Why not pollute a little more?

This column was written by 23-year-old Jazine ten Houten from Eindhoven. She studied Science & Technology at Fontys Applied Science and has been involved in climate and sustainability issues for years.

Jazine ten Houten

Does your heart also race when you open your news app or social media? Mine certainly does. As we try to cool off from the heat, we watch the news: a record number of lightning strikes during two consecutive storms, extreme drought, and rapidly spreading wildfires in Limburg. A vacation to the South of France or Spain isn’t an option either. Major wildfires have forced people to flee their homes or vacation destinations. All of this is caused by a super El Niño, exacerbated by climate change.

I’ve been actively learning about the climate since high school, along with all the fears that come with it. I still remember, just before the pandemic, learning about climate change in chemistry class during my fourth year of HAVO. Back then, I had a conversation with a classmate about how scary it is that this crisis is unfolding and will be a part of our future. It’s been half a year since I graduated, and we’re being hit harder by the climate crisis than ever before.

I’m sitting in my apartment after the second heat wave, and I feel angry, anxious, and sad. We’ve known for decades what the consequences of human-caused climate change are. This is why I decided to focus on sustainability when I was a teenager. I wasn’t always taken seriously about this. Sometimes it was even dismissed as “woo-woo.” The fact that we’ve known this since the last century and then failed to make it a priority makes me angry.

Shell: It really takes the wind out of my sails

I’ve always held onto hope—the hope that as people increasingly experience climate change firsthand, they would take action. But after the latest news about Shell, I’m truly disheartened. The largest energy company has announced that it will once again focus entirely on fossil fuels. Shell—the very company that, as recently as the last century, warned of the severe consequences of fossil fuels. It was once said that wisdom comes with age, but that doesn’t seem to apply to the people behind this decision.

Stephen Hawking’s message on sustainability

I’m reading a book I once received as a gift: “Answers to the Big Questions” by Stephen Hawking. I’ve only just started reading it; I’m on page 31. It says: “I hope that in that process, even though I won’t be around myself, there will be people in positions of power who can demonstrate creativity, courage, and leadership. Let them take on the challenges of sustainable development and act not out of self-interest, but out of the common good.” I find it difficult to accept how we’re supposed to approach sustainable development. We’ve had a summer full of unprecedented heat waves, and yet there are still people who decide to take a step backward in sustainable development. People are acting out of self-interest and making choices whose consequences we all feel. Who needs to warn us, or what needs to happen, before we truly change?

The COVID-19 Pandemic

This summer, I also often think back to the COVID-19 pandemic. When it began, I was 16. I and many of my generation gave up a significant part of our youth to (rightly) protect people in our society and relieve the burden on the healthcare system. That’s why I have a hard time understanding why we aren’t tackling the climate crisis with the same level of seriousness. Back then, companies had to operate safely to prevent infections. Why aren’t we now demanding that they make significant sustainability improvements? Why aren’t we taking measures now to protect the future of young people and take the strain off the fire department? I just don’t get it.

The youth are the future?

I’m starting to wonder how hard we have to be hit before we take action. It’s often said that the youth are the future, but the way things are going, it doesn’t seem like we’re willing to grant them that future.