From 2026 hybrid heat pumps should be the norm, says minister

DutchNews, May 17, 2022 

Hybrid heat pumps should become the standard replacement for gas-fired central heating systems from 2026, housing ministerHugo de Jonge said on Tuesday. 

The minister said the deadline was intended to give suppliers, installation companies and property owners clarity about the new situation because ‘the need to become more energy efficient is high and the speed [at which this is being done] must be increased’. 

Households could also opt to switch to the municipal heating network if their local council has set one up, or install a fully electric heat pump if they have the right kind of insulation. 

There will ‘of course’ be an exception for property which is not suitable for heat pumps or district heating schemes, De Jonge said in his briefing to MPs. Steps are also being taken to boost both the number of engineers and the production of heat pumps in the Netherlands.

Heating system suppliers have warned in the past there is a shortage of skilled workers to install the new systems. 

Air 

A hybrid heat pump is a combination of a heat pump, which stores warm air or water, and a central heating boiler and their use leads to an average 60% saving on natural gas consumption, the ministry says. 

In well-insulated homes, it may also be possible to switch directly to a fully electric heat pump, which uses no natural gas at all. 

The government is setting aside €150 million a year in subsidies to help home owners pay for the change, and low income households will also be able to borrow the money at a zero interest rate from special fund. The maximum subsidy available will be up to 30% of the cost.

Targets 

The Dutch government has pledged to ensure all homes in the country are gas free in 2050, aiming for 2,000 in the first two years and building up to 1.5 million homes by 2030. 

Dutch home owners association Vereningen Eigen Huis says the cost of installing a hybrid heat pump is currently up to around €6000 but could be as much as €20,000 for a fully electric pump. 

Insulation 

The VEH, which supports the switch, said three things will be crucial in ensuring the success of the project.

‘It must be affordable, there must be enough capacity in terms of people and equipment, and house owners must be given the right advice about what sort of system to install,’ a spokesman told broadcaster NOS. 

In addition, the property must be properly insulated and that means insulated roofs, floors and walls and at least double glazing, the spokesman said. Those costs will come on top of the cost of the new heating system. 

The Telegraaf points out that the equipment also takes up more space than a traditional boiler and has an outside element which can cause noise issues for neighbours. Properties also may need to add in extra or larger radiators. 

Sector lobby group Techniek Nederland estimates two million of the eight million homes in the Netherlands are currently suitable for hybrid systems.

Dutch stop subsidising heat generation by burning wood chips

 DutchNews, April 23, 2022 

Ministers have agreed to immediately stop giving subsidies for the use of biomass, or wood chips, to generate heat for city heating schemes and greenhouses, the economic affairs ministry has confirmed. 

Dutch biomass plants, which are supposed to help comply with EU climate goals, have been given billions of euros in subsidies in the last few years. They have, however, become deeply controversial because of longer-term damage to the environment. 

‘Organic raw materials play an important role in achieving a climate-neutral and circular economy,’ climate minister Rob Jetten said in a statement. ‘They are also crucial in becoming less dependent on fossil fuels… at the same time, the government is aware of the concerns.’ 

The government, he said, would approve the use of sustainable bio-based raw materials where they make the greatest contribution to sustainability and where alternatives are limited. 

This includes bioconcrete, paint based on bio-based raw, green gas as a replacement for natural gas, or as a fuel for heavy road transport, aviation and maritime shipping. 

Pollution 

In July 2020, the Dutch government’s senior advisory body SER recommended that subsidies for the use of biomass in power stations be phased out quickly. 

However, the Dutch environmental assessment agency PBL says the use of biomass may be unavoidable if the Netherlands is to meet the EU targets. 

Without using biomass, the Netherlands will have to install wind turbines and solar panels more quickly than it is currently doing, and other difficult choices will have to be made, the PBL said. 

The use of biomass, such as wood chips, as a fuel generated an extra 19 megatons in carbon dioxide emissions in 2020, according to calculations by national statistics agency CBS. 

