Daniel's World

The future we want?

2012-01-16T10:58:00.002+01:00

I have been up at night a lot over the last ten days thinking about the future. You do not have to feel bad for me as the reason was a joyful one: I was carrying around my new born daughter. As I stared at her fresh face and hints of smiles, I could not but think about the future she will face or want to shape for herself. I therefore took an instant liking to the title of the draft outcome of the next Rio Earth Summit, which will take place this June. "The Future We Want" the UN has called the document, which was first leaked and then published this week. It´s the outcome of a lengthy preparatory process, which saw governments, businesses and civil society, including Greenpeace, set out their vision for Rio in over 6000 pages of submissions. (You can find a fully linked version of this blog over at www.greenpeace.org)

When I started reading, though, my joy disappeared quickly. I can handle dry, bureaucratic language. But what enrages me is when people talk about the crises we face - the billions without clean water or electricity, the billion suffering from hunger, the pillage of our oceans and forests - without any sense of urgency. And lack of urgency is, above all, what this document exudes (though there is some good news especially for our oceans, so please keep reading ...).
The Future envisioned here is one in which we have plenty of time to fix our problems - be they unemployment or climate change. There is a lot of talk of "acknowledging", "resolving", "recognizing" and "noting" in this text - all UN code words for not doing much. Sometimes the lack of urgency is even spelled out. Noting the outrage that billions each year are spent on destroying our planet through, for example, subsidizing fossil fuels, they suggest that governments at Rio commit to "gradually eliminate subsidies that have considerable negative effects on the environment". Yes, gradually. You know, when you get around to it, dear governments. We know you are busy saving banks and bonuses. It reminds me of the old joke about British public servants shouting "What do we want? Gradual change. When do we want it? In due course". It would actually be funny, if only the future that awaits my daughter unless we act urgently wasn´t one of runaway climate change or destroyed forests.

Another problem is a lack of spine in a lot of the proposals. It´s a great idea, for example, to make all big businesses repsponsible for and report on their social and environmental impacts. Indeed, 10 years ago, at the last Earth Summit in Johannesburg, governments committed to create global rules for businesses. But when the document calls for "a global policy framework requiring all listed and large private companies to consider sustainability issues", it simply does not go far enough. We don´t need consideration, we need clear rules that can be enforced and allow those who suffer the social and environmental impacts of irresponsible businesses to get redress and justice.

Greenpeace is also strongly in favour of Sustainable Development Goals, that, for example, could set out the right to sustainable energy for all by 2020. However, if this document is not improved, all we are going to get will be a process that may result in Sustainable Development Goals "by 2015". The goals themselves are then to the be achieved by 2030. This is inviting three years of torturous negotiations followed by more foot dragging as 2030 is way past the sell by date of most current politicians (even those in power in 2015). This is not setting out a future we want at Rio.

The lack of spine is clearest in the last paragraph which calls for voluntary commitments announced at Rio to be stapled together in a "registry/compendium that will serve as an accountability framework." In other words, there will be no enforcement or control. Your word will be taken at face value and the "accountability framework" will be the act of stapling all voluntary commitments together in one document. An invitation to greenwash, if there ever was one.

If you thought it couldn´t get worse, it does. In some areas the document simply sells the problem as the future we (allegedly) want. For example, while the current global trade regime is part of the reason we are faced with unsustainable agriculture or empty oceans, the document calls for more of the same to solve the food security crisis and endorses the - pretty dead - unsustainable Doha trade talks.

But here is the good news! If agreed by world leaders, the document would finally end our obsession with GDP growth as it "recognize(s) the limitations of GDP as a measure of well-being" and agrees to "develop and strengthen indicators complementing GDP that integrate economic, social and environmental dimensions in a balanced manner." This could be progress.

The document also at least opens the door to the environment finally getting a stronger voice at the global level. One option it sets out is to establish a UN Environment Agency. If (and only if) this option is agreed, this will be the first time the environment got better institutions globally for 40 years. We would be ready to celebrate that.

Finally, on oceans governance, the document says exactly what it should. You can tell by the language. It´s clear and does not put off action. It says: "We agree to, as soon as possible", to negotiate an agreement to protect the high seas, which are currently being plundered in wild west style. That´s the kind of action we would want to see more of in Rio. That´s the kind of language that we would want to see throughout any document claiming to chart the course to a future we want.

The future I want for my daughter is not the one set out in this document. But as I carry her around once more tonight, I am more determined than ever to make sure our governments and businesses are held to account and forced to act. Join us now!

Green Economy or Greenwash? That´s the choice at Rio Earth Summit 2012

2011-11-02T12:02:00.002+01:00

My favourite article on our recent 40th anniversary was about the serious, important but often invisible political work we do.

So while Brian has already told you that our new flagship Rainbow Warrior III will be heading to Rio de Janeiro “Earth Summit” in 2012 – and I really hope I will be on board then! - I wanted to tell you about how we are working to influence that anniversary of the historical Earth Summit in 1992.

Today is a good day to do so, as today is the deadline to send comments to the United Nations headquarters on what governments should do and agree when they meet in Rio from June 4th- June 6th 2012.

You can read our call for governments to deliver a green and fair economy here – and all submissions made by many different countries, NGOs and also businesses here. Until next June, there will be many weeks of UN meetings to prepare the 3 day event in Rio. (Article with all links is here at www.greenpeace.org)

In March, I personally was present as the world community met in New York and governments outlined their first ideas for Rio 2012. Since then, a lot of regional meetings have been and are taking place to set out what governments will do on the “green economy” and on improving the “governance for sustainable development” - the two major themes of the “summit”. Colleagues from Chile, China and the Middle East, for example, have recently made your voice heard at meetings in Santiago, Cairo and Seoul.

Sadly, these meetings have not given us hope, that governments are ready to jumpstart and speed up the solutions our planet so urgently needs. At Cairo, Saudi Arabia and other countries insisted that sustainable development was all fine and well, as long as it did not do anything about our global addiction to oil. At Seoul, many Pacific nations called for effective protection of our global oceans by calling for the green economy to be a “blue economy”, with ocean conservation as key. This call was ignored by the Chairs of the conference and the official outcome was disappointing.

It fits this disappointing tale that the Rio meeting has recently made headlines not because of an exciting Earth rescue plan to be launched there, but because of a clash with the Queen´s birthday. UK Prime Minister David Cameron has announced that the Queen´s hubilee will be more important to him than the Rio meeting. Just another nail in the coffin of his claim to lead the “greenest government ever”, though his cuts to support for solar or support for deep sea drilling are more severe and disturbing abdications of that worthy goal.

That´s why I still use quotation marks around “Earth Summit”. Because at this point, it is by no means clear that the meeting will be a Summit – defined as an event attended by your heads of states and governments. To be fair, to Greenpeace it matters less who attends the Rio event than what governments and businesses do there. What we expect is that governments need to be honest about not having delivered on the green and just development that they promised twenty years ago. We even call on them to do what you would not ask your child to do on a playground: To shift the blame. They should point to those businesses that have been holding us back and been lobbying against the laws people and planet need (and should be ashamed of putting these corporations ahead of their own people). Companies such as APP have stopped better forest protection in Indonesia; Volkswagen has stood in the way of the climate laws our planet needs in the US and the EU.

Secondly, we call on governments and businesses to not just use fine words like “green economy” while continuing business-as-usual. They need to commit to real action, especially ending deforestation, delivering sustainable energy for all by 2020 and ending the free for all exploitation of the global high seas. They should not be afraid of doing so, as unlike 20 years ago, we have prove that solutions exist. The “summit´s host, Brazil, for example, has shown that it is possible to cut deforestation rates through effective governance and good business practices: Deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon has declined year on year and in 2011 it was at its lowest ever level.

But this year, the Brazilian government's monitoring system picked up a 37% increase in deforestation compared to 2010 in Mato Grosso state as a result of a move to change the Forest Code, the main law in Brazil that protects the forests. The changes would allow an amnesty for past forest crimes, creating an incentive for illegal activity now and leading to an increase in deforestation before the law has even been changed. Brazil and President Dilma must decide whether it wants to be known as the nation leading the path to sustainable prosperity and zero deforestation, or as a nation that showed that deforestation could be halted, but failed to do so to cater to short term special interests.

The energy sector is also already changing. In Germany, for example, of all installed power capacity in the last decade, 81% was renewable. The Energy Revolution scenario Greenpeace has developed together with business partners shows that globally we can deliver energy to more people, especially the poor in developing countries, cut emissions by more than 80% by 2050 – and create more jobs doing so. Governments therefore face a choice at Rio. They can choose greenwash or they can truly go for a just and fair Green Economy.

Given my job, I do not have a choice, though. I will have to attend many more UN meetings to make that choice clear. And I will report back to all of you regularly how governments – and businesses - are doing.

One year to Rio+20 - is there hope?

2011-11-02T11:59:00.001+01:00

19 years ago more heads of states than ever came together in Rio de Janeiro for what was termed the Earth Summit. They agreed on a few sensible things, such as that "the right to development must be fulfilled so as to equitably meet developmental and environmental needs of present and future generations" or that "states shall enact effective environmental legislation" (see here). The language is typical of bureaucrats. But the message is pretty good. (You can find this post will all links on the greenpeace.org website)

Exactly one year from today, governments will meet in Rio again to mark the 20th anniversary of the Earth Summit. Few heads of states that were present in 1992 will attend when governments meet from June 4th to 6th 2012 for Rio+20. And many will be happy not to be there. That way, they can avoid admitting that they utterly failed to deliver what they promised. In 1992, for example, governments agreed the UN Climate Convention, which states that the: "ultimate objective of the Convention ... is to achieve ... stabilization of greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere at a level that would prevent dangerous anthropogenic interference with the climate system". If they had meant it, of course, we would have stopped the relentless rise in climate damaging emissions long ago. Instead, as you probably read, 2010 was the worst year ever in terms of humanity´s impact on the fragile climate we depend on.

There was plenty wrong with what governments agreed in detail in 1992. They endorsed nuclear power, for example. Still, 1992, for those of us old enough to remember it, often seems like the proverbial good old days. At least then, unlike in Copenhagen in 2009, governments could agree. At least then, we could be hopeful that the Earth Summit would be truly a turn around moment. Shortly after the end of the Cold War, many believed that governments would finally be ready to move the billions that they spent on arms during the Cold War on solving the real problems of the world: poverty, disease, environmental destruction. That did not happen. Today, we still spend around 1600 billions on arms every year. So will "Rio+20" be worth anything? Will it deliver for people and the planet?

So far, the official preparations do not give much ground for hope. Governments are arguing over terms like the "green economy" rather than getting on with what is needed, such as delivering an energy revolution or ending deforstation. In Brazil, the host nation, deforestation is rising and forest protections are under threat rather than being extended. President Dilma Roussef needs to act to protect the integrity of Brazil´s forst code (as my colleague Paulo Adario explains eloquently here). Otherwise, with brutal irony, the current increase in deforestation will continue, just as the world descends on Rio for another Earth Summit.

No question, there is plenty the Earth Summit 2012 could - and should - achieve. We have our demands ready (see here for a short summary and here for a longer statement). Politics being politics, though, June 2012 is, realitically, not a great moment for major advances to be made. While one significant change since 1992 is that powers such as China, Brazil, India or South Africa - to name just a few - are much more powerful, it´s still difficult to make global progress on fundamental matters such as a fair and green economy without the United States. In June 2012, however, the United States will be busy with the looming presidential election. Obama - who has failed to lead on climate change so far at the global level - will be loath to agree to anything that his Republican opponents may criticize in the election, let alone something progressive. That´s sad, wrong and should be different. But it´s likely how things will be.

But likely does not mean certain, of course. Who would have thought one year ago, that we would see a conservative government in Germany abandon nuclear power, for example? If we can learn anything from the Fukushima tragedy, it is that politics is never linear, and never entirely predictable. There are moments when real change is possible.

And there are some concrete steps that could be agreed upon at Rio. The vast high seas, for example, could finally get the legal protection they deserve (a small step in that direction was taken in New York this week). Governments could create a true global institution that can protect the environment and enforce environmental rules. Governments could commit to zero deforstation by 2020 - with the host Brazil reversing the current trends and leading the way.

May be in June 2012 the global winds of change will be such, that global steps forward for the environment and people will be possible. It´s not exactly likely. But it´s worth fighting for. We at Greenpeace will be ready to hold governments accountable for their failures, to propose sensible ways forward and to push for the best deal possible for people and the planet. As Bob Hunter, one of Greenpeace´s founders, was fond of saying: "Big change looks impossible when you start, and inevitable when you finish." Such may it soon be with the energy revolution, zero deforestation and protected high seas.

Leaders or Laggards - that is the question in Brussels today

2011-11-02T11:58:00.001+01:00

This post is from May 18th 2011 and you can find it with all links here.

I am locked in by my own colleagues. And I like it. There were three bangs - and since then, there has been silence at the big Business Europe conference: Europe in the World: Leading or Lagging. No one is getting in. Unless they are a leader. Those of us inside have nothing to worry about. There is plenty of food - even a bar. But the question we are posing is serious: Are businesses in Europe ready to support innovation and green jobs - or will they continue to stand in the way of a green Europe?

The test is simple: Leaders support the EU cutting emissions by 30% domestically by 2020. Laggards don´t. Many laggards, worse, let business associations such as Business Europe actively stand in the way of progress. These associations claim to speak for all of business when they tell politicians, that climate action will deindustrialize Europe and destroy jobs. In truth, climate action can drive innovation and create jobs. A recent study on behalf of the German government found that committing to a 30% cut by 2020 could generate 6 million additional jobs.

Business is split on the future of Europe. Big companies such as IKEA, Unilever or Deutsche Telekom are supporting cutting emissions by 30%. But many other companies you know, don´t. Microsoft, BP, Lafarge, or Volkswagen, for example. Currently, the EU is committed to cutting it´s emissions by 20%. Sounds like a start. But a study by the European Commission itself has shown that this is worse than business as usual. Even if governments just do what they have committed to already, they will exceed this goal. In order to drive innovation, therefore, 30% domestic cuts are a minimum and a necessity. Nothing more or less.

UPDATE: By now, people are trickling in to the conference centre again. And I have just spoken at the official press conference of the organizers to explain why we are here. The message we are sending has been heard. Most reactions are positive. Some people admit that they wish their companies would be willing to speak out more openly and firmly for climate action. Many business representatives also admit to being surprised to see us also on the inside of this conference. "Really, you are with Greenpeace?" is a common response I get from people. They are surprised, I think, to find me wearing a dry suit rather than a wet suit and to hand them a business card rather than chaining myself to them. That´s my job. To make our voice heard with decision makers. To argue calmly but firmly for climate action - and jobs!

The businesses at this meeting, like all over Europe, have a choice. They can either join the leaders or continue to hold Europe back. I will be monitoring what businesses say here for the next two days. And when the bar here at the Tour and Taxis conference centre is closed again, Greenpeace will continue to chart who is a leader in coming months. Check out the current list and help us up the pressure here.

Rio+20 - while Rio dances, the UN talks ...

2011-03-08T20:22:00.001+01:00

Many of you reading this are under 30. So the Earth Summit 1992 is simply history for you. If you were thinking about Rio today at all - you were probably thinking about carneval, not politics.

Pity Brazilian diplomats and bureaucrats, then, who are not dancing on the streets today. Instead, they are at the United Nations Headquarters in New York with me, Daniel, Greenpeace´s Political Director. We are attending a pretty humdrum meeting preparing to celebrate the 20th anniversary of Earth Summit 1992 in Rio de Janeiro next year.

Rio 1992 was a decisive moment. The concept of "sustainable development" was adopted by governments for the first time, making it clear that development and environmental protection must - and can - go together. Key political processes, like the global climate negotiations, that you will have heard about, got launched at Rio. Just a few years after the fall of the Berlin Wall and the end of the Cold War, there was hope in the air. Some believed that governments will now move the billions that they spent on arms during the Cold War on solving the real problems of the world: poverty, disease, environmental destruction. That did not happen.

Today, we still spend around 1600 billions on arms every year - and emissions are rising. Will "Rio+20", to be held in June 2012, be more than a footnote in history? Will it deliver for people and the planet? At meetings like this, it is often difficult to believe that the change we need will happen. Sitting in a room without windows, I remember being here at the UN exactly ten years ago.

Then, governments were making the same speeches about how concerned they are about the state of the climate, forests or oceans. But the last Rio anniversary Summit (held in Johannesburg in 2002), was a failure. Rio+10 adopted a Plan, which civil society mocked as the "Johannesburg Plan of Inaction". 9 years on, that seems no longer a critical joke, but simply reality. Even the better part of the Rio+10 plan - such as a call by governments to hold corporations accountable globally for their actions - governments have failed to act upon ... You may wonder why I am still here ... The answer is simple and two fold:

1. I strongly believe that we would have made even less progress over the last 20 years if it hadn´t been for groups like Greenpeace putting pressure on government.

2. There are many positive changes that have happened over the last 20 years. 20 years ago, for example, renewable energies were not yet taken seriously.

I remember discussing wind and solar energies with friends at university. I was considered pretty mad for thinking that wind and solar will one day be a cornerstone of the globe´s energy system.

Today, even here at this meeting, there is hardly any government that does not agree that renewable energies are a key to the energy future. And we know that the energy revolution is already underway.

So Greenpeace will work that Rio+20 will deliver real steps forward. Why should Brazil not announce at the Summit, for example, a zero deforestation law that ends deforestation in the Amazon? Why should governments not finally commit to protecting our high seas and create the legal frameworks needed to do so?

