Mascots and Motor Trends

Check out Der Spiegel's shrine to Knut the polar bear cub, who shares the US cover of Vanity Fair this month with Leo DiCaprio, but who, in Germany, gets it all to his fuzzy little self. The Berlin Zoo has apparently been mobbed with folks who want to see the little guy in his (un)natural element. Indeed, he's become a sort of de facto mascot of Earth Day 2007.

But while folks in Deutschland love the little guy, they also love their cars -- emissions from which are not helping to assure the future survival of Knut's wild brethren. Not only were recent proposals to put speed limits on the famous autobahn met with heavy public resistance, but, according to Der Spiegel, SUV sales have risen by 45 percent in Germany over the last 3 years. Even putting SUVs aside, the general trend in Germany is toward higher horsepower, not higher mileage. Witness the demise of VW's 80-mpg Lupo. The company killed it after painfully slack sales.

So what gives? DaimlerChrysler CEO Dieter Zetsche calls it a case of eco-schizophrenia. Whatever the diagnosis, it's neither unique to Germany nor does not bode well for Knut's kind.