Maybe it’s time for a passive/aggressive approach to idiotic court rulings. In this case, I’d suggest putting every single story house on Bonaire on stilts and/or prohibiting the occupation of the first floor on multi-floor buildings. That much stair climbing will see that residents grow tired of climate change hysteria in short order.
A court on Wednesday ordered the Dutch government to draw up a plan to protect residents on the tiny Caribbean island of Bonaire from the effects of climate change — a sweeping victory for the islanders.
The Hague District Court, in a stunning rebuke of Dutch authorities, also ruled that the government discriminated against the island’s 20,000 inhabitants by not taking “timely and appropriate measures” to protect them from climate change before it’s too late.
This truly is a case of legislating from the bench.
I’m on Bonaire right now and have been coming here for the last 25 years. No rise in the water levels, no more stormy weather than before. Bupkis. The climate is the same as always. The only thing that’s changed is the traffic (worse, much worse), construction (more, much more) and the erosion of the coral reefs (bad, very bad). But there are absolutely no climatic changes. This is performance art at its very worst.
That’s what I thought.
Any Bonaire native can leave for the European Netherlands at any time for any reason (White Dutchmen from Europe wishing to escape bad weather and Islam can’t go the other way as easily—that would be settler-colonialism), so I figured anyone living there who really thought Bonaire would soon sink beneath the waves would be long gone. I take it there aren’t many such people?
There are no such people. The island is filled with mainland Dutch folks wanting to live the warm,sunny life.
A stunningly stupid ruling by the courts. In the ridiculously remote event that these folks end up under water, the Dutch would be at fault to the tune of 0.31%, Holland’s share of global emissions.
Furthermore, coral islands actually grow in area with rising sea levels. Darwin recognized the phenomenon.
https://climateataglance.com/climate-at-a-glance-islands-and-sea-level-rise/
That’s ONE court ruling … 2,900 lawsuits to go …
There have been numerous lawsuits against fossil fuel companies, with over 2900 cases filed across the United States. These lawsuits often aim to hold these companies accountable for their role in climate change and the associated impacts on communities and the environment.
Overview of Lawsuits Against Fossil Fuel Companies
Many communities and states across the U.S. have initiated lawsuits against fossil fuel companies. These legal actions aim to hold these corporations accountable for their role in climate change and its associated impacts.
Key Points
Number of Lawsuits: There are approximately 2,900 lawsuits filed against fossil fuel companies.
Types of Claims: These lawsuits typically involve claims of:
Deceptive Practices: Allegations that companies misled the public about climate change risks.
Antitrust Violations: Some cases, like Michigan’s recent lawsuit, accuse companies of colluding to suppress competition from renewable energy sources and electric vehicles.
Public Nuisance: Many lawsuits argue that fossil fuel companies have contributed to environmental harm affecting public health and safety.
The eco-legal-industrial-complex are trying to pull the same crap on fossil fuel companies they pulled on the tobacco companies … claim they KNEW the harm they were doing … but did it anyway.
And just like with the tobacco companies … they won’t BAN the “dangerous” product. They won’t BAN fossil fuels … nope. They’ll tax the shit out of it and fill their coffers with fossil fuel profits. They will transfer the wealth of BIG Oil … just as they’ve transferred the wealth of BIG Tobacco.
I can think of a couple of inexpensive and viable alternatives:
1. Transfer Bonaire to the USA… or Cuba. Obviously they don’t appreciate being Dutch.
2. Add a provision to emergency response legislation to provide priority assistance to disabled Bonaire residents who are unable to move faster than the sea level is rising. Which (last time I checked) is slower than my toenails grow.
BeSceNick
“Obviously they don’t appreciate being Dutch.”
And that’s why I will never go back to that communist schitthole.
Much of the oil that goes to Cuba from Venezuela (50 miles away) already goes through Bonaire.
Trump should make an offer for the place, to make doubly sure that no more Venezuelan oil goes to Cuba.
Sorry, but no. BOPEC ceased operations 15+ years ago. There isn’t a drop of oil coming through Bonaire and hasn’t been for a long time
I stand corrected.
Aside from tourism, the most significant source of income Bonaire has is the Bonaire Petroleum Corporation (BOPEC), which runs a fuel oil storage and transshipment terminal. BOPEC is a subsidiary of PDVSA, the Venezuelan state-owned oil company, which supplies the oil stored for shipment to China and Cuba (Bonaire is 50 miles off the Venezuelan coast).
In other words, Caracas wanted the Dutch government to pay for home improvements to the pieds-à-terre of Venezuelan oil executives given homes on Bonaire as a reward for loyalty to Maduro, because Caracas doesn’t have the money. The only sensible answer to that request was “Chingan vuestras madres, hijos de putas.”
Actual Bonaire natives can move to the European Netherlands at any time, so any Bonaire native who takes the climate change thing seriously enough to thinl his home island will be uninhabitable in his lifetime is free to leave at any time.
My advice to any such person would be, “Waar wacht je dan nog op? Ga, in godsnaam, en wees maar weg!”
People from the European Netherlands, naturally, are *not* free to move to Bonaire, where the weather is better and there are far fewer Muslims. That would be settler-colonialism, I suppose.
I am informed above that BOPEC is out of business.
My suspicion that nobody actually living on Bonaire takes climate change seriously has been confirmed, though.
“BOPEC” sounds like they were playing the Name Game with “OPEC”: “banana-bana-BOPEC, fee-fi-FOPEC…”
Aren’t the Dutch dyke masters?
I’m not sure, but they do get along well with the gay community.
All islands in the ocean are eventually going to disappear. It’s because of wave erosion. It has nothing to do with the sea level. That’s why in the full Hawai’ian Island chain, Midway, the oldest island, is a flat atoll and the youngest, the Big Island of Hawai’i, at the southern end is quite large.
Been going to Bonaire and Aruba for 65 years. The only change in sea levels is with each wave…about 20 inches. Is now as was 65 years ago.
There’s room on Haiti.