In 15 months I want to no longer be stuck in a room with no windows. I want to dance in the streets of the Rio celebrating real successes for people and the planet ... Let´s together prevent that governments get lost in Rio. There is a real danger of that - as I was reminded as I stepped out of a restaurant in Brooklyn on Saturday:

G20 makes Korea proud but fails the world

2011-03-08T20:17:00.002+01:00

In November I was in Seoul, Korea. It´s an impressive city. In the city centre you can see as many people in designer ware as in downtown Tokyo or New York.

But Korea is the first country that isn´t part of the "rich world club" (the G8) that is hosting a G20 meeting. And it is making Koreans visibly proud. At the airport, at tube stations, in restaurants: Everywhere people are celebrating Korea´s elevation to "big power status". Flags are a must and people in the street seem to have a spring in their step.

What you will hear in the press about this meeting is all about money and trade. Korea, to their credit, wanted the Summit to also focus on green issues. They have been pushing for what they call "green growth".

We at Greenpeace are sceptical that you can deliver unlimited growth on a finite planet. But we do know for sure that we can deliver what everyone needs while saving our climate. Our Energy [R]evolution, for example, explains how we can bring electricity to all and still prevent dangerous climate change. It can be done.

And here in Seoul, governments sounded like they are starting to get it. In their final communiqué they "commit to stimulate investment in clean energy technology". Sounds good, deosn´t it.

Sadly, everything else these governments did and said in Seoul makes me think that they are not serious. Just think: in the very same document they fail to make any commitments to fight climate change.

They could´t even agree to keep global temperature rise below a catastrohic threshold. They also shamefully dragged their feet on a promise they made last year to - at least - stop throwing taxpayers money at climate destroying oil and coal companies.

So, despite some fancy green rhetoric, the G20 has in fact failed the world. (Our full reaction to the final outcome is here.) But let me end on a less sombre note.

I happen to be German. And - true to stereotype - I happen to love beer (though do make it organic please). The bar pictured here amused me therefore.

A German "Bier Halle" (pub) right in the centre of Seoul. Globalization can be a funny thing sometimes.

I, however, stuck to local food and beer myself. As a vegetarian, I have to say I enjoyed the local "kimchi".

More than the (rather weak) local beer ...

Next year, the G20 will be meeting in France. I doubt I will find a "Bier Halle" there. Will global leaders do any better in addressing the urgent problems of our world?

Solar World Cup

2010-06-21T10:45:00.004+02:00

Even though the global business of soccer does represent most of the worst aspects of corporate globalization, I confess that I am addicted. So, I am suffering, because I am missing many games at this year´s World Cup due to work and travel. But I am even more sorry that I cannot be in Jericho to witness this Cup´s one and only solar viewing area. Greenpeace Africa is providing access to the Cup for a community without electricity. And by doing so, is showing that an energy revolution is possible. Beautiful. Unlike what Brazil played last night! Watch for yourself:
. Here is also a report from Al Jazeera.

Take a break - for the rainforest

2010-03-17T19:49:00.004+01:00

I used to love Kit Kat. When I was 15 and at an English comprehensive for a few months, I sometimes hated the school lunches so bad, I went straight to the junk machine and got myself a few Kit Kat instead. I remember sitting in the school yard feeling a little guilty - but also very happy. Then, one terrible day, Kit Kat was bought by nasty Nestle. I haven´t bought a Kit Kat since. Good thing, too, as it now turns out that Kit Kat contains palm oil that destroys forests. Greenpeace uncovered as much today - and Nestle promptly reacted by forcing youtube to take down the Greenpeace campaign video. Stupid, I´d say. The video, for sure, will now spread like wildfire. Curious what Nestle does not want you to see? Have a look (though you might want to wait until after your lunch break ...)

Have a break? from Greenpeace UK on Vimeo.

P.S. We won this round! Now let´s get HSBC out of destructive lending as well.

Film ab gegen Kohlekraft!

2010-02-15T11:03:00.004+01:00

Es ist Berlinale in Berlin aber ich habe leider keine Zeit hinzugehen ... Oxfam hat während der Berlinale einen super Kurzfilm gegen neue Kohlekraftwerke vorgestellt. Der dauert nur 1 Minute - dafür findet sich immer Zeit - und Schlange stehen muss man auch nicht, sondern einfach nur Start drücken .... -
P.S. Weitere Infos gibt es hier: http://www.klima-schuetzen.org/

Copenhagen sees climate movement coming of age - finally

2009-12-14T19:07:00.006+01:00

I have been waiting for a day like Saturday at least since July 21st 2001. Then, I was as happy as I could have been, to have brought several thousands to the streets of Bonn to build a ´Lifeboat for the Climate´. The G8 summit was happening at the same time in Genoa, so most activists were further south. Hence, we considered this an excellent turnout. Still, ever since that day - at least - I have been dreaming of a true mass mobilization against the climate catastrophe. For some years, that aim seemed to allude us. I attended plenty of civil society meetings all over the world on "building a climate movement". But while UN climate negotiations were bogged down in technical detail, it was a tad difficult to explain why people should wave placards on the streets while rules for LULUCF were being decided (though they are darn important). Sure, tens of thousands turned out against coal plants recently, for example, and the global Climate Action Days have been growing in significance over time. But even the climate conference in Bali, Indonesia, that launched the treck to Copenhagen two years ago, was no site of mass mobilizations. - So, to arrive in Copenhagen on Saturday to be absorbed by a crowd of 100,000 (or so) felt truly special. The crowd was big - and it was wonderfully diverse too. It couldn´t quite match the diversity of the anti war march in London in 2003 (still the most impressive demonstration I have been part of). But for a climate rally (and I must have been to hundreds of those by now), the crowd was special. Global. Young. Determined. Heartening. The size of the crowd made finding ones friends difficult. But walking among strangers, I had a smile on my face. I was delighted that there were so many activists I had never seen. That this was not yet another gathering of the usual suspects, but the coming of age of a whole new climate movement. Hopefully, the demo was the initiation rite for many who will stay active from now on. Hopefully, the same spirit of diversity and strength was present at the unprecedenteed number of events around the world. - We do, of course, not know yet, whether we will get the "real deal" that the demos demanded. Much of what´s been talked about in the corridors of Copenhagen is nowhere near the kind of agreement the world needs. But at least the negotiations are real. There is real talk, a real sense of pressure. Normally, the first week of climate talks just meanders along frustratingly. But this time - not least due to the powerful intervention by Tuvalu - the talks have gotten down to substance - and politics - right away. Will it be enough? I confess, I have my doubts. Even the voice of 100,000 - and more - may yet be ignored. But still elated from that fine Saturday, I cannot but hope that Desmond Tutu´s prediction will be proven right: "They marched in Berlin and the wall fell. We marched in Cape Town and apartheid fell. We marched in Copenhagen and we are going to get a real deal!" - Certainly, what we got in Copenhagen is a climate movement. Let´s nurture it. Let´s continue to build it. Let´s make sure it is ready to force implementation if we get a deal in Copenhagen. And be ready to raise hell, if our so called leaders fail us - yet again.

Swedish light´s and delights

2009-11-15T12:42:00.009+01:00

After my previous experience, I expected beautiful lakes but not beers when holidaying in Sweden this summer. I also already knew that I had to look for energy-inefficient and nasty tasting cans when searching for organic brews in the local shops. So, I was delighted when I found Ekholmen Ekologiska Ale - a Swedish organic beer in a real glass bottle! Sadly, the beer isn´t as great as the packaging. It´s a mild ale and easy enough to swallow down. But it lacks distinction and almost tastes like a wanna-be Pilsner that didn´t quite make it. A bitterness lingers in the mouth, but there is no kick to it at all. Shockingly, therefore, I found the beers in cans (and from the brewing giants, as it turns out) better this time. - While the best thing about Krönleins green eko lager is it´s name, both it´s 2,8 and 3,5% versions are more exciting to drink than Halmstad - the place where it is brewed - is to strawl through. Krönleins is a family-owned brewery, though - and in the one local restaurant we tried in Halmstad, it was on tap. All that is commendable - and the beer is a good enough light accompaniement to a meal. - Better, though, are the Falcon Ekologisk series of beers, even though, yes, they are brewed by that purveyor of mediocrity: Carlsberg .... Their 3,5% Premium Lager is as good as you can expect a far too light beer to get. The 5,7% Special Brew version certainly tastes a lot better than normal Carlsberg. It´s probably meant to appear "heavy" and a little bitter. To my German palate, it therefore tastes like a real Pilsner. Not a brilliant one. But a perfectly drinkable one - especially with a stunning view of a lake ... - My Swedish favourite, though, is also from a giant. While I really didn´t like ABRO´s light organic beer, their "Starköl" Sigill is - by Swedish standards, at least ;-) - a real delight. It goes down smoothly, but has enough bitterness to not be bland, but Pils. I wouldn´t exactly import it, but I do wish I had found it earlier during our holiday. Next time, it´s the first one I will have when back in Sweden! Skål! P.S. And here is one of the lakes ;-)

Kids against climate change ...

2009-11-06T18:35:00.003+01:00

My daughter has been to a number of protests already. She mostly liked them, though a couple of times, the noise scared her. While marching against neoliberalism, coal plants or nuclear power, we often wondered, though, what she will make of the pictures of her as a baby demonstrator. Will she be appalled and join the neoliberals in protest? Or will she top it all, and start her own movement? We can only wait. And if she turns out like the kids in this video? Well, yeah, it would make daddy proud:

Wird Rot-Rot-Grün jetzt ein Projekt?

2009-09-29T13:33:00.003+02:00

Die Wahl ist vorbei, der Jammer groß. Der Böll Wahlblog aber geht munter weiter - und auch ich versuche den Blick nach vorne. Dabei ist klar: Wenn Rot-Rot-Grün 2013 möglich sein soll, benötigt dies viel Arbeit - in allen drei Parteien und Milieus. Sind wir bereit?

Eigentlich war es ein Abend wie es so viele. Damals, in den 80er und frühen 90ern, war das halt so. Eine ganze Generation - meine - konnte sich schlicht nichts anderes vorstellen, als dass der deutsche Kanzler Kohl hiess. Frei nach Gary Lineker war die Politik ein Spiel auf vier Jahre - und am Schluss gewann Kohl mit Schwarz-Gelb.

Man hatte es fast vergessen, die Gewohnheit mit der man Niederlagen damals wegsteckte. Sonntag wurden wir scherzhaft erinnert: Aua - wieder Schwarz-Gelb. Immerhin nicht Kohl - aber dafür, viel schlimmer, Westerwelle. Denn: das sind nicht die Gelben von damals. Dass sind Gelbe, die anderswo mit Thatcher und Reagan schon Geschichte sind. Und irgendwie liess mich die ganze Nacht die Angst nicht los: Und wenn es wieder 16 Jahre werden?

16 Jahre hat es damals gedauert, bis die Roten und die Grünen sich so aufgestellt hatten, dass 1998 eine Wechselstimmung möglich war. Was braucht es damit es diesmal nur 4 Jahre werden?

Klar: Koalitions-Optionen. Diese entstehen aber nicht aus dem Nichts oder rein nach der Logik der Addition. Koalitionsoptionen müssen glaubhaft sein. Deswegen war es auch falsch von SPD wie Grünen in den letzten Tagen vor der Wahl ausgerechnet die FDP zu hofieren. Vielleicht war die Ampel rechnerisch noch der einzige - politisch erlaubte - Weg zur Macht. Aber, wie Ralf Fücks ausgeführt hat: Es glaubte doch eh keiner dran. Rumampeln und vor Schwarz-Gelb warnen ging darüber hinaus schlicht nicht zusammen. Vielleicht haben die Grünen auch dadurch nicht mehr von der Schwäche der SPD profitieren können?

In vier Jahren, jedenfalls, wird Schwarz-Gelb nicht mehr ein Gespenst sein, sondern die real existierende Regierung. In dieser Situation wird mit Sicherheit weder CDU noch FDP einen Wahlkampf führen, der nicht auf eine Fortsetzung von Schwarz-Gelb ausgerichtet ist. Also brauchen wir eine Alternative. Nach vier Jahren gemeinsamer Oppositionsrolle sollte Rot-Rot-Grün das sein. Schon heute sollten die Argumente dafür auf der Hand liegen. Denn 2009 war die CDU in all zu vielen Wahlkreisen die lachende Dritte, da sich SPD, Grüne und LINKE gegenseitig Erststimmen klauten. In Hamburg Nord, z.B., hatten SPD, Grüne und LINKE gemeinsam über 53% der Erststimmen. Den Wahlkreis gewann die CDU - mit 38,4%. Dieses Fiasko zu wiederholen kann nicht im Interesse der drei Parteien links der CDU sein. Es müssen Absprachen her!

Klar ist aber auch: Rot, Rot und Grün zusammen zu bringen wird nicht einfach. Es wird nur gelingen, wenn die die heute traurig sind sich zusammen raufen, eigene Eitelkeiten zurückstellen und Rot-Rot-Grün zu ihrem Projekt machen - so wie es Rot-Grün für viele progressive Menschen in den 80er und 90er Jahren war.

Was die Schwierigkeiten diese Koalition zu bewerkstelligen angeht, so gibt es Parallelen: Die Grünen waren (auch) eine Reaktion auf die reaktionäre Politik von SPD-Regierungen (man denke nur an den NATO Doppelbeschluss). Mit der Kritik der eigenen Politik zu koalieren war für viele in der SPD lange nicht vorstellbar - und benötigte ein programmatische und personelle Erneuerung.

Die LINKE - zumindest als gesamtdeutsches Phänomen - ist gleichermassen die Reaktion auf gravierende wirtschaft- und sozialpolitische Fehler von Rot-Grün. Das zuzugeben tut sicher nicht nur Herrn Steinmeier weh. Aber es ist notwendig, will die SPD nicht weiter an einem "Projekt 18 Prozent" arbeiten und damit progressive Mehrheiten blockieren ... Dass Steinmeier auch am Sonntag nach der Wahl noch - auf die Agenda 2010 angesprochen - so klang wie Westerwelle war schon bezeichnend. Plötzlich waren auch bei der SPD soziale Einschnitte dringend nötig um Arbeitsplätze zu schaffen ....

Die SPD muss also in die programmatische und personelle Erneuerung. Steinmeier muss gehen, um so schneller um so besser. Aber klar, auch bei Grünen und LINKEN muss es Veränderungen geben. Lafontaine, z.B., wird einer Rot-Rot-Grünen Regierung sicher nicht angehören können.

Rot-Rot-Grün hat aber auch Probleme, die Rot-Grün in der alten Bundesrepublik so nie hatte. DIE LINKE muss z.B. intensiv und öffentlich in den nächsten vier Jahren ihre SED/PDS-Vergangenheit aufarbeiten (teilweise heisst das: noch einmal). Weil dieses historische Unrecht keine Bagatelle ist. Punkt. Aber auch aus taktischen Gründen: Nur durch eine aggressive Abrechnung mit der SED-Vergangenheit kann DIE LINKE für weite Teile der westdeutschen SPD und (west- wie ostdeutschen) Grünen Anhängerschaft je akzeptabel werden.

Hier ist nicht der Platz und Ort alle Politikfelder durch zu arbeiten in denen sich die drei Parteien bewegen müssen. Das ist die Arbeit der nächsten vier Jahre. Was entscheidend ist, ist das wir die Arbeit beginnen. Rot-Rot-Grün muss programmatisch wie personell ab sofort vorbereitet werden - wenn Rot-Rot-Grün 2013 eine Option sein soll. Wer das bestreitet, mag der Meinung sein, dass sie sich alle Optionen offen hält. Ich aber fürchte, dass er in Wirklichkeit verhindert, dass es 2013 eine realistische progressive Alternative zu Schwarz-Gelb gibt. Wollen wir wirklich wieder 16 Jahre warten?

Wo bleibt die Kohle?

2009-09-17T11:03:00.005+02:00

Von seiner Arbeit als Umweltminister mag man halten was man will. Aber eins muss man Sigmar Gabriel lassen: In einem trögen Wahlkampf war er der einzige echte Wahlkämpfer der SPD. Er machte dauernd Schlagzeilen und zeigte zumindest Kampfeswillen. Kein Wunder, dass sich die CDU nun auf ihn einschiesst. Gabriel ist es immerhin - gemeinsam mit der Anti-Atombewegung und den Bündnisgrünen - gelungen, die Atomkraft zu einem zentralen Wahlkampfthema zu machen. Ein Indiz: Steinmeier wiederholte sein Nein zur Atomenergie gleich ein zweites Mal - als er beim Fernsehdebatten-Abschlussstatement endgültig drohte den Faden zu verlieren ... .

National spricht aber bisher kaum einer der Wahlkämpfer von dem klimapolitisch genauso brisanten Neubau neuer Kohlekraftwerke und der fatalen Klimahypothek die dieser für die nächsten 40-50 Jahre bedeutet. Verwunderlich ist das nicht: Bei der Atomkraft gibt es - mit der "2013 Konstellation" von ´Schwarz-Gelb´ und ´Rot-Tot-Grün´klar zwei Lager. Beim Kohlethema dagegen sind alle Parteien (mit der möglichen Ausnahme der Grünen) gespalten. Insbesondere CDU und SPD sind in der Kohlepolitik tief zerrissen. Eine 42-41 Abstimmung zum Kohlekraftwerk in Lubmin beim Parteitag der SPD Mecklenburg-Vorpommern ist für diese internen Konflikte ein hübsches Symbol. In Mainz ist die CDU gegen das Kohlekraftwerk. Auf der anderen Rheinseite, in Hessen, betreibt insbesondere Kochs CDU das Festhalten an Kohledinosauriern wie dem neuen Kraftwerk in Staudinger (der CDU Ortsverband Hainburg, wie auch die dortige FDP, ist wiederum dagegen.) Die SPD ist genauso gespalten - nur geographisch umgekehrt. In Wiesbaden ist sie gegen die Kohle. In Mainz ist (war?) sie genauso entschieden dafür.

