Week 3 A Colony of Koalas
Week 3
After the snow there's nowhere to go,
I'm thinking, all I want is to go back to bed.
A few years ago I had some extra keys cut at a locksmith in Gorredijk - they were hard to come by so I was very pleased at the time...so I thought to take the lock there to see if there was anything he could do.... He took a photo of the lock and said "call me tomorrow" - to find out what sort of lock it is - there must be a database somewhere as he sent the photo away and sure enough had the answer the next day...
These two bits are supposed to slide over each other...but it gets stuck unless the key and your facial expression are in just the right place...so I took it back to the locksmith who says he can take it apart and get it moving again.
The Netherlands allocates an additional 23 million euros to Ukraine for energy support
Kyiv • UNN
The Netherlands will provide Ukraine with an additional 23 million euros for the energy sector. The funds will be used to purchase gas, repair power plants, and equipment.The allocated funds will be used to purchase natural gas and carry out urgent repairs at Ukrainian power plants. The funding also includes the supply of critical equipment from Dutch manufacturers, including industrial generators and cable products.
The number of suicides among young people under 30 is rising, reports the 113 Fund. In 2014, there were 212 suicides among teenagers and those in their twenties. Ten years later, that number had risen to 299, according to figures from Statistics Netherlands (CBS).
During that period, the number of young people also grew, but proportionally less than the number of suicides, says Renske Gilissen, professor of suicide prevention. "It fluctuates, but over the years you see the number of suicides increasing. We often hear that young people are not doing well mentally, but this is truly the worst outcome."
Men die by suicide more often than women. Yet, it's happening more and more often among young women, says Gilissen. She also says the number of self-harm cases among women is increasing.
Water Levels
I look at these every week...it started off as a boating thing - but the chap does so much research, it is now just interesting to see what he comes up with.
https://www.waterpeilen.nl/berichten/droog-weer-houdt-aan-langdurig-dalende-waterstanden
The forecasts are based on water level data upstream along the rivers, combined with rainfall data and precipitation forecasts. This makes it possible to predict water levels in the Netherlands up to about a week in advance. The further out, the less accurate the forecast becomes.Floods along the Rhine often originate in southern Germany or Switzerland and take 5 to 6 days to reach the Netherlands. The amount of water added along the way, from tributaries like the Main and the Moselle, determines the final height of the floods reaching the Netherlands. If not much water is added, it's easier to calculate the final height at Lobith than when floods are also occurring in the tributaries. The coincidence of the peaks from the various rivers plays a significant role in this case, making forecasting more difficult. I try to reflect this as accurately as possible in my forecasts.
The situation in the Ardennes is particularly important for floods in the Meuse River. Rain that falls there often reaches the Belgian-Dutch border within a day, and unlike the Rhine, a flood in the Meuse is therefore not predicted a few days in advance. Flood forecasts along the Meuse are therefore primarily based on precipitation forecasts, which are less reliable for a few days. Especially during periods of heavy rainfall, when areas of rain are constantly coming and going, it is therefore difficult to prepare an accurate forecast for the Meuse more than a few days in advance.
Information about the Rhine and Meuse river basins
The Rhine has a basin of 185,000 km² and primarily drains water from Germany and Switzerland, but also from France, Belgium, Luxembourg, Liechtenstein, Austria, and even a tiny part of Italy. The Meuse has a basin of 36,000 km² that extends across Belgium, France, Germany, and a small part of Luxembourg.
Rhine begins a prolonged decline to below 8 m.
The past week was very warm for the time of year, and the snow that fell in the first week of January has melted again in most places. Only above 800 m in the Sauerland and above 1000 m in the Vosges and the Black Forest did some snow survive the thaw. And of course in the Alps, but snow rarely thaws at higher elevations there in winter. During this thaw, there was virtually no rain, and in such a situation, the snow melts gradually.
We see this reflected in a gradual rise in the Rhine's water level over the past week, to approximately 9.3 m NAP on Saturday. If the snow had melted in combination with rain, the water level would have risen further. In that case, the snow melts in one or two days, and together with the rain, this would have caused a small surge this week. Not a major flood, but a water level of between 11.5 and 12 m would have been possible, with a discharge between 4,000 and 5,000 m³ / s.
