With an energy cost crisis now striking Europe and to a lesser extent the U.S., some cracks have begun to appear in the "net zero" utopian dreams being pursued almost universally by Western politicians. Nevertheless, at this writing, the rapid elimination of use of fossil fuels, supposedly to fight "climate change," remains official government policy throughout Europe, at the federal level in the U.S., in most blue American states, and as well in Canada, Australia and New Zealand. Here in the U.S., although President Biden has ordered some temporary measures like release of some oil from the nation's strategic reserves, the full federal bureaucracy remains under orders from the top to force reduction in production and use of fossil fuels in every way it can devise. Meanwhile, states like New York and California have rapidly approaching legal deadlines for shuttering all fossil fuel power plants, prohibiting all automobiles other than electric ones, banning natural gas for heating and cooking, and otherwise quickly upending the last century of energy progress that has made our lives affordable and enjoyable.

We are supposed to believe that the official fossil fuel suppression policies will stop "climate change" and "save the planet" through the mechanism of rapid aggregate reductions of emissions of CO2 and other "greenhouse gases." The rescue of the planet's climate will make worthwhile our sacrifices in the form of higher energy prices, increased taxes to support subsidies to renewable energy, and restrictions on lifestyle.

But in fact, that narrative is all so much hogwash. In the West, twenty plus years and trillions of dollars of subsidies for "green energy" schemes have achieved only some marginal reductions in the share of final energy consumption derived from fossil fuels. Meanwhile, in the rest of the world, fossil fuel usage continues to soar. Leading the way is China, which has used the last two years of Covid distraction to have its emissions leapfrog to new records. In the overall picture, the Western obsession with decreasing emissions, despite enormous costs, does not have any impact that is even noticeable.

Two recently-issued reports paint the picture of a real world of ever-increasing fossil fuel use and CO2 emissions (although there was a minor Covid-induced downward blip in 2020). In March, the UN's International Energy Agency (IEA) issued its annual Global Energy Review: CO2 Emissions in 2021. Also, the Global Warming Policy Foundation has released its Briefing Paper 58 titled "China's Energy Dream," written by Patricia Adams. (Full disclosure: I am the President of the American Friends of the GWPF.). Both reports underscore the complete absurdity of the ongoing green energy foolishness of the West.

The French weather forecaster Météo France recorded temperatures of -9C on Sunday night, the coldest April night on record since 1947.

Overnight frosts were seen across almost all of the France, with the exception of the Paris area and the northern and Mediterranean coasts, with the coldest temperatures recorded in the Champagne area.

While Champagne went down to -9C parts of the south west also recorded temperatures of -5C, leaving wine producers very worried about frost damage to their vines.

It's spring time. However, unexpected snow hit Croatia on Saturday.

In Korça Region during the night there was rain and snow.

Ora News journalist Iris Rrezhda, suggests that at altitudes +900 there was snowfall extending to all road axes accompanied by temperatures of -3 degrees.

The thickness of the snow varies from 5 cm to 20 cm.

During the night, the Winter Maintenance Contractors worked during the night, where they cleaned and salted the roads.


(Translated by Google)

Spring may have been coming into bloom with temperatures hitting 20 degrees Celsius last weekend, but the Czech Republic will see a last blast of winter over the coming days.

Fifteen centimeters of snow were reported in the Jeseníky Mountains this morning. And throughout the country, cold temperatures leading to ice and snow are expected over the weekend, before temperatures rise again from the middle of next week.

The cold spell is being caused by air currents from the north and northeast.

"It will bring significantly below-average temperatures and the wind will lower the apparent temperature. Beware of icing in the morning, snowdrifts forming in the mountains, and snowfall in the lowlands," meteorologist Dagmar Honsová told Novinky.cz.

Despite the April Fool's Day jokes about it having snowed on Benidorm's beaches, some of the country did wake up to a blanket of snow this morning

On April Fool's Day it's sometimes difficult to tell what is real and what is fake, but despite numerous jokes on social media about it having snowed in Benidorm there is actually a lot of snow in northern and some parts of eastern Spain and the Balearic Islands at the moment.

The Asturias, Cantabria, the Basque Country, La Rioja and, especially, Navarra woke up this morning under a blanket of snow and Spanish prime minister Pedro Sánchez had to cancel his planned visit to the National Renewable Energy Centre in Sarriguren, Navarra, today.

The snowflakes fall on a northern part of the country this Friday, in Ile-de-France but also in Normandy, and in the Massif Central, indicates Météo-France, which has placed 22 departments on snow and ice vigilance.

(Translated by Google)

A blast of icy Arctic air has seen snow blanket parts of Britain, with flurries reported as far south as London, prompting warnings of travel disruption.

After overnight temperatures dropped as low as -6C in Scotland, much of the UK remained in sub-zero conditions on Thursday morning, with the mercury forecast to sit at 0C in St Alban's, -3C in Derry and and -2C in Glasgow.

According to the German Weather Serivce (DWD), both high and lower-altitude regions saw heavy snow, with parts of the motorway in North Rhine-Westphalia needing to be de-iced.

On Friday afternoon, more snowfall was expected in central and southern Germany, particularly in the regions surrounding the Alps. In the northern half of the country, temperatures in the low single-digits and windstorms were forecast.

Slippery roads are also possible again due to the snow and ice. A spokesperson for the German Weather Service told DPA that people in the coldest areas should drive with caution.

In Baden-Württemberg, fresh snow fell in the Black Forest and the Swabian Alps on Friday morning and is set to continue into the weekend.

Icy conditions across Scotland are causing travel chaos for parts of the country after heavier than expected snowfall.

A yellow weather warning remained in place throughout much of the east coast and north on Thursday morning.

A lorry crashed off the A9 near Aviemore at around 5.20am. The condition of the driver is unknown.