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Greens Retreat as Coal Power Makes European Comeback
PJ Media ^ | 06/22/2022 | Greg Byrnes

Posted on 06/22/2022 10:50:05 PM PDT by SeekAndFind

No king, no parliament, no president, no legislature can repeal the law of unintended consequence. Russia’s war with Ukraine, and the cut-off of oil and natural gas to Western Europe, have brought coal back to power plant furnaces across Europe. This week, the Netherlands, Germany, and Austria all moved to reignite coal power. Gone are environmental regulations and restrictions. For example, the Netherlands had previously limited coal to only one-third of its full capacity.

The party of green, so closely aligned with the left in the United States, may see a defeat on both fronts. Right now it looks likely Ukraine will end its war smaller and poorer despite the $50 billion being poured into its defense efforts by armchair militarists in Congress and the White House. The return of coal is a sign that another war is being lost: the Green New Dealers’ war on fossil fuels. Failure to bring about a peaceful settlement in Ukraine by the Biden Administration means the return of coal power to Western Europe.

Energy is the key to victory in war and prosperity in peace. One thinks of the UK in World War II and the Bevin boys. Beginning in 1943, 10% of all draftees between 18 and 25 were not sent to the front, but to the coal mines. Those shutting down domestic U.S. energy production in favor of foreign imports, take note: countries without their own energy supply are beholden to the countries that provide them with energy.

Gazprom’s Nordstream Pipeline cut the flow of natural gas to Germany last week. After reducing its natural gas reliance on Russia by 64% since the start of the war, the largest economy in Europe has yet to take up the slack in its energy shortfall.

(Excerpt) Read more at pjmedia.com ...


TOPICS: Business/Economy; Culture/Society; Foreign Affairs; News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: bidenconomy; bidenflation; bloggers; climatechange; climatechangehoax; coal; energy; energyschadenfreude; europe; eussr; fourthreich; globalwarming; globalwarminghoax; greenenergy; greennewdeal; newsforumabuse; newskarenabuse; oldkingcoal; zotthepostkarens
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The Austrians, on the other hand, will have to reopen mothballed coal power plants. This will take time. So while Russian forces are looking to isolate Ukraine from the Black Sea, Ukraine’s backers in Western Europe are being forced into retreat from their environmental war on coal.


According to the World Coal Association , “37% of the world’s electricity and over 70% of the world steel is produced using coal.” The Germans claim their plan to close all coal power plants by 2030 is still feasible. It is unclear if the Netherlands is still on board with that shutdown date.

1 posted on 06/22/2022 10:50:05 PM PDT by SeekAndFind
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To: SeekAndFind

How dare you!


2 posted on 06/22/2022 11:11:35 PM PDT by Its All Over Except ...
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To: Its All Over Except ...
After reducing its natural gas reliance on Russia by 64% since the start of the war

Yeah, that didn't happen.

3 posted on 06/22/2022 11:12:59 PM PDT by kiryandil (China Joe and Paycheck Hunter - the Chink in America's defenses)
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To: kiryandil

Yep. They’re still buying oil big time either directly or indirectly.

And now they’re going to use coal. Isn’t that worse than Russian gas according to them?

I mean, what happened to all the talk from the green enviros in Europe that climate change was the greatest threat to mankind?


4 posted on 06/22/2022 11:17:33 PM PDT by Its All Over Except ...
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To: SeekAndFind

Is Gretta on life support?


5 posted on 06/22/2022 11:18:20 PM PDT by DoughtyOne (I pledge allegiance the flag of the U S of A, and to the REPUBLIC for which it stands.)
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To: Its All Over Except ...

It was all about rich peoples whimsies. When it all became real, they got real. Which is what I’ve been telling you guys for months.

Which should tell you all you need to know about how much real leverage Russia has. Russia has been depending on the fantasy life of western elites. That’s a very weak basis for economic blackmail. Europe is getting religion and calling Russia’s bluff. They can take their gas and stuff it up their own backsides.


6 posted on 06/22/2022 11:30:35 PM PDT by buwaya (Strategic imperatives )
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To: Its All Over Except ...

Oil (petroleum) is very different from nat gas, or piped nat gas.

There is no problem, in the case of petroleum, with a single source, as petroleum feeds, effectively, a global commodity pool.


7 posted on 06/22/2022 11:37:30 PM PDT by buwaya (Strategic imperatives )
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To: SeekAndFind

The proper solution for Russia is isolation. They should be induced into being a “hermit kingdom” until they resolve their cultural deficiencies. They are not fit company.


8 posted on 06/22/2022 11:39:35 PM PDT by buwaya (Strategic imperatives )
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To: buwaya

“Religion” and hypocrisy aren’t supposed to mix.

