The German decision to abandon nuclear power after the Fukushima Daiichi accident is well known and the source of continued debate over its wisdom. I picked up a reminder of the opposition to nuclear power in Germany this weekend while visiting Berlin. It combines the classic logo "Nuclear Power? No Thanks!" [Atomkraft? Nein Danke] with the nostalgic "Ampelmann" figure used on crossing lights to guide pedestrians at intersections throughout East Berlin under the former communist regime in the German Democratic Republic (DDR). The Ampelmann is so popular that he's been adopted in former West Berlin as well.
Above you see the Ampelmann (roughly the "traffic light man") in the "Stop" position.
And here's our man in both the "stop" and "go" positions. The Ampelmann is now sold on merchandise of all kinds - clothing, ornaments, candy, etc. - in Ampelmann stores and souvenir shops throughout Berlin. It's an ironic symbol of the victory of capitalism over communism, I suppose. As for Germany, the government has decided to shut down all nuclear plants by 2022. Here are two postcards of the Krümmel plant on the Elbe in Schleswig-Holstein which had suffered some performance problems and was shut down in 2011 at the time of the decision. It won't reopen.
The backs of these cards tout the plant for providing safe and environmentally friendly electric power since 1984 for the north German region. "Energie ist Leben!" - "Energy is life!" - they say. The life of the plant, however, is now over.
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