The current level remained at 9.3 m and a discharge of 2,300 m³ / s. The highest level has now passed, and because the snow has melted in the catchment area and virtually no rain is expected for the next two weeks, the water level will drop sharply. First by about 10 cm per day for a few days, then by 15 cm per day for a while, and by the end of the month, decreasing again to 10 cm and later 5 cm per day. On Tuesday, January 20th, I expect the water level to fall below 9 m NAP (discharge 2,000 m³/s) again, and on Saturday, February 24th, below 8.5 m NAP (discharge 1,600 m³ / s). By the end of the month, around January 30th, I expect the water level to fall below 8 m NAP (discharge 1,350 m³ / s), and the decline will likely continue into the first few days of February.
These are low discharges for this time of year, as the long-term average in mid-January is between 2,700 and 3,000 m³/s. This corresponds to a water level of approximately 10 meters; meaning the peak that occurred this week was even 70 cm lower.
Chamber: do everything possible to keep DigiD data out of American hands
A majority in the House of Representatives wants the caretaker government and, later, any new government to do everything in their power to prevent Dutch DigiD data from falling into the hands of the US government. There are concerns that this could happen through an impending acquisition of Solvinity, a company essential for DigiD access.
...and again today from NOS (concludes that it is already too late)
https://nos.nl/artikel/2599601-nederland-hangt-aan-amerikaans-tech-infuus-we-zitten-in-de-houdgreep
"Our country is on life support from Trump's tech bros, and half of them are with a single brand. It's incomprehensible that this has gotten so out of hand," says Member of Parliament Barbara Kathmann of GroenLinks-PvdA, who is one of the few MPs to have made reducing digital dependence on the United States a priority.
% of public enterprises using US cloud services - including hospitals, schools, local government, doctors, pharmacies...
More of the Dutch back a social media ban for younger teenagers
A majority of people in the Netherlands would back a social media ban for teenagers under the age of 16, a survey on social media trends has shown.
Some 63% of the 6,685 respondents would favour a ban, up 6% compared to last year. However, support for a ban grew most among 16 to 28-year-olds – from 44% to 60%.
According to Newcom, which conducted the survey, 2.6 million of the 14.6 million people in the Netherlands who are active on social media platforms such as WhatsApp, Facebook and TikTok, feel less happy because of it, compared to 2.4 million last year.
Just over seven million people think that scrolling, liking and sharing messages on social media threaten mental health.
Newcom director Neil van der Veer said side effects from social media use are multiplying. “It is having a major impact on mental health and loneliness is also a growing problem,” he told broadcaster NOS.
Van der Veer said no single social media platform is responsible for the detrimental effect on mental health. However, the more time spent on social media, the unhappier people become, he said.
The findings also show that, contrary to popular opinion, young people are not opposed to rules around social media use, Van der Veer said. “The figures show an enormous shift in one year. This is the generation that has the experience. They see the dangers most clearly,” he said.
The most common reasons for supporting a ban are the fact that children are unable to cope with the negative effects, as well as the pressure to go online and exposure to inappropriate content.
The main argument against a ban is that children also learn social skills via social media.
Floor van Bakkum, from the Jellinek addiction clinic, said addiction to social media use in the Netherlands is rare. “Many people have trouble limiting their use but not to the extent that they need addiction treatment,” she said.
Van Bakkum said she does support preventative measures such as banning phones from classrooms.
Australia
Australia recently introduced a social media ban for the under-16s, with fines for platforms in breach of the rules of up to €28 million. Britain and some EU countries as well as the European Commission, are contemplating a similar ban.
Message app Snapchat recently settled out of court with a 19-year-old American woman over claims the app caused her to become addicted, damaging her mental health. She has also started legal action against Meta social media companies Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp and others.
These cases are ongoing. Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg is expected to testify in the upcoming trial shortly.
Comments
Post a Comment