And them not really getting religion is borne out by them buying Russian oil indirectly from others who buy Russian oil, like India.

The Euroweenies are still losers.


9 posted on 06/22/2022 11:51:23 PM PDT by Its All Over Except ...
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To: DoughtyOne
Is Gretta on life support?

She uses up perfectly good oxygen, that someone else needs.

10 posted on 06/22/2022 11:53:01 PM PDT by Mark17 (Retired USAF air traffic controller. Father of USAF pilot. USAF aviation runs in the family )
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To: buwaya

And according to the climate change alarmists, coal is as bad as it gets, yet the Europeans are turning to that.

And they brought it all upon themselves being Biden’s lapdogs.


11 posted on 06/22/2022 11:53:57 PM PDT by Its All Over Except ...
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To: Mark17

Yes, she does.

LOL

How about, she uses up perfectly good oxygen a normal level
headed human being should have, as a top priority?


12 posted on 06/23/2022 12:13:19 AM PDT by DoughtyOne (I pledge allegiance the flag of the U S of A, and to the REPUBLIC for which it stands.)
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To: Its All Over Except ...

What I’d like to know is who is going to do the mining in Germany?

Do any young Germans have it in mind to pick up a shovel and go into a coal mine?


13 posted on 06/23/2022 12:34:22 AM PDT by jmacusa (Liberals. Too stupid to be idiots. )
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To: Its All Over Except ...

Biden had nothing to do with it. This all was in process for decades. It was a collective failure by the powers that be, both in Europe and the US. It was an indulgence of elitist fantasies over a generation.

Its never a good idea to put names and faces to this sort of thing, because it is fundamentally false. This is the result of the state of mind and behavior of very large groups of people.


14 posted on 06/23/2022 12:36:37 AM PDT by buwaya (Strategic imperatives )
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To: buwaya

“Europe is getting religion and calling Russia’s bluff.”

You are very optimistic. The greens have Europe and the US by the throat. They may allow us to breathe for a little while to keep their guys in power. But the choking will resume shortly after that.


15 posted on 06/23/2022 12:40:00 AM PDT by ModelBreaker
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To: Its All Over Except ...

“get religion” is an idiom, not literal.
Petroleum is a commodity, effectively a global pool. If you want to buy it you buy from the pool. What you don’t buy someone else will, if the overall supply is more or less=overall demand. You cannot exclude petroleum from the pool unless you blockade the producers ports.


16 posted on 06/23/2022 12:43:20 AM PDT by buwaya (Strategic imperatives )
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To: ModelBreaker

I have hopes that this will change somewhat.
The powers that be are getting serious pushback at the moment.


17 posted on 06/23/2022 12:45:51 AM PDT by buwaya (Strategic imperatives )
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To: SeekAndFind

Bill Maher was right: get rid of a fossil fuel, and you’ll go back to a dirtier fossil fuel. Soon to come to the US.


18 posted on 06/23/2022 12:47:08 AM PDT by Tolerance Sucks Rocks (Bus No. 2525)
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To: buwaya
Europe is getting religion and calling Russia’s bluff. They can take their gas and stuff it up their own backsides.

Not true on both counts because firstly, China and India have made up the shortfall caused by the Europeans' boycotts and the exponentially rising price of oil and gas due to the leftist/globalist filth's attempts to protect their money laundering mecca (Ukraine) by declaring a proxy war against Russia has increased the strength of the ruble and filled Russia's coffers with cash (record year so far).

Secondly, a few days ago, globalist filthbag (and head of the European Union) Ursula von der Leyen made clear that Europe would absolutely not be abandoning its idiotic, greenie policy of a fossil fuel-free Europe within a few years.

These leftist/globalist scumbags are intent on their Great Reset and a linchpin of that vile enterprise is forcing people off fossil fuelsthereby forcing them to abandon their personal modes of transportation, forcing them out of their homes (unless they're willing to freeze or roast to death in them) and herding them into Soviet-style apartments where they will "own nothing and be happy."

19 posted on 06/23/2022 12:47:22 AM PDT by Rocco DiPippo (I)
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To: Rocco DiPippo

“China and India have made up the shortfall caused by the Europeans’ boycotts”

Petroleum, not nat gas. Petroleum is a global commodity. Nat gas via pipeline isn’t. Think of what you are saying. To get nat gas from, say, the Urengoy Basin and the others near it, which supplies the European market, to China, one would have to massively extend the pipeline system, by thousands of miles. China gets Russian natural gas from an entirely different region.


20 posted on 06/23/2022 1:08:08 AM PDT by buwaya (Strategic imperatives )
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