Freedom at Risk

There is a natural gas pipeline called Nord Stream 2. This pipeline transports NG from Russia to Europe through Germany. Russia is spending $11B on this project and when it is complete Nord Stream 1 & 2 will transport 11Bcf of gas to Europe. If you do not know what a Bcf is, you just have to believe me that 11 of them are whole lot. Trump shut down this project, not by putting sanctions on Russia, but by putting sanctions on any European company that participated in the construction process, and these sanctions stopped the construction in its tracks. Trump's reason for the sanctions was to prevent the transfer of wealth from Europe to Russia when there was the option of meeting Europe's needs through LNG (liquified natural gas) from friendly countries, including the US. He also did not want Russia to be able to hold the world hostage by controlling Europe's energy supply. Europe has the world's most mature renewable energy system but is still absolutely starving for natural gas. A little side note: On Jan 8, 2021, one month before ERCOT barely avoided a total blackout, Europe had rolling blackouts and ramping up old fossil fuel plants is the only thing that saved their grid, just as fossil fuels, especially natural gas, saved ours. As Biden entered office and started his "reverse anything Trump" agenda, he removed sanctions on Nord Stream and the Democrats even used that awful, racist filibuster method of government, the one they just tried to do away with, to prevent the Senate from passing Ted Cruz's effort to replace those sanctions. So now we have a Europe that is starving for gas and a Russia who is in control of the spigot and an incredibly weak leader of the free world floundering on what to do next. A lack of energy independence makes sovereign nations not so sovereign; it threatens freedom. Europe is in bondage to Russia just as a heroin addict is in bondage to his dealer, so the ultimate sanction of shutting off the gas flow, therefore shutting off revenues to Russia, is impossible, so that only leaves the threat of military force as a solution. A lesson that can be learned, other than don't vote for leaders that hide in basements, is the belief and pursuit of replacing natural gas with windmills and solar panels is a direct attack on energy independence. A nation's freedom is always at risk when they absolutely need another country to provide their main source of energy. As my friend Jerry Cates always says, "Wake Up America!". This is what happens when world leaders allow Greta Thunberg to become their muse.