Date: 18/09/21
GWPF & The Times
As energy prices in Europe go through the roof, factories are beginning to shut down and food is disappearing from the shelves. Welcome to green Britain, offering a foretaste of what life will be like under Net Zero conditions – poorer, colder, hungrier – unless Government changes course.
Acute food shortages were feared last night after high gas prices forced most of Britain’s commercial production of carbon dioxide to shut down.
Emergency talks were being held between government officials and food producers, retailers and the energy industry with warnings of a “black swan event”, an extremely rare blow with unpredictable consequences.
The closure of two fertiliser plants in northern England and others in Europe has left the food and drink industry facing a shortage of carbon dioxide, which is a byproduct of fertiliser manufacturing. The gas is critical to the production and transport of a range of products, from meat to bread, beer and fizzy drinks.
The meat industry estimates that businesses can carry on for less than two weeks before carbon dioxide stocks run out….
Parliament and government will not be changing course
There’s nobody worth voting for – they all want the same thing
One wonders how much the Chinese are paying Mr Nut Nut PM.
Why pay, when you can blackmail?
One also wonders how much of this barking mad climate and energy policy is being dictated by Princess NN.
Years ago Boris showed some signs of healthy scepticism – he even referred to climate alarmists as “doomsters”. I doubt if he uses that word much these days, as he’s become one himself. Very sad.
Chris
Boris – so they say – agrees with the last person he spoke with.
Many don’t like Dominic Cummings, but I like the fact he calls Boris “the shopping trolley”.
I take it to mean Boris goes in whatever direction he’s pushed.
more likely Cummings probably meant the wonky wheel type
Perhaps one of the ones where if you try to take it off the supermarket reservation, the wheels lock up.
I’m told he talks to Carrie a lot. Or Carrie talks to him!
I thought that all the cabinet call Boris ”The Cushion”. Because he always bears the impression of the last a*se that sat on him.
The policy was the same under May and Cameron.
Climate Change Act 2008.
Needs revoking.
Cameron had the merit of being caught ‘off-camera’ saying “We need to get rid of this green crap.” That bought my vote for at least one election.
So you go hungry too Griff….regardless.
You mean not counting the years’ supply of soda, crunchy Cheetos and some bizarre flavored chips in the basement with it?
Ey up griff, where’s yer Arctic sea ice report? Dog ate yer homework? Do I have to do it for you again?
Why the down votes for this comment?
It is factually correct.
Cameron even changed his party logo to a blooming tree.
The point has been made that we are governed by idioytic goons like Cameron, May and Johnson each in their turn “The worst prime minister we ever had”, and that the eejits on the other side are just as clueless. Either that or there is a deliberate conspiracy to destroy our economy and also our society. Personally I think it is lamentable idiocy in the ramks of what are laughingly called “The Upper Echelons”
WTF? Griff you a spotty teenager or what?
CAMORON, was a democrat he tried licking the boots of the Brussels clique, in a most “un-Margaret” way…
He pushed the referendum saga never expecting the result that came.
May was a train crash that tried to reverse the result of the referendum at every turn,
while Bojo did what Etonians do,- lie their hideous selves into power, then crash the system with guff from plain nasties like Priti Pate, or that corrupt chancellor from India,- Rishi Sunak.
That’s a recommendation in your book?
That’s why I stopped voting in General Elections some years ago, regardless of political colour, the three main parties spoke pretty much the same tosh, all being pro-EU because the politicians could see the gravy-train to riches from the taxpayers, so I only vote in local elections for local politicians!!! They are slime!!!
“They are slime”
I would say that’s putting it mildly. What they, ahem, were offering last time around
“Whether we are ready or not, we stand on the brink of unstoppable change.
We must confront this change while dealing with the growing inequality and insecurity in Britain. Labour led the UK Parliament in declaring a climate and environmental emergency. The next Labour government will lead the world in fighting it [blah, blah, blah]
https://labour.org.uk/manifesto-2019/a-green-industrial-revolution/
…
“Tackle the climate emergency by generating 80% of our electricity from renewables by 2030 and insulating all low-income homes by 2025.”
https://www.libdems.org.uk/plan
…
“Reaching Net Zero by 2050 with investment in clean energy solutions and green infrastructure to reduce carbon emissions and pollution.”
https://www.conservatives.com/our-plan
Meanwhile, Rosie Duffield won’t be attending this year’s Labour conference – she’s on the hate list for making the now absurd claim that women have a cervix.
And they talk about science…
They are desperate because they are running out of OPM, while the ‘other people’ are feeling the pinch and beginning to ask questions.
It’s better to vote for a minor party that you agree with, even though they can’t win, then to just stay home.
Staying home implies that you are satisfied with the status quo.
The problem is that it is becoming extremely difficult to find a British political party which is not infected with the current madness of climate alarmism. The few that aren’t infected don’t even stand for election in my constituency. The best that I can do is to vote for the party which is slightly less bad than the alternatives.
If you allow write in votes, write in almost anyone, Mickey Mouse will do. Or submit a blank ballot.
Show that you are in fact engaged enough to vote, and that you consider all of the current alternatives unacceptable.
What makes you think it’s madness?
And they will have all the food and electricity and gas they want, so no, they will not be changing course.
Well – as we have posted many times, eco-loonery will only be modified once the decision makers see the impact of the policies in the real world – aka the laws of physics and thermodynamics taking effect.
Must admit I thought this would manifest as power cuts – not meat cuts!
The Greens in Scotland are committed to ending fossil fuels – and doing away with fuel poverty – I guess they must be planning to redefine fuel poverty.
I guess if they get independent they are happy for us to have north sea oil.
When there’s no power or gas then no one can heat their homes – doesn’t matter if they could afford to or not.
See the 1974 article pasted after the main article, at the head of this Thread. Socialism and government control always leads to shortages. People start noticing when they are hungry or cold. The Deep State, however, is proficient at blaming others, especially Capitalism.
I’d forgotten a lot of that even though I lived through it as a young adult.
Oh, I remember it sharply. I had taken a minor in Economics at the University (EE major), micro and macro, were the Leftist professors (except for the East Indian guy) preaching government control. It was clear, even then, that governmental socialist control was screwing up the economy.
I’ve studied all the economic theories up to my nostrils and they mostly stink. Capitalism is the only one that works for the common person.
Capitalism isn’t a theory, nor does it have to be planned.
Capitalism is what happens when government gets out of the way and let’s people get on with their lives.
Except that no country in the world practises true capitalism, because it’s a disaster for ordinary people. We have a mixed economy – some capitalism (e.g. the banks), some government owned elements (e.g. the railway infrastructure, fire services, police, army), some highly regulated private sector items (e.g. water companies in England and Wales).
“Socialism and government control always leads to shortages” – you need to look at what happened in Texas this winter because the government there chose not to regulate the supply sufficiently.
No, the government regulated the market such that capacity and system support had no value. And the government regulated the market participants such that gas suppliers were forced to switch pipeline pumps from gas-fired to electric. It was another case of government over-regulation.
