The end of Holland

It is possible that a boycott of Holland will not work. The Dutch are notoriously headstrong, stubborn, obstinate, and they will tend to resist any foreign meddling. “Je maintiendrai,” or “I will persist,” William of Orange said, when he imported himself into the Netherlands. It is not unlikely that the Dutch rather eat tulip bulbs than stop the censorship that they have come to love so much as part of their national identity. The boycott may not be the End of Holland, but it would be the End of Holland as we know it. No longer the land of milk and honey but the realm of censorship, bitterness and resentment, and a variety of tulip bulbs on the menu.

The most artistic End of Holland was created by Al Gore, who had Greenland break up in pieces so that the melting ice water flooded Holland. The cute scene is here on video. There is even a Dutchman who rebuilt Noah’s Ark just in case, see that same video report. Still, you are more likely to enjoy the scene of surfer Mike Parson who rides a 66 ft wave. Apparently those don’t happen on the North Sea yet, and we may have to wait till Greenland breaks up indeed.

A current projection is that the sea level would be 1.3 meters higher by the year 2100. An article in Nature Climate Change yesterday suggested that the average temperature rise might already be 2 degrees by 2050. I regard this as somewhat optimistic and would rather be risk averse. Incidently, there is a strange phenomenon. The ice mass on Greenland would be 3 kilometers high, and exerts a gravitational effect such the water level of the sea in the North is higher now than it would otherwise be. The disappearance of that ice sheet would also lower the sea level. The net effect would still flood Holland though. Somewhere around the year 2200 ? Would the Dutch living then still be able to sell their houses ? Here on video are the water protection plans of the Dutch government, explained by the two charming though somewhat incompetent ladies Louise Fresco and Tineke Huizinga. Perhaps they are trying to get their houses sold at still a good price.

The most likely End of Holland is the absorption into the European Union. Though William of Orange fought against Brussels, in the final chapter Brussels wins. After surrendering sovereignty, the Dutch discover that they are heavily taxed to pay for Southern Europe and French banks, whereupon many flee the country, and the incompetent who remain discover that they must eat tulip bulbs again. Hans Brinker can’t stand it anymore and takes his finger out of the dike.

I have to admit: when the country no longer exists it cannot censor science either.


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