The Netherlands has also been under fire for importing wood chips from the US and the Baltic states to burn in power plants.

Green energy usage topped oil and gas for the first time last week

DutchNews, April 11, 2022 

Photo: DutchNews.nl

More than half the energy used in the Netherlands last week came from renewable sources for the first time, according to website Energieopwek.nl, an alliance between gas company Gasunie and national grid groups Tennet and Netbeheer Nederland. 

Almost 54% of the energy used last week was officially classed as green although 10% of the total was generated by biomass, which campaign groups do not always consider to be sustainable. Solar power accounted for 11% and wind energy 31%. 

Although the number of wind turbines and solar panels in the Netherlands has expanded considerably, last week’s windy, yet sunny, weather also had a major role in the record-breaking week. 

The use of biomass, or organic material, is controversial because the Netherlands imports large quantities of wood chips from abroad to burn in power stations.

EU plans to ban food imports from deforested areas

Yahoo – AFP, November 17, 2021 

Deforestation in regions like the Amazon has Europeans worried (AFP/
CARL DE SOUZA)

The EU plans to bar food and wood imports from deforested areas, according to a proposal unveiled Wednesday aimed at using its trade power to drive sustainability. 

The draft law, which Brussels wants to turn into binding rules for all 27 European Union nations, would require companies show their soy, beef, palm oil, cocoa, coffee and wood products are certified "deforestation-free". 

It follows an international pledge made at the COP26 summit last week to end deforestation by 2030. 

"This proposal is a truly ground-breaking one," the EU commissioner for climate action policy, Virginijus Sinkevicius, told a media conference. 

"It targets not just illegal deforestation but also deforestation driven by agricultural expansion," he said. 

Under the EU plan, two criteria would have to be met: that the commodities are produced in accordance with the origin country's laws; and that they were not produced on land deforested or degraded since the beginning of 2021. 

Imports from higher-risk countries would be subject to tighter checks. 

The European Commission did not say when it hoped to have the new legislation adopted. 

The rules could impact countries such as Brazil, where European disquiet at razing of the Amazon rainforest by cattle farmers is holding up implementation of an EU-Mercosur trade deal. 

Clearing of the Amazon hit a new record last month, according to Brazil's National Institute for Space Research. 

The environmental protection group WWF says the huge EU market is responsible for 16 percent of global deforestation linked to international trade. 

It and other NGOs welcome the EU plan as a first step, but say it does not go far enough. Greenpeace says it does not address deforestation from other commodities such as rubber and maize, or from pig and poultry farming. 

Waste and soil 

Other sustainability proposals presented alongside the anti-deforestation rules were on waste management and improving the health of soils. 

"These initiatives show that the European Union is serious about the green transition and just keeps moving forward with it," said the Commission vice president in charge of overseeing the EU's Green Deal, Frans Timmermans. 

On waste, the Commission wants to see "circular economy" principles attached to the way it sends abroad its millions of tonnes of discarded metals, cardboard, plastic, textiles and other detritus. 

Waste exports to non-OECD countries would be restricted and allowed only if those destinations agree and were able to handle them sustainably. Currently the two top destinations for EU waste in that category are Turkey and India. 

Shipments to OECD countries would be monitored and suspended if grave environmental problems arose. Those destinations include Britain, Switzerland and Norway. 

The soil strategy aims for a mix of voluntary and mandatory measures to increase soil carbon in farmland and fight desertification, to get soil ecosystems healthy by 2050.

ExxonMobil, Chevron investors vote for more action on climate change

Yahoo – AFP, John BIERS, May 26, 2021

Shareholders of ExxonMobil will decide whether to replace up to four board
members with supporters of renewable energy investment

Shareholders at ExxonMobil elected Wednesday at least two board members who pledged more aggressive action on climate change, while Chevron investors directed the oil giant to deepen emission cuts. 

The dual meetings involving the two biggest US oil giants showed clear evidence of how addressing climate change has moved from the environmental world into the investor mainstream. 