Sicher ist aber auch: Relativ unbeachtet von den nationalen Medien ist das Kohlethema für viele Menschen wichtig, vielleicht sogar wahlentscheidend. Mainz ist ein gutes Beispiel. Bei den Kommunalwahlen im Juni hat die SPD ihr historisch schlechtesten Ergebnis von 2004 noch um weitere 5% unterboten, da sie stur an dem geplanten Kraftwerk auf der Ingelheimer Aue festhielt. Wahlgewinner waren klar alle Parteien, die sich von Anfang an gegen das Kraftwerk eingesetzt haben: Grüne + 7,6% (auf 21,9% - und somit nur 1,9% hinter der SPD!); Linke + 3,6%; ÖDP +1,6%. Ein ähnliches Bild in der Region des geplanten Kraftwerks in Lubmin: Auf Rügen (Wahlkreis von Angela Merkel) verlor die CDU bei den Kommunalwahlen im Juni 7,4%. Der Kreisvorsitzende der CDU räumt ein, dass das Wahlergebnis die Quittung auch für das „Ja“ zum Steinkohlekraftwerk ist. Auch in Greifswald verlor die CDU 6%. Wahlgewinner auch im Norden die Parteien, die sich im Vorfeld der Wahl klar gegen ein Kohlekraftwerk in Lubmin ausgesprochen hatten: DIE LINKE und Die Grünen. Bei den Kreistagswahlen auf Rügen, in Greifswald und Ostvorpommern konnten beide Parteien dazu gewinnen. Mit einem Stimmenzuwachs von 4,4% in Greifswald konnten dabei die Grünen ihr Wahlergebnis fast verdoppeln. Gabriel - ganz der stringente Wahlkämpfer - reagierte. Im Bundestagswahlkampf lehnt nun auch Gabriel zumindest das Kohlekraftwerk in Lubmin ab ...

Auch der Linken ist es zu verdanken, dass ein neues Kohlekraftwerk in Berlin verhindert werden konnte. Gleichzeitig halten aber die Genossen z.B. an der Saar entschieden an der Kohle (inklusive Kohleförderung) fest. Konsequenter Klimaschutz geht anders, auch wenn bundespolitisch klar gegen die Kohle Position bezogen wird.

Immerhin, vor der Wahl melden sich nicht nur Wissenschaftler und Politiker die von neuen Atomkraftwerken träumen zu Wort ... sondern über 50 Wirtschaftswissenschaftler räumen in einer gemeinsamen Erklärung mit der Mär auf, dass wir die Kohle bräuchten um niedrige Energiepreise zu garantieren. Das Gegenteil ist der Fall: Neue Kohlekraftwerke drohen zu Investitionsruinen zu werden - sollte der Ausbau der erneuerbaren Energien weitergehen (wofür ja - offiziell zumindest - alle Parteien sind...).

Am 27. September sollten nicht nur die Zehntausende, die in den letzten Monaten gegen neue Kohlekraftwerke protestiert haben, an die Zukunft der Kohlepolitik in diesem Lande denken. Die Klimaziele, die langfristig notwendig sind, sind mit neuen (konventionellen) Kohlekraftwerken nicht zu erreichen. Das weiss Gabriel - denn das sagen auch alle aktuellen Studien, die im Auftrag seines Ministeriums erstellt wurden. Vielleicht gibt das Gabriel nach dem 27. September dann auch zu? P.S. Dies ist Beitrag zwei zum Böll Wahlblog.

Gebt Tuvalu eine Stimme!

2009-09-12T11:08:00.004+02:00

Die Böll Stiftung hat eine Wahlkampf-Blog. Eine feine Sache ist das - an der ich mich mit diesem Beitrag gerne beteilige:

Der britische Kommentator George Monbiot forderte bereits vor Jahren, dass die gesamte Menschheit bei amerikanischen Wahlen das Stimmrecht bekommen sollte. So gravierend, weitreichend und - allzu oft - tödlich, sind die Folgen amerikanischer Wahlergebnisse, dass es demokratischen Grundprinzipien widerspricht, dass wir - die Betroffenen - keine Stimme haben. Nach der gleichen Logik sollten die Einwohner Tuvalus - und alle, deren Überleben durch den Klimawandel auf dem Spiel steht - am 27. September unbedingt eine Stimme bekommen. Denn für Tuvalu ist die Suche nach einer deutschen KlimakanzlerIn mehr als ein netter Slogan für eine Kampagne. Für Tuvalu ist die Frage, wie fortschrittlich die Klimapolitik der nächsten deutsche Regierung sein wird, eine Frage des nackten Überlebens.

In der nächsten Legislaturperiode stehen wichtige nationale und internationale Entscheidungen zum Klimaschutz an. Reden tut darüber kaum jemand. Immerhin, bei der Wahlkampf-Diskussion zur Atomenergie, wird nicht nur der tödliche "Knall Bumm" Effekt thematisiert, sondern auch, dass längere AKW-Laufzeiten den Ausbau erneuerbarer Energien gefährden. Selbst die SPD betont dies immer wieder. Ironisch eigentlich, denn SPD muss wissen muss, dass sich neue Kohlekraftwerke genauso wenig mit erneuerbaren Energien vertragen wie alte AKWs. Sicher ist, Tuvalu würde weder für längere Atomlaufzeiten noch für neue Kohlekraftwerke stimmen. Ist es nicht sogar beschämend, dass das kleine Tuvalu ankündigt bis 2020 komplett klimaneutral zu wirtschaften, CDU/FDP und SPD aber einen wesentlich geringeren Ausbau der erneuerbaren Energien in Aussicht stellen als ihn die erneuerbaren Energienverbände bereit sind zu versprechen? 47% sagt der Bundesverband Erneuerbare Energien sind bis 2020 machbar. Das CDU Regierungsprogramm nennt 20% bis 2020 ehrgeizig (Seite 25). Ist das Klugheit in der Krise? In Tuvalu reibt man sich sicher verwundert - und verärgert - die Augen.

Und da wäre dann noch die wichtigsten globalen Umweltverhandlungen jemals - der Klimagipfel in Kopenhagen im Dezember. Als jemand, der seit vielen Jahre die internationalen Klimaverhandlungen hautnah verfolgt, weiss ich, dass es einen Unterschied macht, wer in Kopenhagen für Deutschland am Verhandlungstisch sitzt. Die Vorstellung ein unerfahrener Minister oder Ministerin der FDP könnte in Kopenhagen dabei sein macht mir deshalb - ganz ehrlich - schlaflose Nächte. Nicht nur weil Klimaverhandlungen kompliziert sind (jede neue MinisterIn würde es deshalb schwer haben). Vor allem, weil die Klimaverhandlungen längst wichtige (die wichtigsten?) Entwicklungsverhandlungen geworden sind. Sollte man diese einer Partei überlassen, die das Entwicklungsministerium (BMZ) abschaffen will ...?

Tuvalu hat run 11.000 Einwohner. Ihre Stimmen würden die Bundestagswahl nicht entscheiden - zugegeben. Allein in Asien sind aber 75 Millionen durch den Klimawandel mit Vertreibung bedroht. Mehr Menschen als in Deutschland wahlberechtigt sind! Welche Regierung ist am ehesten in der Lage, diesen Menschen eine Stimme zu geben und in Kopenhagen einen ambitionierten Klimavertrag zu erstreiten? Darüber sollten wir alle Parteien in den nächsten Wochen zu Rede stellen!

Anti Atom Treck mit 50,000 - schön wars ...

2009-09-05T22:31:00.003+02:00

Berichte hier und hier.

Der Frage ausweichen ist auch eine Antwort, fischerAppelt ...

2009-09-03T22:34:00.002+02:00

Mehr zu Transparenz und Lobbying bei lobbycontrol.

Atomkraft muss Geschichte werden - am 5.9. in Berlin "mal richtig abschalten"

2009-08-21T15:12:00.002+02:00

RWE Riesen und (passende) Untertitel ...

2009-08-21T12:56:00.000+02:00

Seht selbst:

Tribu "gangsters" against plastic!

2009-07-13T22:30:00.005+02:00

Plastic bags are a curse. They consume fossil fuels, are wasteful and ruin our oceans. That said, opposing plastic bags is also usually a pet project of people who want to be (seen to be) green without having to challenge power structures or consumption patterns head on. They are the kind of things Gordon Brown worries about. It´s all the more remarkable, that plastic bags have just gained a forceful new enemy. The inner city Manila boys - who were still street "gangsters" when they produced the excellent movie Tribu - have just joined the battle against plastics. Or so I gather - as plastics is the only part of the lyrics that I "understand". Their tune protests plastic bags destroying the Pasig river - Manila´s main artery. - I have walked along the Pasig. I walked along a bit of the river that town planners had tried to spruce up. This had not really worked - for two reasons. One, people still needed the river embankment to camp out - to eek out a living. The idea of a "recreational strawling space" in the middle of Manila proved a bit fanciful - given economic realities. The other reason was, indeed, plastic bags. They were everywhere. They made even the newly designed riverbed look just dirty and cheap. So, have fun with this inner city boys attack on plastic bags. Much more real, then pious words from Gordon!

Zukunft statt Kohle

2009-06-22T17:23:00.002+02:00

Der Video zu den Campact Kohle Aktivitäten der letzten Wochen. Die Musik ist mir etwas zu reisserisch. Aber trotzdem nett ;-).

Vind Farmen from IKEA ...

2009-06-18T16:46:00.002+02:00

If this was the kind of product IKEA offered in their blue box shopping monster stores, I would be a better customer! For more good news of the future - read today´s "International Herald Tribune" here.

Kohle und Atom passen nicht in Deutschlands Zukunft ...

2009-06-17T11:22:00.006+02:00

In den letzten Jahren hatte man manchmal den Eindruck die Erneuerbare Energien Branche interessiert sich nur für eines: Das Geld verdienen. Eine einstmals tief politische - vielfach eng mit dem Widerstand gegen die Atomindustrie verbandelte - Branche boomte. Das war und ist gut so. Aber notwendigerweise brachte der wirtschaftliche Erfolg auch viele Menschen in die Branche, die von Profiten weit mehr verstehen als von Klimanotwendigkeiten. Um so mehr ist es zu begrüßen, dass die Branche sich nun aktiv in den Wahlkampf 2009 einbringt (siehe Bild) - und sich klar gegen Kohle und Atom positioniert. Die Erneuerbarenverbände haben verstanden, dass es auf Dauer kein friedliches Nebeneinander von erneuerbaren Energien und fossil-nuklearen Kraftwerken geben kann. Es gibt einen Systemkonflikt zwischen einem auf Erneuerbaren basierenden Energiesystem - und einem altmodischen "Grundlastmodell" - basierend auf Kohle und Atomanlagen, die jedes Jahr Tausende von Stunden laufen müssen um sich wirtschaftlich zu lohnen. Der Systemkonflikt wird in Deutschland schon sehr bald real. Und erfordert grundsätzliche Entscheidungen - wie der Sachverständigenrat für Umweltfragen hier aufzeigt. Klar, auch Erneuerbare können zunehmend große Mengen Strom dauerhaft liefern. Mit Projekten wie "Desertec" wird die Fähigkeit in absehbarer Zeit massiv zunehmen. Aber eine Erneuerbare Zukunft ist in den nächsten Jahren auch eine Zukunft in der das Stromangebot fluktuiert. Dies benötigt - neben intensiven Anstrengungen zur Energieeinsparung und Energieeffizienz - einen flexiblen Kraftwerkspark, den Kohle und Atom nicht liefern können. Darum passen Kohle und Atom auch am 27. September nicht in unsere Zukunft. Und deswegen ist es um so trauriger, dass sich die SPD bei ihrem Parteitag - trotz intensiver Appelle - weiter pro Kohle positionierte und einen gemeinsamen Brief der Umweltverbände ignorierte. Herr Steinmeier schaffte es zwar 65 Minuten zu brüllen. Aber den Klimawandel erwähnte er in seiner Rede kein einziges Mal. Man muss nicht, wie ich, einmal Juso gewesen sein, um das zum Heulen zu finden!

Shell guilty - and $15.5 million poorer for it ...

2009-06-09T10:10:00.004+02:00

Of course, Shell insists that they do not accept liability. But them settling with Ken Saro-Wiwa Jr. and other plaintiffs for $15.5 million is a real victory for corporate accountability. It´s one of the largest such payments in history. Like the tobacco trials, this settlement will make other corporations think twice about their actions. Here is to hoping, that it will stop some from doing the things Shell stood accused of: supplying weapons, colluding with murder, devastating the communities in which they are operating. - 13 years of legal wrangling is a long, long time indeed. Part of me can´t quite comprehend yet that this is over. Part of me might have even enjoyed a prolongued trial, providing ample opportunity for Shell to get tangled up in their own misinformation. But if it´s hard for me to fathom that this is over - just imagine what it must be like for the plaintiffs. To get an inkling read Ken Saro-Wiwa Jr.´s moving reflections here.

Six Kingsnorth heros

2009-05-31T20:20:00.005+02:00

The Kingsnorth 6 first stopped a massive coal power station for a day. Then they made legal history, when a middle England jury ruled that a bit of paint on a chimney is no harm, really, when you consider the consequences of coal burning for the planet and our future. In all likelihood, the Kingsnorth 6 have also killed off the string of new unabated coal plants that were planned in Britain, after this recent government announcement, which did mark real progress. The pressure needs to continue - and more activities will follow on July 4th. In the meantime, though, the Kingsnorth 6 deserve all the credit they can get. It´s wonderful, therefore, to see acclaimed filmmaker Nick Broomfield make a 20 minute documentary about these six extraordinary, ordinary heros. If you don´t have 20 minutes now, watch the trailor below. I am sure it will make you want to see the whole thing - which you can do here.
Admiration. It´s the simplest word to describe what I feel. Admiration - and gratitude!

Die Anti Kohlebewegung ist da!

2009-05-26T11:17:00.010+02:00

Die bundesweite Presse nimmt noch kaum Notiz davon. Doch deutschlandweit wächst und gedeiht der Widerstand gegen neue Kohlekraftwerke. Zu bundesweiten Demos strömen vielleicht nicht Zehntausende. Aber Zehntausende sind in der letzten Wochen - von Emden und Brunsbüttel im Norden über Lünen bis Mainz - gegen die Kohle auf die Strasse gegangen. 4000 waren es allein in Mainz am letzten Samstag (wo auch das nebenstehende Foto entstand). Am 6. Juni folgt eine Demonstration in Krefeld. Dort wird der Stadtrat in den nächsten Tagen über das Kohlekraftwerk befinden; hier können die Stadträte aufgefordert werden, zur klimapolitischen Vernunft zu kommen. - Über 37,000 haben den Aufruf "Zukunft statt Kohle" unterschrieben; Grund genug für Minister Gabriel in Berlin vor dem Bürgerwillen zu flüchten. Beim Kirchentag in Bremen konnte er den Kohlegegnern aber nicht mehr entkommen und versprach die Unterschriften doch noch entgegen zu nehmen. Spannend in Wahlkampfzeiten: CDU und SPD sind in der Kohlepolitik tief gespalten. Eine 42-41 Abstimmung zum Kohlekraftwerk in Lubmin beim Parteitag der SPD Mecklenburg-Vorpommern ist für diese internen Konflikte ein hübsches Symbol. In Mainz, z.B., ist die CDU gegen das Kohlekraftwerk (und ein lustiges Video zur Kommunalwahl fordert in Konsequenz den Schwarz-Grünen Schulterschluss). Auf der anderen Rheinseite, in Hessen, betreibt insbesondere Kochs CDU das Festhalten an Kohledinosauriern wie dem neuen Kraftwerk in Staudinger (der CDU Ortsverband Hainburg ist wiederum dagegen.) Die SPD ist genauso gespalten - nur geographisch umgekehrt. In Wiesbaden ist sie gegen die Kohle. In Mainz ist sie genauso entschieden dafür - und bekam zuletzt prominente Unterstützung von "Umweltminister" Gabriel. - Einige Kohlekraftwerke sind schon - aus den unterschiedlichsten Gründen - verhindert worden, zuletzt und prominent in Berlin. Neben den Energiekonzernen sind heute auch die Finanzierer von Kohlekraftwerken - wie die Deutsche Bank - vor Protesten nicht mehr sicher. All das sollte Anti Kohle Aktivisten deutschlandweit Mut machen. Die Anti Kohlebewegung lebt. Es wird Zeit, dass auch die überregionalen Medien das zur Kenntnis nehmen. Denn an der Zukunft der Kohle, entscheidet sich die Zukunft unseres Klimas. Mit Sicherheit.

