| Part I: Saving Holland
With much of its land below sea level, the Netherlands is charting a course around ominous climate-change trends. The lowest point in western Europe is 6.74 meters below sea level and falling. It lies in a boggy area of decomposing peat outside the cheese mecca of Gouda, the Netherlands, and is identified by a seven-meter marker plunked into a brackish pool at the entrance to the Van Vliet truck dealership. (The dealership's owner erected the marker, taking a little license with the facts; the actual low spot is a few hundred meters away.) The Fodor's travel guide does not mention this corner of Holland, but it's a focal point for the question of how to plan for the risks and realities of climate change. |
Part II: Saving Holland - The Netherlands deals with climate change.
Modeling the Rhine
Pinpointing weaknesses in existing water barriers is just a first step toward understanding the Netherlands' flood risk. Rising sea level is, of course, the elephant in the room. But for the moment, the elephant is moving slowly enough to rank lower on the list of Dutch concerns than certain near-term threats. One is that the Rhine could burst its banks in areas such as Rotterdam. And as peat decomposes, land is sinking faster than the sea is rising. (To make matters worse, peat decomposition, triggered by centuries of Dutch land drainage, throws off greenhouse gases.) Finally, new roads and developments could increase runoff, and population growth could put more people in the path of disaster. |
