Russia cutting off gaa supplies.. How worried should Europeans be?

[Ewetoo]

Russia switched off the gas to Germany on Wednesday, they said it was for maintenance & for 2 days only . Russia announced this morning due to more maintenance needed they won't be switching it on as planned & gave no date for it to be switched on... I find this very scary & the winter is already predicted to be bitterly cold (can't find link to weather prediction)

I agree that the comments about the modern world in the West are becoming so 'me me me'.
The West was never going to stay top dog forever.

We Europeans are totally spoilt. We need to get used to the idea that things have and will continue to change permanently.
Stamping our feet like spoilt brats will not change the new status quo.

We are at war with Russia albeit thankfully a cold one. We should expect this and get our economies on a war footing. Our grandparents had to put up with much more during WWII yet from the other thread we have mumsnetters unable to even shift their cooling outside of 5 till 8pm.

Putin is within his rights to turn off the taps Europe got itself in this situation they made themselves dependent on Russia. It will be painful but having the heating lower and paying higher prices is minimal compared to the last hot war generation.

We need to organise. Make signs and go to government buildings. Protest in person. It's only September 3rd and I'm indoors with a wooly hat on.

Well said@FreddyHG

A few final points before i go

Anyone who thinks covering the country with wind farms is a permanent answer to the energy issue is not dealing with reality. That seems to include large swathes of our brain dead political class

I am all for lower levels of pollution but right now the best way of achieving that is development of nuclear (this takes time though) and gas while we do it.

The biggest threat from Russia is if Putin's head explodes and he launches a tactical nuke at the Ukraine or even worse somewhere in Nato. The demographics in Russia are horrible and fighting pointless wars is just making things worse.

China is a different issue - Xi does not get to make decisions arbitrarily - any moves made are discussed endlessly at top end of the CCP. He starts behaving erratically he will be gone very quickly (although is replacement will be likely very similar). They play a longer game but they have significant underlying issues - although millions have been lifted out of the sort of abject poverty they suffered under Mao there are still hundreds of millions in that boat in rural areas. The economy needs to keep growing to avoid unrest and that depends on the West - if the US instigated a full on economic war with China the US would win although my guess is China would respond miltarily.

In the medium term I am more worried about China

Protest against what?
There is no universal law that those in the UK must have heating and power just because they demand it. Theses attitudes are at best embarrassing.

The west has become too self centered we demand living standards that require high energy usage funded by gadgets and resources made in countries with terrible rights records. We look the other way when buying Saudi oil we buy russian fertilizer and buy consumer electronics from China. The east has dined out on higher living standards and now it's time to pay the price.

Sorry meant west not east above.

We Europeans are totally spoilt. We need to get used to the idea that things have and will continue to change permanently.
Stamping our feet like spoilt brats will not change the new status quo.

Let's be honest though, the rich will certainly see their status quo be maintained.

Protest about the fact that energy companies are making record profits whilst prices are projected to reach 50% of state pension making the most vulnerable in our society incredibly at risk. That.

People will NEED to heat their homes in winter. It's not about driving an SUV or having hot water 24/7.

@Fallonangel - exactly why we should be taking care of ourselves as best we can

I think that this winter will be tough but not catastrophic for Europe. Next winter will be crunch time.

There is no universal law that those in the UK must have heating and power just because they demand it. Theses attitudes are at best embarrassing

Im not sure why it's embarrassing, without heat or power people would struggle to access food or clean water. I don't understand the sanctimonious attitude some take tbh.

20,000 people in UK die from hypothermia.
pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/12576771/

@Haahaha - yep cold has always killed more people than heat.

There's personal responsibility, being careful with energy. And then there's biological homeostasis. The human body needs to be kept warm in winter, above 12c. If the energy companies have massive profits and people are being fleeced, (pun intended) what the fuck is going on?

And plenty of people die drom Hypothermia in many other countries. Its a terrible thing but it doesn't make it any worse because its happening to UK citizens.
Why do some feel we are so 'special'. We have just experienced a higher standard of living at the expense of others. Now the table is turning.

Not wanting to die of hypothermia isn't entitled though.

@Fallonangel will you gratefully embrace dying from hypothermia?

And still it persists …. The govt should have / could have … successive govt have tried address the energy crisis but to no avail because the our great British public won’t. Insulate your house - nope for some reason we believe the govt (other people) must pay. Invest in nuclear power - well the govt came up with that plan and the backers but the left wing media and greens took that down. Renewables …. Every wind farm, solar farm or hydro scheme is met by local protest. We all want it but not in our neighbourhood
We as a nation are not prepared to sacrifice or compromise and we threaten to kick out any govt that does.

No because I took some personal responsibility and made lifestyle changes.
I put off my expensive summer holiday so that I had a cash reserve.
I shower at my gym and my last months bill for gas and electric was £38.46.

Yes we do need to be worried. And like with Covid we can't rely on our government because they will be doing too little, too late.

Having read some reports this morning they want us to be going into cold offices/schools, going home to have cold dinners just so we use minimum electricity.

I'm not sure how we can manage power cuts as unlike in the 1970's everything needs electricity to use.

No because I took some personal responsibility and made lifestyle changes. I put off my expensive summer holiday so that I had a cash reserve. I shower at my gym and my last months bill for gas and electric was £38.46.

Thought so, you're not going to die of hypothermia but it's ok for others too.
If only they had taken more personal responsibility...

tbh the bigger issue is not even about personal use it's going to be the impact on businesses & employment & the impact on schools & hospitals.

Plug in electric heater sales will go up

but most of our electricity is made with gas…