More Pascal Lamy

2009-05-11T15:21:00.006+02:00

Truth be told, I miss Pascal Lamy. I used to meet the affable Frenchmen regularly when he was still pushing EU trade interests down other countries throats. As EU trade Commissioner, he used to meet NGO´s on his tours around Europe. Because he loves to debate and exercise not just his legs (he runs marathons), but also his sharp mind. Because he wants to try and pretend that EU trade policy is democratic. And because he tends to think he is the smartest man in the room. He likes debates, because he likes (to think he is) winning them. - Since 2005, he has been running the World Trade Organization. In that role, I have met him less often. I have missed the debates, but I guess there is still time. A few days back - without much public fanfare- Lamy was confirmed as DG of the WTO for another four years. So far, his track record in that job has been disappointing - especially for himself. For years, even back in his old job, he has been working to finish the Doha trade round. When he was appointed, he called finishing Doha "the top priority". Luckily - for people and the planet, at least - he has failed - so far. But I suspect he really wanted this second term to be the one laughing at the end. The one who finishes the Round most people have forgotten about only to then claim that Doha is the miracle cure against the global recession. You can be certain that Lamy and the WTO will argue that liberalizing global trade is what a world in recession really needs now more than ever. No matter that the evidence is long in, that further liberalization is the wrong answer. - I hope, therefore, that Lamy continues to be so (over-)ambitious in his liberalizing zeal that the rest of the world refuses to go along with a Doha deal. - And in memory of the good times I have had debating Lamy, I here post a video of one of my visits to the WTO in 2005. Not sure if it managed to change WTO trade policy. But the action you see on the video, I am told, did change one WTO policy: the security policy. Apparently, it has since become more difficult to approach the WTO building (which ironically used to be the ILO building!) from the Lake Geneva side. Well, at least it´s a measurable impact .... Enjoy.

Tourist season ...

2009-05-06T22:20:00.005+02:00

Growing up in (well, near) Heidelberg, I know all about tourists taking over a city and the locals being left wondering whether they are more than picture accessories. As a boy, I wore a T-shirt with the slogan "I am not a tourist, I live here" with pride. I even admit to being rude to tourists at times. When asked for directions to the Castle, say, I pointed out - in a rather direct German way - that for some people Heidelberg is a home, not a fairy tale. (Of course, I was only rude when I wasn´t busy milking tourists for their money as a busker ...) My Heidelberg experience is no doubt to blame, that I had to laugh out loud when I saw the above graffiti in Firenze last week ... Tourist season, by the way, had just started ...

23 Jahre Tschernobyl

2009-04-26T20:03:00.002+02:00

Wie viele in der deutschen Umweltbewegung war für mich die Katastrophe von Tschernobly 1986 einer dieser entscheidenden Momente, die mich zum Umweltaktivisten werden liessen. Man fühlt sich schon alt wenn man merkt, dass das 23 Jahre her ist. Die Folgen wirken bis heute. Doch der Jahrestag bekommt meist wenig Aufmerksamkeit. Gratulation deshalb besonders an Greenpeace für die Projektion am Tschernobyl-Sarkopharg. Mein Freund (und Ex-Kollege) Tobias Münchmeyer beschreibt hier seinen letzten Ausflug nach Tschernobly. Respekt.

The parent paradox

2009-04-15T21:22:00.009+02:00

The miracle arrived. She is called Noni and, at three months, she has already changed the world: She has changed sleeping patterns and priorities. Above all, though, she has changed my attitude to time. The immediate and short term takes on a whole new significance as a parent. You live for the next feed, the next nappy change, the next time she sleeps. You wonder what the next night will be like (and sometimes bore friends with accounts of the last.) Being smiled at by my child gives me instant satisfaction. Hearing her make noises makes my heart jump. But none of this ever lasts more than seconds. And the switch to her crying can be just as fast. The short term, therefore, has new significance. Every moment has a new intensity. But at the same time, the truly long term is also more urgent than ever. The future has become tangible, visible: I can touch her. Of course, I always cared about the planet in 2050 or 2100. But now, our - and the planet´s - long term future stares me in the face every day. Looks inquisitive. Seems to wonder what world will await her. - In 2050, Noni will be barely older than I am now. In 2100, she may just still be alive. Will she live in a world that is 4-5 degrees warmer? Will she witness the (far too realistic) horror scenarios climate science provides? Will the welfare state be a history lesson for her and the idea that we could beat back genetic engineering seem quaint? Will she curse us, because we talked the good talk - and then got on the next flight? I don´t know. But the task of preventing a world I do not want Noni to witness has taken on new urgency over the last three months. You may call it the "parent paradox". I care even more about the long term future. But the short term also has a new urgency. Indeed, often, before I can get around to doing anything about the long term, one of the new short term tasks intervene. I have to walk around with her on my shoulder. I have to sing her to sleep. I cannot make this post any more eloquent (or wise), because, well, I have to change her nappy ... This ain´t a complaint, though. Life is richer this way; I have a smile on my face. But our collective task of treating us (and the planet we depend on) with basic decency has become ever more urgent! P.S. I should have known, of course . My friend Red told me all along: "Having children makes politics truly personal." As so often, he was right.

Rettet das SO 36!

2009-04-14T16:52:00.003+02:00

Nun sind die Spiesser, die den Chamissoplatz zerstören, auch in Kreuzberg 36 angekommen ... Ein Nachbar (ich gehe mal davon aus, so doof ist nur ein Mann!?), hat irgendwie bei der Wohnungssuche nicht mitbekommen, dass er neben eine Kultstätte zieht. Nun beschwert er sich allen Ernstes über den Lärm des SO36! Da Gesetz nun mal Gesetz ist (manchmal sogar in Kreuzberg) bekommt er auch noch Recht! Und es kommt noch schlimmer: Er weigert sich umzuziehen, obwohl das SO36 ihm Maklergebühren etc. angeboten hat. Bleibt dem SO 36 also nur noch, an die Politik zu appellieren um die Schallmauer, die nötig ist, zu bezahlen. Das SO 36 selber, kann das nicht wuppen. Absurd, dass man sich mit sowas beschäftigen muss. Aber das SO36 darf nicht sterben!

Gabriel auf Grünen Kurs - 23 Jahre später ...

2009-04-14T13:57:00.010+02:00

Keine Satire! Dies ist ein Wahlplakat der Grünen NRW aus dem Jahr 1986. Offensichtlich bevor die Realität des Klimawandels - und damit die Notwendigkeit eines klaren Neins zur Kohle - selbst die grüne Partei erreicht hatte. Keine Satire - aber zum Glück Geschichte (von einigen Tübinger Sonderwegen mal abgesehen). Umweltminister Gabriel, im Gegensatz, scheint in den letzten 23 Jahren nichts gelernt zu haben. Er ist bis heute ganz auf Grünen-Kurs (vintage 1986). Schwergewichtig redet er der Republik ein, der notwendige Atomausstieg sei nur für den Preis des Neubaus der größten verfügbaren Klimakiller zu haben. Schon verrückt, wenn auch leider nicht erfunden: Von Krefeld bis Mainz trommelt ausgerechnet der Minister, dem der Schutz des Klimas offiziell anvertraut ist, für die Kohlelobby. Wer widerspricht, wird hart angegangen: "Volksverdummung" betreiben die Umweltverbände mit ihrer Anti Kohle Politik. So Gabriel. In 23 Jahren aber, da bin ich mir sicher, werden wir über diese These genauso schmunzeln wie heute über das Plakat von 1986. Oder fassungslos wütend sein, dass einer, der es besser wissen musste, mit derart absurden Thesen Deutschland an einer klimaschädlichen Energiepolitik festhalten liess. Statt wirklich auf die Alternativen Energieeffizienz und Erneuerbare zu setzen. Wollen wir ihm da nicht lieber Dampf machen? Ich finde schon. Es dauert jedenfalls nicht 23 Jahre um den Appell Zukunft statt Kohle zu unterschreiben - z.B. hier. P.S. Gabriel bewegt sich - und sucht den Kohle-Frieden.

Wiwa vs. Shell - finally in court

2009-04-04T13:32:00.009+02:00

In 1995, I spent many, many afternoons camped out in front of Shell petrol stations. Rain or shine, a good number of us were determined to make Shell notice that their complicity in atrocoties in Nigeria was not going unnoticed. We were called the "Edinburgh Coalition Against Shell" and a true coalition we were: Church people, students, Nigerians in exile, et al.. During all those hours in front of drab petrol stations, friendships were formed. There were bizarre moments, like when a lady stopped to thank us - and it turned out she worked for Exxon ... There were beautiful moments, like when some random person nobody had seen before, read out some of Ken Saro-Wiwa´s powerful poetry. There were - many - frustrated moments, when we seemed so small and insignificant and Shell customers did not care. There was real despair, when, on November 10th 1995, we learned that Ken Saro-Wiwa and 8 other Ogoni leaders had, after all, been killed. Murdered. After a sham trial. Despite global protests and pleas from many who seemed important, but were impotent - like us. - Defeats like that stay with you. They are, like extinction, for ever. They never stop hurting. May be it would be wrong, if they did. - Yet, yet. Ken Saro-Wiwa would not want us to wallow in sadness. Facing the executioners, he reportedly said: "Lord, take my soul, but the struggle continues". Hence I applaud the efforts of enterprising lawyers, Earthrights and others. As a result of their tireless efforts on May 27th 2009, a landmark trial will start in New York - Wiwa vs Shell - finally. The event is significant enough to deserve a ´trailor´ - which you can watch below. To me, it was a bit scary to see all those images again. Aside from the new lawyer interviews, I think I knew every single image in this video. The devastation still makes my heart bleed. If you haven´t seen these images before ..., well, I hope they make you angry. May justice be done in New York, if over 12 years late! Mark May 27th in your diaries.

P.S. I had to repost the video as Shell had taken legal action to remove it from the original website. Meanwhile, the trial has been delayed. Go here for regular updates.

RWE-Agentur will Satire unterbinden. Humorlos!

2009-04-03T10:07:00.009+02:00

Diese Satire einer RWE-Werbung für Atomstrom ist so lustig und gelungen, dass sie der RWE-Agentur, die das Original gemacht hat, ein Dorn im Auge ist. Ziemlich humorlos. Und kontraproduktiv. Denn jetzt werden noch viel mehr Menschen von dieser Satire erfahren und hoffentlich zu einem Ökostromanbieter wechseln. Weitere Details zu den juristischen Drohungen der Agentur findet ihr hier. P.S. Werbetexter und Grünen Politiker Michael Schäfer hat sich dankenswerter Weise dieser besonderen Irrung seiner besonderen Werbezunft angenommen. Schaut hier und hier.

Good question ...

2009-04-02T11:39:00.003+02:00

I pass this poster regularly at the U Bahn station Weinmeisterstrasse right in the centre of Berlin. I don´t know an answer. I don´t even know why I am, sometimes, so impatient with those who ask me for money at that very station. "I remember the first time I saw someone lying on the cold street/ I thought, “I can’t just walk past you, this can’t just be true./ But I learned by example to just keep moving my feet./ It’s amazing the things that we all learn to do" are ani difranco´s thoughts on the matter. May be not just the poor are too patient and quiet about the day to day injustices we all see - and ignore, somehow ...

No risky dams - but freedom of expression, please!

2009-03-18T10:41:00.007+01:00

It´s the sort of thing I have done many a times. A big international conference. The opening ceremony. Loads of media ... Media ready to cover your story, if you just do something simple: Hold up a sign, unfold a banner. That sort of thing. The UN has gotten pretty used to this type of protest - and thankfully pretty tolerant too! Even at the WTO opening ceremony in Cancun 2003 we were not sanctioned for holding up signs denouncing the WTO´s undemocratice free trade mania (see picture above). So, shame on Turkey for completely overreacting to the banner reading "No Risky Dams" my friend (and neighbour) Ann-Kathrin Schneider unfolded at the opening of the 5th World Water Forum. Ann Kathrin works for International Rivers and her story of being deported from Turkey for this peaceful banner action deserves to be heard:

What we leave our children ...

2009-03-16T16:06:00.007+01:00

Last time I checked, UNDP was a long way from being consistently climate-friendly in their statements and actions. But this add (below) is great. Another example of international agencies doing the kind of communication work which was once the preserve of NGOs. Which does, of course, pose the question of what the new role of civil society should be. Read Remi´s thoughts on that here - and please comment!

Victory - No new coal in Berlin ...

2009-03-12T09:23:00.008+01:00

Today, finally, Vattenfall spoke publicly.They confirmed what they have already told Berlin´s leaders: There will be no new coal plant in Berlin! They are even planning on finally shutting down one of the old coal plants in Berlin - if only in 2020. Vattenfall seems to have decided to turn Berlin into the place where they green their image. That´s good news for Berlin - though this must only be the beginning of a debate on Berlin´s sustainable energy future. The end of the Berlin plant, achieved by a strong networked local campaign must be the beginning of the end for new coal plants in Germany. Appropriatly, there was a little celebration outside the Rote Rathaus yesterday (see picture). Arguing that coal should only be used for barbecues, tofu sausages were served. Tasty. May there be many more barbecue fests around the country. Here is a map of the 25 plants that still need to be stopped.

Männer: Auf zum Frauentag!

2009-03-08T14:43:00.004+01:00

Ich wünsche einen schönen Internationalen Frauentag und unterstütze dieses Statement, mit Dank an Jan Philipp Albrecht: "Trotz auf dem Papier überwundener Ungleichheiten zwischen den Geschlechtern verdienen Frauen in der Europäischen Union noch immer im Durchschnitt 16 Prozent weniger als Männer - in Deutschland sind es sogar 23 Prozent weniger. Sei es durch offene Lohndiskriminierung oder auf Grund des Engagements für Familie und Kinder. Diese dramatische Ungleichbehandlung auf Grund des Geschlechts wollen wir nicht länger akzeptieren. Männer dürfen zu dieser Ungerechtigkeit nicht länger schweigen. Deshalb fordern wir alle Männer auf, sich am internationalen Frauentag offen zu einer tatsächlichen Gleichberechtigung zu bekennen und an den Aktionen zum Frauentag teilzunehmen.

Die nach wie vor überwiegend von Frauen - zunehmend aber auch von einigen Männern - geleistete Familienarbeit wird von der Gesellschaft nicht als gleichwertige Leistung anerkannt. Durch Erziehung und gesellschaftliche Vorurteile werden Frauen immer noch in ganz bestimmte, meist schlecht bezahlte Berufsfelder gedrängt, wohingegen den Männern eine einseitige Ernährerrolle aufgezwängt wird. Die notwendige - nicht nur formale sondern tatsächliche - Gleichberechtigung von Mann und Frau kann daher nur mit einem gesellschaftlichen Diskurs einher gehen, der festgefahrene Rollenbilder und Vorurteile aufbricht. Hierzu möchten wir vor allem die Männer ermutigen.”

Ach wäre die Welt eine Bank ...

2009-03-06T12:27:00.002+01:00

Schön und ärgerlich wahr! Details siehe greenpeace.de ...

National imperative versus voodoo economics?

2009-03-04T10:11:00.007+01:00

Accepting anything called a "national imperative" is not easy for Germans on the Left. Rightly so, given the slaughter and destruction that has been waged in the German nation´s name. Yet, having listened to friends from the South and experienced how the national - at least for a certain phase of the struggle - was (and is) an essential part of the narrative of liberation, I have long become a convert. Living in Scotland when the struggles for a national parliament (for now) succeeded sealed my fate. I have become convinced of the usefulness, at times, of nationalism for the progressive cause. But rarely has someone put the need for national struggle as well as my friend Red does in this piece for the Business Mirror. There could be no starker contrast between making the most of what one has - and the idiotic religion of export-led growth that has been pushed down our throats for the last decades ... Do read on:

THE NATIONAL IMPERATIVE

So, what do we do now?

For decades we were told not to mind the stink behind the altar, where pale clerics of the market faith congregated and preached the good word. Year after year, behind the burnished marble slab, beneath the old wood cross beams of consumption, black coat and black tie delivered the liturgy of bling and the brass cross, and the sanctity of the system was upheld. Year after year leaders chased away the phantoms of looming crises with ritual new liberalism and the prescribed brand of amen: our economic fundamentals are strong, our fundamentals are strong. Open the gates of the economy, open your heart. Peace be with you; everything is okay. Year after year we believed, happy in our blinkered place in the constellation of dependencies.

Then came 2008, the year the valves that had been holding back the stench finally broke down, when venom too long contained rushed through the veins.

By 2009, the empire of belief had fallen apart and its pallid high priests were issuing regular missals that years ago would have been denounced by the bishops of Washington as satanic edicts.

Nationalization -- not as a question of 'if' but of 'when' and 'where' and how much control, how much ownership, and how long the long-term intent. Re-regulation. Conservation instead of blind extraction. The cosseting of strategic domestic industries. Massive state spending to generate jobs. A green economy. From his prison cell in 1977 the Filipino martyr Ninoy Aquino issued a national call of comparable subversion and pragmatism, but who remembers? "I believe," wrote Aquino, "that basic and strategic industries must be nationalized because it is too dangerous to leave the determination of national needs and priorities in the hands of a few. My primary concern is national interest and the general welfare, not nationalization."

How interesting the turn of events. In 1988 in her book Unequal Alliance, Robin Broad observed the stagnation of world trade and the glut of international markets. Transnational capital was "no longer moving to the Third World," Broad wrote; it had "already turned toward new arenas for short-term rewards at home -- consumer credit, corporate mergers, and the get-rich-quick gimmicks of financial speculation." "As the world economy has become more integrated," Broad remarked, "effective sovereignty across the developing world has waned" while vulnerabilities have multiplied exponentially.

