Krakow Castle — Grzegorz Bednarczyk/Flickr

At the beginning of the week, I had the pleasure of travelling to Krakow for some internal company meetings. It was my first trip to Poland and I was quite excited to add the red-and-white flag to the list of countries I have been to. I had no expectations on what I would find there, either positive or negative. I came open-minded and ready to discover all the nice things the country had to offer. Given what I ended up encountering, I have to say that I am quite disheartened.

Let it be written beforehand that the business part of the trip went very well. The city itself is really beautiful with a very nice old city center. All the people I met were really kind and helpful. Food was great, even for my French semi-arrogant standards.

The Cloth Hall — Photo Thierry Ollivero

What was neither beautiful, nice, kind, helpful or great was… the sickening smell of air pollution.

I grew up in Grenoble, a city frequently hit by pollution peaks. I lived in Paris through several waves of pollution. I have even been to Beijing, always pictured as one of the most polluted cities in the world. Yet, I had never felt this deep feeling of being slowly asphyxiated, as if sitting in a car stuck in a traffic jam, in a tunnel, with the windows open, on a windless day. Worst of all, this feeling is not limited to the outside. All the closed spaces I have been to had the same smell, from the airport to my hotel room, through restaurants, meeting rooms or even taxis…

The Electricity Map (http://www.electricitymap.org) — Retrieved Feb 23rd

Maybe I should have expected it. Given the time I spent on the ElectricityMap these past 6 months, I knew that most of the electricity produced in Poland comes from coal. I knew that CO2 emissions linked to electricity generation are among the highest in Europe. Still, I did not expect Poland to use coal for heating purposes as well, alongside a wide use of the fossil fuel for industrial activities. The problem this time was not CO2. It was all the other pollutants that are a direct consequence of coal.

Detail of Poland electricity generation by fuel type — Electricity Map — Retrieved Feb 23

CO2 has no odor, no color and no taste, contrary to nitrogen oxides, sulfur dioxide and all the other toxic gases that were unexpectedly in the air that day.

I did not expect to feel sick from the moment I landed in the country to the moment I boarded my plane back to Austria.

And you know what makes me even sicker? All the persons who continue, in 2017, to believe that we human beings have a limited impact on the environment.

Let them come to Krakow.

There are some who continue to claim that governmental agencies working on environment-related topics are following an “activist agenda” and are “lying about the reality of climate change”.

Let them come to Krakow.

There are some who consider the environmental movement “the greatest threat to freedom in the modern world”.

Let them come to Krakow.

There are some who continue to believe that coal is better for the environment than nuclear, despite needing 2 700 000 kilograms of coal to produce as much electricity as 1 kilogram of Uranium.

Let them come to Krakow.

There are some who believe that massive investments in renewable energies technology are a waste of time and money.

Let them come to Krakow.

There are some who believe that saving a few thousand jobs is enough to justify shortening the lives of millions of people.

Let them come to Krakow.

I have never called myself an environmentalist. I am fully aware of the impact I have on the environment. Yet, I consider that I can do much more to reduce this impact. I consider that we can ALL do much more to reduce our impact. Each of us can decide which ways he or she wants to follow to reach this objective. Mine will be to denounce the impact of coal, educate people on the dangers of coal, propose solution to reduce the use of coal.

Most of all, I want everyone to know that coal is not cool.

Let’s stop opposing nuclear energy vs. renewable energy, energy efficiency vs. energy sobriety, solar energy vs. wind energy.

Let’s focus on what really matters.

Let’s all be united against coal.

Lignite mine in Garzweiler, Germany (the yellow car gives an indication of the size of the excavator) — Alf van Beem

PS: Krakow really is a beautiful city. Visiting it at another time than January or February would be the best way to protect yourself against particles and other pollution.

PS2: Since you’re at it, do not hesitate to listen again to John Fitzgerald Kennedy’s speech in Berlin on June 26 1963. It gave me some inspiration for this article and it is something else than what we are getting used to as “US President speeches”.

PS3: If you know some associations that are also willing to fight against coal, please post the link to their website in the comments section.