Eric Westervelt

Germans Confront The Costs Of A Nuclear-Free Future

Eric Westervelt — Tue, 14 Aug 2012 18:49:00 +0000

After Japan's Fukushima disaster last year, Germany announced a groundbreaking energy plan: It would phase out all of its domestic nuclear power in a decade and make a transition to safer, carbon neutral energy.

The goal is to have solar, wind and other renewables account for nearly 40 percent of the energy for Europe's largest economy in a decade, and 80 percent by 2050.

But already the revolutionary plan and its ambitious timeline are in doubt.

Poland Watches Warily As Euro Crisis Spreads

Eric Westervelt — Mon, 13 Aug 2012 07:29:00 +0000

One factor that has kept Poland somewhat insulated from the eurozone crisis is domestic consumer spending. Poland had more than 4 percent growth last year while the rest of the continent was mired in negative or flat growth. Poles have more discretionary income than ever before, and they're using it to buy things in swank malls cropping up all over the country.

"Consumer spending has risen significantly in recent years," says Miroslaw Borjarczyk, as he shops at Warsaw's Golden Terraces mall.

Spain's Crisis Pushes Educated Into 'Economic Exile'

Eric Westervelt — Sun, 29 Jul 2012 09:58:00 +0000

In Spain, the growing crisis — debt, austerity and joblessness — has prompted more people to vote with their feet. In the first six months of 2012, emigration from Spain is up more than 44 percent from the same period last year.

The Spanish government denies it, but the "brain drain" has become something of a flood with more and more educated, skilled Spaniards moving abroad.

Neurobiologist Elisa Cuevas Garcia from Madrid sips an iced espresso on a hot afternoon at an outdoor cafe in Berlin.

Jo Nesbo's Fiction Explores Oslo's Jagged Edges

Eric Westervelt — Mon, 23 Jul 2012 09:14:00 +0000

The sun descends reluctantly over Norway's waterside capital, but novelist Jo Nesbo is determined to show Oslo's dark side, to convince me the real city, in parts, is as dirty, twisted and seedy as his own fictional version.

It's a tough sell in this city of bike helmets, clean streets and smiling blond people.

The author has written nine successful novels about the reckless Oslo police detective Harry Hole, a nonconformist with a mercurial mind.

Hole's most meaningful relationship is with bourbon, by the bottle.

The Next Silicon Valley? Berlin Startups Catching Up With The Hype

Eric Westervelt — Mon, 09 Jul 2012 21:38:00 +0000

California's Silicon Valley remains by far the dominant arena for high-tech startups and venture capitalists looking to back innovative projects.

But Europe is starting to make its mark on the startup scene. London, Paris and Berlin are starting to hold their own as more and more European startups look to compete on the global stage and attract investors.

A 'Crazy Green Field' For Creative Types

Sometimes it seems like the entrepreneurial spirit of young Berliners is confined to slacker hipsters selling used clothes to each other.

Germany, Greece Face Off On Soccer Field

Eric Westervelt — Fri, 22 Jun 2012 11:20:00 +0000

The eurozone will take a short break from its financial crisis to enjoy a sporting event. The soccer teams of Germany and Greece meet Friday in the quarter finals of the Euro 2012 championship in Gdansk, Poland. Germany's coach doesn't think political tensions will have an impact on the field.

Germany Resists Concessions To Greek Bailout Terms

Eric Westervelt — Tue, 19 Jun 2012 21:05:00 +0000

The party that won Greece's parliamentary elections on Sunday has accepted the tough conditions international lenders imposed to bail out the ailing nation. But there's been talk that the party wants to seek some concessions on the terms of the rescue package.

At the G-20 summit in Los Cabos, Mexico, German Chancellor Angela Merkel reiterated her tough line that bailout terms for Greece are not negotiable.

A Party On The Rise, Germany's Pirates Come Ashore

Eric Westervelt — Wed, 06 Jun 2012 06:55:00 +0000

They don't have a plan to save the euro or draw down the war in Afghanistan, nor do they have clear policies on an array of issues, but the German Pirate Party is winning converts and elections with its vision of digital democracy through "liquid feedback."