At ExxonMobil, two board nominees from activist group Engine No. 1 won enough votes to secure board seats. Shareholders also backed a proposal requiring a report on the oil giant's lobbying activities on climate change. 

At Chevron, a majority of investors backed an activist proposal calling on the company to reduce "scope 3" emissions associated with company operations. 

Earlier Wednesday, a Dutch court ordered oil giant Shell to slash its greenhouse gas emissions by a net of 45 percent by the end of 2030 following a challenge launched by environmental group Friends of the Earth. 

Engine No. 1's Gregory Goff and Kaisa Hietala secured enough votes to join ExxonMobil's board, along with Chief Executive Darren Woods and several other incumbent directors who were reelected, said ExxonMobil corporate secretary Stephen Littleton. 

Littleton said the vote was too close to call on whether the other two Engine No. 1 candidates would join the board instead of incumbent directors and that a final outcome may not be known "for some period of time." 

After the results were announced, Woods congratulated the Engine No. 1 candidates and pledged to work with them to meet shareholder expectations. The company had launched a lobbying offensive to re-elect its incumbent board, arguing it was taking meaningful action to address climate change. 

"We've heard from shareholders about their desire to catalyze further progress at ExxonMobil and we are well prepared to deliver," Woods said after the vote. 

'Change is coming' 

ExxonMobil had announced a series of steps on climate change since Engine No. 1 launched its campaign in late 2020, making Wednesday's election contest unpredictable. 

Engine No. 1's Charlie Penner expressed uncertainty about the vote during remarks at the outset of the meeting. 

"No matter what the outcome of this vote, change is coming," said Penner, who noted ExxonMobil's promises made since the insurgent campaign launched late last year that it "cannot easily walk away from." 

The oil company in January established a new "low carbon solutions" business to commercialize carbon capture technology; announced two new board members in March; and earlier this week pledged to appoint two more board members in the next 12 months, one with energy industry experience and one with climate experience. 

ExxonMobil has battled annual meeting fights on climate change for decades, usually prevailing on shareholder resolutions. 

But oil majors are under intensifying pressure to develop more aggressive policies on climate change and embrace renewable energy. 

European rivals such as BP, Royal Dutch Shell and Total have undertaken renewable investments and pledged to attain net-zero carbon emissions by 2050. 

The International Energy Agency earlier this month said all future fossil fuel projects should be scrapped if the world is to reach net-zero carbon emissions by 2050 and stand any chance of limiting warming to 1.5C. 

The report goes well beyond existing policies adopted by the United States and other governments. The Biden administration, for example, has endorsed renewable energy investment, but has not supported an immediate phase-out of new fossil fuel investment. 

Both ExxonMobil and Chevron have announced new environmental initiatives in recent months, while insisting on the need for continued investment in oil and gas development. 

Woods called the recent IEA analysis a "helpful" contribution, saying reducing emissions is a "complex problem and a challenging one" that will require new technology and government policies. 

Shares of ExxonMobil rose 0.7 percent to $58.65 in afternoon trading, while Chevron was flat to $103.85.

Related Article:

Shell ordered to slash CO2 emissions more quickly in landmark court case

Shell ordered to cut emissions in landmark Dutch climate case

Yahoo – AFP, Danny KEMP, May 26, 2021 

Environmentalists celebrate after The Hague court announced the landmark ruling

A Dutch court ordered oil giant Shell on Wednesday to slash its greenhouse gas emissions in a landmark victory for climate activists with implications for energy firms worldwide. 

Shell must reduce its carbon emissions by 45 percent by 2030 as it is contributing to the "dire" effects of climate change, the district court in The Hague ruled. 

Campaigners hailed the "historic" verdict as the first time that a company had been made to align its policy with the 2015 Paris climate accords. 

Dubbed "the People versus Shell", the case was backed by seven environmental groups and more than 17,000 Dutch citizens. 

