I’ve noticed some interesting, yet conflicting aspects of European culture in terms of the environment and sustainability. In many ways Europe appears to be more environmentally conscious than America. There are fewer vehicles on the road, and when you do see cars, many of them are electric (like the Tesla cars that all the guys on this trip have been infatuated with). Electric cars are better for the environment since they don’t release harmful greenhouse gas emissions that contribute to global warming. Besides cars, many Europeans take public transportation, walk, or especially in Amsterdam, bike. In the Netherlands I was honestly shocked by the number of bicycles...there are even parking garages for bikes around the city!

While the Netherlands is ahead in some respects, they are behind in others. When we took our day trip to Utrecht and Delft I noticed that a majority of the farms we passed were utilizing flood irrigation which is the most wasteful form of irrigation. Even though the Netherlands has plenty of water, that water could be used for drinking water or less reliance on aquifers instead of a wasteful way to hydrate crops. They even appeared to be using a small scale of this method at the Utrecht University greenhouse, where they had used a hose to oversaturate the soil where their tomato plants were planted. Also, there appears to be very little recycling. I don’t think I’ve seen a single recycling can on this trip.