Sanctions on Russia

Bryan Booth82 said:It isn't quite as simple as you're making it out to be.🤔
Transporting natural gas is becoming an outdated concept, whereas "wind and solar" represent the actual future. Therefore, those who intend to be ready for what's coming aren't going to stay stuck in the past, tethered to an unreliable gas supplier.

Perhaps that future—one where a dependent West relies on Russian gas—has actually already begun... and we can partially blame Putin for that reality.🤔
There is plenty of money in the West, so the priority is to keep that capital circulating by investing domestically into the projects and companies that will actually develop and build out wind, solar, hydrogen... you name it.
Just look at what the President announced today regarding how this future has already kicked off...

lp

I’m not so sure. This looks like a prime opportunity for the green lobby to prove themselves; they've been pushing this agenda for at least twenty years, and now we'll see them in action. Based on what I know about the energy sector ( ☕ ), let me tell you: it isn't going to play out according to their little script.
As for all that wind and solar talk? You can take it and shove it.

Joshua Myers432 said:I’m not so sure. This looks like a prime opportunity for the green lobby to prove themselves; they've been pushing this agenda for at least twenty years, and now we'll see them in action. Based on what I know about the energy sector ( ☕ ), let me tell you: it isn't going to play out according to their little script.
As for all that wind and solar talk? You can take it and shove it.

Of course it won't work out the way they claim—especially when you listen to people who actually understand how energy production functions.
Even before the current energy crisis triggered by Russian aggression, they only managed to replace 50% of electricity production within a twenty-year span using what critics dismissively call "wind and solar."
If they can somehow manage to swap out another 50% over the next twenty years... then maybe, just maybe, they could replace that 80% reliance on imported Russian gas. Good luck with that! 😉
Best regards,

Joshua Myers432 said:Of course they will. They have a market of three billion people sitting right there in the East; all they "need" to do is lay down some pipelines for gas and oil. This was likely the plan regardless of this war. It might take some time, but I doubt they don't have a strategy to navigate this transition phase. Meanwhile, we can just sit back and rely on wind and solar power. No worries there. 🎉

Exactly. Everything should be wrapped up by somewhere around 2035 or 2040.

Joshua Myers432 said:I’m not so sure. This looks like a prime opportunity for the green lobby to prove themselves; they've been pushing this agenda for at least twenty years, and now we'll see them in action. Based on what I know about the energy sector ( ☕ ), let me tell you: it isn't going to play out according to their little script.
As for all that wind and solar talk? You can take it and shove it.

Sweden gets 60% of its power from renewables, so the whole "green agenda" isn't some myth like you're making it out to be. Every country is eventually going to be forced to dump money into renewables—honestly, Putin just pushed the entire West straight into the future.
I wouldn't be surprised if we see laws passed soon requiring all new builds—apartments, factories, whatever—to have solar panels installed.

Nathan Thomas12 said:Sweden gets 60% of its power from renewables, so the whole "green agenda" isn't some myth like you're making it out to be. Every country is eventually going to be forced to dump money into renewables—honestly, Putin just pushed the entire West straight into the future.
I wouldn't be surprised if we see laws passed soon requiring all new builds—apartments, factories, whatever—to have solar panels installed.

Sure, if you want to count nuclear energy as renewable. 😁

But where exactly is the extra electricity supposed to come from to power all these useless gadgets people think they can switch over to electric in the next 15 to 20 years?

The reality is, it won't happen without fossil fuels or nuclear plants. Winter is coming... 🤣

George Robinson43 said:Exactly. Everything should be wrapped up by somewhere around 2035 or 2040.

And certainly before a state like Texas manages to fully transition to renewables, 😁

Joshua Myers432 said:Sure, if you want to count nuclear energy as renewable. 😁

But where exactly is the extra electricity supposed to come from to power all these useless gadgets people think they can switch over to electric in the next 15 to 20 years?

The reality is, it won't happen without fossil fuels or nuclear plants. Winter is coming... 🤣

Nuclear isn't actually considered a renewable resource.
The US plan—well, look at Sweden's goal—is to hit 100% renewables by 2040.
Their whole strategy is phasing out nuclear reactors; they've already decommissioned four since 2017.

Joshua Myers432 said:And certainly before a state like Texas manages to fully transition to renewables, 😁

The Americans aren't in such a rush. They just successfully connected their pipeline to the North Sea.