Judge Larisa Alwin said in the verdict that Anglo-Dutch multinational Shell has an "enormous CO2 emission for which it is responsible".

 Shell "is contributing to the dire consequences of climate change for the population" and must implement the decision "at once". 

Shell said it "fully expects to appeal today's disappointing court decision". 

"Urgent action is needed on climate change which is why we have accelerated our efforts to become a net-zero emissions energy company by 2050, in step with society," a Shell spokesman said in a statement. 

With energy firms around the world facing growing pressure over climate change, Shell set new targets in February to reduce its net carbon footprint compared to a 2016 baseline by 20 percent by 2030, 45 percent by 2035 and 100 percent by 2050. 

Shell must reduce its carbon emissions by 45 percent by 2030, the Dutch court ruled

'Historical day' 

Dozens of campaigners hugged, clapped and shouted "climate justice" outside the court as the verdict was announced, an AFP reporter said. 

In a show of solidarity, a group of around 50 Dutch cyclists had also cycled from the north of the Netherlands to mark the judgment. 

"This is a historical day," said Donald Pols, director of the Dutch branch of Friends of the Earth, which originally brought the case. 

"It's the first time in history that the judge has decided that a large polluter, Royal Dutch Shell, should stop causing dangerous climate change," Pols told AFP outside the court. 

"This will have an enormous impact, not only on Shell itself, but on major polluters throughout the Netherlands and globally." 

The 2015 Paris accords committed all nations to cut carbon emissions to limit warming to two degrees Celsius (3.6 Fahrenheit) above pre-industrial levels and encouraged them to go down to 1.5 degrees. 

Greenpeace Netherlands interim chief Andy Palmen said it was a "historic victory for the climate and everyone facing the consequences of the climate crisis." 

"Shell cannot continue to violate human rights and put profit over people and the planet... We can hold multinational corporations worldwide accountable for the climate crisis," he said in a statement. 

The case is one of a series around the world in which citizens and campaigners frustrated with inaction on climate change have hauled governments and big polluters before the courts. 

The judge acknowledged that Shell had 'already tightened up its goals' but said 
its climate policy was not 'concrete'

'Full of reservations' 

Dozens of climate marchers handed in the lawsuit to Shell's headquarters in the Netherlands in The Hague in April 2019 in what organisers said was the first case of its kind. 

Shell had argued that it is making serious efforts to cut gas emissions, but that there is no legal basis for the case and that governments are responsible for meeting Paris targets. 

It said it was investing billions of dollars in low-carbon energy such as electric vehicle charging, hydrogen, renewables and biofuels. 

The judge acknowledged that Shell had "already tightened up its goals" but said its climate policy was "not concrete and is full of reservations." 

Shell's emissions were "greater than those of many countries" and the resulting climate change effects pose "serious risks to human rights, such as the right to life and an undisturbed family life," the judge said. 

She ordered Shell to make the emissions cut based on its 2019 levels. 

Campaigners have repeated the success of a case brought by the green group Urgenda in which the Dutch Supreme Court in 2019 ordered the state to slash emissions by at least 25 percent of 1990 levels by the end of 2020. 

The Netherlands, particularly vulnerable to climate change as a third of the country is below sea level, has pledged to reduce CO2 emissions by 49 percent by 2030. 

It is sixth biggest emitter of greenhouse gases per capita in the EU, according to the bloc's figures.

 Related Article:

Appeal court upholds Urgenda ruling – government must cut CO2 by 25%

Dutch government to appeal court ruling on emissions cuts

Dutch government ordered to cut carbon emissions in landmark ruling

Urgenda supporters celebrate at the Hague after court ruling requiring Dutch 

government to slash emissions. Photograph: Chantal Bekker/Urgenda

Unilever's makeover: 'Woke-washing' or the real thing

Jakarta Post – AFP, Sara Magniette, The Hague, Netherlands, October 19, 2020

A picture taken on June 5, 2015 shows the logo of Unilever at the
headquarters in Rotterdam. (AFP/John Thys) 

Unilever, the maker of brands ranging from Ben & Jerry's ice cream to Dove soap, is trying to win over customers with a socially responsible makeover, but activists say that some of it is just cosmetic. 