They wanted “free market” electric power generation and set up a “government market” designed to fail under real economic conditions. They distorted the “government market” by subsidizing and mandating the utilization of ‘unreliables’ in an insane quest to control the environment.
The government massively DEregulated the market, leading to the failure of the system. Deregulation of the Texas electricity market – Wikipedia
“Texas’s first renewable portfolio standard — or requirement that the state’s utilities get a certain amount of their power from renewable energy like wind — was signed into law in 1999, as part of the same legislation that deregulated the electric market.” [From your source.]
The government regulatory scheme allowed an energy-only market and over-building of subsidized wind generation. With no market requirements for continuity of energy delivery and subsidization making unreliable wind generation less expensive, long-term system failure was pre-ordained by the government.
It is only political thought that allows for separation of development and control of electric generation from the transmission and distribution systems required for its delivery. If you want to know why, whoever you are, get a degree in electric power engineering and work in the electric industry for decades as I did.
Scottish greens are utterly deranged. Unfortunately, they now form part of the Scottish government. Their insane views are infecting everything in Scotland. The Scottish media have bought into their utter crap. Apparently, Scotland is now too warm and needs to be cooled down at whatever cost.
Or, more worryingly, beer cuts.
Oh well, I’ll just have to stick to drinking a glass of Ribena whilst I munch on a stick of celery, freezing my backside off in the dark because the gas supply has been shut off. Welcome to the World of Green.
You will not be allowed to drink Ribena, it has too much sugar in it.
The Proles will only be allowed low calorie foods and drinks so that the health budget can be “saved” by reducing money spent on obesity related health issues.
Is that the Vitamin-C-free Ribena advertised as rich in Vitamin C?
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2007/mar/27/schoolsworldwide.foodanddrink
Yep, the same one.
Actually no as traditional British beer is cask-conditioned ale which needs no added CO2. I will admit that the cost of a pint might soar with increased energy costs.
You’re most definitely right about the ale not needing CO2 Gerry.
I was thinking more about poncey lager.
Lets put things into perspective. Firstly the energy policy is barking mad. A severe winter with the usual dearth of sunshine and wind if a high pressure settles over us for 2 weeks will surely wake people up.
Secondly let’s not exaggerate the food shortages which have been headline news for several weeks.
Here in the South west of England we have seen not the smallest sign of a food shortage. The shelves are groaning with food of all kinds including freshly picked fruit and veg.
Someone said their favourite brand of coffee was out of stock in their usual shop but the next store had it.
hopefully the govt will have been scared by the headlines and will rein themselves back, but once green zealots have got the bit between their teeth a glacier could be crushing the Met office and they would still be advising the govt to beware of global warming.
Tonyb
I don’t see food shortages either,I do see a lot of talk about them,being blamed on a lack of lorry drivers, ultimately blamed on brexit. The government are looking into how to make it easier to get through the HGV tests.
reversing will be removed from the hgv tests and left up to the employer. – it is relatively easy driving a large vehicle forwards BUT driving an articulated lorry backwards into a small space takes skill. This idea is as stupid as brexit.
I suppose they could employ fully skilled artic drivers to take over when the non reversers turn up to reverse or to unload or park up in the many lorry parks (allowing queueing for customs either side of the channel).
Thankfully the Liar Boris has delayed “indefinitely” customs checks at Uk ports. A super window for drug smugglers!! Dover used to handle 2.4million “lorries” per year – that’s 4.6 lorries per minute. Currently customs have done little to handle checks on this number of incoming lorries!!!
Hey. You wait until they try to enforce electric-only road vehicles. Not just commuter transport, but commercial HGVs (That’s “trucks” for American readers).
It’s going to be absolutely hysterical when Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Aldi, Lidl, Waitrose (especially Waitrose!) etcetera can’t get deliveries because of UK global-warming insanity restricting foreign HGVs.
As they say, “Baby, you ain’t seen nothing yet.”
The US has shortage of truck drivers, too. My niece and nephew both work for trucking firms, and say they can’t find people drive even with $20,000 signing bonuses. My nephew’s opinion is that young people today want to be home at night, in their parents’ basement with a video game, and not out on the road making $70,000-$90,000 driving.
My fencing contractor says the same, the young are constantly winging about something ,need telling to PUT THE Fxxxing phone down,
I blame the state pumping them up to think there something there not,
And good old snobbery ,” that jobs beneath me”
My own experience in the North of England is similar. No absolute shortages in the shops, but as the embedded picture in the article illustrates, on occasion, some shops have run out of specific items – such as bananas. There is also a supply issue on beer, with quantities being reduced, and brands out of stock at specific suppliers, currently blamed on a lack of drivers. This means free-trade pubs getting extra deliveries to make up the shortfall from their main supplier. More deliveries means more drivers are needed – I need a drink! Production issues on top of supply issues could exacerbate this problem, and if real shortages do manifest themselves, a rush to stockpile, or get it while you can, may cause further breakdowns in the supply chain. Lack of CO2 supplies would also prevent keg beers being dispensed.
However, these may well be just the first cracks in a broken system which has been made increasingly fragile by government policy.
Why do they have to add CO2 to beer? I make beer, pretty good stuff too, and it produces its own carbonation naturally with the addition of a bit of corn sugar when bottling. As for fizzy drinks, who needs them? They are nothing but sugary water with zero food value and so-called diet drinks are even worse.
CO2 is often used as a pressurised pumping system to move the beer from the keg to the spigot or tap at the bar and then into your glass. It’s not usually mixed with the beer.
Mixed gas (CO2/Nitrogen – 60/40% for lager/cider and 30%/70% for beer) is usually used to maintain a constant pressure in the keg, and the pressure does indeed push the beer at a constant rate to the dispense tap. CO2 is already dissolved in lagers and cider (that’s hard cider for American readers), and the pressurised gas keeps them fizzy. Without any CO2, beer tastes flat. For cask beers, while the cask is vented at atmospheric pressure, there is normally a compressed gas operated (flojet) pump to raise the beer from cellar to the bar. The normal practice is to use CO2 cylinders to power these pumps – compressed air can do the same job.
Thank you Richard, I now understand. It might be necessary for beer drinkers to stick to bottles for the duration.
Bottle-conditioned, specifically. CO2 is still required for the bottling process on most commercially produced beers. Look up “counterpressure bottling” if you want to know more.
Throughout history food shortages usually lead to the fall of governments, often by violent revolution. We haven;t got to a “can’t they eat brioche?” moment but we’ve come close. In this case removal of a tax payer funded temporarily increased benefit.
Universal Credit: Anger as Therese Coffey tells claimants to ‘work extra hours’ to make up for £20 a week cut
https://inews.co.uk/news/universal-credit-anger-as-therese-coffey-tells-claimants-to-work-extra-hours-to-make-up-for-20-a-week-cut-1196211
However I can’t see the supine majority of the British public doing anything other than tugging a forelock and suffering the consequences of incompetence the great and good are immune from
But many of the claimants don’t work at all, and some have hit a threshold where they would lose virtually all additional income as benefits are reduced to reflect those extra earnings. With NOT working being incentivised, it is hardly surprising that a sub-culture of scrounging has developed over the generations of the welfare state. There have never been so many job vacancies while so many unemployed reject the possibility of working.
