Essay by Eric Worrall
Switzerland is considering imposing three year jail sentences on anyone who turns up the thermostat, if energy rationing is imposed.
Switzerland considers JAILING anyone who heats rooms above 19C for up to three years if the country is forced to ration gas due to Ukraine war
- The country could also give fines of up to 3,000 Swiss Francs (£2,667)
- In gas-heated buildings, water could not be heated to more than 60C (140F)
- Radiant heaters would be banned and saunas and swimming pools would have to be cold
- Likely that the proposed measures will be subject to challenges and disputes
By OLIVIA DEVEREUX-EVANS FOR MAILONLINE
PUBLISHED: 23:09 AEST, 7 September 2022 | UPDATED: 23:30 AEST, 7 September 2022
Switzerland is considering jailing anyone who heats their rooms above 19C for up to three years if the country is forced to ration gas due to the Ukraine war.
The country could also give fines to those who violate the proposed new regulations.
Speaking to Blick, Markus Sporndli, who is a spokesman for the Federal Department of Finance, explained that the rate for fines on a daily basis could start at 30 Swiss Francs (£26).
…
Switzerland is one of the top ranking countries in the World Economic Forum Energy Transition List. I guess the WEF neglected to explain their plan for a transition to cheaper renewable energy includes jail time if you actually try to use any of that “cheap” energy.
Update (EW): Corrected the format of the quoted article.
Paul Ehrlich said that having cheap, unlimited power would be like “giving an idiot child a machine gun”.
The greens want shortages, so it is not a bug, it is a feature.
Yes, they’re fascists – probably the most evil people on Earth – this new green bullshit will make their DDT death toll look like nothing. Because they’re will be no more first world – unless you want to call it China.
BTW – I’ve just been told here in Oregon, my power will be shut off out of fear for ‘extreme’ fire danger – which is a complete crock – conditions are not nearly as bad as in previous years – they’re just doing it because they’re moving to control us.
I certainly hope progressive greenies have a special place in Hell waiting. And I pray they see accountability in this life.
I hope it hurts, I hope it’s on film
I’ve always thought Paul Ehrlich was a buffoon. The I thought, wait, he’s way richer and famous-er than me. Sigh.
Funny how that always seems to work out that way. Root of all evil, they say.
Or should it be evil is the root of all money?
“Enquiring minds want to now.”
I sure hope Swiss citizens haven’t agreed to smart meters…
No need to worry. The temperature sensors of a smart meter are so easily tricked, even a climate scientist can do it. Of course they have experience.
They certainly do…
From: Phil Jones
To: ray bradley ,mann@xxxxx.xxx, mhughes@xxxx.xxx
Subject: Diagram for WMO Statement
Date: Tue, 16 Nov 1999 13:31:15 +0000
Cc: k.briffa@xxx.xx.xx,t.osborn@xxxx.xxx
Dear Ray, Mike and Malcolm,
Once Tim’s got a diagram here we’ll send that either later today or
first thing tomorrow.
I’ve just completed Mike’s Nature trick of adding in the real temps
to each series for the last 20 years (ie from 1981 onwards) amd from
1961 for Keith’s to hide the decline. …
Cheers
Phil
(Source: Climategate Emails excerpts,
https://wattsupwiththat.com/2009/11/19/breaking-news-story-hadley-cru-has-apparently-been-hacked-hundreds-of-files-released/
(Note: the 3rd group of Climategate emails, given to Steven Mosher in 2009 to keep have never been published. And every time I bring up that fact, WUWT says nothing about it at all. Sigh.))
“Note: the 3rd group of Climategate emails, given to Steven Mosher in 2009 to keep have never been published.”
That’s news to me. I would like to hear more.
My understanding is it mostly contains a lot of personal stuff, not particularly relevant to climate science, which is why they weren’t released in full. We still don’t know who the leaker was.
My money is on “Just Read Me” Harry the software developer – it had to be someone with IT skills, who was connected to the project and knew enough climate science to understand what they were reading.
Agreed!
A book on it put forward the suggestion that it was the result of collecting information in response to a Freedom of Information request given that the emails end with the release of a response to the request, while withholding all the information that was leaked. A person with a conscience at the UEA angered by their cover up? Seems highly plausible as opposed to the laughable hacking claim.
Mosh got bought out by Muller and crew at BEST !
Well, my favorite of the Climategate quotes was ‘what if global warming turns out to be the multidecadal oscillation – they’ll probably kill us.’
