{"id":1628066,"date":"2022-08-31T09:19:39","date_gmt":"2022-08-31T13:19:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1628066"},"modified":"2022-08-31T09:19:44","modified_gmt":"2022-08-31T13:19:44","slug":"europe-is-facing-an-unprecedented-energy-crisis-the-costs-are-unimaginable","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/europe-is-facing-an-unprecedented-energy-crisis-the-costs-are-unimaginable\/","title":{"rendered":"Europe Is Facing an Unprecedented Energy Crisis, the Costs are Unimaginable"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">22<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Feurope-is-facing-an-unprecedented-energy-crisis-the-costs-are-unimaginable%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1628066&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><div><\/div>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">It\u2019s not just the United States feeling the heat this summer with high utility and gas bills. Our friends across the pond are sweating it out much worse than we are, and with winter just around the corner, that sweat might turn to frostbite if something doesn\u2019t give soon.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">What\u2019s the biggest culprit for the stratospheric gas prices and looming gas shortage in Europe? The war in Ukraine.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">With no real end in sight, Europe is facing a crisis they haven\u2019t seen since the 1970s. So what does the future hold for Europe? Lots of cold and dark nights ahead from what I can tell.<\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"500\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">NOT EVEN CLOSE: <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/TuckerCarlson?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@TuckerCarlson<\/a> says Europe\u2019s energy crisis is proof we\u2019re nowhere near replacing gas and oil. Link in bio. <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/OC2O5ThLVF\">pic.twitter.com\/OC2O5ThLVF<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Fox News (@FoxNews) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/FoxNews\/status\/1564439027180310528?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">August 30, 2022<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><strong>RELATED: <a href=\"https:\/\/thepoliticalinsider.com\/media-claims-planet-earth-wants-high-gas-prices\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Media Claims Planet Earth \u2018Wants\u2019 High Gas Prices<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<h3><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Extreme Measures<\/span><\/h3>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.axios.com\/2022\/08\/29\/in-europe-energy-crisis-drives-growing-cutbacks\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Axios recently laid out<\/a> some of the steps being taken in Europe to curb energy consumption leading up to the winter months. These steps were spurred by an agreement this past July between the 27 European Union nations to cut consumption by 15% between August and March of 2023.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Below are some of the steps being taken across the continent:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Germany<\/span>\n<ul>\n<li class=\"ql-indent-1\"><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Public buildings and museums, including Cologne\u2019s cathedral and the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin, will no longer be lit at night<\/span><\/li>\n<li class=\"ql-indent-1\"><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">The hot water in Hanover has been cut off at public buildings<\/span><\/li>\n<li class=\"ql-indent-1\"><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Augsburg has turned off their traffic lights<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Spain<\/span>\n<ul>\n<li class=\"ql-indent-1\"><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Air conditioning can\u2019t be set any cooler than 81 degrees Fahrenheit<\/span><\/li>\n<li class=\"ql-indent-1\"><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.bloomberg.com\/news\/articles\/2022-07-29\/stop-wearing-ties-to-save-energy-spanish-premier-sanchez-says\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Suggesting workers<\/a> not wear ties to preserve energy<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Italy<\/span>\n<ul>\n<li class=\"ql-indent-1\"><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Air conditioning in schools and public buildings is limited<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Just think about that for a minute. Due to their energy crisis, European governments are limiting energy usage in public buildings, businesses, and even private residences. <\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"subscribe\" class=\"email-signup inarticle\">\n<h4>Support Conservative Voices!<\/h4>\n<h5><strong>Sign up to receive the latest<\/strong> political news, insight, and commentary delivered directly to your inbox.<\/h5>\n<\/div>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">That is where we are in Europe right now; if you think the war in Ukraine doesn\u2019t have global effects, it\u2019s time to wake up and feel the heat.