In Germany, apparently the climate narrative need not have a factual basis. Reminds me a bit of "Baghdad Bob" during the Iraq invasion. Despite Heavy Rains, Flooding And Softened Dykes, German UFZ Insists Drought Persists! By P Gosselin on 29. December 2023 “One of the world’s leading research centres in the field of environmental research” insists parts of flooded Germany are still in drought! Even though northern Germany is struggling with one of the worst flooding episodes in a century, the country’s Helmholtz for Environmental research (UFZ) website continues to insist that parts of the region are suffering from drought. Too dry! According to its “Total Soil Column 1.8 meters” Drought Monitor chart, most of former East Germany is too dry: Some parts, according to the Helmholtz UFZ, are even suffering extreme drought – like near Dresden. Chart source: UFZ. Reality: Flood Alert Level 3 But the latest news from the Dresden Environmental Agency are that the city “is lifting the alert level 3 declared on December 26, 2023 at 7:30 pm for the Elbe river in Dresden today, Friday, December 29, 2023, with immediate effect.” Although most of North Germany is reeling from weeks of heavy rains and flooding, the drought obsessed Helmholtz UFZ seems to see it all differently: much of the north is still gripped by drought! The above animation shows the model simulated 1.8 meter depth drought extent for each month of 2023. Source: Helmholtz UFZ To be fair, the 1.8 meter drought chart is based on computer simulations, and so the outputs might need some time to catch up to reality. Climate propaganda Amusingly, back around 3 years ago, just after Germany has experienced two dry summers, The Helmholtz put out this video, where they claimed that with the drought summers of 2018 and 2019, it meant “we have felt the climate change in Germany very directly, one can say.” One could easily argue that the Helmholtz site is a bit engaged in climate propaganda and unserious science. Expect the music and colors at the UFZ to change very soon, that is if they want to retain any credibility.
The propaganda continues. Germany’s Soaking Wet Drought…Helmholtz Drought Monitor Insists Drought Persists By P Gosselin on 10. January 2024 Disconnected from reality: Despite heavy winter rains, flooding and DWD data, Germany’s Helmholtz Institute insists parts of Germany are “extremely dry”. The “climate change-induced drought” in January 2024 By Frank Bosse We already reported several times (here and here) on the Helmholtz Institute’s Drought Monitor. In the meantime, there have been major floods, especially in north-western Germany, and also a lot of precipitation elsewhere. In Saxony, the DWD German national weather service recorded some 107 mm of precipitation in December, 2023, which is 78% more than the long-term mean. There was also an increase of 10% over the whole 2023 year. Now let’s take a look at the drought monitor in the region and, as of January 5, 2024, it still shows areas in northeastern Saxony with extreme (dark red) and exceptional drought (red) in the total soil to a depth of 1.80 m. We have compared this in detail with the soil profiles available from the DWD, up to January 5, 2024. Here is the result: At the bottom left is the Helmholtz Drought Monitor image for Saxony, along with the DWD profiles for the respective locations: top left, top right, and bottom right. Clearly the DWD results are contrary to the Helmholtz Frought Monitir depiction, which by the way is based on models. At the top left near Elsterheide, the Helmholtz Drought Monitor shows “extreme drought” of the entire soil as of January 5, 2024 and the corresponding DWD profile reveals 90-100% moisture penetration throughout. At Boxberg (top right), down to 1.3m is over 90% moisture, between 40 and 100 cm depth there is oversaturation, below 130 cm down to a depth of 2m there is still 50-60%. Is this what “extreme drought” looks like, according to Helmholtz? The Neisse floodplain (bottom right) tops it all off: Helmholtz also indicates “extreme drought” here. But the DWD shows there’s 100% moisture in the soil profile down to a depth of 1.8 m. Between 80 cm and 140 cm, the soil is in fact saturated with water. If drought is understood as a lack of water, then the “Drought Monitor” must be representing something else! It has nothing to do with reality and everyone should be warned not to take the depictions at face value.
The Germans continue on their chosen path to self-destruction. Raw Deal: Germany’s Minister Of Agriculture Proposes Tax On Meat By P Gosselin on 13. February 2024 Under the bottom line, the green movement is all about taxing people and restricting their choices. The rich, of course, will go unaffected. According to online Bild here, Germany’s Federal Agriculture Minister, Cem Özdemir, (Green Party) has recently proposed a consumption tax on meat. He calls this tax “animal welfare cents”. Özdemir sent a framework paper to the coalition government where he recommends a consumer tax on meat. “The main aim is to generate tax revenue for agricultural and food policy projects. Özdemir sees this step as an opportunity to financially support important projects in the field of sustainable agriculture,” reports Blackout News here. “In particular, meat, meat products, edible offal and processed products containing a certain proportion of these products are to be taxed.” Food inflation was at double digit rates over much of the past 2 years, and a meat tax will only further exacerbate the inflationary spiral. Germany’s policy on energy has made energy there among the most expensive in the world, and has led to a series of price increases through the entire supply chain. “A few cents per kilo” The planned amount of the meat tax remains unknown, but the talk has been of a modest amount in the range of “a few cents per kilo.” Özdemir “wants it to do long-term good for agriculture and the environment” and he “views the levy as an important investment in the future,” reports Blackout News. Audi production moving to China, Mexico On another note, Blackout News also reports on how German luxury carmaker Audi is now planning to move production out of Germany and over to China and Mexico. “Audi is planning to reduce its production capacity in Europe. The German car manufacturer intends to produce the Q8 e-tron model in Mexico and China.” “The decision will have a major impact on the plant in Brussels. The Group currently produces the Q8 e-tron exclusively there. According to information from company circles, the company is considering relocating production of this model from Belgium to Mexico and China.”
Remember that early Beatles song "Tax Man"? (If you drive a car, car) I'll tax the street (If you try to sit, sit) I'll tax your seat (If you get too cold, cold) I'll tax the heat if you talk a walk, I'll tax your feet} (If you take a walk, walk) I'll tax your feet Taxman) x Apparently there's a new line "if you try to eat, I'll tax your meet".
