In the first episode after the summer break, a hydrated Jan Böhmermann states: We have many problems with our most precious resource.
Shortly before Christmas 2021: As a token of appreciation, the above-mentioned author received a starter set of “Air-Up” from his employer. Water is said to be given a taste of cola and tangerine just by smell. The product, in which the notorious entrepreneur Frank Thelen once invested, only collects dust in its packaging. It should be progress in terms of sustainability. And that’s not all: the advertising promises a “drinking experience the world hasn’t seen before”. Thelen even calls it “revolutionary”. What is actually behind the product is above all a lot of plastic and extremely long, climate-damaging supply chains.
This form of greenwashing is just one aspect that Jan Böhmermann tries to take up critically in the first ZDF Magazin Royale after the summer break. So the subject of the program is water – and how negligently Germany deals with the resource.
ZDF Magazin Royale with Jan Böhmermann: Water and Greenwashing
“Air-Up” is not the only concept criticized in this context. “Viva con Agua” also presents itself as sustainable, cool and tries to appeal to young people, says Böhmermann. According to its own statements, the non-profit organization is committed to providing access to clean water worldwide. This is how environmental protection and activism should be fun. If you take a closer look, it is a brand of mineral water like most others, only hipper: In addition to the merchandise offered in the shop, there are numerous subsidiaries, even in the real estate sector. The mineral water from “Viva con Agua”, as it is commercially available, is bottled by the northern German company Husumer Mineralbrunnen.
| Jan Böhmermann | satirist and presenter |
| birthday | February 23, 1981 |
| Place of birth | Bremen |
| Broadcast | ZDF Magazine Royale |
But does the initiative really help in terms of environmental protection and sustainability? Not from the point of view of the moderator. “If all Germans were to drink tap water instead of mineral water, more CO2 could be saved than domestic German air traffic causes,” wrote Die Zeit in April, according to an insertion. If you want to behave in an environmentally friendly way, you should simply drink tap water and not fall for companies or organizations that pretend to protect the environment, concludes Böhmermann.
ZDF Magazin Royale: “The Battle for Water”
However, that is increasingly becoming a problem. The “messed up agriculture” and factory farming ensure that nitrate can seep into the groundwater in the form of fertilizer – this can be extremely harmful not only from a health point of view, but also for the environment. According to a study report by the EU Commission in 2018, Germany has the second highest nitrate content in groundwater in the entire European Union. So drinking water is becoming increasingly scarce. At the same time, there are more and more legal disputes about the precious but inconspicuous resource.
In the “battle for water” there is already a clear winner in Germany: the economy. And that doesn’t mean the common good, of course, but profits, primarily from corporations that use vast amounts of water. According to a Correctiv research, this is made possible, among other things, by decades-old agreements that rarely take the climate crisis into account. Car manufacturers, for example, would also benefit from these regulations and further fuel the climate crisis through their products.
ZDF Magazine Royale
“Germans and their water: It’s complicated” on Friday, September 9, 11 p.m. on ZDF – link to the media library
The first ZDF Magazin Royale after the summer break addresses a lot of important things, but only scratches the surface. Especially when you consider that Böhmermann made a completely humorless summer review from the first 15 minutes, including sayings about Christian Lindner’s wedding. Due to a few other puns, which even when meant ironically are extremely unpleasant (“Blindganger im Po defuse”), it takes a while for the show to pick up speed. Böhmermann says goodbye to the audience just as quickly as it gets interesting.
ZDF Magazin Royale: “Germans and their water: It’s complicated” – really a German problem?
Kind of a cliffhanger at the end of the episode. The Federal Ministry for the Environment replied to a corresponding request from the ZDF editorial team: “The issue of emergency water supply in the event of a crisis […] is not part of the national water strategy. The National Water Strategy itself will therefore not clarify the question of prioritizing different water uses.” In the middle of the extremely dry summer, the question of prioritizing water consumption is more than justified. So what happens if things get more serious in the future? The fact that there is no clear plan from the government is not surprising, but it deserves much more execution.
The whole show could have been based on exactly this aspect of prioritization. However, in this episode, too many points that simply have something to do with water have been jumbled up and dealt with only briefly. The title of the program (“Germans and their water: It’s complicated”), which suggests a German instead of a global problem, also leaves some question marks. In addition, Böhmermann repeatedly speaks of a highly neurotic relationship between Germans and water, but leaves open why the problems mentioned should only apply to Germans. (Luke Rogalla)
