Kraft Drops Plan to Illuminate Germany's Highest Peak

Hey, i thought this was pretty interesting. The Kraft company was planning to Illuminate the Zugspitze mountain peak in the Bavarian Alps with 100 lights...thought it was a nice read.

Kraft Drops Plan to Illuminate Germany's Highest Peak
The Associated Press
Published: Jul 18, 2004


BERLIN (AP) - A U.S. food company has scrapped plans to illuminate Germany's highest mountain, bowing to protests by environmental groups and politicians.
Kraft Foods Inc. had wanted to light up the 9,718-foot Zugspitze peak in the Bavarian Alps on Friday with more than 100 high-powered floodlights, hoping the publicity would raise awareness of its efforts to promote nature conservation.

"Without broad support for this event ... we do not want to pursue its implementation anymore," Stephan Becker-Sonnenschein, spokesman for Kraft's German unit, said on the company's Web site over the weekend.

Local politicians and conservation groups like the German Alpine Club, which is dedicated to preserving the Alps, had denounced the planned 15-minute lighting as a commercialization of nature.

Kraft, based in Northfield, Ill., said it had received all required permits for the event after the Bavarian government concluded its environmental impact would be minimal.

AP-ES-07-18-04

ap.tbo.com...