When there are blackouts and no electricity to charge mobile phones, play mindless games on computers nor anywhere open to buy ‘takeaways’ then ‘The People’ may wake up and start getting out their Gilets Jaunes and taking to the streets.
I’ve already sharpened the tines on my pitchfork!!
Well said.
Ignoring gravity, one steps off a cliff….and uncaring reality asserts itself.
Ignoring human nature, as socialists do, results in a sad reality, too
Ignoring the real sciences around climate, energy production, and economics more generally, and a whole people will learn reality the hard way.
Don’t worry Mark. We can just replace the missing meat with frozen veggie burgers! 😉
But this must be Brexit, not ‘saving the planet’……….
Civil servants, politicians and the media who are being this net Zero (humanity) only have the vaguest idea of how important low cost energy is to the entire economy and food production. But they will learn … especially when people start dying and they are blamed.
I am confident in their ability to blame others, at least until they can’t come up with viable solutions.
This net zero idea ,zero carbon, zero covid , the year zero ah, that’s where I’ve heard it before.
A shortage of carbon dioxide. Oh the irony
I don’t see the problem. Surely levels are now so high they just need to go outdoors with a big sack and catch as much as they like
As long as you have Gretta to find it for you.
Some say she can filter CO2 direct from the air using her gills (imagine this sPoken in a Jeremy Clarkson voice).
On Friday BBC News stated that a major reason for this problem was lower than expected outputs from wind and solar.
What a surprise. If you fritter away billions of pounds on wind and solar farms that don’t work most of the time, what could possibly go wrong?
Chris
Don’t worry, Griff will be along soon to tell us that batteries will save us and restore the Green Nirvana.
One does hope griff suffers from this econazi lunacy.
Why worry what Griff thinks.
Just that Griff suffers ie is cold and hungry and is transport is grounded
“Lower than expected” is a theme at the BBC
“Warm, still, autumn weather has meant wind farms have not generated as much power as normal”
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-58469238
It wasn’t that warm – unless your idea of a heatwave is 20C – and with a capricious resource like ‘wind’ what exactly is normal?
A heatwave is a period – the accepted time periods vary – where the temperature is higher than the accepted average temp for that region. It doesn’t actually need to be ‘hot’, just higher. So if you are at one of the poles and the temp daily temp goes from the normal -20C to -10C for several days it is still a heat wave.
But yeah, I am still never sure when my UK friends claim ‘it is REALLY hot’ if they are taking the piss or not. 26C? Is this irony? Are they mocking me?
40C is hot.
England is not near the pole, and 20C is pretty lame for July and August.
They moan because it is an occasional inconvenience to them.
In BBC parlance, the duration required for a heatwave to be declared appears to be one day. Conversely, a cold snap requires at least a week of freezing temperatures before getting a mention. Hopefully, the upcoming Glasgow jamboree will coincide with a cold snap. There is nothing like ice and snow to concentrate the mind when discussing how to alleviate global warming. Perhaps they could also turn the heating off to save the precious fossil fuel resources they need to fly their private jets.
That’s alright for you to say but I live just outside of Glasgow and I don’t want any snow or ice, thank you very much. Not that we ever get much snow or ice in these parts in November, anyway.
I’m really thinking of short term pain for long term gain. Ideally, the delegates would become a row of icicles in Bermuda shorts and Hawaiian shirts as a monument to their folly. North-east England here, so not vastly different weather to you. It only takes one of the weather systems formerly known as a north wind – what is now identified as an arctic blast – to freeze the balls off a (gender neutral non-binary) brass monkey. Without ice or snow to combat, you may never have developed that personal antifreeze substance known as whisky. I believe both of us could cope with a degree or two of global warming. Cooling, on the other hand, takes us back to the LIA, and crop failures. Now, that would really deplete supermarket shelves.
it’s well known the mere mention of the word “snow” in the UK generates terrible panic stricken emergency measures like keeping the kids home from school, faces turning white with terror, airports closed, and trains cancelled.
Funnily enough we get on quite fine with it in Russia, and nothing breaks down or is even late.
I remember arriving one night in Moscow when almost 2m of the stuff had fallen in the night.
No problems landing, nor delays getting into the city etc.
it’s the British reaction to snow that constantly reminds me the British really are a 3rd world country that by accident had an industrial revolution and didn’t get invaded by the Germans because of a large strip of water, and an ability to invent all kinds of games but never win at any of them.
When you get large amounts of snow every year, your cities have the equipment to handle it and individuals are used to dealing with it.
When you only get an inch or so once every 3 to 4 years, it’s an entirely different situation. No equipment and no experience.
Ridiculing others who rarely see snow, for not knowing how to deal with it may be good for cheap laughs, but the one doing the ridiculing just indicate how low class the ridiculer is.
Pull the same trick Wirth and Hansen played in 1988 on Congress.
But the opposite way round, keep the air conditioners on at 60F/16C. They will have to keep moving to feel warm.
Not really, here in Las Vegas.
It’s not correct to say “wind and solar farms that don’t work most of the time.”
Wind and solar Just working on erratic, unreliable basis is all that is needed when they become too much of the base load supply for this chain of quite predictable events to happen.
10 to 30 percent capacity factors, by definition, means they “don’t work most of the time.”
They work all of the time according to Natures laws, not a politicians wishes.
I’m quite curious about this report being aired.
Could it be that some in the BBC are becoming rebellious. Maybe starting to realise that they will be caught up in the Maelstrom.
It used to be that renewables would be “too cheap to meter”. The reality is that “renewables don’t produce enough to meter”.
I’m presuming, based on the great remarks posted here on WATTS by our British friends, that voters like griff are over-abundant in Britain. Good, they need to freeze and starve in the dark, it’s the only Reality Check that will get through to them.
When the working classes voted to leave the EU we had a media and parliamentary elite determined to overturn or thwart the result.
“Indeed, the word ‘thick’ was trending on Twitter in the hours after the Brexit Day celebrations as armies of hateful Remoaners took to the web to express their disgust with the lower orders.
They feverishly shared videos of mostly older working-class people being interviewed by news channels and not being as articulate as they might have been. Absolutely no consideration was given to the fact that many of these people – unlike the luvvies laughing at them and mocking them – are not used to the pressures of TV lights and cameras. No, they all had to be denounced as ‘thick as mince’ (to quote the editor of the Canary) plebs who sum up the bovine stupidity of the hordes who backed Brexit.”
https://www.spiked-online.com/2020/02/03/the-remainer-elites-are-the-true-bigots-of-brexit-britain/
Griff’s favourite non working class source is, naturally, in the vanguard:
“Labour must say it out loud: Brexit needs to be reversed”
https://www.theguardian.com/business/2021/jul/25/labour-must-say-it-out-loud-brexit-needs-to-be-reversed
Democracy is fine – until they lose.
