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| December 2002 Newsletter |
| 2003 – WHAT IS IT GOING TO HAVE IN STORE FOR US? |
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| Das Männlein mit dem Wunderspiegel (ein Volksmärchen) |
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| Germany on the way to a modern mobility |
 People in Germany are on the move every day – on foot, on bicycles, in buses and trains, less often in ships and boats, and mostly in their own cars. At the beginning of the 21st century, 53.2 million motor vehicles were registered in Germany, including 43.3 million cars. The Germans drive to work during the week, use their cars for shopping and visiting friends at the weekend, and for their summer holidays by the sea. They cover distances which add up to a total national consumption of 46.403 million litres of fuel per year. For most of them that’s no problem. But it is for others, especially if they live on busy roads. And for the environment? It suffers particularly badly. For most of our vehicles burn fossil fuels that emit carbon dioxide (CO2) into the air. The high CO2 emissions have given us the greenhouse effect, including global warming by an average 0.6 degrees Celsius per year. That sounds harmless, but it’s not. Due to this warming the sea level worldwide has risen by up to 20 cm, and extreme rainfalls in the Northern Hemisphere have increased sharply. How our mobility can be ensured in the future without encroaching upon our life quality is being debated by German politicians and also put to practical test. Life was quieter 100 years ago. People went about on foot, in horse-drawn vehicles and on steam trains. But with the development of the internal combustion engine at the end of the 19th century and the series production of the first cars at the beginning of the 20th, things got louder and faster. Germany recognised early on that its economy would benefit from motor vehicles. So it built an efficient transport infrastructure, especially after the Second World War. The Federal governments of the day financed the expansion of a well-functioning rail and road network, creating the basis for Germany’s position as the industrial location we know today. The road network now has a total length of 643,700 km, equal to 16 times around the world. The German rail network, with a length of 41,600 km, links even the remotest German regions to the rest of the country. Germany’s federal states, districts and municipalities contribute to the costs of maintaining and expanding the public transport infrastructure – from railway stations to airports to village roads. The main costs burden is carried by the Federal government. In 2002 it invested € 11.5 billion in transport. In the near future that figure will increase markedly because the traffic volume is growing not only in Germany but also across Europe as a whole. By the end of this decade, the German government plans to invest € 90 billion in its future-oriented mobility programme. Bottlenecks on motorways, railways and inland waterways are to be eliminated. Among other things, a total of 1,100 km of motorway is to be widened to six lanes, and 300 by-passes are to be built so that town centres will no longer be congested by traffic and local people can enjoy some peace and quiet again. The modernisation of 6,000 km of the rail network and construction of a total of 500 km of new sections is planned. There will be greater focus on expanding inland waterways as a means of transport. These measures will be aimed at helping to reduce goods traffic on the roads. In addition, for foreign trade it is important to be able to offer large and efficient seaports. So Germany’s major ports will be promoted, and smaller ones, such as Wilhelmshaven, will be converted to handle ocean-going shipping. If 30 per cent of all German car drivers were to switch to bicycles, which experts say is feasible without loss of comfort, it would reduce the country’s CO2 emissions by 13.5 million tonnes per year. The cyclists would be fitter and healthier than car drivers, travel 200-300 per cent faster and the roads would be freer, especially during rush hours. The Federal government is doubling its funds earmarked for construction and maintenance of cycle paths from € 55 million to € 110 million, thereby sending a signal to the country’s 16 federal states. The latter are called upon to make cycle paths in their cities and towns and municipalities safer. Fuel consumption and thus CO2 emissions have dropped in Germany since 2000 thanks to, among other things, an eco-tax that has made petrol and diesel more expensive. To promote this process the government is also giving a tax break on the use of the even more environment-friendly natural gas as a fuel. The government’s replacement in 2001 of a ‘kilometre’ lump sum tax deduction for motorists for every kilometre they covered in driving to and from work by a ‘distance’ lump sum deduction which applies as well to commuters who use their cycles or public transport, has certainly also contributed to the decline in particle emissions. All these measures have also helped to reduce Germany’s so-called summer smog. However, only one-third of the ozone concentration in Germany is caused by the country itself. So while German national successes are considerable, all countries must pull together for the sake of the environment and people’s health. (Extract from IN-PRESS No.14/2002)
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| Olaf Rieck’s corner: |
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Neu: Der Name der Autorin / des Autors von “Mit aller Macht” ist trotz größter Anstrengungen der journalistischen Zunft immer noch unbekannt. Es ist eines der Bücher, die uns vom List Verlag gespendet wurden. Der Ich-Erzähler Henry Burton verfolgt fasziniert den Wahlkampf des Kandidaten Jack Stanton, eines bisher unbekannten Südstaaten-Gouverneurs. Er durchlebt voller Begeisterung und Idealismus den Irrsinn von Wahlkampf, Hochrechnungen, TV-Duellen und Schlammschlachten gegen die Mitbewerber. Bald aber, als die ersten Skandale ans Licht kommen, verliert Burton den Glauben an sein Idol. In ferner Zukunft wachsen die Geschwister “Mara und Dann” im von Dürre geplagten Land Ifrik auf. Von der gegenwärtigen Zivilisation sind nur noch wenige Spuren zu finden und die nördliche Erdkugel ist unter der Schneedecke einer neuen Eiszeit begraben. Das Geschwisterpaar macht sich auf die Suche nach einem besseren Leben, auf der sie eine abenteuerliche Odyssee erleben. Autorin diese Buches ist Doris Lessing. Es ist Teil der Bücherspende des Verlages Hoffmann und Campe. Vom Verlag Bertelsmann wurde uns
das Buch “Nach Afghanistan kommt Gott nur noch zum Weinen” der
iranischen Dokumentarfilmerin Siba Shakib gespendet. Sie
beschreibt darin das Leben von Shirin-Gol, dass exemplarisch ist für
das Schicksal der afghanischen Frauen. Shirin-Gol ist ein kleines
Mädchen, als die russischen Truppen in Afghanistan einmarschieren.
Als ihr Dorf zerstört wird geht sie in die Hauptstadt. Dort
entdeckt sie, wie sie ihr Leben durch Wissen und Bildung verändern
kann. Als dann allerdings das Taleban-Regime an die Macht kommt,
muss sie fliehen.
The library will be closed between the 18th and the 24thDecember Christmas Holidays |
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