One can hope.
Could that have been written by Tom Karl?
If so, he should from here on be known as “Doubting Thomas II”.
Who is that quote/email attributed to?
I’m thinking it might have been Kevin Tremberth?
And given all the deaths attributable to the misallocation of capital they caused with their fraud, they deserve a death sentence.
And just wait until their real agenda kicks in. It’s in the process now.
Smart meets let you measure power use from a distance. Unless you willfully add features to control appliance circuits with your smartphone. Luckily only engineers and teenagers know how it works.
Smartmeters allow complete power control. They can shut off the power to premises without anyone showing up at the premises. Selective control requires features in the appliance to be controlled.
The Australian State of Victoria has universal use of smart meters. It is so easy technically for providers to shut off customers that that State introduced a complex paper process that must be pursued before power is cut off. Providers not following that process have been fined.
Queensland had ripple control relays on electric hot water long before electronic smart meters were developed. They could turn on or off whole regions to load manage the power demand on a daily basis; relying on the thermal storage in the water to provide hot water when power was not available. In large households it was smart to shower ahead of the 5 sisters if you wanted warm water. Otherwise it was after midnight before the hot water was warm.
G’Day RickWill
” it was after midnight before the hot water was warm.”
The exact opposite of Thargomindah (Qld) in the mid-1960’s. Their bore water was close to boiling. There was a “cooling off” tank on the roof of the pub. Early shower – nice and warm. A late shower, you ran the risk of being scalded.
It’s the old approach of, The floggings will continue until morale improves.
Maybe the population will finally wake, but I doubt it, the Swiss are a very compliant society.
Freedom is basically an English invention. The Constitution of the US was written by scholars
with English accents and most of the population in the formative years of the republic were British. France came by it through essentially copying the US Constitution after their own civil war. The rest of Europe, no, not really.
That’s why an “EU” was destined to fall apart, oil and water. That’s why all the effort and investment over more than 100yrs by the US to make new democracies around the world has been mainly a waste of time and money.
Freedom is also why the tiny British Isles wound up running much of the world in its heyday. Freedom is why the US became the economic giants of the globe. Freedom is why the US won 390 Nobel Prizes out of 936 and the UK 132 (the UK actually is the champ, though, with an average of 2 prizes per million pop to the US’s 1.2 prizes per million.). Both countries, of course have decided to scrap freedom and economic prowess. A British MP (Gove) has apologized for his country’s extraordinary contributions to the horrors of The Enlightenment and the Industrial Revolution. Development now means its antonym.
No, it’s not.
Long before the ‘tiny British Isles’ ran much of the world there used to be a rather large island of freedom in Central Europe called the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. 400 years of history was summarized in their Constitution of 3 May 1791: ‘Europe’s first and the world’s second modern written national constitution’.
20th century US’s efforts to ‘make new democracies’ were quite succesful in the region. We all hope that US support will help the biggest chunk of the former PLC, Ukraine to win its indendence.
“The rest of Europe, no, not really”
Wow, stunning ignorance of history coupled to prejudice.
Might want to invest in hot chocolate futures.
To a point. William Tell pointed that out to the King.
Well, you could just go out and have the police break the windows in any home heated above the allowable temps, and forbid repairs until spring. That’s probably cheaper than housing a prisoner for three years and it stimulates the window repair business too. Win win! /sarc
Frederic Bastiat would be proud!
The Swiss have hydropower out the wazoo..
Good point, Mr. Garrett.
At the beginning of the 1970s, almost 90% of the country’s electricity production came from hydropower … Following the commissioning of Swiss nuclear power plants, this share gradually declined ***
With its Energy Strategy 2050, the federal government aims to increase average annual electricity production from hydropower to 38,600 gigawatt hours (GWh/a) by 2050 (37,400 GWh/a by 2035). …
(Source: https://swissfederalism.ch/en/hydropower-switzerland/ )
Switzerland is nearly self-sufficient in electricity production. In 2021, more than 680 hydroelectric plants generated 61.5% of the electricity consumed in Switzerland. The country’s four nuclear plants generated another 28.5% of the electricity consumed in Switzerland, but also exported approximately half of their total production.
Switzerland will decommission its nuclear power plants by taking them offline at the end of their current expected lifespan, but no later than 2034, in accordance with a national referendum held in 2011. (The first plant, Mühleberg, was taken offline in December 2019.)