I stopped watching, reading or listening to most of the “news.” After 4+ years of Russia colluuuusion one has to wonder who really controls the news.
Thankfully the No Agenda podcast has pointed this out for over 10 years.
Democracy is fine – until they lose.
Democracy is a funny thing.
The only people who actually believe in it are the ‘Centre’ who believe for some reason that by carefully studying the policies of each party they can pick a sound and just person to vote for.
The Conservatives tolerate it. Deep down they wonder why people who they do not remotely interact with should be allowed to have a say in how they live their lives. Conservatives tend to want to be left alone to run their lives how they best see fit, Voting is a compromise.
To the Left voting is a tool. Lefts tend to believe that everything would only be better if everyone just shut up and let them be in charge, cause clearly only they know what is best for everyone. Voting is a method to get enough people to support them so then they can finally have the numbers to get rid of voting, cause, they know what is best and if they are in full control everything will be better. And if everything is better, why change back?
So yes, Democracy.
The Conservatives tolerate it and accept the results because they know they are probably going to be screwed over anyway, the Centre believe they are taking part in a true and just activity and the Left either support it when it agrees, or declare it not a true decision of the people when they lose.
So… basically… yeah…
Sigh.
Voting is a charade, really. Parliament is above people and monarch. It is its own judge and jury.
Even if nobody voted at the next GE Liz would still appoint one of them as a caretaker and on it would go.
There is blatant lying in the houses of parliament. This is against the rules and demands dismissal. But of course nothing happens. Power corrupts unfortunately.
Whats over abundant in the UK is people who listen to the BBC , eg if you tell them ” thats not right” research” have you seen this” they don’t, or won’t, the term used for people like this is sheep.
There everywhere, there more interested in the most expensive car they can possibly afford because the neighbours have one, if you don’t have a reasonably new car in some tribes your looked upon as a failure, not very bright, thats just one example of British self entitlement snobbery thats alive and well in the UK.
So I agree a good does of power cuts ,food shortages,infrastructure failures is whats needed
Then they might complain ,and probably the most important thing they might do is ask questions, I still doubt asking questions will develop into ” do your own research”
They will be glued to the box or radio which ever is working ,getting directions and comfort from the BBC.
In democracies, everybody gets 1 vote. Let us pretend that there is no election fraud. It has been my experience that people who live all their life in a big city are unaware how the real world works. As a result, they have no idea how difficult it is to make their lifestyle happen. While they have skills and many, not all, add value to society, what they lack is understanding on how things really work.
But they still get 1 vote. The people who live in big cities and are insulated from the real world will outnumber people who understand how things work. A politician’s job is to get elected and re-elected. So, of course they pander to the city dwellers. And city dwellers don’t understand how difficult it is to keep the lights on. They think what looks good on paper will actually work in the real world. So the self-centered politicians whose only care is to be in power pander to the ignorant. When reality finally takes over, even then they still won’t understand.
Right, Wade, and when push comes to shove, ie, the lights go out, the people in the inner city will be in second place and those in the country the first place. Wait for it!
The cities and their immediate surroundings are where the concentrated electric loads are located. They are the first (maybe only) locations to be cut, either automatically by protection systems or deliberately by controllers.
They are pushing smart meters across the board we are very rural ,and get a letter every two weeks to get the meter,,
When they do start to inforce power cuts it won’t be city verse rural ,
It will be priorities all ready decided, my guess EG would be council estates will be a low priority against a hospital, even though most hospitals have their own power supply, there are council estates in rural areas too,
The key will be who decides who has a priority, and this will probably be rolling priorities and depending which transmission line you happen to be on. EG if they give my area a low priority and no one has a smart meter, they can just shut the line down.
Its not going to be pleasant for anyone, I can see it happening this year.
I have always maintained that if you want to make food, you must get your hands muddy or bloody. If you have never grown a crop, or butchered an animal, you have no idea what is really required to have food on your dinner plate
It is a shame that so few people actually understand the processes by which food arrives at their local market. Kids think milk comes from cartons and bottles, meat arrives in neat little plastic packages, and fruit and veg fall from the skies. They don’t connect their food with the animals it comes from and have little concept of fields of wheat or other plant foods.
I’ve felt that a better system would be to have your vote weighted based on how much you pay in taxes.
Or at a minimum, nobody who doesn’t pay taxes should be allowed to vote.
No representation without taxation.
If you aren’t helping to support the system, you don’t get any say in how to run the system.
Don’t quite believe paying taxes is what we should do to qualify. However, I think voting for politicians espousing spending money taken from working people should disqualify you from receiving those benefits. There needs to be accountability built into the system all the way up and down. If some politician promises new spending those who vote for him shouldn’t get the benefit.
“When the people find that they can vote themselves money that will herald the end of the republic.”
― Benjamin Franklin
Read Frank Herbert’s Starship Troopers to get an idea of a good way to reform “voting rights”.
Robert Heinlein, in fact. But I always thought his hero was too much of a career fighter to end up making good decisions for civil society. Still, ex-servicemen have earned their right to an opinion more than most.
Not democratic.
We aren’t a democracy. Never intended to be.
Originally only land owners could vote. In the colonies, most taxes were land based.
We ceased to be a Republic when people democratically voted to end appointment of Senators by the various States. We have tended down the road of democratic destruction as people voted themselves more and more goodies and indulgences to transitory whim.
The end is near now that the government and leading institutions are teaching that America is evil and racist. It is becoming more and more difficult to stay together as a cohesive nation.
It is now clear to other nations that the U.S. cannot develop any consensus for concerted and forceful actions. All we can do is throw a minor fit from time to time. We have no capacity for consistent policy nor action.
Better look up the meaning of democracy. Your assertion that we aren’t is simply not true!
In a democracy, the people vote for every issue. There would be no congress, as every proposed law would be put before the people.
We are constitutional republic, not a democracy.
If your dictionary defines what we have as a democracy, then you need a new dictionary.
Please explain how renewables have caused a shortage of natural gas all over Europe. Wind has been low for months and needs backup. but it does not cause gas price rise.
Daily Status | Our Power Stations | EDF (edfenergy.com)
Shows the status as of 17th 2.5GW of nuclear generation has failed or offline.
the 2GW England – France DC link “broke” (fire at convertor) about 1 week ago.
So thats a 4.5GW loss which you will find difficult to blame on renewables!
Investment in energy sources will lower the cost of those energy sources.
If investment is diverted towards energy sources that don’t deliver any energy – unreliable wind and solar – then the costs of the useful energy sources will go up.
This is simple economic theory endorsed by our current observations.
Hope that explanation helps.
If you have been reading WUWT, you know that the backup gas reserves were depleted due to the very cold spring when ‘unreliables’ couldn’t keep up with the increased energy demand. Now with no wind, there is a greater need for gas generated power to replace that not coming from the wind turbines. Thus greater demand for gas, while the reserves are depleted, and the rest of the world is increasing their demand for gas as well. While the Biden administration cuts back fracking, so the US has less gas to export.
