Guest essay by Eric Worrall
Mother Jones thinks spillover from the US election is helping the rise of the German AFD, and undermining support for Green Energy. But perhaps the working class has simply grown tired of elitist left wing politicians and institutions ignoring working class priorities.
How the “Trump Effect” Could Undermine Germany’s Clean Energy Revolution
In Germany’s elections, the far right has a familiar anti-immigrant, pro-coal agenda.
AARON WIENERDEC. 29, 2016 6:00 AM
The world’s most advanced energy revolution has hit an obstacle: the Trump effect.
Germany has long been a clean energy pioneer. Despite the fact that the sun hardly shines there, the country was the world leader in installed solar capacity until it was finally overtaken last year by China, a vastly larger and sunnier country. By 2050, Germany aims to get 80 percent of its electricity from renewable sources and to cut its greenhouse gas emissions by as much as 95 percent. It currently derives about one-fifth of its power from wind and solar (and one-third from total renewables), compared to just 5 percent in the United States. Even though this dramatic energy transition—known as the Energiewende—has contributed to higher household electricity costs, 90 percent of Germans say they support it.
For years, Germany’s mainstream political parties have supported clean energy, too. But that broad consensus could soon face a significant test, another possible casualty of the resurgence of right-wing, nativist politics across the Western world. Unlike many of its neighbors, Germany hasn’t had a far-right party represented in its parliament since the Second World War. But that’s almost certain to change next year, when national elections could make the Alternative for Germany party (known by its German acronym, AfD) the second- or third-strongest faction in the government, if polling trends continue. The party, which began as a euro-skeptic movement, has built its success on stringent opposition to immigration and admission of refugees—and on inflammatory rhetoric that echoes the campaign of Donald Trump.
The AfD also opposes Germany’s clean energy policies. It’s calling for an end to the law behind the Energiewende and even questions the existence of human-induced climate change, stating on its website, “Scientific research on the long-term development of the climate because of man-made CO2 emissions is fraught with uncertainty.” Now, in an effort to slow the AfD’s rapid rise, the country’s mainstream parties could be poised for a step back in the fight against global warming.
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Read more: http://www.motherjones.com/environment/2016/12/germany-clean-energy-coal-trump-effect
I’ve got a working class background, plenty of my friends are working class. Over the years I’ve watched as various left wing Labor and Democrat parties became the plaything of the urban elites, champaign socialists. I’ve watched the growing dismay and anger, as left wing elitist politicians supported fashionable green efforts to drive up the price of energy, and flood western countries with cheap immigrant labor, regardless of the pain these efforts inflicted on their increasingly disillusioned working class supporters.
Trump didn’t ignite the anger of the working class, he simply offered a solution to their problems, a new direction. The AFD didn’t ignite the anger of the German working class, they just pointed out the problems, and promised to fix them. The “Trump Effect” is simply the end of working class patience with privileged left wing politicians who have no idea of the pain their ignorant internationalist green posturing has caused to the people they claim to champion.
For Germany, the writing was on the wall long before Trump, as this hilarious video from 2014 demonstrates.
https://youtu.be/-e2U2cYcPro
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“Germany has long been a clean energy pioneer. Despite the fact that the sun hardly shines there, the country was the world leader in installed solar capacity”
Should this lead to a conclusion that they’re smart?
“Despite the fact that the sun hardly shines there”
So how do they produce such fine wines?
Germany consists of several climate zones. Just as on the border with Canada probably not a good wine thrives, this thrives also in the north and north-east Germany not. On the other hand, the Upper-Rhine lowland, where I live, is one of the best wine-growing regions in Europe with high sunshine. However, this is only for the summer, the winter is just as gray and cloudy as in the rest of Germany, maybe a bit gray because it is often foggy between Basel and Frankfurt, as well as currently for almost 2 weeks. At the moment, there is a lull in both solar energy and wind energy, it is almost windstill. Exactly at the time of the year when, due to low temperatures, more energy is needed than otherwise. There can not be a better example.
Sunlight is not the only variable in wine growing. Soil chemistry is more important.
Lol, the Soil chemistry remembers me another great case with chemistry in the Moselwein, which on the other hand grows on good slate ground. But he had to be somewhat sweeter because of the lack of sunlight, so he was given glycol. No, I know a bit about winegrowing. Soil chemistry only plays a role when other main factors are present, namely many hours of sunshine and a mild to warm climate. There are enough grape varieties, which do not matter at all, on which soil they grow. Like Müller Thurgau and Riesling and some others. The main thing is: it must be sunny. And, of course, they have appropriate notes, depending on which soil they grow. But this is taste and taste and beauty is in the eye and palate of the beholder.
Why do so many growers grow certain wines in certain areas where soil composition is a factor?
Nowt to do with this!
http://www.euanmearns.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/europeelectricprice.png
This is known to everyone in Germany. This is not going to change so quickly, because the Obama girlfriend Big Merkel has driven the power generation completely to the wall. The Germans will only fully wake up when the employment here subsists and the predicted poverty of old age (very low pensions compared to the previous income) is there. This will affect large sections of the population due to the demographic shift of the population. Perhaps then still need a “Soilent green” for the over 60-year-old population
Sweet Jesus, is there no end to this cacophony of fruitcakes?
http://www.msn.com/en-au/news/world/welcome-to-the-fourth-turning-the-dramatic-1997-doomsday-prophecy-that-is-coming-true/ar-BBxNXm1?
The Fourth Turning? Complete flip out with double twist and full pike more likely looney toon.
Pop Piasa
said, I thought I wanted to get into newscasting until I got a dose of the realities of that business.
No one ever knows enough about persuasion. It’s useful here, and in one’s daily life.
Pop, please expand on the “realities”.
Very much interested.
Peter
Hi Peter, I found out that the TV news business is very tough to break into, particularly in a market as large as St. Louis MO. John Roedell was a veteran newscaster who told me he started out in a radio station in the middle of nowhere and worked for low pay most of his career. I was impatient as a youngster and wanted to make good money right away. Looked like forestry or wildlife management was better then so I switched, only to take a craft job and quit college later. There are many craftsmen at the university where I worked who have their bachelors and one plumber even had a PhD in political science.
I think Anthony can tell you more about the broadcasting business than anybody here. He might describe the challenges of his own career if we ask him nicely.
And that’s Trump’s impact on Chancellor Merkel.
http://m.spiegel.de/international/germany/german-democracy-eroding-amid-populist-rise-a-1122271.html
I would have liked to add something scientifically objective about the German language aka Deutsch. since scientifically objective is necessarily sociopathic that is not appropriate everywhere.
Cheers – Hans
We have a new abbreviation the multi culti belivers won’t share:
NAFRIS
are ‘suggested North African aggressors intimedately touching willing german females seeking for exotic adventures on the city square of Cologne’.
on youtube:
https://youtu.be/T0v0V5nYqSI
Anybody here to subordinate under ‘climate refugees? ‘
Duh!