"Oil is important. Not enough diesel could lead to strikes. We don't want our trucks queuing for diesel." You might think the above quote came from some concerned businessman in the transport industry or an oil executive. Amazingly, it comes from an EU official. An official who took part in a recent emergency meeting in Brussels to discuss security of oil and fuel supply.
In order to transition from A to B, B has to be able to meet demand at a price the market will bear. It is well to remember BEVs, windmills, etc are a distraction, the thing to which we are being forced to transition is electricity. That right now is in short supply, so it certainly will not be able to meet the demand from the enforced transition. Meanwhile News of Green Fairy Merkel and her magic Energy Wand. https://the-pipeline.org/flying-blind-into-net-zero/
Another great piece, Irina! You have a great knack for pointing out the foolish ironies that are quickly besetting our "Betters". You know, the ones that are too smart for their own good.
In other corners of the internet that I inhabit, I find myself pitted against leftist college professors who are all-in on the transition, but most of them have degrees in the humanities, and not a single clue about what it takes to produce a darn thing beyond hot air and an occasional white paper.
Sadly, it's these non-technical nincompoops and lawyeresque-types who have bubbled to the top of most western governments, and they simply know not what they do. We can only hope that voters will put these fools out of office sooner rather than later, but I also fear that those currently in charge will resort to forced coercion, due to the religious fervor of them and many of their adherents.
Fingers crossed, we head into another winter, possibly of much energy discontent....
As someone who truly loves great literature and even learned to love linguistics, I must admit that us, humanitarians, are not exactly essential workers when it comes to basic necessities and comforts. If we could just stay in our own lane life would be much better. Which is not to say an engineer can't be a poet or an artist, of course! Funny thing, that. Art is for everyone. Not so for the exact sciences.
I think this crack up by the transitioners when they start to look for others to blame and create the circular firing squad will be fantastic to watch. I will be sure to bring my popcorn
The problem with our self-anointed superiors in the Wind and Solar Utopia is that THEY will not suffer the consequences of their own decisions.
When governments are involved, as they are in the Wind and Solar Utopia, THEY will not suffer the consequences of their own decisions.
The consequences of THEIR decisions are always off the backs of the average person, just as it was when Stalin forced the industrialization & collectivization of the Soviet Union and just as it was during Mao's Cultural Revolution.
The death rate in both instances sky-rocketed.
The solution to all this? The average person must simply say "No" to their utopian ideas, no matter how attractively they market their utopia.
And that's precisely what's happening right now, in so many ways.
Covid policies more or less shifted the overton window on this one. EU policies have little to do with what is good for its citizenry or what they want and more to do with what they think they can get away with. Various climatists have more or less said this out loud, that covid was the training ground for devising whatever insane schemes to implement climate related policies
And you know they aren't wrong - people dutifully followed covid rules for which 95% were proven to be insane and pointless. And objectors were quite literally in some cases not permitted to leave their homes.
On the EV/ICE issue - yes, governments keep facing reality and are delaying the ban on ICE cars, but most EU carmakers have adopted the EV mandate wholesale. We are entering a period over the next 20 years or so where most automotive products are going to suck in one way or another, or not be as good as they can be.
The good news, several US auto manufacturers are beginning to see the light. They hadn't jumped in to the total EV promise as quickly. Toyota has taken about some but has continued to build their best selling Hybrids.
I find it mind boggling that other car manufacturers didn't see the Prius success...why not work on better designs and perfect the hybrid idea which obviously appeals to more people. Hopefully they will awaken BEFORE they destroy their companies.
It was sad to see Toyota finally caving and announcing big EV plans. Perfecting what already works makes sense, so it has no place in the transition. I share your hope, though.
Reality will eventually manifest itself. I had to look up "nimbyism". I guess that's what I unknowingly was talking about in my own post today, "My Two Cents", when commenting on 'sequestering' carbon and pumping it into underground reservoirs, especially Direct Air Capture (DAC): "However, would you want one of these underground reservoirs of CO2 in your backyard? Me neither."
I'll have to check that out, but my internet is down to turtle speed right now. What you're saying sounds too good to be true. There must be a catch...
Maybe, just maybe, someone in Brussels will figure out that it was a bad idea to have most of the diesel refining capacity for their market in Russia...
India and China are about to absolutely mint money selling refined fuels (mostly made with Russian crude) to Europe this winter.