If the coal and nuclear power plants hadn’t been shut down there would be no problem. But with so much of the FF plants being closed, or at least turned off, the demand for gas naturally goes thru the roof, as does it’s price. Capice?
The intermittent generation of renewables requires constant back-up by dispatchable power generation to achieve the desired reliability of a grid. Apart from hydro/pumped storage which requires very specific geology to operate, the most fitting back-up is with gas generation. If there was no gas generation, base-load power generation by coal or nuclear would make intermittent power sources even more obviously useless. Intermittent generation does allow slightly less gas to be burnt to keep the gas turbines spinning at the expense of additional wear and tear on the equipment. For coal or nuclear, the water still has to be boiling so that generation is ready to take place, so effectively no fuel would be saved by displacing generation with intermittent non-dispatchable generation. If wind generation is below par, more gas is burnt to make up the difference. Use more of a commodity with restricted supply, and the price rises.
Ghalfrunt, thank you for your display of ignorance of energy supply systems, and economics in general. I’ll leave it to others with more patience to tell you why the world operates the way it does.
Banning new gas plants as old ones are retired is what is causing the shortage. Renewables simply aren’t capable of replacing the fossil fuel plants.
It pretty simple really, and if you were half as smart as you think yourself to be.
First off, the lack of wind has caused an increase in the amount of energy being produced from gas. Increased demand causes increases in price.
Beyond that, the alarmists have been doing everything in their power to make it difficult to produce gas. That also causes prices to rise.
The only reason why the “link” with Europe was necessary, was to cushion the blow when wind and solar fail, as they often do. The loss of the link meant something else had to be done.
The same as the corruption, violence and general filthy environment occurring now in the Democrat-controlled cities, impacting the daily lives of their citizens.
It won’t alter the way they think. They will blame it on brexit
I can see the holes aligning perfectly for NW Europe including the UK this winter.
The Senior Meteorologist (Marco Petanga) at the UK Met. Office has highlighted a potential prolonged cold snap due to SSW (Sudden Stratospheric Warming) as forecast by ECMWF.
with warnings of a “black swan event”, an extremely rare blow with unpredictable consequences.”
Because these very consequences have been predicted hundreds of times by sceptics of the moronic save-the-planet meme, this is no black swan event. Black swan events come out of the blue. This came, as night follows day, out of the green.
When will this brain eating pandemic end?
People of the world, unite! Throw off your masks, you have only your ignorance to lose.
The conspiracy of ignorance masquerades as common sense. Epistemic Trespass.
It is strange Doug how Australians are rioting against lock downs.
No surprise to me.
A few years ago I was posting at the premier site in Australia for climate change sceptics run by Jo Nova. I tried to post the following quote from Winston Churchill that he wrote in his book The River War . Churchill was a prolific writer and published five books before he was 25 years old. This one was about his experiences as a young Lieutenant in the British Army. Originally published as a two volume set it is now sold as a single volume and in some cases the following quote and some others have been edited out.
The River War – St. Augustine (staugustine.net)
“How dreadful are the curses which Mohammedanism lays on its votaries! Besides the fanatical frenzy, which is as dangerous in a man as hydrophobia in a dog, there is this fearful fatalistic apathy. The effects are apparent in many countries. Improvident habits, slovenly systems of agriculture, sluggish methods of commerce, and insecurity of property exist wherever the followers of the Prophet rule or live. A degraded sensualism deprives this life of its grace and refinement; the next of its dignity and sanctity. The fact that in Mohammedan law every woman must belong to some man as his absolute property – either as a child, a wife, or a concubine – must delay the final extinction of slavery until the faith of Islam has ceased to be a great power among men. Thousands become the brave and loyal soldiers of the faith: all know how to die but the influence of the religion paralyses the social development of those who follow it. No stronger retrograde force exists in the world. Far from being moribund, Mohammedanism is a militant and proselytizing faith. It has already spread throughout Central Africa, raising fearless warriors at every step; and were it not that Christianity is sheltered in the strong arms of science, the science against which it had vainly struggled, the civilisation of modern Europe might fall, as fell the civilisation of ancient Rome.”
― Winston Churchill, The River War
My post with that quote did not appear on Jo Nova’s board. She emailed me and told me she was sorry but in Australia it is illegal to publish anything that could be considered as defaming a religion or race and one is not even allowed to quote such statements. She is a great fan of Churchill and couldn’t believe that she could not quote him.
So what is going on in Australia right now does not surprise me a bit.
Interesting, WC was a bright and observant guy.
Funny how that internet thing transcends borders and politics. Our ideological elites, however, are trying, with varying success, to corral that internet into its dogma range.
Don’t forget that the Streisand Effect is usually in operation with the Internet. Churchill’s quote is probably better known today as a result of attempts by the elites to suppress it.
UK Oil & Gas wholesale prices for gas are up 250% since January – with a 70% rise since August. The fact a few more companies will go bust next week means less use going forward.
Griff would tell you this is a good thing … they are saving the planet :-).
Brexit is being blamed for this.
Trump did it.
Squirrels.
Brexit is blamed for everything.
Da Coof is the universal excuse, blamed for everything.
Thanks, Doug, my new word for the day is “Coof”, which appears to be a Scottish word meaning silly or stupid.
The World is finding out what attempting to use only Solar and Wind Mills to power the economy will ultimately produce. One has to wonder if that is the plan, and who is doing the planning and why?
Reuters
United Kingdom
UK vows to manage fallout from soaring gas prices
Summary
Business minister says he will protect customers
Minister to continue to meet industry representatives
Lack of CO2 threatens meat supply
Small energy providers seen at risk
This wouldn’t be happening if the UK continued to use traditional energy sources.
You know Coal, Natural gas and Nuclear.
The common expression for the result of folly is:
“The chickens are coming home to roost”
“One has to wonder if that is the plan, and who is doing the planning and why?”
Have you considered the World Economic Forum?
Have you considered the followers of Marx & Engels
More like the followers of Coudenhove-Kalergi.
How about the followers of Albert Camus?
According to griff, all we need is a few hundred trillion dollars in batteries and to increase the number of wind and solar farms by a factor of 10 to 20, and everything will be fine.
According to nyolci, all we need is a few hundred trillion dollars in HVDC interconnects and to increase the number of wind and solar farms by a factor of 10 to 20, and everything will be fine.
Or we could go back to what worked in the past, then everything will be fine.
“Throughout history, poverty is the normal condition of man. Advances which permit this norm to be exceeded — here and there, now and then — are the work of an extremely small minority, frequently despised, often condemned, and almost always opposed by all right-thinking people. Whenever this tiny minority is kept from creating, or (as sometimes happens) is driven out of a society, the people then slip back into abject poverty.
This is known as “bad luck.”
― Robert Heinlein
report i scanned over said thered been a fire in undersea cables to uk via france so power from there will drop or be off for a while
perfect timing if the COPcrapfest is happening still?
