Island Stories #34. In Zeeland, we don't worry about tomorrow; the sea doesn't rise overnight. But we do worry about the long-term future. We should all worry about leaders worldwide who focus on short-term gains for tomorrow, those who lack the vision and bravery to provide leadership for their grandchildren. And since we all share this small planet, we should work together to stop climate change and help those that need to adapt to it. We may still have time in Zeeland and Holland, but today, like every day, thousands of people elsewhere in the world will pack their belongings and move away from the rising seas. If we don't help them now, they won't be around to help us when our day arrives.
Thank you for this extra long article today. It’s great! These often little known Dutch towns have such deep history & endless charm! I love the details you share & how you keep the history alive. It’s important! The photos & video are lovely.
I especially appreciate that your ‘extra innings’ brings climate & its increasing perils to the table. While we enjoy the beauty of our extraordinary planet, there’s so much heartbreaking devastation happening in other parts of the world. As a climate/environment expert with valuable knowledge & experience, your insights are vitally important. Using your newsletter to bring awareness is only logical to emphasize what we are losing if immediate action isn’t taken by every country, leader & citizen. Many thanks for all you do to not only bring the beauty but also the dangers.
Thanks for that lovely video you of Goedereede. It would be a wonderful place to visit and spend time there. I love the architecture of the houses.
Climate perils affect us all and now there is news that the Gulf Stream is slowly deteriorating. That definitely will affect so many. The role of a climate scientist is truly a necessary one as we approach the future. There are so many issues facing this planet and it is sad that so many people are just ignoring them.
Thanks for a wonderful article and photos. I appreciate all the work that goes into it.
Thank you for this interesting newletter and we even got 3 bonus sections (no idea what to call them) with thoughts, pictures and a video. I think I remember that church picture (top left in the collage) from one of your twitter posts. Goedereede is such a beautiful place. I would have assumed it was in Zeeland. I love lighthouses, but I also like when church towers take on that role.
As a linguist, I love the history of place names - most make sense if you look a bit closer. And for me it also makes place names easier to remember. I still have no idea how to say Goedereede, but "good anchorage" makes sense and I just checked the etymology of German "Reede". Thanks for that. Love learning new things. Also enjoyed that short article on how Goedereede got city rights.
A 7m rise in sea levels. Now there's a scary thought. I really hope it's somehow not too late yet and that we can all do something to help our planet get better. I can't imagine having to move because of natural disasters and the increasing effects of global warming.
I was happy to read that your health is continuing to improve. Hope you're having a good weekend.
Goedereede can, with a bit of creative reading, also be read as 'good reason'. Since there is a traffic control camera at the Goedereede intersection, the city limit sign always reminds me that there is a good reason to slow down when passing the town.
Love the historical information and I'm glad to see that you're getting back into form. The village is so beautiful and clean, makes me want to move there! Explaining the meaning of place names is also appreciated. I've been interested in this sort of linguistic information for several decades and it's become a hobby of sorts.
Nice to hear that, William. It is a lovely place, it feels like an open-air museum without many visitors. But it is of course alive as a normal functioning town. I guess about 2000 people live there now. There is an area with recently built houses, out of sight of the small city center, that is actually interesting to see too. I don't think any tourist ever made it to that part, but I like the architecture (unlike most housing projects of the past decades).
Thank you for this extra long article today. It’s great! These often little known Dutch towns have such deep history & endless charm! I love the details you share & how you keep the history alive. It’s important! The photos & video are lovely.
I especially appreciate that your ‘extra innings’ brings climate & its increasing perils to the table. While we enjoy the beauty of our extraordinary planet, there’s so much heartbreaking devastation happening in other parts of the world. As a climate/environment expert with valuable knowledge & experience, your insights are vitally important. Using your newsletter to bring awareness is only logical to emphasize what we are losing if immediate action isn’t taken by every country, leader & citizen. Many thanks for all you do to not only bring the beauty but also the dangers.
Congratulations on a great writing!
I love 'extra innings', because those are usually special, exciting and not to be missed.
(I also wrote my MA thesis on sports idioms in newspapers ;-))
Thanks for that lovely video you of Goedereede. It would be a wonderful place to visit and spend time there. I love the architecture of the houses.
Climate perils affect us all and now there is news that the Gulf Stream is slowly deteriorating. That definitely will affect so many. The role of a climate scientist is truly a necessary one as we approach the future. There are so many issues facing this planet and it is sad that so many people are just ignoring them.
Thanks for a wonderful article and photos. I appreciate all the work that goes into it.
Thank you for the kind words :-)
Thank you for this interesting newletter and we even got 3 bonus sections (no idea what to call them) with thoughts, pictures and a video. I think I remember that church picture (top left in the collage) from one of your twitter posts. Goedereede is such a beautiful place. I would have assumed it was in Zeeland. I love lighthouses, but I also like when church towers take on that role.
As a linguist, I love the history of place names - most make sense if you look a bit closer. And for me it also makes place names easier to remember. I still have no idea how to say Goedereede, but "good anchorage" makes sense and I just checked the etymology of German "Reede". Thanks for that. Love learning new things. Also enjoyed that short article on how Goedereede got city rights.
A 7m rise in sea levels. Now there's a scary thought. I really hope it's somehow not too late yet and that we can all do something to help our planet get better. I can't imagine having to move because of natural disasters and the increasing effects of global warming.
I was happy to read that your health is continuing to improve. Hope you're having a good weekend.
Goedereede can, with a bit of creative reading, also be read as 'good reason'. Since there is a traffic control camera at the Goedereede intersection, the city limit sign always reminds me that there is a good reason to slow down when passing the town.
Love the historical information and I'm glad to see that you're getting back into form. The village is so beautiful and clean, makes me want to move there! Explaining the meaning of place names is also appreciated. I've been interested in this sort of linguistic information for several decades and it's become a hobby of sorts.
Nice to hear that, William. It is a lovely place, it feels like an open-air museum without many visitors. But it is of course alive as a normal functioning town. I guess about 2000 people live there now. There is an area with recently built houses, out of sight of the small city center, that is actually interesting to see too. I don't think any tourist ever made it to that part, but I like the architecture (unlike most housing projects of the past decades).