The Dutch Railway system has been working towards a magnificent goal, calculated to be achieved by 2018. They plan to run all trains entirely on wind power, without any use of fossil fuels. This change has already began to be introduced, as fewer and fewer trains use fossil fuels. Today, already half of the trains operate on wind power and in three years’ time, the number will have gone up to a 100%, if all goes according to plan.
The Railway company and power suppliers agreed on a contract to use solely renewable energy by 2018. And the Dutch will make sure that this goal will be achieved, as in the past, they had no problem suing their government for not meeting a goal they had set as far as greenhouse gas emissions were concerned. The government had promised that the gas emission would be reduced by 2020 to 75% of the 1990 levels. This goal now seem to be far fetched, as they now anticipate that what they will have managed will be only the 83%.
If the Dutch succeed in transforming the way their railway runs, the level of gas emissions will be positively affected. Part of the signed agreement states that the wind power for the operation of the railway system cannot be extracted from existing wind power sources. This means that they will have to develop new technology for the production of wind power, rather that reassign how the existing wind power is distributed across the country.
Another way to tackle pollution caused by public transport is developed in China, who is one of the worst polluters worldwide. China is currently developping the first hydrogen powered trams. The US are building their own wind farms, but have not yet tackled the problem of eco friendly locomotion.
A lot of work has yet to be done for the preservation of our environment, but the Netherlands show us a new, hopeful way to go.
By Jonah Winter, Truth Inside Of You.