(Source: https://www.trade.gov/country-commercial-guides/switzerland-energy (emphases mine))
Conclusion:
They are threatening their citizens with prison (or fines) to keep the money flowing to energy sector investors. Yes, their foolish destruction of their nuclear power production is disgusting (because it is based on lies by the “renewables” crooks about human CO2 emissions) and unnecessary, but, by ramping up hydropower, they would, but for exporting hydropower, have plenty of affordable, truly clean, power.
So, “Bob,” sadly, once again, the lip-curlingly revolting answer (to, “Why…”) is:
MONEY.
Europe had a bad drought this year, and Swiss hydropower has been affected. Pity they don’t have more backup capacity to fall back on, like those evil fossil fuels, or a few more nuclear plants.
Wonder if the jail would be warmer? Perhaps while in jail you get sick and require hospitalization? Will the hospital be warmer? Maybe jail with room and board and the hospital with room and board is actually an enticement
Beat me to it Laralee 🙂
If I was freezing my a55 off at home, was unemployed, I’d certainly consider seeing out the winter in cozy “enlightened” government care facilities.
What’s the thermostat setting in the jail?
In the U.S., one could assembly a legal team if the jail (temperature) conditions are “abusive”.
US includes both Arizona and Alaska. You’re talkiing States rights issues.
Unless one is a J6 political prisoner
so even if you cut, split, stack, and dry your own firewood to displace 95% of your heating burden, the extra 5% will get you arrested?
gotta love bureaucrats
One size fits all in socialist rationing. In contrast, free markets provide for abundance.
Just record the thermostat readings through the Swiss banks and their numbered tax haven accounts for the dictators.
Does the jail time apply to celebrity Americans or just the commoners?
Celebrities of any nation are exempt as long as they are spruiking the right message.
I’m sure the UN delegates will comply with that one and not use diplomatic immunity. /sarc
Excellent exposé, Mr. Worrall (as usual 🙂 ).
Suggestion: Edit the title to, “Green” Champion ..
(See Peter Huber’s excellent book, Hard Green, for why “Green,” versus Green, would be the better choice.)
Thanks Janice 🙂
Will all public buildings and politicians be likewise regulated ? It should be absolutely transparent and real time data should be recorded for public access.
Elites will be exempted. You must know by now that some animals are more equal than others .
A cold sauna? What is the difference between a cold shower and a cold sauna? Please don’t answer.
Shrinkage.
George Costanza comes to mind.
Ron,
Beat me to it!
Auto
Gives a whole new meaning to a 3-dog night (3 dogs or an equivalent number of corpulent women). It also supports their prior urging of people to shower together.
The Energy Transition Index ‘is a score of how well a country is doing in their energy transition’.
It is hard to see why Switzerland gets a high score considering the tiny share of wind and solar.
It could be because of the declining per cap energy use and since the WEF is based there self-congratulation is probably a factor.
Incidentally Switzerland has the world’s oldest nuclear power plant currently in operation at Beznau that began producing power in 1969.
Do the rules apply to the WEF meeting rooms and hotels?
They have lots of hydro, WEF includes hydro in their definition of green energy.
Nuclear plants are all so old, like circa 1950. Does anyone have a chart of power production facility type by age? Maybe the average coal plant is even older but nobody talks about it
Welcome to the green utopia
No need for jail time in the great white north. Just raise prices until you can’t afford to turn the thermostat up.
Home heating costs could spike 30 per cent this winter
Swiss folk. It’s time for mass civil disobedience. Turn everything electrical on full and collapse the grid. The clowns that allowed the power grid to deteriorate to this extent need to be jailed for 3 years.
Indeed.
“Make way for liberty!”
Arnold Winkelried, Swiss Patriot
Why only 3 years? Russian from for life seems more reasonable.
I wonder if any of thier citizens can sue or get an exemption because of a condition called Cold Utricaria? This is an allergy to cold temperatures. An anaphylaxis/histamine reaction occurs when the ambient air temperature drops below a certain point. For my wife, that point is 70F. For other folks, their threshold can be higher or lower. Although for most folks, the side effect is itchy skin because of hives, in extreme cases it can cause swelling of the throat similar to a peanut or bee sting allergy.
I wonder what kind of liability the government will have when the citizens start presenting problems like this.
Asthma as well. I can’t go skiing anymore because I’m worried about having a cold triggered asthma attack. I certainly kept the heating turned up baking hot in winter when I lived in England.