<\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"500\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Breaking: 3,000+ people demonstrated in Plauen, Germany against the government&#8217;s energy policy and the soaring gas and electricity prices that are set to take place in the fall \ud83d\udea8<\/p>\n<p>\ud83d\udd0a <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/H8YQ1GKRav\">pic.twitter.com\/H8YQ1GKRav<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Wall Street Silver (@WallStreetSilv) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/WallStreetSilv\/status\/1564432722327752705?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">August 30, 2022<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<h3><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Sticker Shock<\/span><\/h3>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">I often report on the rising cost of gas, natural gas, and diesel in the United States, but the cost in Europe is startling. <a href=\"https:\/\/markets.businessinsider.com\/news\/commodities\/european-natural-gas-prices-10-times-energy-crisis-russia-exports-2022-8\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">European natural gas prices<\/a> are <em>ten times higher<\/em> than the average over the last decade.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.bls.gov\/opub\/ted\/2022\/u-s-import-prices-for-natural-gas-increase-165-5-percent-for-the-year-ended-june-2022.htm\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Over the last year<\/a>, natural gas prices in the United States rose 165.5%.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p>In Germany in particular, costs are becoming simply unimaginable.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"500\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Germany power futures for next year surged above 1,000 euros for the first time \ud83c\udde9\ud83c\uddea\ud83d\udcc8<\/p>\n<p>\ud83d\udcb0 European power prices are smashing records basically every day as Russia curbs natural gas supply ahead of the winter<br \/>\u26a0\ufe0f German power is up 1,077% since last year<a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/SENkwKpi6J\">https:\/\/t.co\/SENkwKpi6J<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/zxHdIoAsT5\">pic.twitter.com\/zxHdIoAsT5<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Stephen Stapczynski (@SStapczynski) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/SStapczynski\/status\/1564172027128614912?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">August 29, 2022<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">While energy costs in the summer tend to rise significantly in the United States, gas prices in Europe tend to increase in the winter. <a href=\"https:\/\/foreignpolicy.com\/2022\/08\/26\/europe-energy-crisis-natural-gas-economy-winter\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Alex Munton<\/a>, an expert on global gas markets, explains:<\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">\u201cThings are [at] a crisis point. We have astronomic gas prices, and we\u2019re still a few months away from when gas demand really peaks during the winter. There\u2019s genuine uncertainty whether there will be sufficient gas to meet demand throughout the winter.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">For those unfamiliar, many European homes rely on gas to heat their homes. I spent some time living in Portugal and England, and both my homes were heated from a gas tank in my backyard that I had to pay to have filled when it would go empty.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">When I lived in England around 2008, it would cost me about $600 to fill my home gas tank. Let that sink in for a moment.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><strong>RELATED: <a href=\"https:\/\/thepoliticalinsider.com\/electric-bills-skyrocket-crippling-low-income-families-with-no-end-in-sight\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Electric Bills Skyrocket, Crippling Low Income Families With No End In Sight<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<h3><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">The Kremlin is Not Worried<\/span><\/h3>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Many thought sanctions against Russia would cripple their economy and convince the Kremlin to back down and eventually retreat from Ukraine. But, unfortunately, like many others surrounding foreign policy and economics, that prediction hasn\u2019t panned out.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.bbc.com\/news\/58888451#:~:text=How%20much%20Russian%20gas%20does,third%20month%20in%20a%20row.\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Typically Russia<\/a> supplies about 40% of the European gas imports. The Kremlin has done very well despite the sanctions and pushes to abort ourselves as an allied force from dependence on Russian gas.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">In the first half of 2022, the Kremlin\u2019s gas revenues have been two to three times greater than usual. In addition, <a href=\"https:\/\/thepoliticalinsider.com\/russias-economic-resilience-begs-the-question-who-is-biden-really-sanctioning-russia-or-the-american-people\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">I reported in June<\/a> that the Russian ruble has been up 40% against the U.S. dollar since January. It should make all of us wonder what these sanctions are doing, if anything.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">According to the consultant group <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/business\/2022\/aug\/28\/europe-little-option-rescue-consumers-energy-crisis-ukraine-war\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Capital Economics<\/a>, if gas prices stay current, Russian President Vladimir Putin can keep exports to Europe at 20% of normal levels for the next two to three years without feeling adverse effects on the Russian economy. There is even speculation that he could completely cut off natural gas to Europe entirely and be fine for a time economically.