We upset the French with that submarine contract, so they set fire to our electric supply in revenge. That ought to be a big lesson about security of supply and not being reliant on the good will of foreigners.
Russian gas supply manipulation has a bigger effect.
Not wishing to be a Griff. Only half the French Interconnector is down, 1GW. The Nemo connector has only come online recently and the Norway interconnector is about to come online meaning the interconnector total is pretty much the same as a year ago.
The French interconnector fire is being used as a smokescreen by politicians
In fact the fire was at the substation at one end of the cable. It was down for maintenance anyway but instead of one 1GW link going down we got two – there is another one left at another site – to France.
So instead of the normal 5GW to the continent – 3GW to France and 1GW to Belgium and 1GW to Holland, we have 3GW, 1GW to each of France, Belgium & Holland plus a further 1GW to Norway being commissioned right now.
And the 1GW link not damaged by the fire will be up shortly as will another 2GW of nuclear power.
The real news is the thought of what reliance on renewables and gas nearly did to us. And how dependent we are, on imported gas subject to global price manipulation rather than our own fracked gas.
You should be adding nuclear and coal into the mix. Redundancy is needed even if it’s offline temporarily.
They told us it was all about Brexit, then it was all about Covid.
Turns out it was all about Climate Change…
…policy!
Government creates problems. Private industry solves problems.
Over-arching bureaucracy gone mad.
CO2 has been ‘approved’ for use in certain ‘Food’ applications and processes and thus has to be Food Grade CO2 – tested approved, regulated, controlled, monitored, taxed and all those things are then subject to same rigours.
It is creating work for legions of ‘nobodies’ and ‘parasites’ and costing consumers £££££
The CO2 is used for main reasons:
1) To induce Hypoxia (read= Poor Man’s anaesthesia) in animals & chickens just prior to slaughter. Almost any naturally occurring gas would do the same, all you’re doing is creating a shortage of Oxygen. Nitrogen would be perfect.
Hypoxia is exactly the same sensation as getting yourself really drunk and falling asleep. You don’t realise what is happening and in the company of others, is quite fun.
Just ask Boris, he does it all the time.
Sometimes called ‘Social Drinking’
Drinking and also Hypoxia is the chemical depressing of our Central Nervous Systems.
Social Eating, or in fact any eating, of Cooked Starch, also has the same depressesant effect on our nervous systems
Boris does that too, just look at the size of him
2) Food Grade CO2 is otherwise used inside packaged food to create an inert atmosphere that is ‘unfriendly’ to many bacteria and all fungi – thus slowing spoilage of the packaged product.
Again, Nitrogen would work perfectly
But the food processors & manufacturers have their hands perfectly tied by the bureaucracy I started this comment with. ##
We really are on the cusp of doing something, many small things in combination, something soooo stupid that we extinguish ourselves
## The food manufacturers could simply ask the suppliers of liquid Nitrogen to ramp up their supply line. Needn’t be much extra – 8,000 tonnes per day is simply left to boil away as an unwanted by-product of Liquid Oxygen manufacture.
(And then Covid revealed a shortage of Oxygen. It gets worse – the people who required the Oxygen in their Covid treatments were more often than not obese diabetics who had eaten too much cooked starch. None of this is looking good. Not One Bit)
But then we see highlighted again The Stupidity of Government. The compressing of gases including CO2 (in combination with the crushing/processing of rock) uses 30% of all the electricity in the UK.
Does anyone see the same problem I do..
sigh
If it is a food grade or industrial grade carbon dioxide that is a constraint, a “win-win” solution would be to ramp up the production of beer, whisky and other alcoholic beverages. China stopped buying hops and grains from Australia. With the new strategic partnership UK might get a good credit line or a bargain. “Give them cheap beer and whisky” and the British public will forget hunger. Who needs food if beer and whisky are freely available. If alcoholism becomes widespread –the more the free and highly subsidized alcoholic drinks become a popular voter magnet. Better to subsidized beer and whisky than Chinese made solar panel and wind mills.
No one in government is going to be hungry or cold, they don’t care about anyone else and they will use the military to protect themselves by killing starving cit,er,serfs.
The quicker it all falls apart the better.
Policy won’t change as all the main parties support destroying the economy and stopping large numbers from being able to heat their homes or drive a car.
People might look for an alternative e.g the Reform UK party, but I suspect they will bury their heads until the lights go out, by which time it will be too late.
The reform)UK party is the only current alternative to the 3 large parties.
It is never too late as long as one is alive.
Biden is threatening to return the USA to the 19th century: https://www.atr.org/joe-biden-we-are-going-get-rid-fossil-fuels
And as they crash down into the mire of desperation you can already hear those voices at the BBC who will claim the problem is due to expensive fossil fuels and therefore the solution is more renewables.
USA is not far behind.
So the looming UK Food shortage is a “Black Swan” event due to the ripple effects (knock on) of an electricity crunch driving natural gas prices to unaffordable levels????
I do not think they know what is the definition of a Black Swan event.
Electricity shortages, leading to natural gas skyrocketing price and thus curtailment of its use, were not only predictable they are an intended feature not a flaw of the Greentard’d Net-Zero policies. It’s right there in the name, “Net-Zero.”
A Black Swan event is something unforeseen, and thus not predicted. Electricity shortages and exploding natural gas prices were entirely a forseeable outcome of over-reliance on unreliable wind energy.
No matter what it is, it was predicted by somebody.
Black Swan usually refers to an event that was totally unforeseen by those making the plans.
The predicted consequences of 2 decades of stupid energy policy decisions finally appearing when a quite inevitable windpower insufficency occurs is not a Black Swan event.
If that be the case, then there is no such thing as a black swan event.
“… totally unforeseen by those making the plans.” because, although informed, those planners disregarded the warnings due to ideological rigidity.
https://wattsupwiththat.com/2021/08/31/claim-climate-change-up-to-95-of-ocean-surface-climates-may-disappear-by-2100/#comment-3340869
Told you so, 8 years ago. See my above post.
(excerpt)
https://wattsupwiththat.com/2013/10/31/blind-faith-in-climate-models/#comment-1130954
An Open Letter to Baroness Verma, October 31, 2013, by Allan MacRae
[excerpt]
So here is my real concern:
IF the Sun does indeed drive temperature, as I suspect, Baroness Verma, then you and your colleagues on both sides of the House may have brewed the perfect storm.
You are claiming that global cooling will NOT happen, AND you have crippled your energy systems with excessive reliance on ineffective grid-connected “green energy” schemes.
I suggest that global cooling probably WILL happen within the next decade or sooner, and Britain will get colder.
I also suggest that the IPCC and the Met Office have NO track record of successful prediction (or “projection”) of global temperature and thus have no scientific credibility.
I suggest that Winter deaths will increase in the UK as cooling progresses.
I suggest that Excess Winter Mortality, the British rate of which is about double the rate in the Scandinavian countries, should provide an estimate of this unfolding tragedy.
As always in these matters, I hope to be wrong. These are not numbers, they are real people, who “loved and were loved”.