The Anglo-Dutch consumer giant has introduced a series of initiatives aimed at making it, in its own words, the world's most sustainable company, while also taking a position on issues such as racism. 

The firm, which releases third quarter results this week, has recently promised to halve its use of plastic by 2025, eliminate the use of fossil fuels in cleaning products by 2030, and achieve carbon neutrality by 2039. 

But the multinational behind Marmite yeast spread, Lipton tea and Knorr soups is "still a big polluter", says Meike Rijksen, campaigner for plastic at Greenpeace Netherlands. 

"We recognize that Unilever is doing more than most companies, but it is by far not enough," she told AFP. 

Unilever remains the fourth biggest producer of plastics polluting the planet, behind Coca-Cola, Nestle and Pepsico, according to a report in 2019 by Break Free from Plastics, a global coalition of NGOs. 

Greenpeace urged the firm to invest in renewable materials across its activities and to eliminate single-use plastics. 

Read also: Unilever to drop fossil fuels from cleaning products by 2030 

'Take action' 

Unilever has argued that "responsible" corporate behavior is good business, since it will attract young, more environmentally-conscious customers. 

"We make sure that our brands take action on the issues that consumers care about," Marlous den Bieman, media relations manager for Unilever Benelux, told AFP. 

Chief executive Alan Jope has himself said that "woke-washing is beginning to infect our industry", warning against companies promising action on social and environmental causes without following through. 

Unilever was one of the first major firms to joint a boycott on advertising on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram in the US until the end of 2020 due to the "polarized election period" there. 

That same month Unilever said its Indian and Bangladeshi arms would rename their locally marketed "Fair & Lovely" skin-lightening cream in the face of the global "Black Lives Matter" protests. 

Meanwhile the group has also been adding some more "green" to its stable of 400 brands. 

It has recently bought the eco-friendly US detergent maker The Laundress and the Dutch "vegetarian butcher" De Vegetarische Slager. 

"Climate action is mainstreaming, and companies prioritizing it today can gain a competitive advantage," said Steven Tebbe of CDP, a London-based organization which runs a platform for companies and cities to share environmental information. 

Read also: Unilever, rivals mull changes amid globalbacklash against skin-lightening products

 'Broken system' 

"Not only consumers, but also investors and big corporate buyers are increasingly expecting companies to be transparent and take more urgent responsibility for their environmental impacts," Tebbe told AFP. 

Unilever has also announced a zero-deforestation policy and a "responsible" method of choosing suppliers for meat, palm oil and soya, three products notorious for contributing to the problem. 

"Their commitment to environmental disclosure and ambitious emissions target shows that climate action is deeply integrated into their overall strategy," Tebbe said. 

Greenpeace, however, feared that Unilever was effectively "greenwashing" its image. 

"Their whole business model is still based on environmental destruction. In the meantime, they are being praised internationally for their action on sustainability -- that is worrying," said Meike Rijksen. 

As one of the world's biggest producers of food and consumer goods, Unilever had to set a genuine example in bringing about a "fundamental change in the broken system." 

"They can and they should take this responsibility," added Rijksen.

New corporate initiatives aim for carbon neutrality

Yahoo – AFP, July 21, 2020

Apple is stepping up its efforts on climate change, with a pledge to be carbon 
neutral across its entire business by 2030 (AFP Photo/Emmanuel DUNAND)

New York (AFP) - Nine global corporations unveiled an initiative Tuesday to step up efforts to move to a "net zero" carbon emissions society, while Apple announced its own plan to be carbon neutral by 2030.

A new coalition including US-based Microsoft, Germany's Mercedes-Benz AG, France's Danone and Anglo-Dutch Unilever aims to "develop and deliver research, guidance, and implementable roadmaps to enable all businesses to achieve net zero emissions," according to a statement by the group.