Yet everyone continued to be sold the idea of export-fueled growth, hinged on the magical power of the global bazaar where economic integration was the goal and the idea of "self-reliance" was considered an anachronism. India bought and paid dearly. Between 1997 and 2007, the journalist and Magsaysay awardee P. Sainath tells us, India recorded the "largest wave of suicides in history", which today "stands at a staggering 182,936" -- all of them ruined farmers. "In the next five years after 2001," by the "time India was well down the WTO garden path in agriculture...." wrote Sainath, "one farmer [was taking] his or her life every 30 minutes on average." The horrific figure is probably underestimated, said Sainath, because the countless women farmers who took their own lives are recorded as mere suicide deaths because, though they do the bulk of work in agriculture, they are mere "farmers' wives." According to Sainath, "Those who killed themselves were overwhelmingly cash crop farmers – growers of cotton, coffee, sugarcane, groundnut, pepper, vanilla" while the "largest number of farm suicides [took place] in the state of Maharashtra, home to the Mumbai Stock Exchange and ... to 21 of India’s 51 dollar billionaires." The same Mumbai of the movie Slumdog Millionaire. All too many bought the theology of the holy market and all too readily traded away the rights of their citizens, the fields that once fed their children and the ecosystems that once sustained their very cultures.

In October 1979, a World Bank report counseled the Philippines "to take advantage of the fact that its wages had 'declined significantly relative to those in competing ... countries' such as Hong Kong and South Korea." And of course the Philippine government took advantage, not recognizing that beneath the basement is a cellar, and underneath that is another basement. An ad in the October 16, 1981 issue of Far Eastern Economic Review talked about such architecture: "Sri Lanka challenges you to match the advantages of its Free Trade Zone, against those being offered elsewhere.... Sri Lanka has the lowest labor rates in Asia." In the midst of a global economic conflagration, autarky cannot be a solution. But neither can it be protracted national suicide based on the notion that we can only follow others because we have always had so little, and based on the childish hope that other countries will act in our interest. Almost 47 years ago the revered senator Lorenzo Tañada reminded us of the wealth that we had always possessed but which we all too often ignored in our mad pursuit of alien promises.

"We have accepted without too much thought the oft-repeated characterization of the Philippines as a capital-poor country," said Tañada on March 10, 1962, "and that therefore we must vigorously attract foreign capital if we are to develop our country." We paid him no attention and over the years we kept exporting what we already had. Our capital. The fruits of our soil. Our minerals. Our best and our brightest. Our dignity.

And the hemorrhage continues still.

No new coal in Berlin!?

2009-03-03T13:47:00.005+01:00

How appropriate ... While thousands protested coal at the Capitol Hill Power Plant, news filtered out that Vattenfall no longer plans a coal fired power station in Berlin. Vattenfall has so far refused to confirm these reports (they are scheduled to meet local politicians next week to present their energy scenario for Berlin ...). But Vattenfall clearly felt the pressure - with groups ranging from the local conservatives to development groups all united in opposing new coal. Friends of mine played a key role (see here and here for examples ...). I can only thank them! If confirmed, this is a huge victory; a huge step forward for the anti coal movement in Germany! Until we have confirmation, though, please continue to show that coal is unnacceptable here ;-). P.S. Schöner Tagesspiegel Kommentar hier.

Make Climate Change History! March 2nd

2009-02-27T19:11:00.004+01:00

Ok, I am not suggesting you fly to DC just to be there ... but this is a great action and I really hope it is big! If you are near D.C., have fun ... and the action is already having an impact!

This is reality ... ;-)

2009-02-27T18:37:00.001+01:00

Yes Men in Berlin crash BMW sponsored gala

2009-02-11T10:23:00.006+01:00

Wish I had been there (but I was busy changing nappies, of course ...) . Read what this was all about here. The Yes Men were in Berlin for the Berlinale showing their new movie ...

Finally, that nightmare is over ...

2009-01-20T21:04:00.006+01:00

To mark the final departure of Dick and Bush today, I dug up this picture. It truly sums up the last eight years, don´t you think? ... It shows - otherwise sombre and serious, of course - delegates to the 2001 climate negotiations in Bonn with a very expressive plank. (One of thousands that made up the Lifeboat to rescue the climate treaty ...) Here is to a new beginning - with much thanks to all American friends. As one banner said in the crowd today: "We have overcome". We all know, we will have to do that again and again and again! But at least not of G.W. Bush and Dick Cheney!

Congratulations to Erik on ´My true north´!

2009-01-20T12:32:00.003+01:00

While the world is - rightly - celebrating the first black American president, let me celebrate another great American; Erik Kaiel. Erik is a modern dance choreographer - and a dear friend. Yesterday, his dance "My true north" came first in the danceclick audition. A fitting excuse to post the link here and say: Great stuff, Erik. Thanks for doing what you believe in!

So long ...

2009-01-17T19:30:00.005+01:00

Wondering whether to look forward to Tuesday? Here is one last reminder why you certainly should...:

Be clean, be green, be Berlin - Kein Kohlekraftwerk in Berlin!

2009-01-15T21:22:00.005+01:00

Wowi, Berlins Bürgermeister, ist gerne cool und links. Er gibt sich progressiv. Und wenns unangenehm wird ... schickt er Thilo Sarrazin, seinen Finanzsenator, vor. So könnte Berlin ohne Probleme Ökostrom beziehen. In die Zukunft investieren, statt den massenhaften Klimatod auch noch mit öffentlichen Geldern voranzutreiben. Aber Sarrazin wiegelt ab - und Wowereit - obwohl er die Klimapolitik zur Chefsache erklärt hat - schweigt. Das wird Wowi bei der Diskussion um ein neues Kohlekraftwerk in Berlin - auf die Dauer - nicht gelingen. Kohle gehört zum Klimaschutz, wie Krebs zur Gesundheit. Es ist deshalb kein Wunder, dass sich in Berlin, wie überall in Deutschland, immer mehr Menschen zusammen finden um gegen neue Kohlekraftwerke zu protestieren. "Be clean, be green, be Berlin" parodiert die unsägliche Berlin Imagekampagne - und ist ein klares Signal: Wenn Wowi in Berlin versucht weiter auf Kohle zu setzen bekommt er ein Problem. Nicht nur Sarrazin. Richtig so!

Let the Yes Men fix the world!

2009-01-15T12:20:00.002+01:00

If the Yes Men ruled, this planet would be a better place to live. No question! So, whenever it comes your way, go watch their new movie:

Support Bidder70!

2009-01-07T18:22:00.005+01:00

I freely confess, the American political and legal system is something that baffles me time and time again. That Senators can be appointed by Governors; that in some states you can vote for the same presidential candidate under the guise of many parties (such as the utterly likeable Working Families Party, whose Brooklyn chapter launch I attended a few years ago ...); that Presidents in their dying days can pretty much do whatever they like, including pardoning criminals. All a bit weird. So, I also do not quite understand how Bush was able to initiate an auction to sell off land in Utah as a farewell gift to his chums in the oil industry. But, though I try to live a heroless life, what I do know is that Bidder70 is a courageous young man, whose actions we all need to support! He had the guts to show up at the auction and buy the land that the fossil industry wants to wreck. And now he needs $45,000 by January 9th in order to hold onto the land he has gained. He is hoping that once Bush is out of the door, the leases can be looked at again - and the drilling in beautiful lands prevented after all. Again, I have no idea of what the hopes are of the new Obama adminstration intervening. Will the new officials at the federal Interior Department and Bureau of Land Management take this case on? With my knowledge of America, I have no way of knowing. But I do know that Tim DeChristopher is trying to do the right thing here. If you can, please donate now.

Waiting for the miracle to come ...

2009-01-02T09:52:00.002+01:00

I have marvelled in a previous post at how ani difranco somehow manages to always sing about the things that preoccupy me right at the time when they press on my mind. So, as I await to be a daddy any day now (and still can´t quite picture that bump ´emitting´ a human being that screams, laughs, cries and needs ...), I keep listening to Landing Gear - a song about birth. Read the lyrics here. Then listen: P.S. Ok, so the title refers to a Leonard Cohen song, not one of ani´s, but you got to be flexible ... ;-).

Vorschau 2009 ...

2009-01-01T15:07:00.003+01:00

Von dem wunderbaren Horst Evers, vorgelesen im Mehringhoftheater (hingehen!), veröffentlicht in der zitty der ultimate Jahresausblick 2009 .... Lest selbst:

Januar
Sitze am Frühstückstisch und bin müde. Unendlich müde. Es ist wie verhext. Wenn ich am Frühstückstisch sitze, bin ich müde. Wenn ich im Bett liege, habe ich Hunger. Immer am falschen Ort zur falschen Zeit. Denke, na das Jahr geht ja gut los. Wirtschaftsexperten haben herausgefunden, dass doch alles noch, noch viel schlimmer ist. Schlimmste Rezession seit der Geburt von Johannes Heesters. Um die Autoindustrie zu retten führt die Bundesregierung den Führerschein ab 15 ein.

Februar
Wirtschaftsprognosen zeigen: Alles noch viel schlimmer, als man dachte, dass es schlimm ist. Politiker fordern von der Politik, also von sich selbst, sie sollen endlich etwas tun, um die Konjunktur zu stützen. Unter großem Druck von sich selbst kauft die Bundesregierung, um die Automobilbauzuliefererindustrie zu stützen, 40 Millionen Autositze und verteilt sie an die Bevölkerung. Die isländische Regierung entschließt sich unterdessen, um den Staatsbankrott abzuwenden, die komplette Insel an Playmobil zu verkaufen.

März
Die Zeitungen schreiben: So viel schlimmer, wie es jetzt viel schlimmer ist, war es noch nie schlimmer. Um die Automobilbauer zu stützen, verabschiedet die Bundesregierung ein neues Einwanderungsgesetz. Beim Kauf von zwei in Deutschland produzierten Autos erhält man eine doppelte Staatsbürgerschaft gratis. Führerschein jetzt ab 13. Zur Stabilisierung der Automobilbauer-zulieferzulieferindustrie kauft die Regierung 50 Millionen Plastikchassis für Autositze und verteilt sie an die Bevölkerung. Playmobil gibt bekannt, man plane Island komplett zu einer bunten Playmobilerlebniswelt umzubauen. Man verspricht allerdings, dabei soweit es geht auf Würde und Selbstwertgefühl der Bevölkerung Rücksicht zu nehmen.

April
Führerschein jetzt ab 12. Um die Zulieferfirmen zu stützen kauft die Bundesregierung 50 Millionen Sätze Winterreifen und verteilt sie an die Bevölkerung. Wenn man je zwei Reifen unter einen Autositz legt, hat man einen schönen Sessel. Ganz bequem eigentlich. Um die Konjunktur nicht weiter durch irgendwelche zu ehrgeizigen Klimaziele zu belasten, wird beschlossen den Klimawandel insgesamt aufs Jahr 2028 zu verschieben. Fast alle Nationen stimmen zu. Nur die Niederlande und die Malediven haben Bedenken.

Mai
Die Holzstuhlindustrie klagt, dass durch die vielen verteilten Autositze ihr Absatzmarkt völlig zusammengebrochen ist. Um zu helfen kauft die Bundesregierung 80 Millionen Holzstühle und verteilt sie an die Bevölkerung. Zur Belebung der Autoindustrie wird die Kfz-Steuer abgeschafft. Stattdessen führt man nur kurze Zeit später eine Anti-Kfz-Steuer ein, welche nun jeder Haushalt ohne Automobil zu entrichten hat. Führerschein jetzt ab zehn.

Juni
Mittlerweile beschwert sich die Polstermöbelindustrie wegen der Gratisholzstühle. Die Regierung kauft 50 Millionen Sessel, Sofas oder Couchgarnituren und verteilt sie. Erste Privathaushalte murren, man wisse echt nicht mehr wohin mit den ganzen Sitzgelegenheiten. Für etwas Belebung auf dem deutschen Arbeitsmarkt sorgt die Herstellung von vier Millionen Plastikhelmen und Plastikuniformen für die isländische Bevölkerung. Um die Automobilbauzulieferzulieferzulieferantenzulieferindustrie zu entlasten kauft die Bundesregierung 60 Millionen Minitaschenfederkerne für Autositze und verteilt sie an die Bevölkerung.

Juli
Führerschein jetzt ab neun.
Stürme, Überschwemmungen und kleinere Erdbeben überall auf der Welt. In einer globalen Krisensitzung sind sich alle Nationen einig, dass nun entschlossenes, kompromissloses Handeln vonnöten ist. Als direkte Sofortmassnahme gelingt es den Klimawandel weltweit zu ächten. Die neu ernannten Weltklimaschutzsonderbeauftragten Wladimir Putin und Dick Cheney sprechen von einem echten Durchbruch.
Die Anti-Kfz-Steuer wird ausgeweitet und gilt nun für alle Haushalte mit weniger als zwei Automobilen.

August
Der Unmut in der Bevölkerung über die Sitzmöbelschwemme wächst. Um die Notwendigkeit der vielen Sitzgelegenheiten zu unterstreichen, erlässt der Bundestag ein Gesetz, nach dem fortan jeder Bundesbürger täglich wenigstens zwölf Stunden auf mindestens acht verschiedenen industriell gefertigten Sitzgelegenheiten zu sitzen hat. Unnötiges Stehen wird mit einer Strafabgabe geahndet. Zur Überwachung dieser Sitzverordnung hat Innenminister Schäuble bereits weitgehende Gesetzesänderungen veranlasst. An jedem bundesdeutschen Hintern wird wohl in Kürze eine Minikamera haften. Führerschein jetzt ab acht. Nach dem plötzlichen Verschwinden der Malediven und der Niederlande kündigen die Weltklimabeauftragten Putin und Cheney Maßnahmen an. Zulange habe man versucht mit dem Klimawandel zu verhandeln. Ab jetzt werde man dem Wetter mit einer Politik der Härte und der Stärke begegnen.

September
Die Wirtschaftsweisen verkünden plötzlich, es ist doch alles nicht so schlimm. Die Maßnahmen der Regierung greifen, Aufschwung kommt. Durch die konsequente Absenkung des Führerscheinalters ist es gelungen, die Auto-Kindersitzindustrie spürbar zu beleben. Vor allem der völlig neue Markt von Sitzerhöhungen für den Fahrersitz und hochgestellten, farbig markierten Pedalen schlägt positiv zu Buche. Zudem belebt die drastisch gestiegene Zahl von Blechschäden die Binnenkonjunktur. Außerdem freuen sich die Werften über die Aufträge für 20 riesen-riesengroße Vollplastikschiffe für die Playmobil-Piratenwelt auf Island. Wohl durch diesen plötzlichen, unerwarteten Aufschwung kommt es zu einem geradezu historischen Wahlergebnis. Alle, wirklich alle Parteien erreichen exakt dasselbe Ergebnis wie vor vier Jahren. Die Frage, ob dies durch Zufall oder einen Computerfehler geschehen ist, wird die Gerichte wohl noch einige Jahre beschäftigen. Doch das Ergebnis gilt. Speziell den SPD-Abgeordneten stehen die Tränen in den Augen, als sie realisieren, dass sie nun noch vier weitere Jahre in einer großen Koalition regieren werden. Gerhard Schröder lässt aus Moskau verlauten, er sei der eigentliche Wahlsieger.

Oktober
Die Wirtschaftsweisen räumen ein, dass sie wohl doch etwas zu optimistisch waren. Tatsächlich ist alles noch viel, viel, viel schlimmer, als es schon schlimm war, als noch alles viel schlimmer war. Überall in Deutschland gibt es Proteststeher. Die Wirtschaftsweisen sagen, alles liegt nur an der Halbherzigkeit der Regierung. Um die Automobilbauzulieferzulieferzulieferzulieferzulieferzulieferindustrie zu stützen, kauft die Bundesregierung zwei Milliarden Meter Autositzstoffe und verteilt sie an die Bevölkerung. Die Sendungen „Wie baue ich mir selbst einen Autositz?“ und „Kochen mit Autositzen“ werden zu den erfolgreichsten Fernsehformaten. Auf Island kommt es zu Protesten. Immer noch weigern sich viele Isländer sich ausschließlich wie Playmobilfiguren mit steifen Armen, Beinen und Oberkörpern zu bewegen. Bilder von randalierenden Playmobilisländern gehen um die Welt. Playmobil bestellt 2.000 lebensgroße Plastikpanzer bei Matell.

November
Um den Autobauern zu helfen beschließt die Bundesregierung, die Notenbank, das Münzprägerecht und die Steuerhoheit auf den Verband der deutschen Automobilindustrie zu übertragen. Die Wirtschaftsweisen sind sehr skeptisch, ob diese Maßnahmen ausreichen werden und zeigen sich enttäuscht von der Mutlosigkeit der Regierung.

Dezember
Die Automobilindustrie nutzt die neu gewonnene Steuerhoheit und beschließt rückwirkend aufs Jahr eine Steuer auf alle Sitzgelegenheiten. In ihrer Neujahrsansprache verspricht die Kanzlerin, weiterhin Besonnenheit zu bewahren.
Playmobil geht auf Island das Geld aus. Sie verkaufen die Insel an Coca-Cola. Die kündigen an, Island zu einem Weihnachtswunderland zu machen, wo ganzjährig Coca-Cola-Weihnachten gefeiert wird. Als Erstes werden Ganzkörpercoladosen und Wichteluniformen an die Playmobilisländer verteilt.

Und ich, ich sitze immer noch am Frühstückstisch, schaue auf meine mit Autositzen, Winterreifen, Holzstühlen und Taschenfederkernen zugeschüttete Wohnung und bin müde. Immer noch unendlich müde.

