#laschetdenktnach
We’re in year two of the Covid-19 pandemic, and the prime minister of NRWE is taking Easter off to think and try to understand how the virus transmits from person to person.
It’s consistent, though; he also fails to understand the impact of CO2 on the climate emergency and the immediate need to stop burning fossil fuels.
Could it be an option to listen to our scientists?
(Easter vigil, Rudolfplatz, 4/3/21)
We are stuck, like the Ever Given in the Suez Canal.
The number of infections is on the rise; the new Covid-19 mutations transmit to the younger generation at a much higher rate.
Vaccination efforts have stalled.
There is no home office mandate in place.
The government has canceled the hard Easter lockdown.
Schools remain open.
What a colossal, embarrassing mess!
(Container Ship ‘Ever Given’ stuck in the Suez Canal, Egypt; Contains modified Copernicus Sentinel data 2021; 3/24/21)
The lockdown is finally grown up; it’s no longer a teenager. After today’s about-face from our government over Easter restrictions, we’ll probably see it go into its thirties or forties. Can we get a new government, please?
Last Friday, though, we had the latest global climate strike – it was a total success! In Cologne, we had six fully Corona-compliant stages and made ourselves felt and heard throughout the city.
People understood the urgency of change to prevent the climate emergency, and we got pretty good media coverage.
Corona enabled us to have remote presenters from all over the world, and we were able to invite renowned scientists, such as Jason von Juterczenka, to give short lectures without the need for travel.
We will, however, need to elect a government this fall that understands the climate crisis and is willing to act!
(Cologne, Lecture by Jason von Juterczenka, 3/19/21)
The lockdown is almost grown-up; this week was its last week as a teen.
Infections are on the rise, and the predictions for Easter are dire. Vaccination efforts are stalling.
Nevertheless, we’re opening the schools.
Aside from Corona, our governments also keep ignoring the climate crisis.
So we need to go back to the streets – this Friday, March 19, Global Climate Strike!
#NoMoreEmptyPromises
(© Markus Burbach, @MaBurbach, 3/13/21)
The situation is much worse than last week: Seven-day R is above 1, meaning that the number of infections is on the rise.
Yet, our government plans to ease the restrictions.
And vaccination is not going anywhere – our vaccination strategy is a colossal failure, both on a state and the country level.
Unfortunately, like in other big infrastructure projects (e.g., BER), our state institutions appear entirely overwhelmed and dysfunctional.
(Cologne, Lockdown, 3/6/21)
We’re in a quite paradoxical situation: While we expect the third wave of infections, we nevertheless ease the contact restrictions.
Why is it so difficult to understand and accept that proximity and contact frequency drive the pandemic? No reason to blame the government for that, I think.
One group, however, is definitely to blame, and that’s the employers who do not allow their employees to work from home, even if it was possible.
I will make sure that I do not buy any goods or services from these companies in the future!
(Cologne, future Home Office, 2/28/21)
The number of infections is slowly increasing again. Surprise! Not.
We knew that the new mutations would be more contagious, but still, our government refuses to acknowledge and prepare for the third wave.
A year ago Friday, right-wing terrorists murdered six people in Hanau (Hesse). There were vigils in their honor all over Germany as we still battle the underlying systemic racism in our security forces.
In Northrhine-Westphalia, the state government actively works against all measures to prevent the coming climate crisis and supports the fossil fuel industry, mainly RWE and E.ON.
Our first minister, Armin Laschet, has been caught red-handed, twisting the law to act against climate activists.
Our minister of the interior, Herbert Reul, is trying to outlaw activism outright.
Oh, NRWE – there’s a lot of work ahead!
(Red Rebels, Cologne, 2/20/21)
As expected, we extended the lockdown to March 7th, for now.
We have also set a new target for infection rates (less than 35 per 100,000 people), making a lot of sense.
Still, I am amazed at how many people feel that they can argue or plead with a virus. Sars-CoV-19 is a deadly airborne virus, and there’s nothing our government or we can do to prevent the spread other than limiting inter-person contact.
On a side note, winter has finally come. Did I mention that I hate the cold?
(Cologne, Ruuvi, 2/12/21)
The lockdown is going well; we see a slight reduction in the infections.
But there’s still a lot of work ahead of us to flatten the curve.
Some of the new Covid-19 mutations are highly contagious, so we need to improve our mask game with the new double-mask trend recommended by Dr. Fauci. And FFP2 masks in shops and public transport.
(Double mask, Cologne, 1/26/21)
Eleven weeks and no respite in sight – on Tuesday, our government will reconvene with the states and evaluate further tightening of the contact restrictions. I hope they will finally make working from home mandatory for all office workers.
On Saturday, our governing party elected its new leader. They opted for continuity and the least controversial candidate and avoided the ultra-conservative Chairman of the Supervisory Board at BlackRock Germany.
Also, Winter is here, with the first snow of the year. Only two more months to Spring.
I wrote this blog post while dancing to Melodic Sunday at Techno Lieben und Leben – a great place to start the day!
(First snow, Cologne, 1/17/21)
