Difficult choices

I read at reference 1 that the Germans, having put too many eggs into the Russian gas basket, are in the awkward position of needing to find alternative sources of energy in quick time. They have, for example, built a liquified natural gas facility at Wilhelmshaven in record time, for which see reference 2.

But that is not enough. They need more, and the decision seems to have been that some of that more is to come by stretching out the life of some coal fired powered stations - a version of our own decision regarding the coal fired power station at Ratcliffe-on-Soar - as it happens owned and operated by a German company. For which see reference 3.

Part of this looks to be the open cast lignite mine (centre in the snap above from gmaps) rolling over the village of Lützerath (red pin to the left of the mine). The villagers have now been relocated and the village is now occupied by climate protesters. Protesters who might be decent and serious young people, but one wonders how long popular support for them would last if it ever came to power cuts. Parts of Germany can get pretty cold in the winter.

While a little to the east we have (bottom left in the snap above) what appears to be a large power station operated by RWE of reference 4, another large energy concern, and to its right what appears to be a open cast mine which has been reclaimed. Circular forest walks around a patch of farm land in the middle. Unfortunately, Street View does not seem to work in this part of Germany, so I have been able to get a closer look.

All of which links back for me to another piece in the Financial Times about the outbreak of cakeism which seems to have taken grip here in the UK. And I dare say most of the other countries of the west have troubles of the same sort, although I dare say some countries manage to behave more like grown-ups than others. With one symptom of cakeism being a failure to recognise that there are lots of tricky decisions to take in the modern world and they nearly all involve trade-offs and compromises. Or a choice between lower taxes and higher public services, these last perhaps taking the form of properly paid nurses and care workers or bigger tanks for the Ukrainians. There are few free lunches and everybody a winner is not often an option, despite the antics of our late fat leader. I'm a winner on a free lunch (or free fancy house) is much more plausible.

References

Reference 1:  German village becomes climate flashpoint over ‘painful’ coal revival: Hundreds of activists in Lützerath vow to prevent hamlet’s destruction to make way for lignite mine - Laura Pitel, Financial Times - 2023.

Reference 2: https://www.offshore-technology.com/news/germany-lng-facility-wilhelmshaven/.

Reference 3: https://www.uniper.energy/. 

Reference 4: https://www.rwe.com/en. Another energy company which is dressing itself in very green clothes. Lots of cuddly pictures of windmills and smiling children.