Best regards to all, Allan MacRae
“Turning and tuning in the widening gyre, the falcon cannot hear the falconer…” Yeats
https://electroverse.net/larry-delivers-record-smashing-summer-snow-to-greenland-lives-at-stake-in-european-gas-shortage/
“LIVES AT STAKE” IN EUROPEAN GAS SHORTAGE
A senior US energy adviser warned that “lives are at stake” in Europe this winter as the continent approaches the season with low gas reserves and the threat of reduced supply, reports the ft.com — and this is in a world of ‘catastrophic global warming’, where heating your home in winter should be a lot easier given the magical CO2 blanketing effect. Never forget that the original global warming theory, upon which the failed polices we are living with today were formed, stated that planet earth would suffer linearly rising temperatures and no more snow (check the old IPCC reports).
As Obama said quite publicly “”Under my plan electricity rates would necessarily skyrocket”.
The bit about CO2 from fertilizer plants is very disturbing. I already heard of Continental Champagne using pressurized CO2 to get that extra fizz, but now British Beer??? Given a good Ale has no head, but what is going on here???
Curiously, it is the US firm CF Industries Holdings, Inc. which announced the shutdown of two fertilizer sites in Billingham and Ince. Apparently KFC cannot procure chicken even now. Globalization sure does fizzle!
It may seem strange, but while gas (usually mixed CO2/Nitrogen) is used to pressurise the keg, and push fizzy keg beers and lagers to the bar, it is normally CO2 that is used to power a pump to assist lifting cask beer from the cellar to the beer engine. At least electricity is normally only used for the cooling, so warm beer can still be drunk during a powercut.
How could I have forgotten those CO2 cannisters at the tap at the student pub!
Champaigne uses CO2, at least outside France which is a cheat.
Stop making urea Make ammonium nitrate instead and get ride of the N2O which is supposed to be a real bad greenhouse gas
Or go to anhydrous Ammonia like the Americans have
Not knocking the ineptitude of the delivery system in the UK, but when the covid panic attacks struck last winter (shut down! shut down!!) some things were simply gone from the stores. I refer to necessary items like bath tissue and kleenex, paper towels, beef and chicken in the meat cases – that sort of thing.
Learned my lesson long ago about stocking up when blizzards hit Chicago and had stuff in the freezer, but things got so ridiculous that I wondered just what was going to happen.
Ironically, this summer, I had to have the appliance repair guy (excellent fellow!!) come fix my fridge because one circuit board in the circuit rack had failed. That was 3 days ahead of his arrival (he IS SWAMPED!!), and I had to toss out about 100 pounds of good food and buy ice at McD’s. Fridge works again, but throwing out good food because the fridge failed hurt. So I can sympathize with people who are seeing empty store shelves over in the UK, since the failure to keep shelves stocked is not theirs.
Now I’m wondering, with the uptick in warnings around here, if I need to buy a second 5.0 CF freezer for meat and fish, and uptick my stock in paper products now, instead of assuming things will just move on.
Why? Because the bug is returning for another go-round and I don’t want it. Got my vaxx, and need my flu shot, but why is this whole thing so disorganized? It’s like watching chickens run around squawking because a thunderstorm is approaching, and, yes, I’ve seen that, too.
If Boris the Birdbrain can’t do a better job of keeping the UK running, he should be dumped on his butt. We have an idiot pretending to run this country and we’ll end up bankrupt (already close to that, anyway), but at least (for now) we still have food in the stores.
We assume weather-related power failures and keep a generator ready to maintain freezers. There is now a cute little Honda one that is very quiet and could sit on the balcony in the city.
Thanks, Fran. I have room in my living room for the current 5 CF freezer and can add one more if I have to. Meat and fish and fowl (turkey!!!) in one, veggies in the other.
It’s getting truly weird. Take nothing for granted. I don’t trust Biden any further than I can throw an elephant.
“So I can sympathize with people who are seeing empty store shelves over in the UK, since the failure to keep shelves stocked is not theirs.” Wrong-o! The people voted for it. Had they paid attention over time they would have rejected this socialist nonsense.
Okay, I’ll accept that view. But I’m puzzled by the lack of forward vision that says “supplies of whatever may run out, so stock up”. Maybe it’s just me and the way I was raised, but with fall and winter coming on, if I don’t have to hit the grocery store for a month, I will make sure I have everything I need on the shelves or in the cold places. I could store ice cream on the front steps in a plastic container if I have to, that’s how cold it can get here.
If it wasn’t the mislead public who are likely to suffer from this I would be gloating at the irony.
Unfortunately this is pretty much lose/lose for nearly everyone involved.
Hopefully something good might come out of this, but people are at risk until it does.
Well done, Greta. This is YOUR FUTURE.
“…. facing a shortage of carbon dioxide, which is a byproduct of fertiliser manufacturing. The gas is critical to the production and transport of a range of products, from meat to _bread_,…”
In case you need CO2 for making bread you are already doomed.
I wondered about that, myself, since yeast is generally needed for making bread (unless you want unleavened bread). Even so, you can make your own dough riser by setting aside a clump of bread dough and letting it sit for several days, but that’s just skimming over how it’s really done. It’s how sourdough bread is produced.
Saying “it’s lack of CO2′ still doesn’t excuse that inept phrase, which is misleading about how CO2 relates to making bread.
Interconnects will not save you from a power crisis on the continent.
The globalists aim is being fulfilled.
griff will be along shortly to deny reality once again…
GB will be the crash test dummy for green policies. And this is what you get, shortages.
The price of natural gas has shut down the factories – not anything to do with renewable energy.
This might be in the top 5 dumbest things you have ever posted here, there’s just so many its hard to pick.
But really, why do you think it is so expensive??!!
Are you so ignorant that you do not know about supply and demand. Do you think demand for gas may be increasing because of renewable energy failures? What do you think that increased demand will cause?
Griff the UK is going net zero by LAW, so you better work out how to solve the problem with renewables … UK the gift that keeps on giving ATM 🙂
Dumb comment beyond belief there Griffter.
It’s Green policies. The same policies that drive the over installation of unreliable wind turbine electricity with subsidies have produced the effect of soaring natural gas prices. When the resources that should have gone to building reliable electricity sources are instead wasted on unreliable sources, bad consequences will happen from those poor choices.
Basic economics are always at work. Prices are a reflection of shortages relative to demand. The shortage of natural gas is directly the result of ignorant energy policies, not just in the UK but across the EU as well.
Germany becoming dependent on the Kremlin for keeping Germans out of the dark and cold will have predictable outcomes as well.
UK becoming dependent on unreliable wind power is now having predictable consequences as well.
The Pompeo Mafia offer of US LNG at 4 times Russian prices, with a 1 billion euro bribe for a Bremen loader, is ‘basic economics’? For a Chicago Al Capone maybe, but hey, they got him on tax evasion.
NordStream2 will have predictable warm results this cold winter, no matter how Biden’s Zelenski prances and parades – he is all used up.
Beware of the Rus bearing gifts.