I agree with the comment above from John Bowman. It’s all about electricity which has that illusion of being clean. Just flip a switch and your lights come on like magic. I tortured myself just two days ago scanning Tesla’s Master Plan 3, which was published earlier this year. Without having read it word for word, all I saw was (self-serving) electrification....totally sustainable, of course. Noting the plan’s nice round number of $10 trillion needed for said transition made me immediately skeptical. But then I’m not the world’s richest man, so who cares what I think?
Also, I may not be as well read as I should be at my advanced age, so I’ll use that as my excuse for never seeing the word “erm” in print.....
Doubt it mentioned this mountain they’ve got to climb:
Globally only ~20% of energy is supplied in the form of electricity, and only ~2% of that is provided by Renewables including Nuclear Power which is a fraction of that, leaving ~80% still reliant on FREE FINITE Flammable Fossils🤔
See what they "do"....not what they "say"....the elites know that wind/solar do not work. The wind and solar cannot power EU/US war machines to acquire fossil fuel resources and other rare earth materials from where? you all know! See the "Breakheart Pass" - "Trust no one! Believe only half of what you see or hear! No one appears to be who they are".
Like the simplicity of your energy articles Irina, the complexity is there you just need to read between the lines. We can argue for and against Renewable Energy Converters (Rebuildables if you like) truth is we need every form of energy we can get our hands on to maintain our lifestyles, along with those in developing countries that aspire to have the same, though little is said of Energy Conservation and yet that is the low hanging fruit of reducing energy wastage. When it comes to subsidies the FREE FINITE Flammable Fossils (FFFF’s) industry have had those for decades, and during that period even the FFFF’s have complained about it creating unfair competition within their on industries but it hasn’t stopped it🤔
Reality sucks but not as bad as righteousness of the virtue class.
“When seagulls follow the trawler it is because they think sardines will be thrown into the sea.” — Eric Cantona🤔
In order to transition from A to B, B has to be able to meet demand at a price the market will bear. It is well to remember BEVs, windmills, etc are a distraction, the thing to which we are being forced to transition is electricity. That right now is in short supply, so it certainly will not be able to meet the demand from the enforced transition. Meanwhile News of Green Fairy Merkel and her magic Energy Wand. https://the-pipeline.org/flying-blind-into-net-zero/
Well said.
Another great piece, Irina! You have a great knack for pointing out the foolish ironies that are quickly besetting our "Betters". You know, the ones that are too smart for their own good.
In other corners of the internet that I inhabit, I find myself pitted against leftist college professors who are all-in on the transition, but most of them have degrees in the humanities, and not a single clue about what it takes to produce a darn thing beyond hot air and an occasional white paper.
Sadly, it's these non-technical nincompoops and lawyeresque-types who have bubbled to the top of most western governments, and they simply know not what they do. We can only hope that voters will put these fools out of office sooner rather than later, but I also fear that those currently in charge will resort to forced coercion, due to the religious fervor of them and many of their adherents.
Fingers crossed, we head into another winter, possibly of much energy discontent....
As a BA, I must say these people are an embarrassment.
As a BSME, I must concur!
As someone who truly loves great literature and even learned to love linguistics, I must admit that us, humanitarians, are not exactly essential workers when it comes to basic necessities and comforts. If we could just stay in our own lane life would be much better. Which is not to say an engineer can't be a poet or an artist, of course! Funny thing, that. Art is for everyone. Not so for the exact sciences.
" If we could just stay in our own lane life would be much better. "
There is so much truth in that, Irina. I wish more people could adhere to that wisdom, but alas, it's just not the case in 2023.
Love reading this - in a world of Alice in Wonderland logic and contortionism, reading common sense in plain language is a gift.
Thank you. I attribute it to some recessive engineering genes and a lifelong love for crime fiction.
I think this crack up by the transitioners when they start to look for others to blame and create the circular firing squad will be fantastic to watch. I will be sure to bring my popcorn
I'll bring beer. See you there!
LOL
Brilliantly said. And, again, you're spot on.
The problem with our self-anointed superiors in the Wind and Solar Utopia is that THEY will not suffer the consequences of their own decisions.
When governments are involved, as they are in the Wind and Solar Utopia, THEY will not suffer the consequences of their own decisions.
The consequences of THEIR decisions are always off the backs of the average person, just as it was when Stalin forced the industrialization & collectivization of the Soviet Union and just as it was during Mao's Cultural Revolution.