Oh, Mr. Worrall, I am so sorry. 🙁 Yes, I am sure that you have lots of other great activities you do to have fun, but, to have to give up skiing… . Very hard. If you ever get to the Oregon Coast (USA), you can sandboard (like snowboarding, but, on the big dunes, there). It’s not the mountains, but, being right next to the beautiful (albeit fffrrrreeeezzzing c-c-c-c-cold) Pacific Ocean makes it a gorgeous setting. Your whole family would love it, I think. There is also great sand for building sand castles and for walking.
And I’ll just bet there is a sandboarding place in Australia, the land of entrepreneurs! 🙂
On the sand hills of Moreton island, North and South Stradbroke Islands, and of course Fraser Island in south Queensland, sandboarding is practised.
And of course when you’re done sandboarding, you can cool off with a dip in the inviting sub-tropical Pacific.
Senator Malcolm Roberts is a lone voice in The Australian Senate fighting insanity:
https://www.malcolmrobertsqld.com.au/so-its-come-to-this-globalist-push-on-climate-change/
As Europe is now coming to appreciate.
SWITZERLAND HAS IT ALL.
100 % HYDRO, IF THE POLITICAL WILL ALLOWS IT.
A STRONG WORK ETHIC TO GET THINGS DONE.
MICHAEL VK5 ELL
But the idiots voted in a referendum to do the global warming thing, so all the hydro and work ethic can’t make up for the stupid.
The same German gubmint who helped create the energy trainwreck has
probably found the best solution for itself- after impoverishing the people to
make them reliant on the gubment via stupid energy policies, they then
impose an energy windfall profits tax on those much-hated energy
companies, & finally, distribute the remainder after “processing & handling
fees” are deducted- win-win-win. Pure genius!
If that doesn’t work, they can always get a lot more heavy-handed, like the
Swiss, as there are many ways to make people “want” to comply & obey!
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-09-04/germany-may-make-billions-off-energy-profit-levy-scholz-says?utm_campaign=bn&utm_medium=distro&utm_source=yahooUS
The ease with which these totalitarian measure are being implemented indicates the Putin/Ukraine argument is a cover for “climate change” measure they already intended mandate.
The goal is to reduce our standard of living down to the energy the are willing to allow us to have.
How about instead we jail the politicians who produced this farce through their total inability to understand the way things work and for believing the b*llsh*t that we have been fed for far too long. And prosecute those same incompetent politicians as accessories before the fact if anyone dies of cold because of their failures
But first we have to re-elect them again.
For whatever it’s relevance, the Swiss citizenry is armed. Really armed.
Was it blind luck or by sinister design that Cairo will host COP 27? November temperature range apparently 15 to 25C. Will be pleasant change from the 2 to 8C range in Geneva for the UNIPCC and the threat of jail if thermostat exceeds 19C.
The easy way to sort the jail issue if you actually like it warmer then 19C is to relocate the thermostat to a window.
I wonder if there is book on European winter riots – if there is, what are the odds for each country?
Sharm-el-sheik has a reputation for wild dissolute parties and cheap hookers. Of course I’m sure the COP delegates will be too busy saving the world to enjoy the local amenities.
Why Cairo? So the media can say stuff like this:
“The Middle East is warming up twice as fast as the rest of the world.”
https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2022/09/07/middle-east-mediterranean-climate-change/
You can’t both have it and eat it!
I refuse to take seriously a law that can be thwarted by a strip of velcro and an ice pack. Put the icepack in the freezer, set your thermostat 19 C. When the icepack is cold, use the velcro to stick it on the wall just above the thermostat. When the room is nice a toasty, pop the icepack off and put it back in the freezer. A bit of a pain, but you are keeping your thermostat at the legal maximum.
If your thermostat is monitored it will show that it was set at 19 C. What more can they ask? You are obeying their wishes.
Keeping the room where the thermostat is cold by cracking open a window, and shutting off the other rooms to keep them warm is another solution, but part of your house would always be cold. You can play games just like the government, and you can bet that those in power are not living in a cold home.
Well the deplorables repeatedly ignored the climate tipping point warning so now they have to cop sixteen of the worst-
World on brink of five ‘disastrous’ climate tipping points, study finds | Climate crisis | The Guardian
So instead of solving the problem they created they would rather punish their victims by making them criminals for simply trying to survive. And for what, maybe they should think this through before.
