Germany promotes ‘cooking without electricity as blackout loom

[Hogpatrol]

Is this enough?

 

[bowjijohn]

If they are trying to get zillions of townies (who think a trip to the countryside is an adventure) to cope without the ''just in time hyper controlled 21 century world'' then I suspect they are in for a shock

I'm reminded of a poster on the bulkhead of a RN ship I served on many years ago

It showed a sailor looking puzzled at the complexities of a fire extinguisher he was holding whilst flames licked his heels

The caption read

''Too late mate''

The inference being - that he should have acquired these skills a long time ago

As any former serving personnel would know - if they stayed even half awake during those endless lectures on civil breakdown scenarios - you don't need much of a nudge to bring the entire illusion of civilisation crashing down

Let alone 2 years of virus generated disruption and incarceration

 

[WAB]

Is this enough?View attachment 428136
View attachment 428135

Yep, and a few thousand rounds of ammo to defend it!

 

[Sabattiboy]

Will all this apply to those of wealth or standing?
Never has.

 

[Rocked and Loaded]

I wonder if the extreme greens agenda of returning us to the 14th century might have some flaws???

I’m sure they consider these features rather than flaws.

 

[Wyatt Smith]

What is that about 10 long bed pickup loads @Hogpatrol ?

 

[CJW]

Is this enough?View attachment 428136
View attachment 428135

Depends on the part of the country you reside in. If that's only a single row then it's not enough for up here.

 

[Hogpatrol]

Depends on the part of the country you reside in. If that's only a single row then it's not enough for up here.

It's a double row, mostly locust, oak, osage orange, hickory, mulberry, with a little cherry and walnut for the early season. It's about a quarter of my stockpile. I am getting low on old locust fence posts though.

 

[CJW]

It's a double row, mostly locust, oak, osage orange, hickory, mulberry, with a little cherry and walnut for the early season. It's about a quarter of my stockpile.

Well in that case you're set.

I grew up in Illinois and we always had some osage orange or hedge as we called it around. I miss that stuff.

 

[Hogpatrol]

What is that about 10 long bed pickup loads @Hogpatrol ?

I'm not sure. I use a small 8x5 trailer, cut the donuts and roll them up on it. Then it's home, unload, split and stack. With a relative a tree surgeon, storms with high winds and farmers that like me killing groundhogs, I have an unlimited supply.

 

[Hogpatrol]

Well in that case you're set.

I grew up in Illinois and we always had some osage orange or hedge as we called it around. I miss that stuff.

Here's the back side. The light colored wood is a hickory tree I cut. It's a real chore splitting but the BTUs are near the top, 28 million per cord.

 

[nztimb]

Energy crisis sweeps the world as cost of keeping the lights on soars: Millions set for higher bills as price cap rises by £139​

The energy price cap will rise by £139 today in a change that will leave millions of households paying out more for their monthly gas and electricity bills.

The hike comes at a difficult time for many Britons, who are also grappling with the end of the furlough scheme, a cut to Universal Credit, supply chain disruptions and creeping inflation.

However, unlike the fuel frenzy at petrol stations across the country, which appears to be a uniquely British fiasco, the energy crisis is sweeping the globe.
Day-ahead UK gas prices are only just behind the all-time highs registered during the ‘Beast from the East’ in 2018, hitting 203p last night – a staggering 500 per cent increase on this time last year.
European contracts have also hit successive record highs and are up 550 per cent. The jumps have been caused by a perfect storm of events – some underpinned by the rapid rebound from the pandemic but many of which are out of governments’ control.

Dan Starman, head of assets and infrastructure at energy consultancy Cornwall Insight, says: ‘This isn’t purely a British phenomenon.

‘It is international and is to a large extent being driven by the fundamental imbalance between global gas supply and demand.’

Gas prices across Europe have been on a steep upward trajectory this summer after a long, cold winter left storage levels far below normal.

Russia has also been sending over less gas than usual, which many experts have interpreted as a political powerplay aimed at putting pressure on European leaders to open up a controversial pipeline project called Nord Stream 2.