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">If that thought brings chills to your spine, it should and could literally bring chills to Europeans in the next few months.<\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"500\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Zelenskyy tonight: <\/p>\n<p>&#8220;If they want to survive, it is time for the Russian military to flee. Go home\u2026If they do not listen to me, they will deal with our defenders, who will not stop until they liberate everything that belongs to Ukraine.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Says they\u2019re taking Crimea back, too.<\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Angry Staffer \ud83c\udf3b (@Angry_Staffer) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/Angry_Staffer\/status\/1564366733032431617?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">August 29, 2022<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<h3><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">No End in Sight<\/span><\/h3>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">With this month ending, it appears we are about to step into month seven of a war that <a href=\"https:\/\/thepoliticalinsider.com\/the-truth-behind-military-brass-incompetence-and-the-system-that-perpetuates-it\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">military experts claimed<\/a> would be over in 72 hours. But unfortunately, it would appear that not only did we underestimate the Ukrainian\u2019s people resolve, but we also underestimated the Russian government\u2019s stubbornness.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">This is shocking when history should\u2019ve told us that Russia isn\u2019t known for backing down easily. A <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/business\/2022\/aug\/28\/europe-little-option-rescue-consumers-energy-crisis-ukraine-war\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">case in point<\/a> is the 900-day blockade of Leningrad in the 1940s.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">However, there is some speculation that Russia might be amenable to a negotiated end to the war that allows them to retain Crimea and keep the Donbas region. Unfortunately for Putin and possibly more unfortunately for the rest of Europe, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy shows no signs of wanting to deal.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Zelenskyy views the only acceptable end to this war as a complete reclaim of lost territory, including Crimea. From what we can tell, that is also the only satisfactory end to this conflict from the United States perspective. The unfortunate reality is this is unlikely to happen.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><strong>RELATED: <a href=\"https:\/\/thepoliticalinsider.com\/biden-state-dept-refusing-to-cooperate-in-investigation-on-afghanistan-corruption-and-waste\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Biden State Dept. Refusing To Cooperate With Afghanistan Inspector General Review<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<h3><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Digging In<\/span><\/h3>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Barring a Russian regime change or military mutiny, both unlikely to occur, it looks like we are in the beginnings of a protracted conflict in eastern Europe. Added to the pile of evidence that Putin is in it for the long haul, he just ordered an increase of his military by <a href=\"https:\/\/thehill.com\/opinion\/international\/3618725-how-will-the-war-in-ukraine-end\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">137,000 men<\/a> next year.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">That will put his military at 1.15 million soldiers. As senior policy researcher at Rand Corporation, <a href=\"https:\/\/theweek.com\/russo-ukrainian-war\/1016197\/putin-signs-decree-to-increase-size-of-russian-military\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Dara Massicot<\/a> says:<\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">\u201cThis is not a move that you make when you are anticipating a rapid end to your war.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">It\u2019s shaping up to be an icy European winter.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<div>\n<p><strong>Now is the time to support and share the sources you trust.<\/strong><br \/>The Political Insider ranks #3 on <a href=\"https:\/\/blog.feedspot.com\/political_blogs\/\">Feedspot\u2019s<\/a> \u201c100 Best Political Blogs and Websites.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>It\u2019s not just the United States feeling the heat this summer with high utility and gas bills. Our friends across the pond are sweating it out much worse than<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1628068,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1628066","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1628066","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1628066"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1628066\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1628068"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1628066"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1628066"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1628066"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}