Happy New Beer!

2008-12-31T10:33:00.007+01:00

I was determined to explore new organic beers in 2008. And that, at least, I managed (don´t ask about the rest of the new year´s resolutions, please!) Whatever else 2008 was, it´s been a good beer year (may be investment sharks just drank too many cocktails!)! Almost wherever I went, I found new organic brews - and some were pretty decent! So, while newspapers review the events of 2008 and make (mostly speculative to absurd) predictions for 2009, I end the year by telling you about some more beers that could sweeten your new year (and bring us closer to an agriculture that won´t cost the earth). - Let me start by finishing off reviewing some beers by the Dutch Brouwereij ´t IJ. Not sure where they get their names from, but their beers are of a consistently high quality. The beer they call Columbus (the bottle shows an ostrich and a sailing ship - a comment on colonialism, that I doubt is intentional, but I do find amusing ...) is strong (9%) but refreshing. It´s got nothing to do with a Pilsner, but it is clearly a beer, as a strong taste of hop lingers on the tongue. The Struis (ostrich), gladly, tastes nothing like ostrich or egg! Though also 9%-strong, it´s smooth and remarkably light. On a dark, rainy night in Amsterdam, it´s bound to lighten your spirits! - The only disappointment I found this year comes, predictably, from France. The Moulin des Moines sounds like a great institution. But may be they should stick to wine and biscuits. Their Pilsner, certainly, is poor. It can only be recommended at the end of a very long hot French countryside day, when you are so thirsty that you gulp the beer down no matter what (sadly, I didn´t experience such a day this year). - Better news comes from much closer to home. The Potsdamer Braumanufaktur does excellently designed bottles and perfectly decent beers. Their motto: "Geld allein macht nicht glücklich. Trinkt Bier!" (Money alone does not make you happy. Drink beer!) is my new year´s resolution for 2009 (I am learning to only set myself tasks I can master ...). Their Potsdamer Stange beer is very light, but tasty. Their Weizen, while it cannot compete with true Bavarian wheat beers (such as those from Bayreuth or Neumarkter Lammsbräu), is still good. For a Prussian version of this ultimate Bavarian drink, it´s remarkable. The best news is that I have still to try their Hell and their Dunkel beers. And in 2009, I must also manage a visit to their brewery and beer garden! Things to look forward to ... - 2008, meanwhile, also saw the launch of the first Berlin-brewed organic beer. The Berliner Bürgerbräu used to be a cooperative (before the Fascists put an end to that) and then was a state owned brewery in East Germany. Today, it is in private hands - and a truly independent brewery with no ties to the big beer conglomorates. The ´Bio Pils´ is a very decent "Feierabendbier" (´after work beer´). It´s light, airy - drinkable. It´s also my newest ethical dilemma! I like this beer; I even recommend it. But, truth be told, I prefer slightly more bitter Pils types. As this beer is the most local, organic choice I can get, I should really make this my ´standard beer´. But can I give up my Neumarkter Lammsbräu (trucked to Berlin from Bavaria)? I doubt it (so it´s not on the resolution list!). - May 2009, however, bring many more organic beers to this world - and my stomach. Organic beer is all we need in one: Pleasure and Revolution. On that fine note, I say: Happy New Beer everyone!

Merry Christmas, E.On (not)

2008-12-19T12:08:00.001+01:00

Ohne Worte ...

2008-12-16T11:15:00.001+01:00

Besinnliche Weihnacht. Auch ein Märchen?

It´s change we need ...

2008-12-08T22:53:00.006+01:00

The most entertaining thing you will come across at the climate negotiations in Poznan, Poland, is this bear. It´s a plain-talking creature, not stuck up on LULUCF or Article 2, and he says it as it is: It´s change we need. - The climate negotiations are not moving forward as fast as they should. There is no ambition matching the increasingly alarming science. But, of course, it is also not surprising that there is no buzz here. What will happen in Copenhagen will crucially depend on Obama. And he ain´t here! - So, it´s easy to be cynical about Poznan and dismiss these negotiations. But that would be dreadfully wrong. These negotiations matter. The UN is the right place to address the climate crisis. There is an alternative to neoliberal economics. But there is no alternative to this torturous process, sorry ... - I am only visiting this year, meeting people that it is easy to get hold of here. - I am finding it a bit odd to not be blogging on the daily politics of it all. But if you want to read about what´s going on here in Poznan, there are plenty of sites you can turn to: Klima der Gerechtigkeit, International Rivers, Wir Klimaretter, Oxfam and many more .... That´s a good thing. Because these negotiations matter. Hugely. Don´t be fooled by the lack of adrenalin in the corridors.

So nicht, Frau Bundeskanzlerin!

2008-12-08T14:39:00.004+01:00

Deutsche und der Rest der Welt geben sich oft und gerne der Illusion hin, Deutschland sei ein grünes Schlaraffenland. Weit gefehlt. Nirgendwo in Europa werden so viele Kohlekraftwerke gebaut und geplant; unsere pro Kopf Emissionen sind über dem europäischen Durchschnitt; und ob es um Effizienzstandards bei Autos geht oder um Ausnahmen beim europäischen Emissionshandel - Deutschland ist in Brüssel immer der Bremser. Also ist es Zeit, dass die angebliche "Klimakanzlerin Merkel" unter Druck gerät. Und sehr erfreulich, dass die Klima Allianz (und Partner) heute eine Anzeigenkampagne starten, die Merkels Heuchlerei auf den Punkt bringt: Jetzt aktiv werden: hier.

Some good advice for grown-up people!

2008-12-04T21:05:00.000+01:00

Praise for Obama´s team - but not from me!

2008-12-01T22:33:00.004+01:00

I read The Economist every week. I like how they write; I like their global view. But I rarely agree. Rather, I read The Economist to hone my arguments. So, to see The Economist endorse the emerging Obama team confirms my worst fears. And Hillary proves what I already suspected when Obama was in Berlin: On foreign policy, this is not CHANGE, this is, quite literally, a return to the Clinton (some would say ´Realist´) days. As a political move, it´s genius, of course. A smart move to neutralize the (potential) internal opposition. Yet, a sign of HOPE, it is not. So, Obama: Do what you must. But beware that you do not become the next President that I (and Tracy Chapman) will send "honest regards - for disregarding me" ...

Green is good! Not Greed!

2008-11-27T17:05:00.002+01:00

Nice one, Greenpeace UK. The building this banner is hanging from is The Bank of England, no less.

Vattenfall copy cats!

2008-11-24T16:01:00.009+01:00

I almost fell off my bike a few days ago. Right on Alexanderplatz was a sea of people. Orange people. They called for climate protection (at least at first sight). This looked familiar. Alexanderplatz looked a lot like the entrance to the World Summit on Sustainable Development in 2002. Then, we had brought 6,000 little people - made out of paper by some of the poorest communities in and around Johannesburg - to Sandton Conference centre. Those 6000 ´small people´ had one clear message: "Politicians, listen to the people. Make rules that protect people and the environment." The 2002 summit was a failure. But our art action was very popular. No wonder, then, that when Vattenfall wants to pretend that they are mobilizing people against climate chaos, their activities look a lot like ours (though our people looked a lot nicer, me thinks). Imitation, I am told, is the highest form of flattery. So, though I was shocked, I was not complaining. At least not about the copying bit. What I am unhappy about, is Vattenfall declaring that they love the climate - while continuing to build dirty coal power plants. New coal and climate protection just don´t mix. P.S. Hier eine nette Imitation der Vattenfall Kampagne. Und im Moment sind auch mal wieder Vattenfall Märchen Tage ...

Greenpeace goes Africa!

2008-11-13T17:17:00.002+01:00

Finally! 6 years after the World Summit on Sustainable Development, during which Greenpeace also had a strong presence in South Africa, Greenpeace is starting "Greenpeace Africa" with three offices across the continent (Senegal, Congo and South Africa). Watch this launch video, with some fun footage also of 2002 when Desmond Tutu christened a Greenpeace boat ...
Greenpeace Africa: People, Action, Solutions from Greenpeace on Vimeo

Read the New York Times!

2008-11-13T11:15:00.005+01:00

I love the Yes Men . Read their latest brilliant spoof. A New York Times from the future. A desirable future at that! I particularly like the headline: "Big Boxes Appeal Eviction from Low-Income Neighborhoods". I wish!
New York Times Special Edition Video News Release - Nov. 12, 2008 from H Schweppes on Vimeo.

Farewell, Mama Africa

2008-11-10T14:48:00.002+01:00

I wish I had heard Miriam Makeba live. It´s too late now. Makeba is gone, forever. A wonderful voice. A voice against injustice and for freedom. A voice for humanity. Hear her sing and talk about Mandela here:

Democracy is coming to the USA!

2008-11-07T08:49:00.002+01:00

Thanks to my friend Toni for pointing out that Leonard Cohen´s ´Democracy is coming to the USA´ is really the soundtrack for November 4th 2008. And don´t you just love youtube. When you hear of a good idea, someone has already prepared the video. Have a look. This is a bit much hero worship for my test, but it´s fun all the same:

Yes, we can make Obama into a progressive President! (Can we?)

2008-11-06T08:41:00.012+01:00

I was right where the election was lost, in Ohio, in 2004. This time, I was nowhere near American soil - and my American friends won it. I sincerely hope there is no causal connection! Though, if there were, being stuck in Berlin while history was made across the pond might have felt a little less pointless ... No matter what, I am delighted that a new puppy is moving into the White House. May be it is the budding daddy in me, but I thought mentioning this gift to his children was one of the highlights in Obama´s eloquent victory speech. I had to earn my dog as a child too. But I only had to memorize a long name of a character in a Karl May novel, not endure my daddy being in campaigning mode for 21 months. For which I am grateful. Just as I am grateful, that we have at least 4 years of excellent sounding speeches from the American President to look forward to. It´s a relief to know that we will finally be rid of Bush´s nasal voice and instead will constantly have snippets of one of the most eloquent public speakers alive broadcast into our living rooms. Relief, indeed, is the strongest emotion I feel. Relief because America rejected the Bush years. Relief, also, because - after the experiences of 2000 and 2004 - I lived in constant fear that this could still go wrong. Even after the first results came in, I was a nervous wreck ... - Much has been written about how Obama won this race. How he energized youth, won over the Hispanic vote, got the full support of African Americans (which was not a done deal at all, given that he is by no means a typical African American!) and, last but not least, did better among white voters than Kerry did. As a campaigner, what has impressed me most is the professional brilliance of his campaigning style. Obama linked a very large narrative (´Change, Hope, The Refounding of the American Dream´), which he stuck to through thick and thin for the whole campaign, with an unprecedented local organizing effort. The world saw the big rallies. But Obama knows, that what really won this election were the many offices he opened all over the country; the little volunteer clusters he managed to create even in previously strongly Republican states (like Indiana!), the groundswell of support he built - everywhere. He had some support in this, of course. The unions, Move.On and others had been trying to build effective political machines since the 2004 race at least (and had had some first notable successes in the 2006 congressional elections). But Obama can still take most of the credit. As a Chicago inner city organizer, he was a disciple of Saul Alinsky, whose ´Rules for Radicals´ are still one of the best handbooks for local campaigners ever written. Now Obama turned lessons learned in local organizing, into a continent-wide political movement. He really did build his campaign, "block by block, brick by brick, calloused hand by calloused hand". - It is our task now, to use this groundswell of grassroots activists to put pressure on Obama! We need to use the same brilliant organizing skills to make the most of the political opportunity that the Obama victory represents. May be Naomi Klein is right when she asserts that "this election has proved, ... that the real middle is far to the left of its previously advertised address". But that, of course, does not mean that Obama will govern for the progressive end of America´s ´middle´. Obama has made some decent promises. But he has also had some pretty unhelpful economic advice; his foreign policy is still focused on exerting American power (though it will be interesting to see if he manages a new beginning with Cuba; 35% of Cuban-Americans backed him, so he has a mandate of sorts). Obama supports the death penalty, increasing domestic oil production, unsustainable biofuels and the coal industry, the biggest climate offender this planet knows. To make things worse, Obama, of course, will now come under immense pressure from the corporate sharks that made a killing under Bush and from the stronger than ever (if largely privatized) ´military-industrial complex´. To counter all this, we must ensure that the movement Obama built becomes a mighty and autonomous force, that, as Wallerstein puts it "will be pushing him, as president, to the left, both directly and via its impact on members of Congress. It is very difficult to say exactly where this force would push Obama. But its impact may turn out to be comparable to that of the so-called religious right on Republican party policies in the last thirty years." We know how much the religious bigots managed to achieve. If progressives can unite now, then: Yes, we can turn Obama into a progressive President. A man that delivers universal health care to all Americans; a man that gives back to America the right to form a union across the country; a man that turns around the juggernaut of rising CO2 emissions and cuts them by as much as the science demands; a man that gets Congress to support, through finance, an energy revolution in the developing world. - Dear American friends, I so wish I could have been with you to celebrate November 4th. Now, the real work begins. Obama´s victory was the necessary condition for change. But, as he said himself in the speech, it is very far from sufficient. "It cannot happen without you, without a new spirit of service, a new spirit of sacrifice", Obama says. He is right. But he will need to be reminded. Especially on the environment. For, as my friend Kenny says: "Compromise and unity are wonderful governing principles, unless they supercede the health of the planet, which is the foundation for all human well-being." Let´s get to work! P.S. For a far more sophisticated take on Obama, organizing and Alinsky, read on here.

Watch out for Coalfinger!

2008-10-31T08:33:00.000+01:00

Ani in Amsterdam - the best yet!

2008-10-28T13:41:00.005+01:00

It sometimes feels like ani difranco and I have grown up together. We are about the same age and she (well, ok, her songs) have been part of my life since I was 18. Since then, there has been a continuing, if somewhat one-sided ..., conversation with chunks of Ani´s lyrics being associated with chunks of my personal history. Somehow our lives seemed to (more or less) run in parallel, personally and politically. She sang about the break up of her marriage just as I was going through a big and painful break up myself. And now that I am preparing to be a daddy, she sings about being and becoming a mum. Beautiful lyrics such as these, I would love to sing (if I could ...) to our little rebel while she is still disguising herself as a large and growing tummy: "you're gonna love this world/ if it's the last thing i do/ the whole extravagant joke/ topped in bitter sweet chocolate goo/ for someone who ain't even here yet/ look how much the world loves you." Ani can still rant and did so beautifully at the Paradiso in Amsterdam last night (dedicating the ranting to the late Utah Phillips). She dedicated one of my all time favourite poems - Coming Up - to everyone working on Barack Obama´s campaign. Read it and you may see why:

our father who art in a penthouse
sits in his 37th floor suite
and swivels to gaze down
at the city he made me in
he allows me to stand and
solicit graffiti until
he needs the land i stand on
in my darkened threshold
am pawing through my pockets
the receipts, the bus schedules
the matchbook phone numbers
the urgent napkin poems
all of which laundering has rendered
pulpy and strange
loose change and a key
ask me
go ahead, ask me if i care
i got the answer here
i wrote it down somewhere
i just gotta find it
i just gotta find it

somebody and their spray paint got too close
somebody came on too heavy
now look at me made ugly
by the drooling letters
i was better off alone
ain't that the way it is
they don't know the first thing
but you don't know that
until they take the first swing
my fingers are red and swollen from the cold
i'm getting bold in my old age
so go ahead, try the door
it doesn't matter anymore
i know the weak hearted are strong willed
and we are being kept alive
until we're killed
he's up there the ice
is clinking in his glass
he sends me little pieces of paper
i don't ask
i just empty my pockets and wait
it's not fate
it's just circumstance
i don't fool myself with romance
i just live
phone number to phone number
dusting them against my thighs
in the warmth of my pockets
which whisper history incessantly
asking me
where were you

i lower my eyes
wishing i could cry more
and care less,
yes it's true,
i was trying to love someone again,
i was caught caring,
bearing weight

but i love this city, this state
this country is too large
and whoever's in charge up there
had better take the elevator down
and put more than change in our cup
or else we
are coming
up

Aside from her powerful lyrics, what I love about Ani is that she is a true musician. She is constantly experimenting, enjoying the act of creating (she sang three songs I had never heard before last night .... Given that I have all her albums, that is saying something ...). She is capable of filling a room with her voice and guitar (and amazing picking technique!). But at the same time, she loves playing with ever changing band set ups. So, for the record, the concert last night was the best one I have heard (and I have heard at least 8). Here is one of the encores ... a beautiful tale of love entitled ´both hands´ (the video is from last night!). Enjoy:

Eine Welt. Eine Schule. UWC auf RTL!

