How do you make people care as much about the world — even a fraction of how much you care?

An answer to this question on Quora.

What I would like to see is more positivity. Right now, we see melting ice caps, drowning polar bears, factories blowing plumes of smoke into the atmosphere. And the more you read about the climate problem, the more distressful you get. We hear that the economy must shrink, and that we need showering shorter. That’s not all fun. Even in victories we look for the downsides, by stating the new agreements aren’t enough to prevent drastic climate change. We get it, but in this respect, the reporting on climate chance is like visiting your dentist: no matter how you brush, it’s always wrong.

Instead, can’t we focus on the dream, instead of the nightmare? You know, to walk barefoot in the grass, having rustling leaves over your head. See white beaches with blue water, snowy peaks above dark green forests. If we’re ever to inspire people, the love for a healthy planet should be the message. As Wubbo Ockels once said: “If you love something deeply, you’ll do everything to protect it.”

Latest

Travel plugs

Travel plugs

In our new house, many appliances still get their power through a travel adapter. Eight years in China was long enough to not only put down roots and settle in, but also for everything we owned to end in a Chinese plug: my MacBook, the coffee machine, the rice cooker, the baby monitor. The appliances […]
September 21, 2026
Twenty-three years

Twenty-three years

In June we moved back to the Netherlands, six suitcases across 8000 kilometres, and after a brief spell at my parents’ place, we moved into our own home. This second move also involved putting down carpet, curtains, buying appliances and furniture — so that our new garage quickly filled with cardboard boxes and other packaging […]
August 29, 2026
Searching for meadows

Searching for meadows

Our new home in the Netherlands sits in a mundane residential area full of young families like ours. The street name comes from made (‘meadow’), still referring to a field that once lay here and now survives only in the name (just how the name Shanghai refers to a river that no longer exists). And […]
August 5, 2026
How to get a job in China (Update 2026)
find_a_job_in_china

How to get a job in China (Update 2026)

There are a ton of application sites out there, but I think they’re all horrible. I searched for jobs three times: 2014 (before graduation), 2016 (desire to change jobs in the Netherlands), and 2018 (desire to move to China) — and from those three runs I do not doubt that I’ve sent well over 100 […]
July 20, 2026