ARCHIV - Katrin pflegt ihre Blumen beim Urban Gardening am 19.08.2015 auf dem Tempelhofer Feld in Berlin. Foto: Jörg Carstensen/dpa (zu dpa "Gärtnern in der Stadt: Wachsende Umsätze mit Urban Gardening") +++(c) dpa - Bildfunk+++

Ludwig Wittgenstein, the thinker, said: “A philosophical problem has the form: I no longer know my way around.” Accordingly, a large part of life consists of philosophical problems. The mysteries already begin in everyday life, with toilet paper, for example. This should be as environmentally friendly as possible. Every German uses around a dozen kilograms of it every year. A lot of forest is cut down to soften the paper. It is therefore best if recycled waste paper is used in production.

How does the consumer now know that his toilet paper is clean? Well, the “Blue Angel”, the eco seal of approval. This is printed on the layers at certain intervals. The ink for the seal has to be produced, the seal itself has to be mechanically pressed onto the layers. All of this costs energy and tarnishes the ecological balance sheet. The certification of an ecological quality itself becomes an ecologically questionable act.

Or the bees. They are becoming fewer and fewer, mainly because of the pesticides. Fortunately, there are more and more hobby beekeepers, especially in cities. It is said that everyone can make a contribution to protecting the animals. With lush balcony planting, for example, with native garden and kitchen herbs, coneflowers and tickseed. If the blossom is strong, the bee is happy. However: balcony flowers need water, in hot summers even a lot of water.

And water is scarce, Berlin and Brandenburg have low groundwater levels. The drought is rampant, plants wither. People are being asked to drastically reduce their water consumption. How compatible is that with a voluminous balcony planting for the benefit of the bees?

Because of the lack of water, yoghurt and quark cups should not be washed out before they end up in the plastic waste. But this advice leads to the next problem, at least in the case of persistently high room temperatures. An unpleasant odor can quickly spread in leftover yoghurt and quark, accompanied by mold growth. The effect occurs particularly quickly in heated attic apartments.

Save water! Of course, question marks can even be placed on this directive. The Berlin waterworks recommend that pipes that have not been used for some time should be thoroughly flushed before they are put back into operation. Otherwise, the quality of the water cannot be guaranteed. The entire public drinking water network in Berlin is free of lead pipes. But in the last few meters before the tap, it often flows through ancient pipes containing lead. This mainly applies to old buildings and buildings that have not been or partially renovated. In addition, the drinking water installation in apartment buildings must be checked regularly for legionella. The same applies here: let it run!

“A philosophical problem takes the form: I don’t know my way around anymore,” said Wittgenstein, who also liked to cause confusion. Some people find the lack of knowledge unbearable. They reach for every available answer to shake off their perplexity. Most of the time they fail.