutions are required and all have to participate and contribute on par with their means available. We can continue local wars, try to outsmart our competitors and maintain a sacred belief in the utmost truth of our religion; the end is: agree and act or perish on the facts that threaten us on a global scale.

Climate change is a container word for an issue that will force the world to act or learn the hard way. We need to overcome our differences and listen, accept that we all have a responsibility to contribute even though we may not feel that we are the ones to blame. We need to understand that we have our differences, we might fight to the death on smaller issues, but these global matters require us to forget the minor issues for the sake of the major ones, at least at the negotiation table.

Climate change is both a threat and a miracle challenge to us all. World peace may not be the outcome, but a closer cooperation on all aspects of our human presence in this world is inevitable. At least on these matters we have to listen, hear and act regardless of our differences. That in itself is hopeful and unprecedented.

After world-war 1 and 2 we agreed to institute the united nations as a great way to solve global conflict. We build the European Union as a mechanism to make a European war impossible. The noble idea was later lost as people forgot the reasons why we started this cooperation in the first place. Lost as our wealth and stability in the world made us believe that we had the luxury to ignore history. The facts of life 'the world is a polder', do now open our eyes that revival of cooperation in the polder is needed.

The emerging pattern of climate change is complex indeed and solutions are multi-dimensional and not linear. In all the hush-hush, a clear view of the real and imminent dangers should be seen. These are not sea level rise because of expansion of water from temperature rise. They are not the ozone layer though that may kill a lot of people. The first and direct threat is sea level rise due to melting ice in Greenland and Antarctica followed by ocean acidification due to increased level of CO2 in the waters.

Greenland and Antarctica contribute each at least 5 meters and Antarctica maybe 40 meters to sea level rise. That danger is imminent as the ice sheets are unstable and a rapid unavoidable melting process could start for the next 300 years. Potentially this century already 10 meters rise might occur. As more than half of our economic activity and capital investments is located within the 10 meters shoreline, action now on a global scale is required.

Ocean acidification requires us to act as it changes to ecosystems of 70% of our world, endangering a large part of our food supplies and at the same time increasing CO2 levels in the atmosphere as acidification harms the capacity of our oceans to absorb our exhaust gasses.

These two aspects are interrelated, require global action now while the solutions will also contribute to relief many other, secondary, but less dangerous effects of climate change. Do we have potential solutions available? Not to avoid all negative aspects of what we have done in 400 years of industrial revolution. As mankind we needed the visibility of danger to make us realise that we do live in 'a polder'. Flooding in New York and New Orleans has triggered some action. More effects will happen and will keep a sense of urgency on mankind. We do have however a magic toolbox in our science and in our global information sharing capability. News ways to produce and store energy are discovered and developed as we realise that old means are endangering us. The internet is a shortcut to tempering and controlling information. No government, elite or institution can or should be allowed to control the flow of information. We are all part of 'the polder' and have a right and a need to know and participate as we also will be required to contribute.

Being a hardheaded Dutchman I would like to point out: Is it not wondrous that mankind has created a huge problem, while simultaneously has build itself a toolbox to solve that problem? It would be a shame if we did not act and take that challenge.