As Electricity Costs Spike, Renewable Energy Divestments Emerge as Theme of Midterms

Comment

Comment by Willem Post 1 hour ago

Europe’s Decline from a Lofty Perch

https://willempost.substack.com/p/europes-decline-from-a-lofty-perc...

 

Introduction

Europe in Conflict for about 500 years While Building its Empires

Major European Empires: The colonial empires of Europe, started to emerge about 1400, about the end of the WMA. At their peak around 1914, they controlled about 80% to 90% of the world’s land area, if including formal colonies, indirect spheres of influence, and settler areas. The British Empire held nearly 25% of the world’s total land area in the 1920s. For comparison, European nations, excluding European Russia, have a combined area of about 4.16%

 

British Empire: The largest in history, covering ~35.5 million km² (approx. 24% of Earth’s land area) at its height.

French Empire: The second largest, controlling ~10 million km² in 1914, primarily in Africa and Southeast Asia.

Spanish/Portuguese/Others: Earlier waves of colonization in the 15th - 18th centuries saw huge portions of the Americas under Iberian control. Belgium, Germany, Italy, etc., joined later in the Africa area.

Excluded Areas: Only a few areas, such as Japan and Thailand, maintained independence through modernization or diplomatic buffering.

 

The Roman Warm Period (250 BC – AD 400): The RWP was, on average, about 2 C warmer than at present, but CO2 ppm was much lower than today. It was a worldwide period of relatively warm, stable, humid conditions, including Europe and the Mediterranean. That period saw longer growing seasons, good crops, better living conditions and economic and population growth. It coincided with the rise and fall of the Roman Empire. In AD 43, the Romans invaded Britain primarily for its minerals, such as tin (to make bronze), gold, silver, lead, and iron, and for providing slaves and taxes. Britain’s fertile lands produced grain, cattle, leather, and wool. The Eastern part of the Roman Empire broke away, because of the decadence and corruption prevailing in Rome. It became the Orthodox-Christian Byzantine Empire, with capital in Constantinople, lasting from 330 to 1353, ultimately taken over by the expanding Islamic Ottoman Empire.

 

The Cold Dark Ages (400 - 800): The CDA was, on average, about 2 C colder than at present, but CO2 ppm was about the same as during the RWP. The onset of the colder temperatures led to shorter growing seasons, less crops, more famines, more diseases, social-economic instability, migrations, invasions of barbarians, and economic decline. As a result, the Western Roman Empire fell in 476 when the last emperor, Romulus Augustulus, was deposed by the Germanic chieftain Odoacer.

 

The Warm Middle Ages (800 – 1400): The WMA was, on average, about 2 C warmer than at present, but CO2 ppm was about the same as during the RWP. That period saw longer growing seasons, good crops, better living conditions and economic and population growth. Much of the excess wealth accrued to 1) the top 0.5% (mostly royalty and titled people), who build opulent palaces and had control of armed forces, and 2) the Roman Catholic Church for its self-aggrandizement by building Cathedrals, Monasteries, Chapels, etc.

 

Crusades (1095 – 1291): Pope Urban II initiated the First Crusade to reclaim the Holyland from Turkish Muslim rule. People participated for remission of sins, doing penance, etc., to have a clean slate to go to Heaven. Because fighting was involved many knights and royals participated. A side benefit was the violence of knights was redirected towards a common enemy, instead of to various fiefdoms fighting each other in Europe. The costly, distant Crusades were ended after the fall of Acre to the Ottoman Empire in 1291.

 

The Little Ice Age (1300 - 1850): The LIA was, on average, about 2 C colder than at present, but CO2 ppm was about the same as during the RWP. That period saw shorter growing seasons, less crops, more famines, more diseases, social-economic instability, migrations, and economic decline.

After the Crusades, European kings and nobles shifted their focus on internal power struggles, territorial disputes (e.g., the Hundred Years' War, a conflict between England and France, 1337 - 1453), and national interests rather than a distant religious war, and less wealth that could be extracted by the elites, especially after the Black Death,

 

The Black Death was a devastating plague that struck Europe between 1346 and 1353. Before the Black Death hit in 1346, Europe's population, excluding European Russia, was estimated at 75 to 80 million people. After the Black Death subsided the population was about 35 to 50 million, i.e., about 25–50 million deaths. Because of the sheer scale of the death toll and subsequent secondary waves in the late 1300s, it took centuries for some regions to return to their 1346 population levels.

                                                

The prosperity of the WMA could no longer be maintained. The elites had to find other sources of revenues to fight wars and maintain lifestyles. Luckily, in southern Europe, ocean-crossing ships had been developed by Portugal and Spain in the early 1300s, which enabled exploration and colonization of distant lands. Ships of Portugal and Spain sailed down the west coast of Africa, around the Cape of Good Hope, to India and Indonesia and back again to trade in luxury goods and eventually establish permanent colonies. The spices, tea, silk, porcelain, etc., were sold at huge mark-ups to upper class European people. The wealth extracted from these colonies mostly accrued to 1) the top 0.5%, 2) the Roman Catholic Church, and 3) business entities provided upscale goods and services, including weaponry for fighting. Almost all other people continued living in small towns and villages and were tied to and worked on the large estates of nobles.