They aren't in a mess like those Kremlin lackeys over in Canada. The boss at the White House forgot to pay the oil transit fees through Ukraine lately, so they just shut down the entire society yesterday.

George Robinson43 said:The Americans aren't in such a rush. They just successfully connected their pipeline to the North Sea.

They aren't in a mess like those Kremlin lackeys over in Canada. The boss at the White House forgot to pay the oil transit fees through Ukraine lately, so they just shut down the entire society yesterday.

Every single Pole I know hates Russians even more than we hate Mexicans or they hate us. So, I guess it’s no surprise they were planning to distance themselves.

Melissa Rivera5 said:Every single Pole I know hates Russians even more than we hate Mexicans or they hate us. So, I guess it’s no surprise they were planning to distance themselves.

Neither I nor anyone in my circle holds any grudge against Mexicans. I assume you misspoke—maybe you meant to say we just despise the political narrative being forced upon them.
In my experience—and I've dealt with plenty of them, both professionally and personally—their communication is better than almost any other group I've encountered. Truly incomparable.
P.S. I intentionally muted the rest of the thread.

Nathan Thomas12 said:Nuclear isn't actually considered a renewable resource.
The US plan—well, look at Sweden's goal—is to hit 100% renewables by 2040.
Their whole strategy is phasing out nuclear reactors; they've already decommissioned four since 2017.

Of course you chose Sweden as your example—a massive country with a tiny population that pulls a huge chunk of its power from hydro, wind, and biomass because they’re sitting on those resources. You didn't pick a place like Poland or, God forbid, Germany, where trying this kind of idiocy would be a disaster. You could have even used Andorra to argue that this crap works in practice. It just doesn't hold water for most countries that lack a solid foundation of nuclear or fossil fuel plants. Winter is coming, so we'll see how things go once we're relying on slightly less Russian gas. Nothing drastic has actually changed yet.

Joshua Myers432 said:Of course you chose Sweden as your example—a massive country with a tiny population that pulls a huge chunk of its power from hydro, wind, and biomass because they’re sitting on those resources. You didn't pick a place like Poland or, God forbid, Germany, where trying this kind of idiocy would be a disaster. You could have even used Andorra to argue that this crap works in practice. It just doesn't hold water for most countries that lack a solid foundation of nuclear or fossil fuel plants. Winter is coming, so we'll see how things go once we're relying on slightly less Russian gas. Nothing drastic has actually changed yet.

Don't sweat it—winter might be a bit rougher, but the West will pull through. Maybe next winter will be tough too, but after that, you're golden. If Ukrainians can lay down their lives for freedom, sure, we can handle turning the heat down a few degrees.
The main thing is making sure these sanctions stick for decades; everything else, we'll figure out. America and Europe have dealt with way worse disasters in the past—we're tougher than you think, even the Germans.
The West has never been more united, especially with two new NATO members joining the club.

Nathan Thomas12 said:Don't sweat it—winter might be a bit rougher, but the West will pull through. Maybe next winter will be tough too, but after that, you're golden. If Ukrainians can lay down their lives for freedom, sure, we can handle turning the heat down a few degrees.
The main thing is making sure these sanctions stick for decades; everything else, we'll figure out. America and Europe have dealt with way worse disasters in the past—we're tougher than you think, even the Germans.
The West has never been more united, especially with two new NATO members joining the club.

I’m talking about energy policy, and you’re pivoting back to the war in Ukraine. As far as I’m concerned, there’s always some corner of the globe at war, but my point is how they actually intend to execute their green agenda when they've backed themselves into a corner with an embargo on Russian energy. Look, I’ll be the first one to agree to running the heat two degrees higher or lower through the seasons, but let's be real: that isn't going to solve the underlying problem.

Joshua Myers432 said:I’m talking about energy policy, and you’re pivoting back to the war in Ukraine. As far as I’m concerned, there’s always some corner of the globe at war, but my point is how they actually intend to execute their green agenda when they've backed themselves into a corner with an embargo on Russian energy. Look, I’ll be the first one to agree to running the heat two degrees higher or lower through the seasons, but let's be real: that isn't going to solve the underlying problem.

Russian gas is nothing more than a temporary band-aid for a green agenda that is foolish enough to ignore the reality of nuclear power...
For the green transition to actually work, maintaining ties with China and securing a steady supply of raw materials for battery production will be much more critical.

Melissa Rivera5 said:Every single Pole I know hates Russians even more than we hate Mexicans or they hate us. So, I guess it’s no surprise they were planning to distance themselves.

