Holland Case Study

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The country of the Netherlands is a place of proud and prospering people with a rich Dutch culture and beautiful cities. Holland is constantly overflowing with innovative ideas and wondrous breakthroughs in agriculture, but for many years the Netherlands has faced a growing issue that is threatening the entire coast and mainland of their country. Global warming has contributed to a consistent increase of rising sea levels. Due to the issue that a majority of the mainland in Holland is well below sea level, the Dutch government has implemented necessary plans to revise the existing costal security program to protect the country from wide scale flooding and to ensure the security of the major cities and historic sites found throughout Holland.
Before the twentieth century a majority of Holland was covered in marsh and bog lands. At that time the land was approximately 6.5 feet above sea level, although the threat of flooding was low, the land was far too moist to cultivate (McKinney, 2007). Thick layers of peat covered the land making it nearly impossible to grow crops. In order to create arid farm lands the people of Holland began to drain out the many bogs and marshes (McKinney, 2007) that covered the land, and sold the thick peat as a byproduct, used for fertilizing fields. Much of the draining was done by windmills (McKinney, 2007)which were used as pumping stations, strategically placed around lakes, marshy areas and adjoining mud flats converting them into polders, this helped to remove large amounts of water from beneath the soil. This created ample land for farming and also provided Holland with a recognizable symbol of their ingenuity and resourcefulness. Many windmills were converted into grain mills ...

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...vanced monitoring system allows engineers to see what is occurring on the inside when it isn’t notice from the outside (lamb & marshall, 2005). Allowing them to make early decisions, such as required maintenance and the possible need for evacuation, if the threat of flooding is imminent.
The Netherlands has always been at the forefront of engineering and technology. As their understanding of the ocean and tides improves they will be able to develop better methods of flood prevention in their prospering country. Using the lessons learned from history and nature the people of Holland are well on their way in the battle against the constant threat of rising ocean levels and global warming with their truly inspiring ingenuity. The Dutch believe that prevention is more effective that preparation, but in the end they really just want to keep their feet dry.

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