First Columbus Voyage August 3, 1492: Almost 200 years into the LIA, the eastward trade was long, risky, expensive and often not sufficiently profitable. The elites, lacking sufficient domestic income because of bad times, needed additional income from faraway lands. Accordingly, King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella of Spain financed and commissioned Columbus to make a westward voyage to India and Indonesia, promising him rewards if successful.

Columbus departed Spain with three ships—the Santa Maria, Pinta, and Niña—aiming to find a westward sea route to India and Indonesia. He spent about 33 days at sea, departing from the Canary Islands on September 6, 1492. He reached San Salvador, an island in the Bahamas, on October 12, 1492. He firmly believed until his death that he had reached the East Indies, leading to the misnaming of the indigenous population as “Indians”. Columbus had underestimated the Earth’s circumference and was unaware of the existence of the Americas.

First Circumnavigation of the Earth: The first circumnavigation of the Earth (1519–1522) was a Spanish expedition led by Portuguese navigator Ferdinand Magellan to find a westward route to the Spice Islands. While Magellan was killed in the Philippines in 1521, the ship Victoria, commanded by Juan Sebastián Elcano, completed the voyage. Five ships departed from Spain, only one, Victoria, came back. Only 18 of the original 270 men survived. 

https://origins.osu.edu/milestones/magellan-circumnavigation-earth

 

The Inquisition: The Spanish Inquisition was established in 1478 by Ferdinand II of Aragon and Isabella I of Castile. Pope Sixtus IV issued a papal bull on November 1, 1478, granting the monarchs the authority to appoint inquisitors, formally initiating the tribunal to maintain Catholic orthodoxy in their kingdoms. The Spanish elites aimed to maintain law and order and punish heretics. Historical accounts describe extreme torture methods during this period, such as iron cages, breaking wheels, quartering, and inquisition techniques.

Expulsion of the Jews in 1492: The Jews went to many places, including Paris, Antwerp and Amsterdam. The wealth left behind by the Jews was confiscated and distributed.

Ending of Islamic Rule in 1492 and Expulsion of Muslims: In 711, Islam armies crossed the Strait of Gibraltar and established al Andalus. Islam rule ended on January 2, 1492, when Boabdil, the emir of Granada, surrendered to the Catholic Monarchs Ferdinand and Isabella. The remaining Muslim population, known as Moriscos, (Muslims at home, Christians in public) were systematically expelled by decrees between 1609 and 1614, marking the final expulsion of the 800-year Muslim presence. The wealth left behind by the Moriscos was confiscated and distributed.

Martin Luther and the Roman Catholic Church: Martin Luther, a Roman Catholic monk and professor, posted his 95 theses against Church corruption and spiritual abuses in 1517. His ideas were spread with the printing press; Gutenberg, 1440, Mainz, Germany. After some threats and trials, he was ex-communicated by Pope Leo X in 1521.

 

Severe Conditions During the Little Ice Age

As the climate was getting colder (the low-point was about 1700), Europe experienced a 500-year history marked by nearly continuous conflict, transforming from a medieval continent into a global power through industrial-scale violence, while spreading the Christian faith under the leadership of the Roman Catholic Church. These 500 years witnessed numerous wars of religion, imperial and Roman Catholic expansion to the “New World”, and ideological conflicts that culminated in the unmatched bloodshed of World War I and World War II. Historical data indicates a near-constant state of war, with nations and states frequently in conflict over control of territory, resources.

Empires at war in Europe, often were also at war in North America and other parts of the world, resulting in significant casualties in colonies and wars between tribes of indigenous populations. European elites had exploited their colonial empires to enrich themselves beyond anything imagined.

 

Colonization and the Great Dying in the New World: European colonization resulted in the “Great Dying,” where introduced infectious diseases (smallpox, measles, influenza, etc.) killed up to 90% of the indigenous population in North and South America, amounting to roughly 55 million deaths by 1600. This rapid depopulation was so significant it caused vast areas of agricultural land to be abandoned and reforested. This die-off took place before Roanoke Colony 1585, Jamestown Colony 1607, and Plymouth Colony 1620.

 

President Andrew Jackson (1829 – 1837) significantly expanded US territory while orchestrating the systematic removal of native tribes, using the Indian Removal Act of 1830. His policies, aimed at moving tribes west of the Mississippi, directly led to the Trail of Tears, the forced removal of Cherokee, Muscogee Creek, Seminole, Choctaw and Chickasaw tribes, with deaths estimates of about 4,000 Cherokee and up to 15,000 total deaths overall. All these deaths came after their populations had been diminished by up to 90% prior to 1600.

 

US Civil War (1861 – 1865) This die-off was continued by exterminating native tribes and driving the remainder onto reservations to clear the land for newcomers. Mass-killing of bison (a bounty was offered for a skull) by the US Army, etc., deprived millions of indigenous people of their main sustenance, such as the Blackfeet, Sioux, Cheyenne and Comanche tribes.

