Perspectives

Germany's passion for organization and links to the environment

Anti-nuclear protestors gather in front of Brandenburg Gate in Berlin prior to the federal election in September 2009. (AP)

Up until this spring, I was living in Germany for about a year of language training. My 3-year-old daughter attended a local kindergarten, where teachers were adamant that children put toys back where they belong. This is, of course, behavior that should be expected of children. But the teachers are strict to the point of making us Japanese wonder, "Do they have to be that harsh?"

"Leave the disciplining of dogs and children to Germans," they laugh. I find their passion for organization extraordinary.

The textbooks that we foreign students used for German language study were eye-opening as well. Among chapters such as "Literature" and "Economics" was one allotted to "Environment," in which we spent quite a bit of time on the topic of sorting trash and recycling. In the "Travel" chapter, pages were dedicated to the packing and organizing of one's bags. As the textbook helped us foreign students to gain an understanding of the German temperament, it was far more interesting than reading fiction or other texts. Obviously, these national traits are what lie at the foundation of this major environmental leader.

However, from the 1950s to 60s, during Germany's period of rapid economic development, Germany, like Japan, struggled with air pollution and other deteriorating environmental conditions. Older Germans who remember that time say that the Rhine River was like a sewage canal. Subsequently, the national government implemented various conservation measures, which eventually led to the famous 2002 legislation to abandon nuclear power generation.

Circumstances are changing, however. As global warming has emerged as one of the world's most important issues, nuclear power generation is once again gaining attention as a method of power generation that does not emit the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide. This development was a point of contention in the German federal election that I witnessed during my stay there. Ultimately, the center-right party calling for the continued operation of nuclear power plants came out victorious.

During the election campaign, abandonment of nuclear power stations was debated daily, and a large number of books on the subject were seen in bookstores. From skimming those books, I realized that this leading environmental nation was also torn. That much, I got.

As I was about to leave the bookstore, a shop attendant stopped me: "Please put the books back where you found them." (By Koichi Shinoda, Foreign News Department)

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