Meanwhile vast reserves contained in gas fields remain locked away as the climate hoax continues, for example reported at Sky News Australia today;
“Rennie Partners co-founder Matt Rennie says the climate change bill passed by the Senate today was “pretty inevitable”.
The landmark bill aims to enshrine a 43 per cent emissions reduction by 2030 and net zero by 2050 into law, while establishing formal review processes from the Climate Change Authority.
“It’s now almost obvious, I guess, that Australia needed to commit to net zero in order to maintain its international position,” Mr Rennie told Sky News Australia.
“And certainly European based businesses that operate in Australia are already operating in this way and the financial community is almost becoming the new UN, I guess, in enforcing some of these carbon reduction initiatives.” “
We’re maintaining our international position alright-
33 jobs lost as Social Energy Australia company collapses | news.com.au — Australia’s leading news site
That article reeks.
300 customers only but 33 jobs lost? So over 10% of customer base is needed in staff? And you install solar etc but only save 52 aud a year?
90 million debt, so 33 grand per customer?????
Someone is having a laugh.
“Switzerland considers JAILING anyone who heats rooms above 19C for up to three years if the country is forced to ration gas due to Ukraine war.”
The answer is simple really. If they say they are forced to ration due to the Ukraine War they are clearly lying, they are forced to ration because they are buffoons who made many many bad decisions so everybody turn your thermostat up.
“In gas-heated buildings, water could not be heated to more than 60C (140F)”
The factory recommended temperature in water heaters is 125F. Having well water, I did reset mine to 140F to be sure all bacteria are killed. But that comes with a scalding warning. No need to set it any higher than that.
You don’t want to see it lower either-
Legionnaires Disease Hot Water Heater: How to Prevent it (elgas.com.au)
I got legionnaires disease in 2006 after taking shower in a public bath with too low water temperatures. It took 3 weeks to recover.
I guess one could just bypass the smart meter with some custom ‘clips’ on the secondary ahead of the meter and steal a kW/hr here and there. If you kept it small, would be almost impossible to trace. Since they read the smart meter remotely, no meter reader is even going to show up to read the meter and see anything.
That used to be what the illegal grow ops did many years ago, but then they were stealing 10-15 kW and could be traced even with the old analogue meters after a few months. It’s fairly easy to do and even hide it, but if you don’t know what you are doing, might burn the place down. That would only get you a year in the slammer, if you got caught. They would never know you had the heat turned up if you didn’t heat where the thermostat was located. The world has gone mad. Don’t try this at home.
Climate Fascists.
The article is nonsense. It’s just one junior minister spouting off. How would they even know you were breaching the rules? Will the “thermometer police be randomly knocking on people’s doors?
Exactly – see the original Blick.ch article and the police chief’s comments.
The new Swiss WEF line: You will own nothing and you will be jailed and happy …
At least, the US has a partially still functioning court system. In Europe and Switzerland,
this is unfortunately not the case anymore. It’s possible to sue the State, but it’s absolutely
impossible to win, regardless what proofs or arguments you bring.
Is considering: you should give news not speculations, otherwise you’re not better than MS press.
Does this rule apply to your kitchen?
Most folks would struggle to keep a working kitchen below that temperature if the hob, grill and oven are on – so just move the cooker into the living room and keep warm.
(That is of course= one step closer to Mud Huttism)
OMG. What about the PM2.5s you get in mud huts.
They looking to asphyxiate you as well?
Or is that part of the plan – stop the people from cooking/eating/breathing while they freeze.
charmed I’m sure
that’s a joke : Switzerland never promoted such law and won’t do it !!!
I’m living in Switzerland and know the law ! Every single change is subject to referendum .
Last CO2 law, asking to pay more CO2 taxes, was rejected by a majority last year …
Start to learn how we live Switzerland !!!
I studied in Paris during the oil crisis in 1973. It was decided that the temperature in bars and restaurants should be at most 21 C. A bar was fined by the police who measured the temperature to 25 C. However, the heating was turned off and the temperature was high only because many people were standing close together.
it didn’t matter so the bars were forced to use air condition to keep the temperature down to 21 C.
Finally, a law that Merrick Garland and his Soros inspired colleagues in the States would enforce.
The Swiss tend to have a referendum for many laws, is this restriction of personal freedom exempt?
If it is then the much vaunted rule by assent would appear to have serious limitations.