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Europe is very poor in terms of natural resources, historically depending on imports from the Ottoman Empire, then the American/African colonies, then Russia/Soviet Union, etc.
They couldn't abandon Russian oil/gas because it was cheapest, and paying more for inputs puts European industry at a competitive disadvantage. A few years ago, it made very little economic sense to diversify away from RU. Nobody really thought a protracted war like this would actually happen.
A few countries such as Poland and Lithuania built LNG-capable terminals already, and LNG imports will probably skyrocket in the next 1-2 years. But it will take some time.
Self-awareness is not easy to achieve - but you succeeded. Congrats!
Decommissioning nuclear power plants in Germany over the previous decades was a move to please the "green" voters/masses.
As far as I know and can tell, it was not the wisest move - we still aren't able to produce enough electricity, reliably enough, using "greener" sources (and nuclear isn't nearly as "bad" as it is painted to be - if done properly and safely as Germans used to do it).
Things will most probably get a lot worse during the winter and the following year(s). Especially for the working class. Corporations will probably benefit. If I were paranoid, I'd even say it was meant to be like that from the start - lockdowns, war(s), more lockdowns probably in the winter...
I'd be pleasantly surprised if all the prices, of all the goods and services, don't get (at least) doubled from what they were at the start of 2020. Well, except the wages. The price of labour will probably not increase by nearly as much.
if so, we buy from .US providers fuck the.EU communists who aren't able to support their own ppl and we give away money to other countries so they can do war
Posting the extract from a conversation with some folks at a conference on Datacenters earlier this week. On the topic of rising energy prices, the suggestion was. take it for what it is. The person(s) in question are a mix of DC operators and energy traders.
Angela Merkel supported nuclear power, then Fukushima happened. I agreed with her, but I respect a democratic political process.
Besides, Poland is sitting on the largest shale reserves in Europe (wasn't economically viable at last decade's energy prices) and they are brining their own nuclear power plants online in the coming years. And LNG is a viable product, just needs more terminals (infrastructure) and that could happen in 1-2 years. Europe will be fine.
"The Great Reset"
"Agenda 2030"
.... just saying
An estimated 70,000 people protested in Prague against the Czech government, calling on the ruling coalition to do more to control soaring energy prices and voicing opposition to the European Union and NATO.
It's weird that the YouTube channels of BBC, CNN, and DW News seem to have no video about this protest.
They are busy showing how other party is losing the war due to sanctions
In the light of rising energy costs, I am happy to have opted for some lifetime storage deals such as pCloud, Koofr and Internxt. While clients on monthly/yearly subs will probably soon be billed more, lifetime deal gives peace of mind. That is, as long as the company stays afloat. Wondering how this will affect all those VPN services offering lifetime deals out there, too. They gotta have lots of server bills to pay, albeit many are ofc resellers.
turn on the audio: https://imgur.com/a/nIHgdA1
https://oilprice.com/Latest-Energy-News/World-News/Worlds-Second-Largest-Steelmaker-Closes-European-Plant.html
I would be extra cautious on the "Lifetime storage deals" right now - would be prudent to get a cheap frugal storage server for the next year or so and keep backing up data. (1 TB plan from @interservermike if still available is my current preference)
In case the upstreams of the cloud storage providers increase prices, the wafer thin margins on the "Lifetime" deals would vapourise.
During normal times, this is a tough business. Dattodrive, Thuderdrive, Publist, and a couple of other providers I had plans (paid, long term) with went south back in the day. Coming times might exacerbate the situation.
Isn't the title "Closing the plant" confusing or misleading?
The article says
Cold Steel... very engaging and interesting book on Mittal's acquisition of Arcelor.
Guaranteed to do that. Lifetime deals work a bit like ponzi -> new customers need to pay for the old ones, and you need to get enough new ones in to upgrade the hardware to lower the cost of the original ones.
India has a lot of undersea cables to europe and power is cheap and almost no competition. Surprised it hasn't become the next big choice after Singapore.
As a swede, I could not agree more with everything you say.
The left and green parties have managed to shut down our nuclear almost completely, which is now resulting in insane electricity prices. People are actually selling their homes because they can not afford the electricity bill.