If you believe there is not a hidden huge cost for Germans becoming reliant on the Kremlin’s good will for its heat and electricity, then you also will believe in unicorn power and fairy dust solutions to difficult energy problems.
That cost to Germans for cheap Russian gas today will be paid for with their freedoms and economic prosperity within the next decade. Depending on good will from the Kremlin is bargain only a fool makes.
Even the Soviet always delivered on time and price during the entire Cold War. Looks they are a good business partner, unlike Biden’s AUKUSA – ask France about that $60 billion!
Sooner or later the ‘russia’ narrative falls on it’s nose like the Afghan Saigon 2 fiasco.
Now roll back the Patriot Act and tell us about ‘freedoms’ – this is becoming hilarious!
Good comment.
It had every thing to do with RE no wind across Europe and the UK switching to gas caused a shortage so the price went up, little in reserve capacity too.
Come on griff ffs you do know this.
I look at my gas bill (furnace isn’t turned on yet) and it’s pretty rreasonable, so please explain your concept of the “price of natural gas”.
And why is there a natural gas shortage?
Griff the system is about to collapse because because of idiots like you
People will starve and freeze there will be blood in the streets thanks to green idiots
Most factories use gas for heat, electricity for everything else.
Do you really believe they are shutting down factories because water in the bathrooms is cold?
Why are the shelves empty?
The political parties can make unpopular moves because there is no penalty for abuse of the population.
It’s like wrestling, the back and forth of opponents in a show but the outcome is rehearsed.
Serves. Them. Right. Every. Last. One. (When it happens here, I deserve it too.)
This has been so dangerous and deranged from the very start.
Just wondering about something: is the UK planning on going back to the pre-industrial era, when people cooked and baked in the fireplace, and most homes had ONLY one fireplace to heat the entire hovel?
Will we be seeing an uptick in parlor stoves to heat homes, perhaps? That’s basically a metal wood or coal burner with the exhaust to the outside of the house.
Just askin’, because while I like Regency-period novels, I have no desire to live like that, and if I have to make any changes to just stay warm and cook here in the good ol’ USofA, I’d like an advance warning. I won’t be a bit surprised if some idjit in Congress starts the ball rolling on that kind of thing, either.
I think all the cities require “smokeless” fuel for fire places. Is that not mostly wax? a petroleum product.
We have building codes about fireplace usage now that are meant to prevent sparks from flying out the chimney (fire hazard, very real) and keep the birds out of the chimneys, too. (Yes, they are that dumb.) So “smokeless” would be natural gas but there is no hindrance (so far) on woodburning as long as the chimney is constructed to prevent sparks from exiting.
Open fire places are banned from use in England, soon to follow in Wales, woodburners will be servery restricted in type of fuel , eg coal is banned in England for domestic use, soon to follow in Wales, new woodburners will have to comply with clean air act. small amounts of wood you can’t buy, only a large load which is anothrcynical ploy.
The U.K. always has the option of building new coal power plants…they will be in good company with most of the rest of the world, have a local supply of fuel, and have reliable energy for its factories.
One of the largest [potential] sources of Carbon dioxide is the acidulation of phosphate rock during the production of Phosphoric acid for fertilizer. (Raw phosphate rock is a Carbonate.)
After the simple removal of a little fluoride gases, the CO2 can be re-washed, compressed and condensed. Very cheap,
(But with less CO2 going into the atmosphere, crop production will go down, so more ferilizer may be needed…)
A few observations
1) The U.K. has no phosphate deposits.
2) While phosphate ore has carbonate (CaCO) in it; the active component is Ca3(PO4)2. Producers try to minimize CaO/P2O5 ratios in the ores they use to minimize the need for sulfuric acid consumption and lower their gas emissions. The ore contains is 2-4 percent fluorine
2) The specific fluorides in the off gas are toxins that not to be taken lightly and are not that easily removed from a phosphoric plant’s off gas . Specifically hydrofluoric acid (HF) and silicon tetrafluoride (SiF4) in addition you occasionally get heavy metals (e.g. Cd, Hg, Pb) carry over in the form of particulate emissions. So, not the kind of “cocktail” you want as feedstock to food grade production.
And 3) While the U.S. does have phosphate deposits in Florida; the bulk of it’s ammonia production facilities are much closer to the Mississippi delta barging and pipeline systems. This makes the movement of ammonia, urea, and carbon dioxide much cheaper than can be achieved from Florida.
Food, glorious food is something to sing about.
Things are getting serious when the carbonated soft drinks are being put at risk.
Green Britain faces food shortages as energy crisis shuts down factories
https://youtu.be/gF9awH43X4E
Compare food shortages with the ones predicted by Paul Erlich vs the food shortages cause by Paul Erlich’s solutions
Estimated time for using the sub station for power from France is Mar 2022. As for the “Gas” shortage. Higher use last winter and spring, (CC?), increased demand from Asia. Russia will dictate policy and price for EU when the pipeline is open.https://electroverse.net/uk-fires-up-coal-power-plant-as-european-gas-shortage-worsens/. Gas prices for Griff from a while ago.https://electroverse.net/natural-gas-prices-skyrocket-globally-due-to-historically-cold-2021-and-failing-renewables/
As per the National Grid. https://www.independent.co.uk/topic/national-grid
Manifest propaganda.
You can’t make this crap up. Woe
Well, the obesity problem in Britain is almost as bad as the US, so I guess this is a win-win.😃
Now it is an emergency, caused by ………
GWPF and the Times must have strange information sources.
Here in Europe, we all know that MOST (!!) of UK problems concerning industry and retail trade are due to… BREXIT!
Exactly – loss of Empire rage and revenge from continental Europe. In their (your) eyes we Brits are the new Jews. So go ahead – blame the victim.
Look ma, no brains!!! Play stupid games- win stupid prizes. This is where the poor and vulnerable pay the price for liberals idiocy, here’s hoping they don’t starve to many. God have mercy.
“with warnings of a “black swan event”, an extremely rare blow with unpredictable consequences.”
Have to disagree on that one. Hardly a ‘black swan event’, it has taken decades to get to this point. Both predicted and predictable.
The peasants shouldn’t be allowed comforts. It gives them notions above their station.
The Guardian weighs in with the energy price crisis-
The Guardian view on an energy price shock: a crisis in the making (msn.com)
The UK needs more renewables and more public servants to fix this.
This article is nonsense. The problem is that the government has failed to encourage enough renewable energy to be generated (tidal stream – woefully under-invested, Cardiff Tidal Lagoon – not backed, Solar Power – not enough building regs to require it on new builds and public buildings, Wind Turnbines – nimbyism. And the carbon dioxide shortage is absolutely nothing to do with renewables. In fact, if we had fewer renewables, the problem would be far worse.
Israel has discovered plenty of gas and is willing to sell it, go and talk to them, there are lots of countries willing to sell energy.
Why is England not doing their own air scrubbing? It would leave more jobs for everyone there would be carbon dioxide for the food industry and the air would be cleaner there is no downside I can see.