Tag: Europe

Brace Yourself: Food Shortages Will Be a Reality in the West This Winter

Stacey Lennox – September 07, 2022

Because most people don’t know a farmer personally anymore, everyone should realize that they don’t make piles of money producing our food. A good year can be followed by three bad ones, and 2022 has been a burden. Between record heat waves in the U.S. and abroad, droughts in the middle of the country, fertilizer shortages, and rising costs for just about every farm input, many American farms are on the brink. Everyone will feel the pinch in continued food price increases and shortages at the store.

As bad as the agricultural outlook is in America, it is far worse in Europe. The dedication to a green energy suicide pact on the continent is colliding with the news Russia will not ship any fossil fuels until the West lifts sanctions. The skyrocketing energy prices have farmers leaving crops in the fields to die.

Norway’s largest vegetable producer is also considering storing the vegetables on the field for as long as possible beyond the autumn. It will be too expensive to store and cool the vegetables in the usual way. One carrot producer is already beyond the appropriate harvest time and believes his harvest will only be good for “pig fodder.”

Nearly every Western nation is proposing ways to control nitrogen emissions. Nitrogen is essential to plant growth. Even if a grower uses hydroponic systems, the plant food in the water contains nitrogen. I plant peas every fall in my own garden to nitrogen-fix the soil. Elites in Davos and the EU believe they have the solution to make agriculture more environmentally friendly. Their arrogance leads to a 21st century Lysenkoism that is anti-science and pro-scarcity.

And American farmers won’t escape the green power grab. The “Inflation Reduction Act” puts farmers under the control of the EPA to govern nitrogen emissions. Additionally, it allocates $20 billion to fund “climate-smart agricultural practices.” News from Europe helps us to predict how bureaucrats will use this money. Regulators will spend it reducing meat production further, especially beef, and lowering food output by restricting fertilizer and energy from fossil fuels.

Farmers are the most conservation-minded people alive because their livelihood depends on it. Yet, no Western government seems at all interested in listening to them.

https://pjmedia.com

Europe has now entered its worst drought in 500 years

– August 28, 2022

Europe is facing its worst drought in 500 years, with two-thirds of the continent under a “warning” or “alert,” a study by the European Commission has discovered.

Preliminary data from the European Drought Observatory found that 47% of Europe is under warning conditions, meaning the soil has a clear deficit of moisture. An additional 17% of the continent is in a state of alert, meaning vegetation is under stress.

Across Europe, hot, dry conditions have threatened livestock and increased crop failure. According to the report, grain yields are expected to fall 16% below the average for the past five years. Forecasts for soybean and sunflower yields are also set to fall by 15% and 12%, respectively.

“The severe drought affecting many regions of Europe since the beginning of the year has been further expanding and worsening as of early August,” the report said.

Countries along Europe’s Mediterranean coast, such as Italy, France, and Spain, are likely to see warmer and drier conditions until November. Mariya Gabriel, research commissioner for the European Union, said the ongoing heat waves and water shortages have created “unprecedented stress on water levels in the entire EU.”

Gabriel added: “We are currently noticing a wildfire season sensibly above the average and an important impact on crop production. Climate change is undoubtedly more noticeable every year.” The report also warned that most of Europe’s rivers have seen a drop in water level, with riverbeds in Germany and France drying up.

Sections of Germany’s River Rhine have completely dried up, disrupting shipping in the country’s most important inland waterway. German officials told CNN on Aug. 12 that levels of water in the river had fallen “exceptionally low.”

Receding water levels have uncovered artifacts from below the depths, including shipwrecks, world war relics and “hunger stones” — rocks placed throughout the centuries to mark water levels during historic droughts — inscribed with warnings to future generations. (Yahoo News)

https://endtimeheadlines.org

NUKE ALERT Europe’s biggest nuclear power plant ‘DISCONNECTED from power grid’ as Russian troops mass amid Ukraine disaster fears

 / – August 25, 2022

EUROPE’S biggest nuclear power plant was disconnected from the power grid for the first time ever amid fears of a Chernobyl-style disaster, Ukraine’s state energy firm said.

Nuclear agency Energoatom said fire damage to overhead power lines caused the last two reactors at the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP) to be cut off.

An energy official who declined to be identified told Reuters that the two reactors that had been disconnected were being powered by diesel generators.

Each power unit that includes a reactor, a cooling system and other equipment has three Soviet-era diesel generators that “are not able to work for weeks”, the source said.

It comes amid looming fears the site could be the scene of a devastating nuclear disaster as both Ukraine and Russia accuse each other of putting the plant at risk.

Satellite images show Putin’s forces massing at the site amid growing calls for Zaporizhzhia to become a demilitarised zone.

Ukraine has accused Russia of torturing Ukrainian nuclear workers at the plant, further compromising safety at the plant.

Energoatom said the plant has now been disconnected from the network for the “first time in its history” after a fire at ash pits close to the facility damaged incoming power lines.

It is also reported communication channels around the plant have gone dark – with NetBlocks reporting a massive dip in the region.

