A few days of no gas and Germany will blink and comply.
So, I took a look at the 2 week weather forecast for Berlin. Ugh. It makes Seattle look like a sunny vista. Cool, wet, and windy.
BUT. It’s survivable. Germany had already cut imports of Russian gas to 40% of their supply. The wind turbines should be cranking, alternate imports are ramping up, and Germany has some reserves (tho’ not nearly so much as they should). The big problem will not be people freezing, it’ll be economic. But, it’s a 2 edge sword: The greater the discomfort to Germany now, the greater the incentive to completely cut out Russia as a supplier in the long run.
The Germans (particularly) need a lot of these “physical batteries”, if they want to go even greener:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taum_Sauk_Hydroelectric_Power_Station
Definitely not a quick solution, tho’ how quickly CA fully repaired the immense damage at Lake Oroville is impressive...