I used to go often to the Ardennes, to Epen and Slenaken in the Netherlands, and to St. Hubert and La Roche en Ardennes in Belgium, to hike and get away from busy Amsterdam. This was between 1995 and 2005. Back then, summers were not as hot or as dry. But autumn and winter are the best times to go to the Ardennes. It’s quieter and more mysterious. Sitting in front of a wood fire eating champignons and wild boar with a glass of Duvel is my idea of a perfect Ardennes autumn dinner.
I have lived most of my life in German mining regions. Some of them are also poor and declining fast (Harz region) while the Ruhr area has managed the decline very well in comparison to the regions you mentioned.
As far as I know 1/3 of Germany is currently covered with forests. "Funnily" some of them are currently destroyed to fuel our "Energiewende". As I have seen paintings from pre-coal times, my current forest heavy living place was barren land back in the 17th century. I wonder what will happen to the forests when fossil fuels decline.
I also observed the current trend of drought in the water reservoirs in the Harz region. Last summer, they were overflowing with water while this year they are maybe only half-full this year (as in 2020).
Last comment: when I think of the Ardennes, I think of how the Germans outwited the French twice by moving their troops through this region.
Although I'm a white-skinned American, I was very fortunate to participate in a Lakota sweat lodge ceremony passed down in a community by a Lakota elder. We often talked about "original instructions", that each species has original instructions with which it was created. It was nevery explicit though, what those instructions were.
My opinion over the years has become that our "original instructions" as humans is to Facilitate Life. Facilitate comes from "facile"="easy", so we can say that our job is to make Life easy...not in the sense of not having hardship or an "easy life", but in the sense that we humans have a unique ability to form and shape and caretake Life in such a way that its forms and functions and beauty increase.
But obviously we are in the shadow side of this now, using our power to destroy Life rather than Facilitate Life. Because, in my opinion, we don't see Life (or anything) as sacred. I totally agree with you, Rhyd. And I would translate your counseil as, "Facilitate Life where you are and in whatever ways you can (and try to avoid causing death)".
It is totally possible. I believe that the Earth, and Life, want to be alive. They want us to survive and be alive with them! We just need to truly make that choice, and I think all is possible if we do.
I write from Saint Louis, Missouri where I have a window view of the Mississippi River. As the drought here continues it too will soon be closed to shipping and maybe even possible to cross on foot. But this isn’t the only reason I write. Fifty years ago I lived at the edge of the Rhine in Leiden, The Netherlands. The River rose and fell seasonally, but never so low as you describe it now.
P.S. Calling Belgium the “Ohio of Europe” is perfect!
Unfortunately especially in France maybe even Belgium and Luxembourg more for us are going to fall by the wayside after this winter when most French citizens can't pay for heat at $1,000 a kilowatt they will be cutting down trees and burning any and everything and hopefully they have a fireplace. Or they'll be outside in their barns with fires going. Germany really fucked entire Europe up after Joe Biden fucked Everyone by giving Russia a gas pipeline and shutting ours and Canada's down. Impeached the mother fucker
Nobody likes a drought but but climate change is the cause? Nah...Climate is what we expect, weather is what we get. The weather has been hot & dry.
This earth contain humans & they’re as much a part of the natural environment as the beavers that destructively dam up streams, mosquitos that transmit malaria, & rats that harbor fleas with bubonic plague. Creatures can affect the natural environment negatively (for some species) at times. But there’s nothing unnatural about that. Cold weather kills far more than hot weather every year, and CO2 enhances plant growth. Is that bad? Time to focus on adaptation & stop kidding ourselves that we are powerful and wise enough to control our climate. That’s simply arrogant.
Let's not forget that snow melt in many areas of the world contributes to river flows for much of each year. Increasingly, inflows from melt is changing significantly due to unreliable and in many cases reduced winter snowfall. Water storage levels are further reduced by increased demand for water for domestic, industrial, and agricultural purposes, especially in dry summers. Water is our most precious resource...we must use it wisely and ensure, for future generations, that we prevent runaway global warming by all possible means .
Thank you for this very thought provoking piece, it brings tears to my eyes. You are 100% on the money. Population should be encouraged to reduce, by education not by wholesale murder with Covid drugs. You can’t cure a disease by attacking the symptoms, you have to look at the cause, which is GEC(Greed, Ego and Corruption) the basic human trait
Very good article and, of course, an inescapable conclusion: plant trees. (More to the point, plant the right trees in the right place, or allow them to regenerate naturally, and take care of them until they can take care of themselves.)
On a peripheral note: I remember reading in an old Rough Guide that wild camping in Brittany is legal, unlike most of France. I suspect this information may be out of date or just plain wrong, but here is something about when and where it is legal: https://hikeheaven.com/wild-camping-in-france/
This is a good answer. And I’m glad you’ve highlighted the need for forests and how they help regulate the water cycles. We need far more ecological education and this should start with our children. Children that (are privileged?) to spend much time in nature will hopefully grow up to continue to love and protect nature. Kids are great at seeing systems and cause and effect.
It’s important to know your local watersheds, many of which are paved over and built upon and it’s bizarre that people are surprised by flooding.