The initiative, known as Transform to Net Zero, aims to help businesses achieve zero emissions no later than 2050.

"Over the past decade, many businesses have committed to net zero targets. It is now time to accelerate the actions needed to achieve this essential goal," said Aron Cramer, president of the nonprofit consultancy BSR, which will serve as the secretariat for the initiative.

"We are now in a decisive decade, in which we must urgently decarbonize the economy, if we are to stave off the worst impacts of climate change."

Other founding members of the coalition include the Danish shipping giant Maersk, Brazilian personal care firm Natura & Co, US-based Starbucks and Nike, India-based tech firm Wipro and the nonprofit Environmental Defense Fund.

"The gap between where we are on climate change and where we need to be continues to widen," said Fred Krupp, president of Environmental Defense Fund.

"This new initiative holds tremendous potential for closing these gaps. Especially if other businesses follow in the coalition's footsteps."

Apple goes green

Apple meanwhile said in a separate announcement it would become carbon neutral by 2030 for all its operations including manufacturing.

The California tech giant, which is already carbon neutral for its corporate operations, said the move would mean no climate impact for all its devices sold.

As part of an environmental update, Apple said it plans to reduce emissions by 75 percent by 2030 while developing "innovative carbon removal solutions" for the remaining 25 percent of its comprehensive footprint.

This includes investing in projects to restore savannas in Kenya and a mangrove ecosystem in Colombia to remove or store carbon.

"Businesses have a profound opportunity to help build a more sustainable future, one born of our common concern for the planet we share," said Apple chief executive Tim Cook.

"Climate action can be the foundation for a new era of innovative potential, job creation, and durable economic growth."

Apple said it has commitments from over 70 suppliers to use 100 percent renewable energy for Apple production.

As part of the effort, Apple will also establish an "accelerator" fund to invest in minority-owned businesses to contribute to the initiative, as part of its $100 million commitment to promote racial equity and justice.

Back clean energy post-virus, UN chief urges leaders

Yahoo - AFP, July 9, 2020

Guterres urged governments to make climate-friendlier action a condition for
bailing out airlines and others (AFP Photo/KARIM SAHIB)

Paris (AFP) - United Nations chief Antonio Guterres on Thursday urged world leaders to favour clean energy solutions as they pour money into their economies to save them from a coronavirus-induced meltdown.

Governments should exit coal, stop subsidising other fossil fuels, and pressure polluting industries to clean up their act in exchange for bailing them out, the UN Secretary-General told an International Energy Agency conference by video link.

"Today I would like to urge all leaders to choose the clean energy route for three vital reasons -- health, science and economics," Guterres said.

"Bailout support to sectors such as industry, aviation and shipping should be conditioned on alignment with the goals of the Paris Agreement," he said, referring to the 2015 treaty that commits signatories to capping global warming at 2 degrees above pre-industrial levels.

"We need to stop wasting money on fossil fuel subsidies and place a price on carbon," Guterres said, adding that "coal has no place in COVID-19 recovery plans".

He also called on investors "to demand that companies reveal transition plans to reach net zero emissions" and said that renewables offered "three times more jobs than the fossil fuel industry".

Governments across the world have pledged unprecedented sums to support their economies to cope with the fallout from COVID-19, with many politicians and NGOs calling for green policies to become an integral part of the spending plans.

The European Parliament, for example, has urged EU governments to put "the green deal at the core" of their proposed 750-billion-euro recovery plan.

In Germany, where the government has agreed to rescue flagship airline Lufthansa, the environment minister said that climate-friendlier policies by the airline would be part of the deal.

In neighbouring Austria, the government made "necessary measures in terms of climate protection" a condition for bailing out Austrian Airlines.

