Living in the Netherlands, it came quite as a surprise that there seems to be a strong impetus, both from NCO's and political parties, to steer away from natural gas. Traditionally, the Netherlands has relied heavily on natural gas since the 1960s, the decade when the huge Slochteren-field was discovered. Providing its citizens with warmth and the Dutch government with a nice income, natural gas quickly became the country's 'staple food'. Fast forward 50 years and the landscape has changed drastically. First of all, due to gas exploitation, the northern part of the country has endured many - be it smaller - earthquakes, damaging the properties of house owners in an area that isn't particularly economically strong. The publicity generated by the damages above and the reluctance (lengthy procedures etc.) of the Dutch government to compensate for these damages have created a climate in which natural gas has gone from hero to zero.
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