Let It Go Green; Don't Force It

n Marburg, Germany, some are wondering if there's such a thing as too much eco-consciousness. The town council recently ruled some mandatory laws regarding solar panels, and it has some believing a "green dictatorship" hurts rather than helps the fight in global warming.

The ordinance, the first of its kind in Germany, requires that solar panels must not only be fixed to new buildings (few oppose this part) but must also be applied to existing homes that undergo renovations or get new heating systems or roof repairs. If citizens don't think the council is serious, it's a $1500 fine to those who fail to comply.

Critics are complaining the rules violate a host of property owners rights, and the regional government in Giessen is warning it might overturn them. Some of the critics include renowned town environmentalists too.

The Herald Tribune wrote about Götz Schönherr, a resident who uses solar power to heat his water, allowing him to turn off the high-energy consumption of his water boiler for six months out of the year. He opposes the new ordinance, thinking it's self-defeating. To reinsulate his home as he originally desired, he would now have to install a larger, $8000 solar panel to be in compliance.

"That leads, in my case, and I would think in other cases as well, that people say, 'Well, let's just not reinsulate the roof,"' Schönherr said. "So it's absolutely counterproductive."

Germany is currently one of the world's leaders when it comes to green technology and battling global warming, but many feel victory can only be achieved when the desire of the larger population is true and voluntary--not when it's guided under the views of a select, controlling few.

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