German Of The Day: Abstürzen

That means to fall, plummet, crash.

And as noted repeatedly in the past, that’s what the German Greens love to do, right before any big election comes along. There will be one here in the Fall.

It has become a real tradition with them. Whenever they are doing well in the polls, and they were up until a few weeks ago, they do one or two stupid things to remind the electorate about how clueless they are. Now their numbers are plummeting big time.

Their front woman (it seems the Greens believe it is finally time for Germany to have a woman chancellor) got caught failing to report her 25,000 euro “Corona bonus” to the taxman. Her CV doesn’t stand up to objective scrutiny either. Meanwhile, their resentful male number two has been stumbling around in Ukraine demonstrating to the German voter how naive he is. Or green behind the ears, if you prefer. Bring on the elections! Now. Bitte.

Der eine stolpert mit Stahlhelm durch die Ukraine und offenbart seine außenpolitische Unbedarftheit. Die andere vergisst, dem Bundestag Sonderzahlungen von mehr als 25.000 Euro zu melden, und kämpft mit ihrem eigenen Lebenslauf, der offenkundig nicht nur lückenhaft, sondern auch geschönt war.

German Greens Leap To The Future

Or hope to, if elected in the Fall. When it comes to traffic and mobility in Germany, I mean.

It will be a great leap forward, so-to-speak.

Germany: Climate activists, cyclists oppose autobahn expansion – Cyclists and climate activists across Germany have defied autobahn construction, arguing that more roading and relentless car traffic violate urgent global climate rescue goals.

Is This The Shot In The Foot?

The German Greens are notorious for this. Whenever they are doing well in the polls, which is the case at the moment, they say something so revealing, that is, so ridiculous about their policies, that they single-handedly manage to turn this trend around.

This time the shot may have come from Robert Habeck, the Green boy boss who was edged out of the running as head honcho by the Green girl boss Annalena Baerbock. How much he resents this we’ll probably never know but in a talk show last night the possibility of raising the price of gasoline as high as 60 euros per liter (per liter, not gallon) was addressed. You know, to make the world a greener place and save humanity and all that? Under her leadership, of course.

I’m not sure but I can’t imagine even the greenest of German Green going along with that one. Unless they’re really green behind the ears.

„Der klimawirksame Gewinn ist nicht so besonders hoch. Das muss man einfach zugeben. Es ist eher ein Beispiel dafür, was man alles machen kann, was niemandem wirklich weh tut. Die ökonomische Frage, wie teuer Fliegen wird, ist davon zu trennen.“

What Do You Need A House For?

Especially since I’ve already got mine. Several, most likely. No need to research that claim we all know it’s true.

Green

A ban on building new single-family houses in popular urban areas has been mooted by a leading German Green MP, who has said they are environmentally unfriendly because they use too much space and energy.

“Single-family homes consume a large surface area, a lot of construction material and energy and they lead to urban sprawl and therefore generate more traffic,” he told Der Spiegel magazine in an interview.

“The Greens have once again surpassed themselves with this populist and sanctimonious attitude.”

First Come The Wooden Skyscrapers

Wood

Then come the wooden cars.

Car

German Greenery marches on.

A skyscraper that would be Europe’s tallest wooden building promises a “social and ecological paradigm shift” in a gentrifying neighborhood — and a test for the city’s affordable housing model.

The 322 foot (98 meter) tower, whose construction was confirmed on Jan. 29 by sustainable developer UTB, the state of Berlin and the borough of Friedrichshain-Kreuzberg the will be made largely of wood…

Such a forward-looking approach aligns with the term that often accompanies green building projects in Germany — zukunftsfähig, which means both sustainable and “future-oriented.”

 

Give Me Your 30,000 Jobs Or I Crush You!

Tesla’s German gigafactory held up by sand lizard – Court halts work cutting down trees because of conservation fears for the protected species.

Gorn

This is how Germany works, folks. Or doesn’t work. Take your pick it’s both.

Some commentators have warned that the court decision to stop the forest clearance was a bad omen. Marcel Fratzscher, head of the DIW, a think-tank, said it highlighted the “heavy bureaucratic burden and high regulatory uncertainty, which make it costly and time-consuming for companies to realise investment projects” in Germany.

“German law is too often held hostage by vested interests so that Germany is at risk of becoming less attractive as a location for businesses,” he said.

“Like most Humans,” said Captain Kirk. “I seem to have an instinctive revulsion to reptiles. I must fight to remember that this is an intelligent, highly advanced individual, the captain of a starship like myself.”

 

German Of The Day: Rodungsstopp

That means to stop the clearing. Of trees, in this case.

Tesla

That this particular Rodungsstopp could also stop the construction of Tesla’s planned Gigafactory in Brandenburg – and what could turn out to  be the livelihood of 12,000 people – doesn’t seem to interest the greener than green politicians who have sought it.

Tesla has been ordered to temporarily halt preparations for a car factory in Germany after environmentalists won a court injunction on Sunday…

Protesters say the factory is a threat to local wildlife and water supplies…

According to local media reports, Tesla has promised to relocate colonies of forest ants, reptiles and bats, and is working with conservationists. Last month, authorities defused seven Second World War bombs discovered at the site.

Tesla currently has two Gigafactories in the US and one in Shanghai, China.

Der Rodungsstopp an der geplanten Tesla-Fabrik in Brandenburg alarmiert die Wirtschaft: Mehrere Verbände warnen vor Konsequenzen für den gesamten Standort Deutschland.

A Show Of Forest

Greta joins forces with the Robin Hoodlum activists of Hambach Forest in Germany. You know, in Media Hyperspace? Nothing can stop them now or something.

Greta

Climate activist Greta Thunberg makes surprise visit to German forest – While on her way to a UN climate conference, 16-year-old climate activist Greta Thunberg stopped in western Germany to stand with activists at the Hambach Forest. The woods have been threatened by a nearby lignite mine.

Greta & Co really need to get out (of the forest) more and gather a little real world experience. For health reasons alone. As William James (The varieties of Religious Experience) once put it: Spiritual excitement takes pathological forms whenever other interests are too few and the intellect too narrow.

“This is so important because it is so symbolic.”

The Future Looks C-C-Cold

In Germany. In the winter.

Cold

Thousands of people marched Saturday in Berlin to demand that Germany speed up its exit from coal-fired power plants, a day before the opening of a U.N. climate summit in neighboring Poland.

“Stop Coal!” is the rallying call today. “Stop nuclear power!” was yesterday. The Germans have already shut down their nuclear power industry due to an earthquake in Japan. Don’t ask.

Some of these demonstrators have clearly thought all of this through, however. That’s why they’re wearing those polar bear suits. “Somebody turn on the freakin’ heat already!” Will by the rallying cry of the future.

“The future is coal-free.”

Save The Wolves!

Save the wolves? So they can attack us at… cemeteries?

Wolf

These romantic visions of nature everybody fosters these days are all fine and good, I guess, but sometimes they can get a little creepy.

The German news agency dpa reported Wednesday that a 55-year-old man was working on the cemetery in the village of Steinfeld in Lower Saxony on Monday when he felt something biting his hand from behind. When he turned around, he saw a wolf attacking him and three other wolves watching from a distance. He managed to free himself from the wolf’s bite and shooed all the animals away. Then he went to see a doctor, who bandaged his injured hand.

Man oh man. This time there will definitely be consequences.

Auf einem Friedhof in Niedersachsen hat offenbar ein Wolf am Dienstag einen Menschen angegriffen. Nach Polizeiangaben soll das Tier den 55-jährigen Gemeindemitarbeiter in den linken Unterarm gebissen haben.