Bringing the plant totally offline could potentially compromise safety systems and lead to disaster – with the two reactors currently being powered by backup diesel generators, officials told Reuters.

https://www.the-sun.com

Driest July in memory imperils Europe’s crops

Patrick GALEY – August 3, 2022

As much of Europe bakes in a third heatwave since June, fears are growing that extreme drought driven by climate change in the continent’s breadbasket nations will dent stable crop yields and deepen the cost-of-living crisis.

The European Commission on Wednesday urged EU member states to re-use treated urban wastewater as irrigation on the continent’s parched farms, after France and parts of England saw their driest July on record.

In France, where an intense drought has hammered farmers and prompted widespread limits on freshwater use, there was just 9.7 millimetres (0.38 inches) of rain last month, Meteo-France said.

That was 84 percent down on the average levels seen for July between 1991 and 2022, making it the driest month since March 1961, the agency added.

The southwestern region of Gironde, already devastated by last month’s wildfires, saw a maximum temperature of 39.6 degrees Celsius (103 degrees Fahrenheit) on Wednesday, with Meteo-France predicting a peak on Thursday.

Animals, including lions and monkeys, evacuated two weeks ago due to the blazes there returned to their zoo on Wednesday.

Farmers nationwide are reporting difficulties in feeding livestock because of parched grasslands, while irrigation has been banned in large areas of the northwest and southeast due to freshwater shortages.

Environment Minister Christophe Bechu said July’s rainfall represented “just 12 percent of what’s needed”.

https://www.seeddaily.com

Great Reset: Economically Crippled Germany Pushes ‘Climate Club’ Global Tax Scheme at G7

Peter Caddle – June 26, 2022

Germany is aiming to found a global “climate club” taxation scheme designed to force countries worldwide to adopt a hardcore green agenda.

Seemingly unhappy with just destroying its own economy, eco-crazy Germany is now reportedly aiming to found a so-called “climate club”, a group that would punish countries not perceived as green enough.

The country is pushing this next element of its climate Great Reset agenda despite the fact that it is already facing economic collapse, a situation which is due in part to its obsession with its own green agenda.

According to a report by public broadcaster Deutsche Welle, the German government will push for the genesis of the “climate club” at the latest meeting of the G7 in Bavaria, Germany, seemingly in the hopes of onboarding some of the other member countries into the new scheme.

The plan was originally the brainchild of eco-zealot American Professor William Nordhaus of Yale University, who has argued that the voluntary nature of previous climate agreements has been insufficient in achieving green goals. Under the scheme, member states set extremely aggressive climate targets, while punishing those outside the group by implementing climate tariffs on their goods.

https://www.breitbart.com

Study sounds alarm over antibiotic resistant bacteria

RT – June 30, 2022

A new strain of antibiotic-resistant bacteria found among European pigs is increasingly spreading to humans and causing infections, warn University of Cambridge researchers in a study published on Tuesday.

The new strain of Livestock-associated Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (LA-MRSA) is believed to have emerged among European livestock in the last 50 years due to widespread antibiotic use in farming, leading to concerns that livestock in Europe could become a reservoir of antibiotic-resistant human infections.

“Historically high levels of antibiotic use may have led to the evolution of this highly antibiotic-resistant strain of MRSA on pig farms,” said Dr. Gemma Murrayn who worked on the study, adding that this LA-MRSA is “extremely stable” and has spread across different livestock species.

The strain, called CC398, was found to be the most dominant type found among pigs and other livestock in Europe and a growing cause of MRSA infections in humans, regardless of whether or not they had direct contact with livestock.

The study notes that in the case of Danish pig farms, the proportion of MRSA-positive herds had increased from 5% in 2008 to 90% in 2018.

While the EU has recently banned the use of zinc oxide, which was used to prevent diarrhea in piglets, over its environmental impact and promotion of antibiotic resistance, the Cambridge researchers warn that efforts to reduce the use of antibiotics may only have a limited impact on the spread of the strain due to its increased stability.

https://www.rt.com

Oil Spikes After EU Says Russian Embargo ‘Imminent’ As Germany Drops Opposition

Tyler Durden – April 28, 2022

After throughout the whole month consistently rejecting a proposed European Union ban on Russian oil, but while also walking a delicate tightrope of opposing Putin’s demand of payments in rubles for Russian energy, Germany is now ready to pull the trigger on an embargo.

It’s another major Berlin U-turn happening in tandem with the decision to send heavy weapons to Ukraine. The Wall Street Journal is citing Berlin government officials who say “Germany is now ready to stop buying Russian oil.”

The WSJ underscores that this “clears the way” for a wider EU ban on Russian oil imports, given that Germany’s resistance was the chief holdout to imposing an embargo before this point.

Further the report indicates that an embargo now seen as “imminent” but it remains that no target date has been set yet, or at least hasn’t been disclosed publicly. While events earlier in the week made clear that this was coming, preparing markets, oil began surging on the news.