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Big Oil confronts possibility of terminal demand decline

“Afraid of Love” + “What’s Wrong Today”, Laguna Hills, California, US(2), Dec 9, 2018 (Kryon Channelling by Lee Carroll)

• Stagnation of the current US Politics: Compassioned (US) leaders will arise in the future
• Shortage of fresh/drinking water: Invention to make salt from salt water magnetic and remove it with water desalination process in high volumes
• Pollution on Earth: 1 - Stop killing the environment! / 2 - The rise of temperature on Earth is “temporary” and is part of the "regular" Watercycle.
• Replacement of current fossil energy source: Use of magnetics based (small/big) engines to produces electricity / free energy
• Plastic pollution in the oceans: Invention to remove the plastics gradually from the oceans

20TH KRYON SUMMER LIGHT CONFERENCE, US (7), June 2-4, 2017 (Kryon Channelling by Lee Carroll) (Text version "The State of the Earth")

"....  A mini ice age is coming. "Kryon, isn't that doom for the planet?"  Many have seen the artist's rendering of major earth cities under ice and all of the other things that go very well with science fiction movies. That's simply a painting of someone's doom scenario, not reality based in the history of the cycle. If you want to know what a mini ice age is like, just flash back in history and study what took place in about 1650. That was a mini ice age. Due to the change in the Gulf Stream (the ocean), the river Thames froze in London. Dear ones, it was cold, but it did not doom the planet. That's a mini ice age.

That's what you're facing, and I'll say it again. If you live in a cold climate, heed this advice: It's going to get colder. Get off the grid! Within the next 15 years, find a way of producing electricity independently or in smaller groups. This can be done neighborhood-wide or separately in homes. You're going to need this, dear ones, because the grid as it exists right now all over the world is not prepared for this coming cold, and the grid will fail. That's not doom and gloom, that's just practical, commonly known information. Your electricity infrastructure is delicate, too delicate. Prepare for a cold spell that may last for a couple of decades. That's all it is. Technology is racing forward to allow this. Don't let your politics get in the way of your survival. ..."

"...  This is controversial. The planet can't just "change the water". It does it instead with a "reboot of life in the ocean" using the water cycle. Watch for evidence of this as it occurs, and then remember this channel. This weather cycle is to refresh the life in the ocean so that everyone on the planet will have needed food from the ocean. Gaia does this by itself, has done it before, and it does it for a reason - so it will not stagnate.

Dear ones, indeed, you have put compromising things into the air and the water, but it has not caused this cycle. We have said for a very long time, stop killing the environment! The reason? It's going to kill you, not Gaia. Gaia is spectacularly resilient and will survive anything you do. However, it is you who may not survive if you continue polluting. All this is starting to change with your awareness, and you're starting to see this and move with it. But Humans are not causing the current weather shift. This will be known eventually.

What is happening has happened before, and it's almost like a reboot for the oceans and it carries a lot of dichotomous events. You're going to see reports of a dying ocean, but at the same time you're going to see unusual reports of too many fish and other sea life in places that were supposed to have a decline. You're going to see the life cycle of the ocean itself start to change and reboot.

The chief player in this renewal is a place you would not expect: Antarctica. I want you to watch for magic in Antarctica. It has always been the core of the refreshing of microbes and other kinds of life in your oceans and it's especially active during these mini ice ages. The process will cause currents under the sea to be filled with new life, delivering it to both hemispheres almost like an under-sea conveyor belt. ..."

"Recalibration of Free Choice"– Mar 3, 2012 (Kryon Channelling by Lee Caroll) - (Subjects: (Old) Souls, Midpoint on 21-12-2012, Shift of Human Consciousness, Black & White vs. Color, 1 - Spirituality (Religions) shifting, Loose a Pope “soon”, 2 - Humans will change react to drama, 3 - Civilizations/Population on Earth, 4 - Alternate energy sources (Geothermal, Tidal (Paddle wheels), Wind), 5 – Financials Institutes/concepts will change (Integrity – Ethical) , 6 - News/Media/TV to change, 7 – Big Pharmaceutical company will collapse “soon”, (Keep people sick), (Integrity – Ethical) 8 – Wars will be over on Earth, Global Unity, … etc.) - (Text version)

