via naturalnews:
As bad as Europe’s energy shortage was in the wake of sanctions the EU imposed on Russia following the invasion of Ukraine, it is about to enter a crisis mode.
This week, Russian authorities completely shut down the Nord Stream pipeline indefinitely, allegedly for “leaks” in the system, though many believe it’s just President Vladimir Putin’s latest measure to punish his European neighbors for their sanctions.
The outage could take a few days, a few weeks, or months — though any disruption to Europe’s natural gas supplies is fatalistic at this point, as winter rapidly approaches.
A photo of the alleged oil leak that was posted online looks minuscule and gives more weight to theories that Putin is behind this latest move.
German Doom: The AdBlue production in Germany has been halted. Without AdBlue cars and trucks stop to drive. Without trucks there is no food!
The AdBlue production in Germany has been halted. Without AdBlue cars and Trucks stopp to drive. Without trucks there is no food in the supermarkets. This has happened this week. Socialism and ideology ALWAYS lead to poverty and chaos.
— Marcus Brumme (@MBMarcusBrumme) September 6, 2022
6 In 10 UK Manufacturers At Risk Of Closure, Lobby Group Warns As Energy Prices Soar
That’s a big problem…
Job loss will be at a level not sustainable…
MakeUK, a manufacturing lobby organization in the U.K., announced on Saturday that 42 percent of manufacturers have seen their electricity bills rise by 100 percent in the past 12 months, and 32 percent have also seen their gas bill double.
The rise in prices has seen 13 percent of manufacturers already reduce their hours of operation, and 12 percent have been forced to make job cuts as a direct result of increased energy bills. The majority of businesses warn that if bills continue to increase this year and rise by over 50 percent as expected, closures and redundancies “will become inevitable.”
🚨BREAKING🚨
Out of control energy bills are now business threatening for 60% of manufacturers.
We're calling on Government to look at introducing an Industry Price Cap to freeze energy bills at an agreed rate. pic.twitter.com/Xhto87bZVL
— Make UK Campaigns (@MakeUKCampaigns) September 3, 2022
Energy has become so expensive in Germany that the (soon-to-be former) economic powerhouse of Europe is now seeing a manufacturing shutdown that threatens to collapse the nation – and eventually the entire continent.
Calling the situation “alarming,” economic minister Robert Habeck announced that while industry has been working over the past several months to reduce gas consumption, including by switching to alternative fuels like oil, many companies have just “stopped production altogether.”
“It’s not good news,” he said, “because it can mean that the industries in question aren’t just being restructured but are experiencing a rupture – a structural rupture, one that is happening under enormous pressure.” (Related: Germany is about to lose at least half of its crop harvest as well due to drought.)
Year-ahead electricity prices in Europe soared to record highs this past week, only to drop by half not long after. Still, the price is obscenely high – see the graph at this link – and manufacturers are responding by closing up shop.
“Europe is facing economic devastation and depression at a scale that will make 2008 seems [sic] like a walk in the park,” reports Zero Hedge about the situation.
In August German economic confidence was already the lowest since 2008, even before this latest gas cutoff. Now consider this chart in the context of an ECB STILL planning to raise interest rates on Thursday. It’s totally ludicrous.
Central banks can’t print energy.