BY RHIANN MOORE It’s safe to say that cycling is pretty much the best; unfortunately, a lot of cities aren’t the best for it. Although it may take significant time and effort for a city to truly transform itself into…
This Ottawa hospital was once deemed extraterritorial so a royal baby wouldn’t have Canadian citizenship
In 1943, an Ottawa hospital’s maternity ward was deemed “extraterritorial” so that a royal baby being born there would have full Dutch citizenship. During the second world war, the German military invaded the Netherlands. In the process, many cities were captured and…
A company in the Netherlands has found a beautiful, functional use for retired wind turbines
BY: BROOKLYN PINHEIRO As wind turbines come to the end of their lifespan the clean energy source faces barriers to continuing its commitment to being environmentally friendly. After 15 to 25 years in the field, wind turbines need to be…
The Netherlands now has the world’s first completely wind powered trains
BY: RHIANN MOORE As of January 1, 2017, 600,000 daily commuters in the Netherlands have been traveling in complete carbon neutrality. This is because the Dutch NS trains now run on 1.2 billion kilowatt-hours of wind energy as a result…
These stories of dying people experiencing their final wish will tug on your heart strings
BY: JESSICA BEUKER “Would you like to have the opportunity to sail again?” Kees Veldboer asked Mario Stefanutto. The terminally ill retired seaman replied, “impossible.” Stefanutto was restricted most of the time to a hospital bed, only ever leaving when…
The first driverless public transit to hit open roads is coming to the Netherlands this November
BY: ROB HOFFMAN The Netherlands just introduced the first publicly accessible driverless shuttles to hit the open roads this November. Holding up to six passengers per trip, the WEpod follows in the footsteps of Citymobil2, the Finnish cousin of the…
The Netherlands just banned wild animals from being used in circuses
BY: JESSICA BEUKER On September 15, 2015 a ban on wild animals being used in circuses officially went into effect in the Netherlands. According to Four Paws, there are 22 active circuses in the Netherlands and between 16 of them…
All Dutch trains will run on wind energy by 2018
BY: SWIKAR OLI A contract between two forward-thinking companies will completely redefine sustainability for the people of the Netherlands within the next few years. Netherlands’ railway giant, Nederlandse Spoorwegen, has inked a deal with Eneco, a local energy supplier, to…
Dutch citizens sued their government for not taking action against climate change and won
BY: ZOE MELNYK After years of disappointment in their government’s environmental policies, 886 Dutch citizens, following the lead of the sustainability foundation Urgenda, took their government to court in order to demand a better treatment of the environment and to…
The Netherlands’ Black Pete tradition is definitely the most racist way to celebrate Christmas
BY: PILGRIM On November 15th, 2014, 90 protesters were arrested for demonstrating against the ‘Black Pete’ festival in Gouda, Netherlands, holding signs and wearing shirts that read, “Black Pete is Racism.” Mass demonstrations against Black Pete have become increasingly prominent…