The death rate in both instances sky-rocketed.
The solution to all this? The average person must simply say "No" to their utopian ideas, no matter how attractively they market their utopia.
And that's precisely what's happening right now, in so many ways.
One other aspect of oil and wind turbines that you likely know about.
Wind turbines require oil to rotate, just as in ICE vehicles.
No oil? No rotation. No rotation? No electricity generated.
Moreover, the maintainers of those wind turbines must change the oil in those turbines every few months, just as is done for ICE vehicles.
Yes. No hydrocarbons means no transition.
Irina,
Covid policies more or less shifted the overton window on this one. EU policies have little to do with what is good for its citizenry or what they want and more to do with what they think they can get away with. Various climatists have more or less said this out loud, that covid was the training ground for devising whatever insane schemes to implement climate related policies
And you know they aren't wrong - people dutifully followed covid rules for which 95% were proven to be insane and pointless. And objectors were quite literally in some cases not permitted to leave their homes.
On the EV/ICE issue - yes, governments keep facing reality and are delaying the ban on ICE cars, but most EU carmakers have adopted the EV mandate wholesale. We are entering a period over the next 20 years or so where most automotive products are going to suck in one way or another, or not be as good as they can be.
The good news, several US auto manufacturers are beginning to see the light. They hadn't jumped in to the total EV promise as quickly. Toyota has taken about some but has continued to build their best selling Hybrids.
I find it mind boggling that other car manufacturers didn't see the Prius success...why not work on better designs and perfect the hybrid idea which obviously appeals to more people. Hopefully they will awaken BEFORE they destroy their companies.
Their stockholders should be enraged.
It was sad to see Toyota finally caving and announcing big EV plans. Perfecting what already works makes sense, so it has no place in the transition. I share your hope, though.
Reality will eventually manifest itself. I had to look up "nimbyism". I guess that's what I unknowingly was talking about in my own post today, "My Two Cents", when commenting on 'sequestering' carbon and pumping it into underground reservoirs, especially Direct Air Capture (DAC): "However, would you want one of these underground reservoirs of CO2 in your backyard? Me neither."
I'll have to check that out, but my internet is down to turtle speed right now. What you're saying sounds too good to be true. There must be a catch...
I love your writing style. You possess the ability to make a fool of someone(thing) in such a polite manner all while proving your point
Exactly
Oh, thank you! I thought I was being quite brutal.
Maybe, just maybe, someone in Brussels will figure out that it was a bad idea to have most of the diesel refining capacity for their market in Russia...
India and China are about to absolutely mint money selling refined fuels (mostly made with Russian crude) to Europe this winter.
Pragmatism wins. Good for them.
I agree with the comment above from John Bowman. It’s all about electricity which has that illusion of being clean. Just flip a switch and your lights come on like magic. I tortured myself just two days ago scanning Tesla’s Master Plan 3, which was published earlier this year. Without having read it word for word, all I saw was (self-serving) electrification....totally sustainable, of course. Noting the plan’s nice round number of $10 trillion needed for said transition made me immediately skeptical. But then I’m not the world’s richest man, so who cares what I think?
Also, I may not be as well read as I should be at my advanced age, so I’ll use that as my excuse for never seeing the word “erm” in print.....
Doubt it mentioned this mountain they’ve got to climb:
Globally only ~20% of energy is supplied in the form of electricity, and only ~2% of that is provided by Renewables including Nuclear Power which is a fraction of that, leaving ~80% still reliant on FREE FINITE Flammable Fossils🤔
😄 I've seen it in books. I think it's old British for um.
See what they "do"....not what they "say"....the elites know that wind/solar do not work. The wind and solar cannot power EU/US war machines to acquire fossil fuel resources and other rare earth materials from where? you all know! See the "Breakheart Pass" - "Trust no one! Believe only half of what you see or hear! No one appears to be who they are".
Like the simplicity of your energy articles Irina, the complexity is there you just need to read between the lines. We can argue for and against Renewable Energy Converters (Rebuildables if you like) truth is we need every form of energy we can get our hands on to maintain our lifestyles, along with those in developing countries that aspire to have the same, though little is said of Energy Conservation and yet that is the low hanging fruit of reducing energy wastage. When it comes to subsidies the FREE FINITE Flammable Fossils (FFFF’s) industry have had those for decades, and during that period even the FFFF’s have complained about it creating unfair competition within their on industries but it hasn’t stopped it🤔