Jazz Jackrabbit 2 Online

Interview with Jorie, 16, Baarn, The Netherlands
(20-11-2005)

NASA-reports state that till year 2100 the global average temperature will be 1,4-5,8 C higher than today. When the temperature has risen more than 2 C the glaciers on Greenland will begin melting, and if the temperature increases even more, the melting will rapidly become an unstoppable process. In the end the global water level would be 7 metres higher than today. How would this affect you personally, your city and your country? Would you have to move? Anyone you know would have to move perhaps?
“Many people in the netherlands has to move. Actually, half of the people has to move. City’s like Den Haag, Rotterdam, Amsterdam and Leeuwarden (main city’s) will totally disappear. Whole parts of The Netherlands will disappear. Big and crowded parts like Zuid Holland and Noord Holland will be swallowed by the sea pretty fast. A total amount of about 8 million people will have to move out of these areas. You can also put “Utrecht” at the cities. It’s about 5 meters above the sea level.”
“We all have to move.. I personally think leaving the Netherlands would be the best. It’s too dangerous to actually stay here. If only anything would go wrong at this time, if the waterwalls would break, I’d see the sea out of my window, since mayor parts of the Netherlands is under the current waterlevel. Its kind of scary. Most of my friends live in the ‘dangerous’ areas too. Only a few live on higher ground. “

Where would you prefer moving?
“The USA to live with my girlfriend?! Well, seriously… I would leave this country. If like.. 80% of the 8 million people who has to move, wouldn’t leave the country, the rest of the netherlands would be over crowded. Imagine! Fourteen million people living on a piece of land that is about 300 km long, and 60 km wide.”

Would you accept being forced to move to some place that your government chose? For example wide, unused areas in Sweden or Russia? Or rather, would it be just to force people to move, for their own good, eventhough they don’t wanna leave their homes? Would your gouvernment be allowed to do that if they feel they can no longer guarentee your safety within the borders of the Netherlands? How do you think they should handle such a situation?
“Forcing people to leave the areas is good, but don’t force them to go to some country they don’t know. It should be their own choice. Most of the people know where they can go. Some people will always stay behind. That’s like…. New Orleans – a hurricane came over it, one of the waterwalls broke, and a whole lake was formed in the city itself. The water level was higher than 6 meters over the normal in some parts of the city. I think it should be people’s own responsibility, if something bad happens to them. But, it still is a bad situation. You can’t force all the people to leave, some people will always stay behind. If the situation really gets out of hand, they could always temporarily place some people in an area. But I still think that it should be close to the Netherlands – like Germany or Belgium. Dutch people know that language too. “

Do you think Belgians would accept you into their country? I talked to a girl named Leen, and she said that she would have a laugh at seeing the Netherlands go bad after all of the bullying they’ve made to her as a Belgian.
“Haha, you asked my ex-girlfriend about this! I don’t think she was being serious, really. Belgians are stupid, but nice, good people. They would let us into their country. We are free to go there, you know. The Netherlands and Belgium both are in the EU.”

Finally, would you consider moving to Sweden if the Netherlands got fucked?
“Uhm, not really. Too cold, and I don’t know the language either. I’d prefer going to a country where they speak German or English.”

Heh, well then… Thanks a lot for letting me steal some of your precious time. I hope we will meet again next summer!
“No problem, and yes I hope so too!”