Turn, as in spinnen (to spin or, in this case, to be mental). This is another one of those only-in-Germany ones.
How long has it been since the latest greatest German Wende (turnaround)? Read some of these:
The U-turn on nuclear policy Chancellor Angela Merkel announced last month following the Fukushima accident will involve a massive expansion of renewable energies — as rapidly as possible. She is giving the public what it wants. But the shift will nevertheless provoke a major backlash. Germans may love their green energy, but they also have a growing proclivity towards not-in-my-backyard (NIMBY) lawsuits and referenda.
Many are now asking themselves if the transition to renewable energies will ruin the nation’s countryside.
Germany’s Federal Agency for Nature Conservation is already warning that in the rush to expand renewable energies, nature and wildlife conservation is being put on the back burner.
Germany’s opposition to wind power is well organized. The website windkraftgegner.de (wind power opponents), lists more than 70 protest campaigns.
Opposition is also mounting against the massive power masts that will be needed to transport clean energy across Germany and Europe.
And on and on and on. I don’t make this stuff up, people. Now they’re takin’ it to the streets to protest against renewable energy.
And the Green party’s grand energy strategy after their magnificent triumph down there in Baden-Wuerttemberg last month? Save power.
“We as Greens need to demonstrate our credibility,” national party co-chair Claudia Roth has said. At the same time, though, the Greens are very often active in the local NIMBY protests against the very kind of projects the party backs.