2008-10-24T17:32:00.006+02:00

Ich schaue nicht oft RTL. Aber gestern war ich begeistert. 1 Stunde lang berichtete RTL über das United World College in Amerika. Du kannst - und solltest - das Dir hier anschauen. Tina Ziemer (16), die noch bis 2010 das Glück hat eines der 12 United World Colleges weltweit zu besuchen, wurde eindrucksvoll portraitiert. Ihre Erzählungen versetzten mich zurück in eine andere Welt, Anfang der 90er Jahre, als ich selber Schüler am Pearson College in Kanada war. United World Colleges haben mich und mein Leben geprägt. Sie sind ein einzigartiger Ort wo Jugendliche aus aller Welt gemeinsam lernen. Sie sind ganzheitliche Schulen, an denen man eine prima Schulausbildung bekommt - gleichzeitig aber auch Sozialdienste macht und sich für die Gemeinschaft einsetzen muss. Das Leben an einem United World College ist unglaublich intensiv. Heute frage ich mich oft, wie das eigentlich sein konnte, dass ich an einem Tag, neben der Schule, auch noch den Müll unseres 200 Seelen Dorfes UWC recyclen konnte, auf dem Meer kayaken durfte und abends noch einen Vortrag über den Irak hören konnte. Und gleichzeitig, ganz nebenbei, noch ganz viel über mich und die Welt durch den Austausch mit Jugendlichen aus aller Welt lernte. United World Colleges prägen Leben. Gerade der Alltag mit so vielen verschiedenen Menschen prägt; das ständige Auseinandersetzen mit der Tatsache, dass wir Menschen doch ziemlich verschieden ticken. UWCs, wie wir sie abkürzen, sind aber noch viel zu wenig bekannt - gerade auch in Deutschland. Auch deswegen war der RTL Film so wunderbar. Mindestens drei Mal wurden die United World Colleges aktiv im Text erwähnt. Der Beitrag zeigt das UWC-Leben positiv als eine Mischung von Abenteuer und toller Schule. UWC, das zeigt der Film, steht für den Austausch zwischen Kulturen, für Sozialdienst, aber eben auch für viel, viel Spass und Lachen. Ich hätte gerne noch einmal die Chance ein UWC zu besuchen. Das wird nicht gehen. Dafür hoffe ich, dass sich dieses Jahr ganz viele Jugendliche unter 18 bewerben. Reich muss man dafür nicht sein. Alle Schüler werden ausgewählt und wenn nötig werden alle Kosten übernommen. Also: Weitersagen! Wer Jugendliche unter 18. kennt die an ein UWC gehören - Bewerbungsunterlagen gibt es hier!

Remembering Phil Clapp

2008-10-22T15:18:00.003+02:00

Creating soundbites is a special skill. Talking about complex political matters in a manner that journalists understand; well, to be honest, it´s been one of my lifelong ambitions. One of the best people to learn this from was Phil Clapp. Yes, sadly, was. Phil died recently in Amsterdam. Too early; way to early. It´s difficult to believe that at the next big political meeting, he will not be there. Will not be calmly smiling into TV cameras as well as explaining to civil society colleagues how best to interpret the political results at hand. Phil and I didn´t always agree, for sure. But the thought of him not being there to bounce ideas off of is deeply saddening. The thought of him not being around when the United States finally reengages in the global climate negotiations in 2009 is more than that. It is troubling, as we would have really needed his calm, but determined, voice. Watch some of Phil´s soundbites - a fitting memorial to one of the best spokespeople the environment ever had - here:

Beim Klimawandel geht es ums Überleben, Frau Merkel!

2008-10-17T08:45:00.006+02:00

Es ist schon pervers. Seit Jahrzehnten ist kein Geld da für das was wirklich wichtig ist. Die Entwicklungshilfe ist weit vom 0,7% Ziel entfernt; zum Schutz der biologischen Vielfalt fehlt das Geld obwohl ihre Zerstörung uns teuer zu stehen kommt; das Geld für eine Energierevolution fehlt - oder fliesst auch heute noch in fossile Energien. Geld aber ist da, wenn sich Banker verzocken und die Vorhersagen derer von uns, denen bei der zunehmenden Liberalisierung der Finanzmärkte in den letzten zwei Jahrzehnten zunehmend schwindlig wurde, wahr werden. Sicher, ein staatliches Eingreifen jetzt war nötig. Aber dies ist es auch für den Klimaschutz. Der Emissionshandel darf nicht aufgeweicht werden. Die EU muss bis 2020 ihre Emissionen zu Hause um 30% im Vergleich zu 1990 senken. Ohne wenn und aber. Und wenn sich die Industrieländer in Kopenhagen 2009 hinstellen und sagen, sie hätten kein Geld um erneuerbare Energien und Energieeffizienz in Entwicklungsländer zu fördern, dann wissen spätestens jetzt alle - sie lügen! Danke, deshalb, an die Klima Allianz und ein breites Bündnis von Gruppen für die Anzeige im Handelsblatt oben (durch draufklicken wird sie groß und lesbar!). Beim Klimawandel geht es ums überleben! Hier und hier könnt ihr aktiv werden - für ein EU Energie- und Klimapaket, das diesen Namen verdient.

Drill, baby, drill!

2008-10-15T13:37:00.000+02:00

Bruce does it again ...

2008-10-14T11:36:00.002+02:00

The polls are looking better just now. But, man, I just wish I was where it matters. I wish, I was where I was 4 years ago - walking around endlessly in the streets of a marginal state, like Ohio. I wish I was doing the - still tough, as this New Yorker story shows- job of ´selling´ Obama to white working class Americans, like some of my best friends. Instead, I sit here, increasingly nervous, reduced to wearing an Obama button around Berlin. I only watch on youtube, what I experienced first hand in 2004. But, truth be told, that can be fun. In 2004, Bruce Springsteen gave the most moving speech I heard on the election trail. He was so obviously the better speaker than Kerry, that it was almost a little embarassing ... The Boss will not compete with Obama on eloquence (nor would he want to, I imagine). But he is once again speaking freely and beautifully as he travels the country to get out the vote. Watch it!

Noble Prize Blogger ...

2008-10-14T11:03:00.001+02:00

This is the first time someone I read regularly gets the Noble Prize for Economics. So, if you don´t yet follow Krugman´s columns for the New York Times, now is a good time to start!

Organic beer, Dutch and Swedish style ...

2008-10-12T15:22:00.005+02:00

Call me an old fashioned Greenie. But I have to confess, I couldn´t believe my eyes when I searched for organic beers in a Coop store in Malmoe, Sweden, and the only beer I could find was in a can! I was appalled. Not just because beers just don´t taste right after being stored in a can. But also because it seemed just too ironic: an organic brew in environmentally most dubious packaging. But, of course, I was still curious to try (and there was no other store anywhere near the European Social Forum, that had brought me to Malmoe). I was also curious to find out whether Abro, the brewer, would justify the choice of their packaging on their website. They don´t.. I guess they don´t feel they have to, being Sweden´s oldest and largest brewing giant. Should I complain - or just be happy that such a mainstream firm has an organic beer in their range, I wonder!? - Abro describes their organic ´oel´ as ´discreet´; they somehow detect a flavour of citrus in their brew. Their ´discrete´, to be honest, struck me as simply bland. If you think Carlsberg is a decent lager, you might just like this beer. If you are a fan of boring - and slightly sweet - lagers, go for it. But if your taste is for real Pilsner, do not touch it (and not just because it comes in a can!) - Real Pilsner is also not something the Dutch are famous for (sorry). But the Brouwereij ´t IJ does make a fine one! It´s flavoursome, strong, and slightly bitter. It´s how a Pilsner should be. Their wheat beer is also special. It´s strong (7%) and, for a wheat beer, surprisingly somber and hoppy. Not just because of it´s high alcohol content, it´s not a beer I can imagine having a few of on a hot summer day. But it is a true beer experience, and a special, unique taste. It´s a treat; and just right for a dark autumn night in need of some spice. - Luckily, I have four more ´t IJ beers to try over the next few weeks. I got a box of six from my wonderful Greenpeace colleagues as a farewell present. Thanks, Nathalie. Cheers to the Hotel California!

Save Warrender Park Road Post Office!

2008-09-21T10:27:00.005+02:00

When I lived where Rebus lives in Marchmont, Edinburgh, one of the many things I loved about the community there was the local post office. It was a place of community and chatter - and even when I sent very heavy parcels to Germany, I got a smile - and some extra beautiful stamps. I was thus shocked to hear, that this post office is under threat of closure. No way! That place is magic - and a lifeline for pensioners in Marchmont, in particular. Sign the petition against the closure here. I was amused to see, that there is already a youtube video to defend Warrender Park Post Office. Have a look, it's sweet:

P.S. Local sources inform me that the closure is now certain. Shame! Shame, shame, shame! Another example of simplistic economic logic wripping the heart out of a community ...

Sticking to one's principles ...

2008-09-17T10:10:00.003+02:00

It is a good thing to stand firm on what one believes in. But may be this shop in the Copenhagen train station is taking it a bit far. After all, "what doesn't bend, breaks" (ani difranco and, incidentally, all I ever learned in Higher Physics ...).

No. Never. Ever. ;-)

Busker with a cause!

2008-08-05T19:08:00.004+02:00

Once upon a time, my sister and I were a winning busking team. We were young, cute and played quite well (she the violin, me the cello). This was the 80s as well. Heidelberg's pedestrian zone was full of American tourists (and soldiers) awash with money. And so, we earned well, playing simple songs over and over again. Once, I remember, we made 50 Deutsche Mark each in an hour. I recall, because this not-so-hard-earned cash was essential to me at the time. All my BAP vinyl's were paid for with this busking cash. BAP may have helped to turn me into the political activist I am now. But buying these records still felt indulgent when I came across Isla Ratcliff today. Isla is 11! And she is currently cycling (and busking) from Moscow to Scotland to raise money for street kids in Ethiopia. Where she stops, she busks. And the money, just like last year (see picture) will go to the Forum on Street Children, Ethiopia. Hats off, Isla. May there be many rich tourists willing to part with their money on the way to Edinburgh. And no punctures! P.S. Isla's dad does fine work, too. Check out his website.

Obama (and me) in Berlin ...

2008-07-25T10:38:00.008+02:00

The last time this many people had this much fun on the Strasse des 17. Juni was during the World Cup Final, I think. Yes, Obama got a popstar welcome. Yes, loads of people who came could utter the word "change" - and said that's what he stood for - but, really, had no clue about Obama's policies. They would have come to watch Madonna as well. Still, Obama was impressive. He was forced to speak at the Siegessaeule, not the Brandenburg Gate. And he even made that symbol count for his message of unity. "Here, at the base of a column built to mark victory in war, we meet in the center of a Europe at peace.", he said. And it is a good line. There was much in his speech, that I did disagree with, for sure. His praise for an outdated NATO as "the greatest alliance ever formed to defend our common security" made me shudder. His take on history that sees the spread of freedom going hand in hand with open markets is not my view of the world, but rather that of his Chicago Boys. His balancing words of comfort for labor and the environment were comparatively vague: "Together, we must forge trade that truly rewards the work that creates wealth, with meaningful protections for our people and our planet." Sure. When he spoke of the war in Afghanistan and the need for Germany to help, the crowd was silent - some booed. I am not opposed to Germany's involvement in Afghanistan in principle. But that Obama spent so much time on the need for excerting force in the world, well, it sounded like old-fashioned American foreign policy to me. The US will exert force. But it will do so a bit more multilaterally. It sounds like Kissinger and Clinton, not like a new dawn. - All that said - it was still a powerful speech. And - for a US presidential candidate, in any case - it was progressive. Obama should really get a prize for the most even-handed - and beautifully worded - 'China-bashing' ever when it comes to the issue of climate change: "As we speak, cars in Boston and factories in Beijing are melting the ice caps in the Arctic, shrinking coastlines in the Atlantic, and bringing drought to farms from Kansas to Kenya.". That's powerful stuff. By mentioning Detroit he very cleverly suggests that China and the US are equally to blame for climate change - and yet he makes that claim look even-handed. Reality, of course, is different. It is the US, more than any country that needs to act - as no country on this planet has put more emissions in the atmosphere than the US of A. His commitment: "Let us resolve that all nations - including my own - will act with the same seriousness of purpose as has your nation, and reduce the carbon we send into our atmosphere." is a significant step. If taken literally, it commits America to reduce its emissions by 40% by 2020 compared to 1990 levels - as Germany has pledged to do .... Well, good! - Obama was at his most powerful when he stood up against discrimination and for common humanity. On a street that the Nazi's had used for their shameful propaganda, it did send a shudder down my spine to hear him say: "Will we give meaning to the words "never again" in Darfur?". The words: "The walls between old allies on either side of the Atlantic cannot stand. The walls between the countries with the most and those with the least cannot stand. The walls between races and tribes; natives and immigrants; Christian and Muslim and Jew cannot stand. These now are the walls we must tear down." are truly evocative - and couldn't be less like Bush. And his call for a nuclear weapon free world - which has not got much mention in the media coverage I have seen - was heartening. "This is the moment to begin the work of seeking the peace of a world without nuclear weapons." Indeed! - So, all in all, this was a speech of promise. This was a speech signifying "change" - even if most people who listened could not spell out what that means .... You missed the speech? Watch it here:

Lies, 2% lies and easyjet ...

2008-07-24T09:51:00.014+02:00

They should really start a '2% polluters club'. Members can be all companies, governments and people who try to shift the blame for climate change onto others by claiming: "But we only contribute two percent". Tony Blair has been one of the pioneers of this approach. Ignoring that the vast majority of emissions historically comes from the G8 countries, he is fond of saying: "Britain is more than playing its part. But it is 2 percent of worldwide emissions. Close down all, all of Britain's emissions and in less than two years just the growth in China's emissions would wipe out the difference". So much for leadership, historical responsibility or, quite pragmatically, the need for the developed world to show countries like China that development and climate protection can go together. Right wing columnist have taken up Blair's 'two percent campaign'. But the aviation industry is this club's leader (and cheerleader). Ignoring the fact that emissions from planes occur so high in the atmosphere that they contribute to global warming at two to four times the rate of emissions closer to Earth (such as those from cars), they, too, scream at every opportunity: "Climate change can't be our fault, we emit only two percent". That already today means at least 4-8% of climate impacts (if you want to be conservative about it) - and airline emissions are rising fast. - Indeed, I wonder if they will form a three percent club, when the relentless and shocking growth in global air travel means that the 2% lie cannot even statistically be maintained anymore. - Always a market leader, easyjet has taken the 2% argument to new propaganda extremes. They are currently running an advertisement campaign on the back of their airlines seats spreading the "it ain't our fault" myth (see picture; aviation is the tiny column on the very left). I nearly fell off my chair when I saw it. It looks reassuring. It looks like, really, it's eveybody else's problem. But it is just as false as other claims easyjet makes, such as being more fuel efficient than other airlines, or that UK passengers pay more than the environmental impacts of their flights in taxes. The opposite is the case; aviation is subsidized to the tune of 9 billion pounds in the UK alone. - Whether or not we will be able to constrain aviation emissions will - much like the question of coal use - decide whether we can make the emission cuts necessary to prevent climate chaos or not. So it's time to call the bluff of the 2% club. Anyone can lie with statistics, but aviation is a problem - and easyjet is too. There is no way around this inconvenient truth - even when sitting back on an easyjet chair looking at those colourful ads ...

Bush's legacy ...

2008-07-24T09:20:00.002+02:00

Bush Tours America To Survey Damage Caused By His Disastrous Presidency
Thanks to the Onion for this one.

Decent organic beer from Spain to Switzerland!

2008-07-23T08:39:00.013+02:00

You know that you have too much on your plate when you do not find the time to write about organic beer. Or at least that is the case for me. Thankfully, I have been drinking plenty - and sampling some new ones over the last few months as well. The most delightful beer experience was in Madrid (of all places), but Red has written all about that far more eloquently than I ever could. If you are ever in Madrid, do find the Naturbier brewery (nice German name ;-) ...) Red is standing outside of. It is well worth it! - If Spain can produce decent organic beer, it should come as no surprise that in German speaking lands, good organic beers are spreading a plenty. On a trip to Switzerland in March, I tried Naturperle, a beer from Appenzell, and found it delightful and refreshing. It is a light beer, so it should taste even better now in summer, slouched on a bench in a beer garden. It's the kind of beer that after a hot and sweaty day means instant relief and relaxation. - If you know me, you will know that I used to scream "Viva Chris Hani, Viva" (and the like) ... but that me uttering "Viva!" in relation to Bavaria is somewhat far fetched. But I have always admitted that Bavaria does have the best beers in the world (especially wheat beers). The "Viva Bavaria" brew by Riedenburger is no exception. In fact, it is exceptionally good and does deserve the 'Best of Bio' prize it won last year. Again, it is on the light, drinkable side, but with a strength of taste and falvour that the Naturperle can't quite muster. - This piece has lightness as its guiding thread ... and I am glad to report that, after the rye-wheat beer, I have managed to locate the new organic Pilsner by Stoertebeker breweries called 1402. It doesn't taste that old ;-). Rather, it tastes fresh and crisp. Of the beers presented here, though, it is my least favourite. For my taste, it is a little too light (or at least it was in spring when I tried it.) For the summer now, all three beers are highly recommended. And while the North Pole ice melts and climate change accelerates, there is at least one bit of good news to report: Organic beers are on the rise. And, by and large, they are pretty fine brews. I drink to that!