Despite public relations mishaps and a haphazard organizational structure, the Pirate Party is shaking up the stolid, bureaucratic world of German politics and jolting rival parties with its rising popularity.

On Tuesday night in Neukolln, a disheveled yet trendy Berlin district, the Kinski Bar buzzes like it's the weekend.

Stumbling Upon Miniature Memorials To Nazi Victims

Eric Westervelt — Thu, 31 May 2012 06:51:00 +0000

Brick by brick, Guenther Demnig is working to change how the Holocaust is publicly remembered in Germany.

On a recent afternoon, the 62-year-old Berlin-born artist is on his knees on a sidewalk in a prosperous section of Berlin's Charlottenburg district, working a hammer and small trowel.

For New French President, Germany Is First Stop

Eric Westervelt — Tue, 15 May 2012 20:43:00 +0000

As soon as new French President Francois Hollande was sworn in on Tuesday, he observed a postwar custom and reached out to Germany, in a move intended to underscore European solidarity and the importance of the alliance.

But it wasn't a relaxing social visit. Hollande's plane was struck by lightning en route to Berlin and had to return to Paris as a precaution. He then took another plane.

And Hollande and German Chancellor Angela Merkel have different views on how to extricate Europe from its worst postwar financial crisis.

Europe's Austerity Plans Face Growing Backlash

Eric Westervelt — Mon, 14 May 2012 20:15:00 +0000

A political crisis in Greece and economic woes in Spain are again raising concern about the future of the eurozone.

In Athens today, Greek politicians tried again and failed to form a coalition government, though talks are ongoing. There is growing fear that Greece will not be able to remain in the currency union and avoid defaulting on its debts.

In Spain, the health of the banking sector is in doubt as street opposition to painful budget cuts continues there and in other parts of Europe.

Confessed Killer Of 77 Goes On Trial In Norway

Eric Westervelt — Mon, 16 Apr 2012 08:00:00 +0000

The man who has confessed to carrying out Norway's worst peace-time atrocity went on trial Monday. Anders Behring Breivik is accused of carrying out a twin bombing and shooting rampage that killed 77 people and wounded dozens last July. He told the court: "I admit to the acts, but not criminal guilt."

Norway 'Still Shattered' As Extremist Goes On Trial

Eric Westervelt — Sun, 15 Apr 2012 10:02:00 +0000

Norwegians will be confronted again this week with the terrible details and trauma of the worst peacetime attack in the country's history.

Police say last July 22, Anders Behring Breivik set off a car bomb in the center of Oslo near government offices. The blast killed eight people and spun residents and police into a state of chaotic alarm and confusion.

The bombing was a deadly diversion that allowed the right-wing extremist to then make his way to the small bucolic Island of Utoya.

Homelessness Becomes A Crime In Hungary

Eric Westervelt — Fri, 06 Apr 2012 19:20:00 +0000

Hungary's new anti-vagrancy laws — the toughest in Europe — now mean that homeless people sleeping on the street can face police fines or even the possibility of jail time.

Advocacy and human-rights groups are alarmed by the new efforts to crack down on and effectively criminalize homelessness, where the ranks of the needy have increased during the country's dire financial crisis.

Debt, joblessness and poverty are on the rise.

The Secret To Germany's Low Youth Unemployment

Eric Westervelt — Wed, 04 Apr 2012 07:06:00 +0000

For as long as he can remember, German teenager Robin Dittmar has been obsessed with airplanes. As a little boy, the sound of a plane overhead would send him into the backyard to peer into the sky. Toys had to have wings. Even today, Dittmar sees his car as a kind of ersatz Boeing.

"I've got the number 747 as the number plate of my car. I'm really in love with this airplane," the 18-year-old says.

Europe Wants Assurances For Latest Greek Bailout

Eric Westervelt — Wed, 15 Feb 2012 22:55:00 +0000
The European Union says Greece has made some progress, but not enough, to merit the new bailout it desperately needs to avoid default and keep the euro as its currency.
Greeks are increasingly bitter about the austerity measures the EU is imposing on them.