B Before I start writing this text, I first go to the taz balcony and have a smoke. The sky is gray, freezing pigeons sit in the bare chestnut trees. They can’t complain about the bad air in the capital. Loud Berlin air quality measurement network As of today, February 10th at 11 a.m., the quality is “sufficient” in the city center and “satisfactory” towards the outskirts of the city. according to the Federal Environment Agency In contrast, “poor” to “very bad” in the inner city.
Neither is surprising, because firstly we smell that it stinks; and secondly, no one has moved here because of the “Berlin air”, unless you like a peppermint liqueur of the same name or one snappy hitwho associated the local atmosphere “with its lovely scent” with joy of life and liberality.
The technical term “inversion weather situation” is closer to me. A few days ago I looked down from a sunny peak into the cloudy Alpine foothills and thought of verses by Hugo von Hofmannsthal: “Some of course have to die below, / Where the heavy oars of the ships touch, / Others live at the helm above, / Know the flight of birds and the countries of the stars.”
And just as resigned to fate as Hofmannsthal here sings about class membership, which seems to be unchangeable and determines life chances, we should also deal with the toxic mixture that we and our children and the poor pigeons have to breathe in. The combustion engines continue and far too fast even in the inner citythe fine dust rises from chimneys at home and further east. And just like our great-great-great ancestors, we are waiting for wind and rain, for divine action, so to speak, which alone could bring about improvement.
With the stroller past smoking exhausts
What is fascinating about this quasi-Stone Age devotion is the fact that in so many, if not all, other areas of our (survival) life, we are constantly asked to do our own work. We track ourselves more precisely than the conditions around us.
If, as is to happen, we see people sitting and smoking in a car, then we will see the dangers of this unhealthy, sitting and smoking lifestyle – and push our little ones in strollers very close to the smoking exhaust pipes. And we’re also conceited about our longevity skills because we’re skipping a glass of wine with dinner this evening.
The right to light and clean air were once the basic demands of the life reform movement that reacted to the unreasonable demands of industrialization. And as a solidarity demand: not just for the summiteers and villa residents – but for everyone.
Here the wind has actually changed in an otherwise “poor” weather situation. A project like that of the highly effective, pollutant-reducing Paris transport policy is at least partially perceived as elitist – metropolises are now seen as exclusive zones for the “liberal elites” with their “forbidden culture”. The right to smoke oneself and others in a motorized vehicle, however, is a reserve of freedom in large parts of Germany – and why not especially in the capital.
And now? Back on the balcony: The pigeons are doing well, they simply flew away – but probably not to the surrounding area with fewer pollutants but also with less food. City air not only makes you free, it also fills you up. The governing mayor doesn’t tend to go jogging outside these days, but prefers to play tennis indoors, but we already know that. A year ago at this time it was reported Nationwide leader in particulate matter deaths be Berlin. At least – once again in the lead!