The Global Warming Swindle Swindle

2008-07-22T08:46:00.009+02:00

The moment has been haunting me. A few weeks back, I saw the Global Warming Swindle DVD prominently displayed at my local video store. And I failed to say anything! I like the people behind the counter. They are poor wage slaves, anyway. They don't make the decisions about what gets displayed where. Rationalizations I can come up with a plenty. But: they are toss. There can be no excuse. It's moments of civic cowardice, like my silence, that make totalitarian regimes rise and thrive. It's silences, such as mine, that make rational people still believe that there is a debate to be had about climate change's existence. In reality, denying climate change today is like denying the Holocaust. It is just as false -and almost certainly more murderous. Climate change models do have uncertainties, for sure. But everything does! To not listen to climate science - and act on it! - is like not looking when crossing the road. You may overlook a car when you do. But to not do so, is simply madness. Even though, yes, of course, you can never be certain you will see all cars coming your way. (And I do realize that this analogy is, of course, completey inadequate: This example only kills you, if you are mad. But the madness of the climate deniers kills millions, and, worse, not usually them, but the poorest of the poor, especially in the developing world. Their irrationality is not just suicide, but, er, murder!) - I have to admit, when the Global Warming Swindle came out, I dismissed it. It was clearly the self-interested work of a man specializing in controversy at all cost. We had been there before with Against Nature. But when even friends started to ask me casually over lunch what I thought of "these prominent scientists who say that global warming is a hoax", I realized that I was wrong. Dangerously wrong. The real scientists, who had launched complaints against the Swindle's swindle, were right. And facts such as that 10 of the 16 interviewees for this Swindle film are associated with no less than 26 Exxon-funded groups to the tune of more than $11 million since 1998 do need to be heard at lunch tables around the world. - I identify, of course, with a desire, especially among middle-class intellectuals, to not give up debate. When based on a sceptical impulse, a determination not take anything for granted, that openness for debate is essential to democracy. But in the case of climate change, the democratic impulse gets turned on its head. It leads to a perception, even among those not denying climate change, that there is an "excessive consensus" in the media, when, in fact, the opposite is the case. The real, scary facts of climate change still, if anything, get underreported. Instead, the lunatics get a great deal of airtime. Just imagine that anytime someone claimed that cocain is dangerous, for example, the media felt obliged to also "put the other point of view" ... George Monbiot, I fear, is probably right when he argues that the scepticism - when it comes to climate change - is based on a much less laudible human desire: a psychological wish that all may not be as bad as it seems. "Faced with the overwhelming realities of climate change, people clutch at any reassurance. We want someone to tell us that everything will be alright, that we can carry on enjoying this marvellous feast of fossil fuels without adverse effects.". It is us, the (relatively) wealthy, educated middle-class, that will have to change most. It's us who have to give up holidays in far off places and invest our money in renewable energies rather than hand bags. We may not like that. Even I, clearly, do not always want to face up to the facts of climate change (but rather just quietly get a DVD on a Friday night). But unless we want to be knowingly complicit in murder, we have to act. Today, I will start by writing to my local video store about the Warming Swindle's Swindle. What about you? P.S. Great piece by the New Scientist on this issue here.

Happy birthday, Nelson Mandela - the struggle continues!

2008-07-18T08:57:00.006+02:00

Even if you have just spent a day there as a tourist: You do not forget Robben Island. Especially not, if you have had the privilege to tour the place with one of the ex-prisoners. I feel bad for having forgotten the name of the comrade who showed me around in 2002. But I do remember his detailed descriptions of torture - including electric shocks to his genitals. Harrowing descriptions, which left me speechless, angry, and awed all at the same time. He recounted the dehumanizing daily life in the prison calmly and without exaggeration. He admitted how hard it was, still, to live with those memories, burned into his body through physical pains he still feels today. - I am not at all sure, I could have forgiven the torturers and racists who presided over Robben Island prison. For having been able to do that - and inspire many others, like my guide, to do the same - for that fact alone, Nelson Mandela deserves all the praise that will be heaped upon him on his 90th birthday today. He is an exceptional human being, no doubt. He is an inspiration for all political activists, as he combines a firmness in principles and beliefs, with a thorough assessment of tactics, and a true humanity. - That said, the hypocrisy of everybody, including, say, Merkel and Bush, now falling over themselves to praise a man like Mandela, does sicken me. Merkel's party backed Apartheid. Much of the equipment, that was used to prolong Apartheid's unjust reign, was Made in Germany. In the eyes of the US, Mandela throughout the 80s and early 90s, was really just another bin Laden - another evil terrorist. Now, nobody wants to be reminded of this history, of course. Now, western leaders like to pretend that Mandela was a pacifist, like Gandhi, all his life. But that is not so. Aside from being a boxer, Mandela was leading an army when he was arrested. His study of tactics had convinced him, that there was no other way to bring liberation to his people. I personally think he was right. The ANC's armed struggle was an essential part of the successful decades-long struggle against Apartheid. It may make western leaders (and bleeding heart liberals) wince, but the violence before the healing and forgiving, that violence is also part of Mandela's legacy. On his 90th birthday we owe it to him, to remember all of his life, not just an edited version (as if made up by Hollywood). - Another part of the full story, of course, is the continued economic injustice (and xenophobia) in South Africa. Mandela, in the process of healing the nation's psychological wounds in the 1990s, was unable to shift the economic power structures in South Africa. In the pursuit of personal freedom for all, economic justice for all was sacrificed, delayed or, even worse, injustice cemented into the new era. The struggle for a just and free South Africa, therefore, continues. I like to think that Mandela recognizes that today. I like to think, also, that it will not be another 90 years before that struggle, too, is won. Happy Bithday, Mandela. P.S. And thank you for being Honorary President of the United World Colleges - as well!

Wir scheissen Kreuzberg zu ...

2008-07-17T15:21:00.004+02:00

Ich bin ein grosser Hundenarr. Aber Berlin leidet - mehr noch als andere Staedte - unter einer Lawine von Hundekacke. Mein Nachbar, der Restaurantbesitzer, bringt das Problem auf den Punkt:

Activists released; time to investigate whaling fleet corruption - Greenpeace

2008-07-16T09:03:00.004+02:00

They are out - for now. But the real scandal still needs to be investigated. For once, as I have been working hard on this in recent days, I take the liberty to just post a Greenpeace press release in full:

The two Greenpeace Japan activists, arrested and charged for intercepting a box of whale meat illegally smuggled off the Japanese whaling fleet, have been released on bail, after 26 days in custody. Late last evening, a panel of three judges in Aomori, Japan, granted the release of Junichi Sato and Toru Suzuki, after an attempt by the local prosecutor to appeal the same decision made earlier in the day. Only 10% of bail applications are successful in Japan. The two will be reunited with their families later today. Their trial date has not yet been set.

“We are extremely relieved that our two activists have finally been released. However, our biggest question remains unanswered: why did the Japanese Prosecutor drop his investigation into the compelling evidence of whale meat embezzlement by whaling crew members brought to him by Greenpeace?” said Frode Pleym of Greenpeace.

Earlier this year, working from information given by former and current employees of whaling fleet operator Kyodo Senpaku, Greenpeace tracked the offloading of smuggled whale meat from the factory ship Nisshin Maru destined for crew members' homes. One of four boxes destined for the same private address was intercepted and the contents checked. This box, containing up to US$3000 worth of prime meat, but labelled as containing “cardboard”, was displayed at a press conference on May 15th, before being turned over to the Tokyo District public prosecutor, who suddenly dropped his investigation on June 10, the day the two activists were arrested. “We call on the Government to reinstate its investigation into the corruption in the whaling fleet,” said Pleym. “What Greenpeace has exposed points clearly to a very big scandal at Japanese taxpayers’ expense and in clear breach of international rules concerning Japans so-called scientific whaling programme.” Since the two activists were arrested, there has been a growing outcry over their detention. More than 30 non-Governmental organisations have signed up to a statement of concern. On Monday, Amnesty International sent a strongly worded letter to the Japanese Prime Minister demanding the release of Junichi and Toru. Nearly a quarter of a million people have sent a message to the Japanese Government calling for the two to be released and for a renewed investigation into the whale meat embezzlement scandal, this was backed by 35 protests at Japanese embassies and consulates in 31 countries.

For the full dossier on the whale embezzlement scandal click here.

Mediaspree versenken!

2008-07-12T11:44:00.005+02:00

Tomorrow, there will be a vote on the future of Kreuzberg-Friedrichshain. One vision is that of the investors: Expensive offices and lofts and a sterile walk way along the river Spree. The other is a more messy, creative one. Loads of groups - from the far left to artsy, liberal architects - have come together to say: Kreuzberg-Friedrichshain is special. Especially due to its open spaces and diverse group of inhabitants. They say: We need change, but change that preserves that diversity. What we do not need is more O2 World's - and a bland, corporate landscape, as we can already witness, say, at Friedrichstrasse or Alexanderplatz. - I salute the great work that 'Mediaspree versenken', the local activist group, has done. Their 'boat protest' - as investors were visiting - is an instant classic. And this youtube video is also really good. Tomorrow, if you live in Kreuzberg-Friedrichshain: Ja zu A. Nein zu B. Und A bei C. Danke.

P.S. We won! This is first time Berlin stood up publicly and on mass against the corporate take over of its urban landscape. Brilliant! May there be many more such moments. Almost 90% voted against Mediaspree. That's a clear and unmistakeable signal to the local Greens and Left Party (who sadly backed the developers): Enough is enough!

G8 mermaid

2008-07-07T14:26:00.004+02:00

The first crazy day at the G8 is coming to an end. It has been raining all day. But that's not the only reason why I wish I was in Thailand instead of this stuffy media centre. This year's summit is spread over several huge buildings (some of them with Disney-style restaurants. This is a ski resort after all!). Unlike at previous G8s, there is no real buzz. We NGOs are being kept far away from the media. Which is annoying: the media building 'proper' has all the free coffee, after all. And we can't overhear journalists saying "I need a comment on x" as easily as at last year's G8, for example. Mainly I would have loved to be in Thailand to meet the mermaid on the picture. Climate change will likely inundate it. If governments don't come to a decent agreement at another city famous for its mermaid. At Copenhagen in 2009! Thanks to Greenpeace Southeast Asia for this mermaid warning - on the road to Copenhagen! P.S. You can find more of my blogging from the G8 here.

G8 or bottled water - neither will save the world...

2008-07-07T02:21:00.007+02:00

I hope my doctor doesn't read this blog. She ordered me to stay at home on Friday when I went to see her sneezing a lot and feeling that my head was going to burst. Yet here I am, in a strange ski resort in Hokkaido, Japan, trying to make sense of the weasle words with which the powerful try to hide that they have no answer to the problems we face. It's the G8. There was no way we were going to get someone else into the highly guarded media centre here. So here I am, wanting the world to at least know that, no, the G8 will not save the planet (unless they do all we demand here). My doctor will be pleased to hear, though, that I do try and look after myself. So, I try and drink a lot (and not beer this time). The first thing I did when I arrived at Sapporo airport yesterday was buy water. Which made me laugh. Here it was: The special G8 summit water (see picture). In a (non-returnable, obviously ...) plastic bottle. And yet, ready to save the world. You couldn't sum up the hyporcisy of the G8 summit much better, I thought!

Free Junichi and Toru

2008-06-24T13:49:00.000+02:00

Release our activists

Sei teuer, sei schlecht, sei Berlin Stadtmarketing ...

2008-06-22T22:35:00.011+02:00

Berlin hat sich fuer viel Geld ein total nichtssagendes Stadtmarketing geleistet. Unertraeglich ist das. Eine Verschwendung von Steuergeldern. Und die Sprueche - sei innovativ, sei Berlin - koennten sie sich echt sparen. Denn die Plakate sehen saulangweilig aus. Und bauen laesst dieses "kreative" Berlin 08-15-Muell. Wer anders leben will wird geraeumt. Auch von den Gruenen. - Nur gut, dass es schon erste Parodien dieses Stadtmarketingkrampfes gibt. Z.B. gegen die schandhafte Abschiebungsindustrie (siehe Bild). Hiergeblieben, sage ich! Deswegen unterstuetze ich seit Jahren Pro Asyl. Pro Asyl macht viel fuer MigrantInnen - mit wenig Geld. Das Berliner Stadtmarketing schafft wenig fuer Berlin - mit viel Geld. Shame! Shame, shame, shame ...

Obama's Chicago Boys

2008-06-16T14:43:00.006+02:00

Obama's candidacy holds promise for the Left. But the battle over the economic policy Obama will implement should he reach the White House starts now. John Edwards must continue to stay involved in this debate to keep Obama as progressive as possible. And Obama needs some more progressive economic advisors! His "Chicago Boys" worry me. As they do Naomi Klein. Good on her for raising the issue. The Economist quite likes Obama's team. Need I say more?

The REAL McCain

2008-06-14T17:35:00.000+02:00

Wakey, wakey!

2008-06-11T11:23:00.005+02:00

It was hot yesterday. Even in pyjamas. Fitting, really, as we staged a pyjama protest here at the Maritim to wake up negotiators to the dangers of a warming world. There are only three days left to yet another two weeks of negotiations. And on too many issues, governments are going backwards or are stalling. Fights we fought years ago, when the Kyoto Protocol was being negotiated, are back (giving some of us a sad sense of deja-vu). Some, for example, are daft enough to suggest that nuclear power should be subsidized through the Clean Development Mechanism. Understandable, really. For the economics of nuclear power just don't stack up. But tiresome. Nuclear power, to put it mildly, simply will not deliver (anything but nuclear waste). And we really have better things to do than fighting that particular old battle all over again .... - Of course, not all delegations are to blame. It's the usual suspects - especially the US, Canada, Japan and - even under Rudd - Australia, that are the worst. The US, in fact, is being outright offensive. They, like other industrialized nations, have broken their promise made at the Rio Earth Summit in 1992 to transfer technology to the South. They have failed to put financial resources behind their rhetoric that they care about the need to adapt to unavoidable climate change. But when the developing world points out this failure and demands action, this is what the US replies: "the UNFCCC is a climate change convention, not a development aid convention." In other words: We do not care. I wish I was making this up. But they said it - and even circulated the statement in writing! - So, despite the heat, it felt good to give governments a wake up call. And many delegations seemed to like us more in pyjamas than in suits. Several came up to me in the corridors later to say that "we are awake now". Let's hope so. I, for one - after a night of doing ECO - need another coffee first ... (at least the coffee at the Maritim is fair and organic, unlike at the UN in Bangkok!)

Kyoto in Bonn - again

2008-06-07T11:30:00.013+02:00

It's Saturday, but the climate negotiations are going on as usual. And I am trying to remember how many days of my life I have spent at the Maritim in Bonn - in the name of the climate. Under the huge chandeliers of this boring, somewhat pretentious, hotel, it can be difficult to remember the reality of the climate crisis. The reality of floods, droughts or oil-polluted land - not of elevator music and 3 EUR coffees .... The reality of destruction, that we are here to remind governments of - and to force them to, at least, prevent from getting worse .... As I walk back and forth between meetings, I despair of the lack of urgency many government delegations seem to feel. It's then that I wish the Lifeboat we built here in 2001 would still be standing in front of the Maritim and remind governments of the urgent need - and popularity - of decisive climate action. - The Lifeboat was built by thousands who had all written their demands to governments on wooden planks and hammered them personally onto the boat. Once done, the Lifeboat was pushed all the way from downtown Bonn to the Maritim. Thousands were allowed into the UN security zone. And for days, government officials had to pass the Lifeboat as a memento, when they walked from room a to b. The Lifeboat, at least according to ex-environment minister Trittin of Germany, may have helped save Kyoto in June 2001, when that oil man from Texas had just announced that the US will not ratify it ... So imagine my delight yesterday, when I noticed that the UNFCCC secretariat has the plank we gave to the Chair of the climate talks back in 2001 with them to their temporary office at the Maritim. "Kyoto in Bonn" it says. And I must say, it looks as beautiful as ever. The plank reminds me of one of the most fun activities I have ever organized (I have a few planks at home as well). May it remind governments of what they are here for: action!
P.S. And here am I looking much younger in 2001 - proud to show off "my" baby

More Greenpeace food!

2008-06-04T18:05:00.002+02:00

May be I just wasn't paying attention. But it appears that Greenpeace is on the menu all over the world, not just at the Carnival of Cultures. The picture here was taken in Prague. Green Peace, this time, was a pasta dish; appropriately enough, this dish looks green - as it involves Spinach. I didn't try it (wanted to go for more local vegetarian food, such as fried cheese, yum ...). But I am starting to wonder where else I could, er, eat my employer. Let me know if you come across Greenpeace dishes through the comments function! Thanks!

Pizza go home!

2008-06-04T17:50:00.006+02:00

It's almost time for EURO 2008 - and I am very much looking forward to it (though I haven't decided yet who I will tip for the title this time. Should I dare to go for Spain???). - Back in 2006, when Germany so dramtically lost against Italy, I was blamed by some friends. After all, I had dared to eat pizza before the match .... May be this take away in Prague (see picture) had similiar Pizza memories. Or just a bad dictionary. Either way, it made me laugh ... Not 'Ami go home', but Pizza. Poor pizza! P.S. I loved the EURO, especially the Kreuzberg atmosphere during the Germany-Turkey team. And I did dare to tip Spain for the title. And was right. Well done, Torres & Co.! The best team won. What a change, compared to 2004!

Obama is the candidate - Hillary must campaign for him!

2008-06-04T15:28:00.004+02:00

Politics is about symbols. And Obama knows all about that. So he chose to cross the finishing line in St. Paul last night - at the very place, where Republicans will crown McCain as their candidate later in the year. It's finally down to Obama vs. McCain; it's finally time for the real race - the race for the White House. That is a relief. And yet, the key question remaining right now is whether Hillary means what she said in her strange 'I congratulate Obama and otherwise pretend nothing has changed'-speech in New York last night. "I am committed to uniting our Party, so we move forward, stronger and more ready than ever to take back the White house this November." That's how she started. And that does sound good. Hillary must do the decent thing now. Which is to endorse Obama and to campaign for him especially hard in the 19 states that she won .... Yes, she can.

P.S. Good on you, Hillary!
P.P.S. Now it's official. Hillary backs Obama. Thank God.

Earth to politicians: Quit coal

2008-05-27T14:24:00.002+02:00

Great piece from the Inquirer.