Misery grows in gas-hungry states, Moscow standoff in 3rd week

Stefan Markovic slipped and stumbled on Belgrade’s icy streets and cursed both the Russians and the Ukrainians for the bad air he’s breathing.

“Those damned Soviets!” he shouted. “First they destroyed us with their communism. Now they create more misery. They even poisoned the air we breathe.”

A thick cloak of smog choked the capitals of Serbia, Bosnia and Hungary this week as residents and businesses resorted to burning oil, wood and coal — anything that might help them ward off the midwinter chill amid a natural gas dispute between Russia and Ukraine that has cut off supplies to Europe.

From the article:

This presents one of the unexpected consequences of denying the generation of power via modern power plants: people will, instead, directly burn anything, ignoring pollution, when they are cold.

I will point this out to the next smug environmentalist who tells me how the world will be cleaner without coal-fired power generation.

from the article:

“But there was a potentially deadly side to the gift. Authorities cautioned that there could be explosions if residents didn’t properly relight heating systems.

Within hours, the first blast dampened Sarajevo’s newfound relief. Five members of the Hadrovic family were injured, including 44-year-old Amy Hadrovic, who suffered burns so severe she had to be brought to a clinic in Germany for skin grafts.”

In my local area, there were 4 house fires during the extreme cold last week. We had to put off a needed chimney cleaning due to the cold and winds and had a chimney fire because of it. (no real damage)

From the article:
Twice in the past week, angry Bulgarians demonstrated outside parliament in the capital, Sofia.

On Wednesday, dozens were injured, including 14 police officers, when demonstrators hurled stones and bottles.

“I want this government to resign because it cannot guarantee my basic needs — a normal salary, a heated home and safety for my family,” said Ivan Nenov, a 56-year-old Sofia electrician.

Will this be the result in the USA of closing off our domestic energy sources, bankrupting the coal-fired power generation industry and forcing Americans to huddle for survival as the economy is also forced to shut down?

zerO and the donks had best think this through more carefully. Even unpowered lightposts have their uses.

I think the smart Americans are already huddled down for survival in preparation of an economic shutdown ;) But, you're exactly right. Should coal production get shut down completely within a year or even three, it's still not enough time to build dams, develop wave/wind power grids, increase ethanol/natural gas production, etc,etc to replace the fuel source the grid depends on, much less adding on electric car charging stations. There would be brownouts/scheduled blackouts/etc especially in cities, even if rural America installed roof turbines and went completely off the grid themselves. Cap and Trade on the coal industry is not a mature or logical concept. imo jmo moo

Best regards, blu

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