More broadly, there has been rampant demand for shipping tankers and energy in Asia – which quickly bounced back from the pandemic – leaving less available for the rest of the world.

These global problems matter for Britain and have driven our crisis because successive governments have insisted that we can rely on foreign imports of liquid gas and undersea cables that connect us to European grids – policies used to justify the closure of the UK’s last gas storage site in 2017.
Already at the mercy of the global markets, the UK was vulnerable when good weather meant that there was less wind and a fire at a crucial interconnector that linked the British and French power grids hit supply.

This event led to a 16 per cent spike in prices that sent shockwaves through UK manufacturers and forced American industrial giant CF Industries to temporarily shut its fertiliser plant, which had the knock-on effect of creating less CO2, a key by-product.

The crisis gripping the UK and Europe threatens to send inflation soaring. Prices in Britain are rising at the fastest rate since 2012. In Spain, inflation is at a 13-year high.

But it is China, the world’s economic powerhouse, that is facing a toxic cocktail that is terrifying analysts.

Blackouts are hammering many areas and industrial production is tumbling as coal stocks – a major source of the country’s power – are down to dangerously low levels.


China’s issues might not be exactly the same as our own but if its problems end up tanking its productivity and holding back its economy then the whole world is in trouble.

For Britons, what is most frustrating about the current crisis is that we are, at least in part, at the mercy of the weather.

Another ‘Beast from the East’ that stretches gas supplies to the max could be ruinous, whereas a mild winter could bring relief.

But geopolitics will play a role too. Sam Wahab, energy analyst at advisers SP Angel, said: ‘Russia is one of the largest gas producers in the world and this winter depends in part on how much they allow to be sold out in the international market – and Russia has historically been quite unpredictable.’

What’s worrying too is that even if gas prices do not rise further, they are unlikely to fall significantly – putting pressure on industry, government, businesses and households whose finances have already been stretched to the brink.

Today’s rise in power bills could be just the beginning – with some experts predicting that the next time the price cap is reviewed it could go up by £280.

 

[CJW]

Here's the back side. The light colored wood is a hickory tree I cut. It's a real chore splitting but the BTUs are near the top, 28 million per cord.

Nice.

The best we have in my neck of the woods now is varieties of oak and maple. Maybe some ironwood if you have access to it. I only burn free wood so its lots of pine and poplar and mix in the hard stuff in the real cold months. Hardwood pallets are a good source of btu's too. I've kept myself warm burning hundreds of them. With the new efficient stoves you can make the most of what you have but I would rrally like a supply of what you have.

 

[Foxi]

With blackouts looming, German government holds disaster preparation day, promotes ‘cooking without electricity’
High demand and the transition to green power has left much of Europe at risk of blackouts. In Germany, state authorities are teaching the public to heat their homes with candles and get used to “cooking without electricity.”
State authorities in North-Rhine Westphalia will hold their first ‘Disaster Protection Day’ on Saturday, with instructors in the city of Bonn teaching citizens how to get by “in the event of a long power failure.” An advert by the federal Civil Protection Office gives a hint of what’s in store, and features an elderly woman wearing several layers of clothing, heating her apartment with candles burning under an upturned flower pot and sealing her windows with reflective foil.

With blackouts looming, German government holds disaster preparation day, promotes ‘cooking without electricity’

High demand and the transition to green power has left much of Europe at risk of blackouts. In Germany, state authorities are teaching the public to heat their homes with candles and get used to “cooking without electricity.”

www.rt.com

People,everything half so wild.
These protection and prevention days/recommendations have been around since I was a kid.
Actually not worth a headline

 

[Wyatt Smith]

I sell wood to four full time customers. I sold 49 loads (longbed f250) last winter, and cut probably another 10 for a friend. I cut hedge whenever I can, although it is a pain. Locust, Red Oak, Black Oak, and Cherry, are my favorites to cut.
I would be lost without my 372xp

 

[nztimb]

By John Kemp

LONDON, Oct 1 (Reuters) - Europe's increasingly expensive gas and electricity prices are sending a strong signal to manufacturers to consider temporary plant closures and to home and office owners to turn down thermostats to conserve fuel this winter.

