Switzerland has often seemed to me to be an oasis of sanity in the middle of the European desert of common sense.
[You're torturing that metaphor! Ed.] They wisely stayed out of the European Union, and have tight border controls to ensure that the migrant hordes go around them to Germany and France. Very sensible.
The Swiss are likewise sensible about "going green" to save the Earth from the climate "crisis". They don't have a lot of flat land for sprawling solar power arrays, and they don't want to see their lovely mountain landscapes disfigured by forests of windmills. So they're not about to jump on the battery-powered bandwagon.
Instead, they plan to hold in check the demand for electricity generated by thermal (coal, oil, natural gas) stations. First to feel the power pinch will be the owners of Teslas, Volts and other EVs, as Switzerland considers a ban on the use of electric cars for non-essential purposes.
According to a report by Swiss newspaper 20 Minuten, the country's government has drawn up a raft of emergency measures aimed at reducing strain on the power grid for use in emergency scenarios. Besides the prohibition of the use of electric cars for non-essential purposes, measures such as limiting the total speed of cars, reducing the opening hours of shops as well as the amount of heating permitted at nightclubs are also planned.
What, then, is an "essential purpose"? The paper reports that necessary journeys include "professional practice, shopping, visiting the doctor, attending religious events, [and] attending court appointments." Walt wonders what "professions" will be exempted from the ban. Race-car drivers? Escorts doing out-calls? Welfare queens going to collect their cheques? [That only happens in America. Ed.]
The Swiss government appears to be hoping that such measures will allow it to avoid what Zimbabweans call "load shedding: -- cutting off the power to certain customers or geographic areas for hours or even days when electricity becomes scarce. In the Philippines such periods of no electricity were called "brown-outs".
I don't know how to say "load shedding" in German ["Lastabwurf". Ed.] but the Germans had better get used to it, for the Fatherland appears to be in a very rough spot when it comes to the availability of both gas and electricity. German authorities [There's a loaded phrase! Ed.] are said to be actively preparing stages for potential blackouts should things deteriorate.
France too may be facing a hard winter. Its energy network tsar, Xavier Piechaczyk, [There's a real French name for you. Ed.] recently warned that there was a very real threat that blackouts could hit the country. Another government spokesthingy disagreed, saying there should not be a problem so long as the general public heed requests to save energy. However, the official reportedly said he could not rule out load shedding should savings not be made.
The only country where a dearth of electric power may not be a problem is Belgium, where people are expected to be able to warm themselves by bonfires of EVs started by Muslim soccer fans. Walt wonders how long a Tesla would burn.