Which is not good news for President Biden as gas prices at the pump are already on the rise.

Germany appears to have lifted its objection based on prior negotiations to implement a phased-in Russian oil embargo, similar to the phased approach regarding the coal ban.

Additionally, other countries particularly in eastern Europe have lately appeared willing to step up in taking the pressure off Germany supply – for example Poland says it’s ready to supply a German refinery via Gdansk which is owned by Rosneft.

https://www.zerohedge.com

Finland, Sweden could join NATO as soon as this summer: report

– April 11, 2022

Finland and Sweden are poised to join NATO as early as this summer, a move that a US official said stemmed from Russia’s “massive strategic blunder” of invading Ukraine, according to a report published Monday. ​​

Membership of the two Nordic countries in the Atlantic alliance was a “topic of conversation and multiple sessions” last week during meetings of NATO foreign ministers that were attended by representatives from Stockholm and Helsinki, the Times of London reported.

Finland is expected to submit an application in June, with Sweden following soon after, the report said.

The addition of Sweden and Finland would increase the alliance membership to 32 countries — and extend its border with Russia by hundreds of miles.

​​​“How can this be anything but a massive strategic blunder for [Russian President Vladimir] Putin?”​ a​ senior American official ​told the publication.

“Sweden and Finland would be real feathers in ​NATO’s cap as net contributors. They are real players,” a European diplomat ​told the Times, noting that adding both countries would help expand the alliance’s capabilities, including in intelligence gathering and in air power.

Finnish Prime Minister Sanna Marin said it was time for her country to reconsider becoming a NATO member and urged the alliance to consider any potential application “thoroughly but quickly.”

“Russia is not the neighbor we thought it was,” ​Marin said earlier this month, adding: “I think we will have very careful discussions, but we are also not taking any more time than we have to in this process, because the situation is, of course, very severe​.”

Stockholm is following Helsinki’s timetable and is conducting a security policy review that is expected to be concluded by the end of May.

https://nypost.com

Top US general warns that the Potential for ‘significant international conflict’ is increasing, Urges more troops to be deployed

Ricky Scaparo – April 5, 2022

The top US military officer told lawmakers Tuesday that the world is becoming more unstable and the “potential for significant international conflict is increasing, not decreasing.” Chairman of the Joint Chiefs Gen. Mark Milley and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin appeared before the House Armed Services Committee in their first testimony before Congress since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

The two Pentagon leaders said the threats from both Russia and China remain significant, while they defended the US approach to the war and the flow of arms the US is sending to Ukraine. Milley said that Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is “the greatest threat to peace and security of Europe and perhaps the world” in his 42 years serving in the US military, but added it was “heartening” to see the world rally around Ukraine.

“The Russian invasion of Ukraine is threatening to undermine not only European peace and stability but global peace and stability that my parents and a generation of Americans fought so hard to defend,” Milley said.

Milley was asked about the need to reallocate forces to Europe’s eastern flank, where NATO allies are worried that they may be Russia’s next target. “My advice would be to create permanent bases but don’t permanently station (forces), so you get the effect of permanence by rotational forces cycling through permanent bases,” he said.

“I believe that a lot of our European allies, especially those such as the Baltics or Poland and Romania, and elsewhere — they’re very, very willing to establish permanent bases. They’ll build them, they’ll pay for them.” Austin added that he recently visited and spoke with leaders in the Baltics, noting that they made it clear they value U.S. troops there.

https://endtimeheadlines.org

Collapse Incoming: European Nations Start RATIONING Food And Fuel

Arsenio Toledo – April 4th, 2022

Countries all over the world, especially in Europe, have started implementing policies that ration food and fuel.

Europe’s struggles with its food and fuel supplies began after most nations on the continent imposed economic sanctions on Russia following its invasion of Ukraine. This threatened the flow of already-critical commodities in Europe and threatened to collapse already-struggling global supply chains.

As a result, the prices of everything from oil to wheat have soared, leading to multi-decade high inflation rates. Supplies of these essential products have also dwindled after exports from Russia were completely strangled.

In Spain, the country started experiencing sporadic shortages of different products like eggs, milk, and other dairy products almost immediately following the outbreak of the war in Ukraine. In early March, major supermarkets like Mercadona and Makro began rationing sunflower oil.

Spain’s left-wing government even went further and gave stores the option to temporarily impose limits on the number of certain products customers purchase.

In Greece, at least four national supermarket chains have started rationing food products like flour and sunflower oil due to critically low supplies caused by the crippled supply chains coming out of Russia and Ukraine.

The supermarkets claim the current rationing is only a preventive measure that will be rolled back once Greece’s supplies of flour and sunflower oil stabilize. Around 30 percent of Greece’s wheat imports come from Russia and Ukraine.

“The reason for the cap on these products is only precautionary, as our customers are concerned about the war in Ukraine,” said one official from supermarket chain Alfa-Beta Vassilopoulos. “We want to ensure we will be able to serve our customers’ needs in the future too.”

https://www.shtfplan.com