Front-month gas futures are now more than six times more expensive than at this point last year, as the region struggles to import enough gas to refill its depleted storage ahead of the winter peak heating season.

Regional storage sites are still only 74.7% full, the lowest for more than a decade, and compared with a pre-pandemic five-year seasonal average of 87.4%, according to Gas Infrastructure Europe.

In the short term, Europe is unlikely to attract significantly more gas because production is fixed and there is already a worldwide shortage, which is also pushing up prices in Northeast Asia and North America.

Escalating futures prices signal traders think lower consumption will be necessary to prevent stocks eroding to critically low levels and risking fuel supplies running out this winter (https://tmsnrt.rs/2YkKwPc).

Rising prices will find the path of least-resistance to cut consumption - with the most price-sensitive and least politically sensitive customers forced to reduce gas and electricity use first and most deeply.

In theory, the crisis could be resolved easily by homes, offices, schools and factories turning down thermostats by 0.5-1.0 degrees this winter; the result would be an enormous fuel saving with only a minimal impact on comfort.

In practice, policymakers will be reluctant to call for thermostat reductions since it implies a policy failure and has unpopular associations with one-term U.S. President Jimmy Carter.

European governments are instead trying to shield residential and small business customers from the full force of increasing energy prices on utility bills through price caps, rebates and tax cuts.

But if the crisis continues to worsen, and especially if the winter proves colder than normal, shielding residential customers could prove unsustainable and calls for energy conservation may become inevitable.

In the meantime, policymakers are likely to explore other fuel saving measures, including reduced street-lighting and extended closures of government buildings, offices and schools over the mid-winter holiday period.

More significant savings could be made if manufacturers close their operations temporarily, cutting consumption and potentially reselling energy into the spot market if they have already contracted to buy it.

Steeply rising energy costs will force many manufacturers to reassess their production plans this winter, especially those with energy-intensive processes and/or limited ability to raise the price of their own products.

For manufacturers, short closures have the double benefit of cutting energy costs and also driving up the price of their products, helping protect margins against rising power and gas prices.

Once enough credible plant closures and other energy-saving measures are announced futures prices are likely to moderate.

Plant closures would, however, worsen problems throughout the supply chain and intensify the upward pressure on inflation, as well as disrupting long-standing customer relationships.

But unless the winter proves mild, price rises and physical shortages of gas, coal and electricity are unlikely to remain confined to energy markets, rippling out to the rest of the economy as is already happening in China.

 

[Foxi]

London has problems primarily because there are no truck drivers who can drive gasoline.
Thousands !!! Thousands of Polish truckers have rejected B.Johnson's visa offer for 3 months because they will be kicked out again.
They had to go everything.cause was the Brexit the yes ,also here, so cheered.
They will have to look around for something else the English.
Only unity makes strong, even if it is difficult.
Energy problems have others too.
Just think of Texas this winter.

https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=2ahUKEwiAorDcgK_zAhUfhv0HHeb1CFEQFnoECAIQAQ&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nytimes.com%2F2021%2F02%2F17%2Fclimate%2Ftexas-blackouts-disinformation.html&usg=AOvVaw0DFFDdP02a4x5bo2obCPop

 

[K-man]

I grew up in Illinois and we always had some osage orange or hedge as we called it around.

Hah! Come down to Oklahoma - I have plenty for you to cut down. I don't like seeing sparks fly off my chain saw.... Or the thorns in my tires.

 

[Challer]

If you shut down your nukes, this is what happens

 

[VertigoBE]

If you shut down your nukes, this is what happens

Fully agree with that assessment.
Europe's energy security and hope is now with the French, that they will continue to keep their nukes operational, prolong a few and launch a wave of new construction. I've heard Macron might look into SMR's (Small and Medium Reactor's) just like the 2nd biggest consumer of Poland, a copper producer, will be building a few of those.