climateemergency – Page 3 – Christian Frank

War in Europe, week three

We’re in the third week of the war and the seventy-first week of the second Covid-19 shutdown.

The Czar is continuing to murder for his personal gain, and Covid-19 is killing people, too; the incidence in Cologne is at 2525 right now. And I haven’t talked about the climate emergency yet.

Our government is too afraid to take decisive action against Russia and stop all energy imports – I’m not proud of them right now. At least we’re taking in refugees this time.

I’ve turned off our heating to minimize energy consumption and not fund Putin’s murders.

(Gira Smart Home, Cologne, 3/13/22)

Shutdown two, week sixty-eight

Omicron is diminishing slightly; the incidence is at 1285 in Cologne right now. These numbers do not reflect the new BA.2 variant, though.

There was some backlash against my last post, mostly from people far down the rabbit hole of conspiracy theories. Still, some people confuse acts of solidarity with infringement on personal liberties.

The only way to stop the pandemic is to prevent the spread of the virus.

Likewise, the only way to stop the impact of the climate emergency is to stop the proliferation of CO2 and other greenhouse gases.

So simple.

(No-Schwurbel rally, Cologne, 2/14/22)

Shutdown two, week sixty-three

The incidence in Cologne is rising again with Omicron; it’s at 454 today.

Irregardless of the massive spread of the disease and the ever-climbing figure of related deaths, there is still a loud minority protesting against Covid-19. As if a virus would care about a protest.

Even worse, these people (Schwurbler, as we fondly call them) have joined forces with the far-right and other conspiracy theorists.

Yesterday we finally had a counter-protest to show that most people believe in science and solidarity.

(Escort, Neumarkt, 1/17/22)

Shutdown two, week sixty-two

The incidence in Cologne is rising again with Omicron; it’s at 312 today.

So far, it’s been a slow week, with a fantastic hybrid protest against RWE yesterday, though.

In our new office, I’m in the process of connecting the KNX bus to Google Assistant, using a Thinka gateway. Sometimes IT knowledge helps when dealing with IoT devices, and sometimes it doesn’t.

Veganuary is also coming along nicely.

(Veganuary, Cologne, 1/9/22)

Shutdown two, week fifty-five

The fourth wave is in full swing, and the incidence in Cologne is at 290. We have introduced a new trigger measure based on hospitalization; with the delay between infection and becoming ill, this amounts to sounding the fire alarm when the building is already engulfed in flames.

On the bright side, we might get a new government in early December. At the moment, our handling of both emergencies, Covid-19 and climate change, is abysmal at best.

Walking through Cologne, I came across this blast from the past: Did men ever fall for this kind of imagery?

(Advertising from a bygone era, Cologne, 11/21/21)

Shutdown two, week fifty-four

The fourth wave is here; Germany has a record number of new infections, and the incidence in Cologne is at 220 right now. With a dysfunctional acting government and a not-yet-functioning incoming government, we are stumbling headfirst into disaster. Hopefully, a full lockdown is coming soon.

The absolute low point this week was when the chairperson of the fringe liberal party, Christian Lindner, was schwurbling on TV that it was scientifically proven that contact reductions would not reduce infections with the Corona-Virus. They might end up in our next government – we’re so doomed.

COP26 was similarly a disaster – our acting government avoided any form of commitment and didn’t even sign the declaration ending internal combustion engines or firmly commit to stopping burning coal.

Reaching a compromise in politics is challenging work – but why are most people in power (mainly men) so unbelievably ignorant towards scientific facts?

On a positive note, our labor minister is preparing a new home office mandate – yay!

(Festival of Lights, Pokémon Go, 11/14/21)

Shutdown two, week fifty-three

One week into the second year, the incidence figures are going through the roof; Cologne is at 186 right now.

Similar lousy news from the COP – to speak with Greta, it’s time to stop the blah blah blah and get down to concrete action and reduce greenhouse gas emissions right now.

On the same subject, I am trying to change what we eat to plant-based only; unfortunately, I’m gaining weight again – back to calorie-counting. Sigh.

(Vegan Santa, Cologne, 11/7/21)

Shutdown two, week fifty-two

One year later and the incidence figures are rising again, as predicted; Cologne is at 151 right now.

The people with the highest risk are our most important and, at the same time, most vulnerable group: Our children – our future.

Why do we not do more to protect them?

We are not only failing them with Covid-19, but we’re also failing them in dealing with global heating. COP26 does not seem to be the breakthrough our planet needs. Our leaders are talking about reaching a compromise – as if they could discuss with Physics. It’s so simple: To stop the global warming of our planet, we need to stop burning fossil fuels. Now.

One place where we try to defend our planet is Lützerath – come and join activists from all over the world!

(1.5 degree limit, Lützerath, 10/31/21)

Shutdown two, week fifty-one

Not surprisingly, the incidence in Cologne has gone up again; it’s at 93 right now and rising. Are we officially in the fourth wave yet?

Last Friday, we had another global climate strike in Berlin. We wanted to increase the pressure on the coalition talks underway between the Social Democrats, the Greens, and the Liberals, to make sure they keep the climate emergency at the forefront of their negotiations. Also, COP26 is around the corner, and we need to focus on actions this time, not on another round of pledges.

The protest in Berlin was quite a success, with 20,000 people attending from all over the country.

The police, however, did not behave that well and used force against some protesters.

Also, the Social Democrats were quite upset at a social media post referencing one of their grave historical mistakes during the formation of the First Republic. Oh well.

(Global Climate Strike, Berlin, 10/22/21)

Shutdown two, week forty-eight

The incidence in Cologne has slightly gone up; it’s at 61 right now.

Last week we had our general election; the Social Democrats won but won’t be able to form a government without the Greens and the Liberals. Negotiations are underway, and we are watching. At the same time, the former governing party, the Christian Democrats, is slowly disintegrating.

COP26 is around the corner, and the world governments are not doing enough to address the climate emergency, so we need to go back to the streets for another global climate strike on October 22.

To quote Greta, it’s time to stop the Bla Bla Bla and get down to serious action!

Local action is happening at ZAD Rheinland, where activists are defending the village of Lützerath against the commercial interests of RWE.

(Election Night, Climate Justice Camp Cologne, 9/26/21)