Hey 20 Percent,
The good news it’s supposed to be around 30° this weekend, which also doubles as the bad news since we haven’t had rain in what seems like forever, which is weird because in April it felt like it was never going to stop raining.
I’ll keep it short today since I, like probably many of you, have to plan and pack for my sunny weekend in Brandenburg — that’s the place outside the ring with all the nice lakes. The downside of going to lakes? Having to look at all the bad tattoos.
Have a good and sunny weekend!
Andrew
P.S.: If you’d like to buy us a beer for these sunny weekends, head on over to our Patreon or buy a 20% mug (they can also function as beer glasses in a pinch. We know because we’ve tried it).
The NATO maneuver is real
For once, it won’t be BER being BER causing flight delays — it’ll be NATO. The defense alliance is holding what RBB says is its biggest-ever maneuver in Germany from June 12 to 23, involving 25 countries, 250 airplanes and 10,000 soldiers. My insta is already filling up with pictures of combat aircraft in unusual locations. The planes involved in the maneuver will be given priority in Germany’s airspace, which will likely lead to delays for civil flights throughout Germany and Europe. The good news: the Luftwaffe doesn’t have any airbases in or near Berlin or Brandenburg so, for now, we’re just a flyover state.
Still no windmills in Lichtenberg
Is it conservative politicians preventing the placement of windmills atop a Lichtenberg skyscraper to provide the 100 residents with renewable energy? No. Greedy property investors refusing to invest in future technologies? No. The reason the newly built Liese on Frankfurter Allee doesn’t yet sport the much-hyped wind generators is … bureaucracy. State housing company Howoge has been trying to get approval since 2021 and has all the necessary signatures but Lichtenberg still refuses to approve the project, even though it says it supports the installation of climate-friendly alternatives. The district says windmills don’t conform to the current profile of the neighborhood and the rotors could be annoying. The city-state of Berlin was supposed to help get approval last year but now RBB says it may never move forward, which is another step back.
Water rationing?
While Lichtenberg is refusing to help in the battle against climate change, Berlin’s new environment minister, Maja Schreiner (CDU), is developing a plan to ration water should the city run short, according to the Morgenpost — Berlin and Brandenburg are among the driest regions in Germany with five consecutive years of droughts (last year was the driest-ever). Politicians want to identify which industries should still receive water in the event of an emergency and who could go without — private pools and gardens, for example. Although Schreiner said Berlin isn’t running out of water yet, she said the abrupt lack of rain since April feels like a “crash”.
Factoid
Berlin kids are the most veggie of all German kids: 47% of them rarely or never eat meat, according to a study by public insurer AOK. The national average is 33%. 18% of young Berliners are being raised vegetarian (10% nationwide) and 3% are vegan, compared to 1% in this pork-loving nation.