Implications of a German Energy Crunch (with added Supply-Chain Problems).
On Monday, utility Uniper SE, Germany’s biggest buyer of Russian gas, said it had received a letter from Russia’s state-owned Gazprom PJSC that claims force majeure—a legal declaration that exempts the company from fulfilling contractual obligations due to circumstances outside its control—to justify past and current shortfalls in gas deliveries.
And over there. And over there too. Damn. Little Green lies all over the place. Actually, they’re not all that little either.
German Government Lied About Nuclear – Germany’s Economy and Climate Minister, a Green Party leader, lied about nuclear fuel rods.
The German government is moving forward with plans to close its last three nuclear plants this December despite Europe being gripped by the worst energy crisis in 50 years. Robert Habeck, Germany’s Vice Chancellor and Federal Minister for Economic Affairs and Climate Action, said there is no point in operating them because Germany lacks natural gas, not electricity.
“Nuclear power doesn’t help us there at all,” Habeck said on Tuesday. “We have a heating problem or an industry problem, but not an electricity problem — at least not generally throughout the country.”
Besides, Habeck said, only Russia could provide Germany with the uranium fuel rods required to keep the nuclear plants operating, and there was no way to make sure the plants would be able to operate safely.
But none of what Habeck said was true. Coal, natural gas, and nuclear energy all generate electricity. Less nuclear means using more of coal or natural gas, which is why the German Cabinet, led by Habeck, just approved burning more coal…
Or at least I assume that’s what these people have been doing.
Otherwise they wouldn’t have glued themselves to the road with it. Am I right or am I right?
“It’s absolutely crazy to stick yourself to the road with superglue,” admits Lina Schinkoethe.
So that’s precisely what she then proceeds to do. Stay away from this stuff, kids.
German Climate Activists Aim to Stir Friction with Blockades – Schinkoethe is part of a group called Uprising of the Last Generation that claims the world has only a few years left to turn the wheel around and avoid catastrophic levels of global warming.
And this particular embarrassment has less to do with a stupid song and its stupid song lyrics than it does with the fact that authorities feel the need to censor it.
Schlager louts? Row erupts over ‘sexist’ pop hit in Germany – Town festival authorities refuse to play chart-topping Layla by DJ Robin & Schürze, prompting complaints of censorship.
“People are being prescribed how they should talk, how to write, and now how to party. This prudish nannying of the politically correct bregade must stop. We are heading for an anti-fun society.”
And here you thought Germany was an anti-fun society already.
There’s tons of trees in that park down the street. But I don’t have a fireplace.
Germans could switch to wood this winter to heat their homes as Russia withholds natural gas, Deutsche Bank says – German households could turn to wood as a heating source this winter as gas supplies remain tight while Russia restricts flows to Europe, Deutsche Bank wrote in a note Tuesday.
The bank said it expects gas consumption in Germany to be 10% below 2021 levels thanks to private households saving and high gas prices. It also noted that coal and lignite could emerge as replacements for natural gas in the industrial power sector.
But you better be polite. The Germans are thinking too much. Again.
Can You Speak To a War Criminal?
Russia has tens of thousands of lives on its conscience in Ukraine, yet calls for diplomatic initiatives are growing louder in the West. In Germany, a growing number in both the governing parties and the opposition would like to see talks with Moscow.
When the German chancellor speaks to Vladimir Putin by phone, the Russian president is always extremely polite. People familiar with the calls say that his voice it rather soft and that the tone is less preachy than in his public appearances. Putin usually speaks a few sentences of German as a greeting before switching to Russian, with an interpreter then jumping in to translate…
“You can’t negotiate with this Putin right now.” Annalena Baerbock, German foreign minister.
Germany’s Nuclear-Power Implosion – The eco-left eschews reliable, clean power in an energy crisis in favor of coal and hope.
Europe’s climate obsessions have led to an energy crisis, and who would have thought the Germans would choose to make it worse. That’s what happened last Thursday when the Bundestag voted to shut down the country’s remaining nuclear power plants by the end of the year.
That means to shut down. Or shut off. Or turn off. Or put on warm clothing this winter.
Ukraine Latest: Russian Gas Shipments to Germany Due to Stop – Russian natural gas shipments to Europe via the Nord Stream pipeline to Germany are due to stop on Monday for planned annual maintenance, and Western allies fear President Vladimir Putin will use the opportunity to cut off flows for good.
Dutch Ask If German Nuclear Plants May Stay Open Amid Gas Crisis – The Netherlands has asked Germany to consider keeping its nuclear power plants open, but admitted the chances of that happening are slim.
“I just asked them if it’s technically possible to keep the nuclear power plants open,” Jetten said in an interview on Wednesday in The Hague, referring to his meeting with Habeck. “They’ve already taken so many measures to shut them down and there’s probably not enough fuel to keep them open a bit longer.”
The Netherlands could extract an extra 50 billion cubic meters of gas each year from its Groningen field. Yet Dutch authorities — wary of earthquakes triggered by drilling, which have damaged cities — have repeatedly said they plan to wind down production and will only increase output as a last resort.