In the Netherlands this is almost completely caused by farmers (that are overrepresented in the water boards) which keep the groundwater level low for better yields. This obviously backfires during the summer when the levels get too low.
Genuine question: Is that good or bad? What kind of farmers? Food or tulips? Humans gotta eat, and I thought Netherlands produces a lot of Europe’s agricultural output
Farmers as being described here are not some podunk hillbillies living off the land. These are massive corporate entities who have cannibalized their competition over the last 60 years. They don’t toil in the fields, their hordes of underpaid Southeast Asian and African immigrants do that for them, while they drive around in Land Rovers.
This is not something done out of necessity, this is done out of keeping their profit margins as high as possible.
Im just going to step up and point out that I am not a podunk hillbilly living off the land. I am a well educated human being that left the city during the pandemic to keep all my food as local as possible (read: from my yard or my neighbors). I also sell at a farmstand on my own property, as well as donate to food pantries in my current area, the pantry for the neighborhood that raised me which is a food desert, and to my religiously affiliated (not a christian by any stretch, by the way) pantry.
That said, I am not a European and maybe you have farmers/homesteaders out there that are like that-- but I kindly request you do not lump all of us into such a shit category.
It’s not nice to make assumptions about a large group of people-- history has taught us that time and time again.
On the massive corporate farms, however… no matter where-- you’re 100% correct.
It’s not even for better yield, it’s for better access with heavy machinery And the Netherlands exports too much as this water issue is one of a few ways in which our agriculture intensity is harming the long term health of nature and the fertility of the land itself
What do you mean by better access? Like their roads are too muddy with the water table high?
Hey culture request for the new site: can we stop saying “genuine question” and just make a culture where that’s the assumed intention of questions?
Maaan, at this point I think we’d be lucky to get to 2030 without some globally catastrophic weather event.
whats really scary is people still deny global warming is real. like were entering the find out stage and youre still fucking around.
In so glad climate change is just a ploy by bill gates to inject us with 5g microdrones
But it’s a rock with purpose. You know where it’s supposed to go. Its fate is now in your hands.
Last summer was hellish and droughts were everywhere, it seems like this summer is gonna get just as rough if not worse >.>
Europe can have some of our water.
— Colorado