I used to go often to the Ardennes, to Epen and Slenaken in the Netherlands, and to St. Hubert and La Roche en Ardennes in Belgium, to hike and get away from busy Amsterdam. This was between 1995 and 2005. Back then, summers were not as hot or as dry. But autumn and winter are the best times to go to the Ardennes. It’s quieter and more mysterious. Sitting in front of a wood fire eating champignons and wild boar with a glass of Duvel is my idea of a perfect Ardennes autumn dinner.
I have lived most of my life in German mining regions. Some of them are also poor and declining fast (Harz region) while the Ruhr area has managed the decline very well in comparison to the regions you mentioned.
As far as I know 1/3 of Germany is currently covered with forests. "Funnily" some of them are currently destroyed to fuel our "Energiewende". As I have seen paintings from pre-coal times, my current forest heavy living place was barren land back in the 17th century. I wonder what will happen to the forests when fossil fuels decline.
I also observed the current trend of drought in the water reservoirs in the Harz region. Last summer, they were overflowing with water while this year they are maybe only half-full this year (as in 2020).
Last comment: when I think of the Ardennes, I think of how the Germans outwited the French twice by moving their troops through this region.
The photo of the oak in dry grass looks like the dry summer oak savanna In my part of California.
Although I'm a white-skinned American, I was very fortunate to participate in a Lakota sweat lodge ceremony passed down in a community by a Lakota elder. We often talked about "original instructions", that each species has original instructions with which it was created. It was nevery explicit though, what those instructions were.
My opinion over the years has become that our "original instructions" as humans is to Facilitate Life. Facilitate comes from "facile"="easy", so we can say that our job is to make Life easy...not in the sense of not having hardship or an "easy life", but in the sense that we humans have a unique ability to form and shape and caretake Life in such a way that its forms and functions and beauty increase.
But obviously we are in the shadow side of this now, using our power to destroy Life rather than Facilitate Life. Because, in my opinion, we don't see Life (or anything) as sacred. I totally agree with you, Rhyd. And I would translate your counseil as, "Facilitate Life where you are and in whatever ways you can (and try to avoid causing death)".
It is totally possible. I believe that the Earth, and Life, want to be alive. They want us to survive and be alive with them! We just need to truly make that choice, and I think all is possible if we do.
I write from Saint Louis, Missouri where I have a window view of the Mississippi River. As the drought here continues it too will soon be closed to shipping and maybe even possible to cross on foot. But this isn’t the only reason I write. Fifty years ago I lived at the edge of the Rhine in Leiden, The Netherlands. The River rose and fell seasonally, but never so low as you describe it now.
P.S. Calling Belgium the “Ohio of Europe” is perfect!
Unfortunately especially in France maybe even Belgium and Luxembourg more for us are going to fall by the wayside after this winter when most French citizens can't pay for heat at $1,000 a kilowatt they will be cutting down trees and burning any and everything and hopefully they have a fireplace. Or they'll be outside in their barns with fires going. Germany really fucked entire Europe up after Joe Biden fucked Everyone by giving Russia a gas pipeline and shutting ours and Canada's down. Impeached the mother fucker
Nobody likes a drought but but climate change is the cause? Nah...Climate is what we expect, weather is what we get. The weather has been hot & dry.
This earth contain humans & they’re as much a part of the natural environment as the beavers that destructively dam up streams, mosquitos that transmit malaria, & rats that harbor fleas with bubonic plague. Creatures can affect the natural environment negatively (for some species) at times. But there’s nothing unnatural about that. Cold weather kills far more than hot weather every year, and CO2 enhances plant growth. Is that bad? Time to focus on adaptation & stop kidding ourselves that we are powerful and wise enough to control our climate. That’s simply arrogant.
Let's not forget that snow melt in many areas of the world contributes to river flows for much of each year. Increasingly, inflows from melt is changing significantly due to unreliable and in many cases reduced winter snowfall. Water storage levels are further reduced by increased demand for water for domestic, industrial, and agricultural purposes, especially in dry summers. Water is our most precious resource...we must use it wisely and ensure, for future generations, that we prevent runaway global warming by all possible means .
That was beautifully written!
Thank you for this very thought provoking piece, it brings tears to my eyes. You are 100% on the money. Population should be encouraged to reduce, by education not by wholesale murder with Covid drugs. You can’t cure a disease by attacking the symptoms, you have to look at the cause, which is GEC(Greed, Ego and Corruption) the basic human trait
Very good article and, of course, an inescapable conclusion: plant trees. (More to the point, plant the right trees in the right place, or allow them to regenerate naturally, and take care of them until they can take care of themselves.)
On a peripheral note: I remember reading in an old Rough Guide that wild camping in Brittany is legal, unlike most of France. I suspect this information may be out of date or just plain wrong, but here is something about when and where it is legal: https://hikeheaven.com/wild-camping-in-france/
This is a good answer. And I’m glad you’ve highlighted the need for forests and how they help regulate the water cycles. We need far more ecological education and this should start with our children. Children that (are privileged?) to spend much time in nature will hopefully grow up to continue to love and protect nature. Kids are great at seeing systems and cause and effect.
It’s important to know your local watersheds, many of which are paved over and built upon and it’s bizarre that people are surprised by flooding.