Personally, I find it far more intriguing how the Canadians—who clearly can't stand the Rus either—found it so easy to play the role of their little puppets.

Joshua Myers432 said:I’m talking about energy policy, and you’re pivoting back to the war in Ukraine. As far as I’m concerned, there’s always some corner of the globe at war, but my point is how they actually intend to execute their green agenda when they've backed themselves into a corner with an embargo on Russian energy. Look, I’ll be the first one to agree to running the heat two degrees higher or lower through the seasons, but let's be real: that isn't going to solve the underlying problem.

Give me a break—Russia isn't the only gas supplier on the planet. Germany is already building two massive LNG terminals. They'll spin up more nuclear plants if they have to, maybe even coal if things get desperate. My point is, the West will find a way to move past Russia. One way or another, they'll make it work.
The plan for Europe is to hit 45% renewable energy by 2030, and honestly, parts of it might actually look like Sweden, which is leading the pack right now.

Amy Parker10 said:Russian gas is nothing more than a temporary band-aid for a green agenda that is foolish enough to ignore the reality of nuclear power...
For the green transition to actually work, maintaining ties with China and securing a steady supply of raw materials for battery production will be much more critical.

Well, obviously—especially when you consider solar power and this whole electric vehicle utopia. I’m just sitting here waiting for the inevitable chaos surrounding Taiwan. Once that hits, you can all freeze during the winter because of the situation in Ukraine, or maybe enjoy a two-hour walk to work since those poor Taiwanese people are fighting for their freedom and suddenly there aren't any Chinese batteries left for your Teslas. Of course, Americans will probably just keep cranking their V8 engines; though, hey, maybe they'll switch to V6s just out of solidarity.

Nathan Thomas12 said:Give me a break—Russia isn't the only gas supplier on the planet. Germany is already building two massive LNG terminals. They'll spin up more nuclear plants if they have to, maybe even coal if things get desperate. My point is, the West will find a way to move past Russia. One way or another, they'll make it work.
The plan for Europe is to hit 45% renewable energy by 2030, and honestly, parts of it might actually look like Sweden, which is leading the pack right now.

Sweden has been running this playbook for ages, and they have the resources most countries simply lack. The vision of a green future is great on paper, but it’s a nightmare to actually execute. If people were thinking logically, we could have explored an optimistic mix—maybe 50% nuclear and 50% renewables—but you can't just flip a switch. That takes years upon years of heavy planning and massive capital investment.

Joshua Myers432 said:Sweden has been running this playbook for ages, and they have the resources most countries simply lack. The vision of a green future is great on paper, but it’s a nightmare to actually execute. If people were thinking logically, we could have explored an optimistic mix—maybe 50% nuclear and 50% renewables—but you can't just flip a switch. That takes years upon years of heavy planning and massive capital investment.

Absolutely, and it would have been the logical move... but we can't ignore how much certain interests stood to gain by turning the public against nuclear power in the first place.

Carl Lee27 said:Check out this incredible chart:
It shows how Russia isn't actually exporting more, or rather, how China and India aren't really making up for all those lost customers in the West. It’s pretty eye-opening when you see it laid out like this.
https://twitter.com/DiegoFassnacht/s...12214169681921

The data used in the link above comes from CREA, which does such a fantastic job tracking all of this stuff.
https://energyandcleanair.org/

There’s actually even more data available from that same CREA group over here: https://crea.shinyapps.io/russia_counter/
Looking at the graph titled "Russia's estimated revenues from fossil fuel exports," it doesn't exactly paint a bleak picture regarding their energy export revenue...

And honestly, I'm not entirely sure how many people truly grasp that figure of 80.5 billion dollars sent to Russia from the European Union during the war alone, or if they can even begin to wrap their heads around the actual context behind it...

Because the context is this: back in 2019 and 2021, the entire European Union paid Russia about 100 billion dollars for energy over the course of full years. Now, in just 5.5 months, we've already cleared 80 billion...
If you factor in the period leading up to the invasion, it becomes crystal clear that in just seven and a bit months, we've already surpassed what we used to pay them annually...
And that counter just keeps ticking upward, and it shows no sign of stopping...

It also wouldn't hurt to glance at the bottom of the page where they list all their updates—they've had to keep adding extra billions to that total multiple times—which makes you wonder if the current figure accounts for every single dollar being moved right now...

But in all seriousness, trying to perform a "deep dive" analysis on June's numbers compared to February or March probably isn't even worth much of a thought...