 

1492 – 1588 Spanish Empire & The Armada: The Spanish Crown relied heavily on indigenous slave labor and massive extraction of silver and gold to fund its European wars. The failure of the Spanish Armada in 1588, which required almost all 100-year-old trees in Spain, marked the beginning of a slow decline of the Spanish Colonial Empire, allowing the British and Dutch Colonial Empires to emerge, because they had access to suitable trees, etc., from Norway, Sweden, Poland and Russia.

 

1492–1559 Italian Wars: A series of major conflicts involving France, Spain, and Austria that marked the end of the Middle Ages and the beginning of intense rivalry for European hegemony.

1562 – 1598 French Wars of Religion: A period of civil bloodshed driven by religious conflict.

1568 – 1648 Eighty Years’ War: The Protestant Dutch Revolt against Roman Catholic Spanish rule, part of a wider conflict involving religious and political independence. The Dutch won.

1618 – 1648 Thirty Years’ War: Arguably one of the most destructive conflicts in European history, causing immense population loss (over 50% in parts of Germany) and devastating central Europe.

1702 – 1713 War of Spanish Succession: A major continental war fought to prevent the consolidation of European power.

1756 – 1763 Seven Years’ War: A global conflict involving all major European powers, leading to significant shifts in imperial power.

1789 – 1815 French Revolution & Napoleonic Wars: Unprecedented continental warfare aimed at spreading revolutionary ideals and establishing French dominance, ending with the defeat of Napoleon at Waterloo in 1815.

 

1812 – 1814 Napoleon’s Russian Campaign: Russia was selling trees, tar, hemp, ropes, etc., to build British and Dutch fleets. Napoleon wanted to prevent that to isolate/weaken Britain. He set up the “Continental System”—blocking any European trade with Britain. But trade took place in defiance of the Continental System. Hence Napoleon’s Russian Campaign. The campaign was a disaster; of the initial 600,000-man French Army, plus 85,000 non-French, about 20,000 bedraggled French troops returned to the Prussia/Poland border. Before being allowed to enter France, the troops were fed and refurbished with uniforms and armaments for face-saving reasons. This massive loss of life, weaponry, particularly horses, shattered French for generations and marked the beginning of a slow decline of the French Colonial Empire and made space for the rise of the German and Italian Colonial Empires.This was the first attempt by a major European power to control the resources of Russia. 

 

1853 – 1856 Crimean War: A major conflict that broke the post-Napoleonic peace, highlighting the brutal nature of modern warfare.

 1862 – 1871 Wars for German Unification: Fought by Bismarck, these wars resulted in the unification of Germany and shifted the balance of power in Europe from France to Germany.

 

Comment by Willem Post 1 hour ago

The reason costs are ballooning is because the focus has been on the cost of Offshore wind electricity, say 12 c/kWh, after the equivalent of 50% subsidies.

But then there are the A to Z cost (windmill to land fill) almost all folks ignore, because those are about 11 c/kWh.

The European elites have screwed themselves by going hog-wild for wind, solar, batteries, etc.

They closed their near-zero-CO2 nuclear plants.

Because of grossly too many rules and regulations emanating from Brussels, and a lack of experience, all recent nuclear plants have huge turnkey costs/installed MW, and take 10 plus years to build.

They encouraging the displacement of native populations with 64.2 million unvetted, uneducated, untrained dregs from mostly Islamic Third World countries by end 2025 (not counting their children and grandchildren born in Europe). 
How will Europe ever get rid of these people, before its rapidly growing population is greater than the shrinking population of natives?

And more recently:

Blaming Evil Russia, the invader of Ukraine, which wants to sell low-cost fossil fuels and other resources much needed by Europe, but Europe imposed sanctions so Russia cannot profit from them; the sanctions back-fired on Europe

After NATO was established, European elites saved themselves $trillions by spending only 0.5 to 1.5% of GDP on their own defense, while the US spent about 4 to 5% to keep the peace in the world.
That grossly inequitable situation came to a screeching halt in 2025, when evil Trump required Europe to spend up to 5% of GDP for their own defense, because the US, with a balance-of-payments net outflow, aka giant sucking sound, of more than $1.11 trillion at end 2025, was “busy elsewhere”. 

Trump imposed tariffs on European imports to reduce the US trade deficit, will reduce US troops and their costs in Europe, requires Europe pay for its own defense, no longer wants to pay for Ukraine, but will provide US weaponry, if Europe pays for them.

“You’ve spent a lot of time disparaging wind and solar. The market doesn’t seem to agree with you,” Sen. Angus King (I-Maine) said.

King noting the U.S. Energy Information Administration projects a 51 percent increase in solar, 28 percent boost in battery storage, and 11 percent hike in wind, and 6 percent increase in natural gas by 2030.

“In other words, the market is saying solar, wind, and storage are where the action is,” he said.

Texas, he said, has gone from 2 percent solar energy generation in 2020 to 14 percent in 2025 with battery storage doubling in the past year-and-a-half.

“That’s the market telling us these technologies work and are economic,” King said. “We’re not talking about Texas as being a blue state and lots of climate concerns. This is pure economics.”

Angus King is bullshitting again. He is talking about projects that were approved before Trump became president. Those projects have the full complement of subsidies; the equivalent of about 50% subsidies.