“… 4 - Energy (again)

The natural resources of the planet are finite and will not support the continuation of what you've been doing. We've been saying this for a decade. Watch for increased science and increased funding for alternate ways of creating electricity (finally). Watch for the very companies who have the most to lose being the ones who fund it. It is the beginning of a full realization that a change of thinking is at hand. You can take things from Gaia that are energy, instead of physical resources. We speak yet; again about geothermal, about tidal, about wind. Again, we plead with you not to over-engineer this. For one of the things that Human Beings do in a technological age is to over-engineer simple things. Look at nuclear - the most over-engineered and expensive steam engine in existence!

Your current ideas of capturing energy from tidal and wave motion don't have to be technical marvels. Think paddle wheel on a pier with waves, which will create energy in both directions [waves coming and going] tied to a generator that can power dozens of neighborhoods, not full cities. Think simple and decentralize the idea of utilities. The same goes for wind and geothermal. Think of utilities for groups of homes in a cluster. You won't have a grid failure if there is no grid. This is the way of the future, and you'll be more inclined to have it sooner than later if you do this, and it won't cost as much…

Water

We've told you that one of the greatest natural resources of the planet, which is going to shift and change and be mysterious to you, is fresh water. It's going to be the next gold, dear ones. So, we have also given you some hints and examples and again we plead: Even before the potentials of running out of it, learn how to desalinate water in real time without heat. It's there, it's doable, and some already have it in the lab. This will create inexpensive fresh water for the planet. 

There is a change of attitude that is starting to occur. Slowly you're starting to see it and the only thing getting in the way of it are those companies with the big money who currently have the old system. That's starting to change as well. For the big money always wants to invest in what it knows is coming next, but it wants to create what is coming next within the framework of what it has "on the shelf." What is on the shelf is oil, coal, dams, and non-renewable resource usage. It hasn't changed much in the last 100 years, has it? Now you will see a change of free choice. You're going to see decisions made in the boardrooms that would have curled the toes of those two generations ago. Now "the worst thing they could do" might become "the best thing they could do." That, dear ones, is a change of free choice concept. When the thinkers of tomorrow see options that were never options before, that is a shift. That was number four.”

THE RELATIONSHIP TO GAIA - April 2010 (Kryon channelled by Lee Carroll)

New Mini Ice Age

"The weather you have today, and all the alarming attributes of it, is a scenario of what was scheduled to happen on Earth anyway. I review again that the weather changes you are seeing prophesied by myself, 21 years ago, are not a surprise. The changes are not caused by the pollutants you put in the air. You call it global warming and that's a nice phrase, and perhaps that will get you to put less pollutants in the air – a very good thing. But what you are seeing in the weather shift today was not caused by Humans putting things into the air. It would have happened anyway in about 300 years."

"We've called this process the water cycle, since it's all about water, not about air. The water is the predominant attribute of Gaia and of the weather cycle you're seeing. More predominant is the temperature of it. The cycle is ice to water and water to ice, and has been repeated on this planet over and over and over. It is not new. It is not exceptional. It is not frightening. But it's a cycle that modern humanity has not seen before, and it's a long cycle that is beyond the life span of a Human Being. Therefore, it tends to be overlooked or not seen at all !"

"In the days of the Lemurians, the water level of the Pacific Ocean was almost 400 feet lower, and that's only 50,000 years ago. [Kryon invites science to check this out – the water level at that time.] That was a water cycle working, and the reason it was lower was due to so much of the water being stored as ice. Today you're going through another water cycle that will eventually lead to cooling. The last one was in the 1400s."

"Science sees that at about 1650. As mentioned, they are so slow there is no remembrance that a Human has of them except in past writings and in the rings of the trees. The time span of the changes is so great that environmental record keeping does not exist in the form that it does today. But you can still look at the rings of the trees and at the striations of the rocks and can generally figure out that a few hundred years ago, you had a mini-ice age. Now you're going to have another one."