A top Green Party official has suggested that Germans use washcloths instead of taking showers to solve the country’s looming energy crisis.
Baden-Württemberg’s Prime Minister Winfried Kretschmann also said citizens should buy expensive eco-heating systems, which are unaffordable for the average person.
The comments were made in response to the energy crisis as gas shortages loom amid the ongoing war in Ukraine.
“Even the washcloth is a useful invention,” the Green politician told Südwest-Presse.
Kretschmann boasted about his eco-credentials, “I have an electric car, I have a huge photovoltaic system on the roof.”
The pellet heating system used by the Green Party official costs anything up to €21,000 – a totally unrealistic figure for struggling Germans.
But the actual environmental cost of Kretschmann’s ‘solution’ was explained by Remix News.
“Wired magazine reports that these devices rely primarily on wood pellets sourced from forests in the southeastern United States. They are then shipped halfway around the world to individuals like Kretschmann despite many scientists arguing that these pellets are just as polluting as coal.”
“Although they come from a renewable resource, forests are cut down across the U.S. to make this resource, and according to Greenpeace, the practice destroys biodiversity and ruins entire ecosystems. Scientists estimate it takes between 44 to over 100 years for these forests to grow back, and for those worried about climate change, they say this destruction of natural forests will cost the planet immeasurably.”
Kretschmann’s so-called advice received backlash on Twitter, as the hashtag #Waschlappen (German for “washcloth”) began trending.