Businesses and industries are closing down or moving, people are losing their jobs and the cost of electricity continues to climb. It's a vicious circle, and I'm afraid we have not seen the worst of it yet. Keep in mind we are talking about Sweden here. It is still summer, and we are not exactly known for our warm winters.
The "wokeness" of the green has actually resulted in Sweden starting up oil-powered powerplants again, something we managed to abandon decades ago. So much for green thinking.
Production is being limited all around as well, which will cause those products to become costlier, causing even more inflation for new products and services ...
Actually green agenda is progressing exactly as desired; The green movement was originally formed to disrupt western countries, so they have succeeded brilliantly. Woke mind virus is part of that. Lefties (aka commies) just want more power at any cost, and sees acquiring power as a zero sum game.
Electricity in India is expensive though it might be cheap for households because it is cross-subsidized, but for industrial users it is very expensive.
Well, I do not agree with any of your conclusions, I think they are just stupid and narrowminded. Most fanatics are, doesn't matter if they are on the left or on the right.
This is surreal, can't be for real right ... Riiight?
Is it fake/parody or real?
Not familiar with Swiss media, but site & article looks legit.
start of the article via google translate:
According to Reuters 6 days ago, this was still a draft decree:
https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/swiss-government-launches-energy-conservation-campaign-2022-08-31/
"A draft decree under discussion calls for banning gas for heating vacant buildings, swimming pools, spas or saunas. Gas could not be used in fireplaces or heated tents.
Rooms heated with gas cannot be warmed greater than 19 degrees Celsius (66.2°F), with water heaters capped at 60 degrees."
But Sputnik, a Russian state-owned news agency, reported 2 hours ago that:
https://sputniknews.com/20220906/swiss-overheating-homes-in-winter-may-face-prison---reports-1100462465.html
"Swiss, who will overheat their homes to over 19 degrees Celsius (66.2 degrees Fahrenheit) this winter in violation of government directives in the event of gas shortages, will face fines and prison sentence of up to three years, Swiss economic department spokesman Markus Sporndli told the Blick newspaper on Tuesday."
Isn't there snow in Switzerland? Am I missing something or all you guys whining about 19*C a bunch of fucking pussies?
(I'm going through a heat wave so I have zero fucks to give about heating above 19*C).
good checkup!
Ofc Sputnik being russian state-owned would promote this as a fact then, even if just in draft stage.
We see that kind of stuff happening in Finland constantly for the most craziest green ecoterrorist plans, sometimes before even the draft is even being presented to those who decide, that is to try and squash any opposition to those in the hopes they accidentally pass. Sadly it works and sometimes they do.
Swiss here, putting my political hat on, indeed it's a draft that the government sent into consultation till 22.9 or so. Now everyone from the gas companys to the municipality and home owners association can make suggestions and say what they dislike and like about it.
The process is pretty inclusive and the stakeholders have a large say in it, input will be considered. During the pandemic, it has shown that the stakeholders have a large influence on the policy. Just because it's a draft does not mean it's going to happen this way, changes are always made.
The draft suggests a 4 level escalation plan that would come into action IF there is a limitation in gas supply (currently there is none).
Level 1 urges the public and companies to conserve, level 2 dual-use systems should change to oil instead of gas. Level 3 would mean limiting the usage of gas in production, lowering the heating first in saunas, public baths (shutdown also possible since not necessary), public buildings, offices (in such order) and as a last step public households. Public households are as in the EU considered a group protected from cuts.
Level 4 would then mean contingents and are distributed and would mean hard cuts.
Gas heating is not as common, about 20% is gas heated, 39% oil, 18% heating pumps, 10% wood (latest official data from 2017, the amount of heating pumps has significantly risen since then and replaced oil and gas).
Gas is mostly used in the "lowlands", in the mountains where it's really cold in winter most is oil, geothermic, and wood.
Blick is somewhat comparable to the german BILD or maybe the Sun in the UK.
Thanks for chipping in!
Outlook indeed is quite grim on the whole eurozone. It's not much brighter elsewhere either. Both energy and food are going to be in short supply come winter. Chinese are having their own issues.
Bankruptcy news is daily occurense already in Finland.
Blick is somewhat comparable to the german BILD or maybe the Sun in the UK.
Summed up best from 1:35-1:41
Electricity is very unreliable. I have power cut every single day, it gets worse during summer.