Scivillage.com Casual Discussion Science Forum

When did that happen liar?

"Germany officially completed its nuclear power phase-out on April 15, 2023, shutting down its last three active reactors: Isar 2, Emsland, and Neckarwestheim 2. Following the 2011 Fukushima disaster, the country moved away from nuclear energy, focusing on renewables, though debate over a potential restart exists due to energy crises.

Status of German Nuclear Plants (As of 2026):

Final Shutdown: The last three reactors (Isar 2, Emsland, Neckarwestheim 2) were closed in April 2023.

Previous Shutdowns: Six other reactors (Brokdorf, Grohnde, Gundremmingen C, etc.) were closed in December 2021.

Decommissioning: All formerly active plants are currently in the process of being dismantled.

Debate & Political Changes: Following the February 2025 election, the incoming leadership (CDU) has discussed a potential, yet challenging, reversal of the phase-out.

Energy Shift: Germany is replacing nuclear (and future coal) capacity with wind, solar, and natural gas as a transition technology."

Published: Jan 15, 2026, 2:09 p.m. MST
To mainstream renewable energy, Germany shut down its last three nuclear power plants in 2023. Just three years later, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz told business leaders it was a “serious strategic mistake,” and the country will rebuild nuclear production.

Merz, having held Germany’s highest political office for less than a year, criticized the previous administration for its highly restrictive energy policies during a publicized address. To counter the policies’ dampening effects on energy production, Germany is now “undertaking the most expensive energy transition in the entire world,” Merz said on Wednesday.

Germany’s energy-production decline accelerated in 2000, as the country began dropping its coal and oil production. By 2024, renewables made up around 65% of the country’s domestic energy.

And while their carbon emissions have dropped at least 32% since 2000, Germany “simply doesn’t have enough energy-generation capacity,” Merz said.
- https://www.deseret.com/u-s-world/2026/0...rich-merz/

Although apparently he's changed his tune since then:

03/11/2026
On Tuesday Chancellor Friedrich Merz, himself a member of the CDU, said previous federal governments had decided to phase out nuclear energy and rolling back that decision was not possible. "I regret this," he said, "but it is the way it is, and we are now concentrating on the energy policy we have."
- https://www.dw.com/en/germany-nuclear-po...a-76305267

Might be expedient that winter is ending, bringing lower energy demands. I wonder if the current tact will hold as they face shortages next winter?

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So Europe was zero concern about rising oil prices? Okay, then no need for them to get involved.

Europe is deeply concerned about rising oil and gas prices caused by the escalating Middle East conflict in early 2026, as they threaten to worsen inflation, trigger economic stagnation, and increase fiscal burdens on governments already dealing with high debt. While physical supply is currently secure, the surge in costs is raising fears of a severe economic impact, prompting emergency meetings and potential price interventions.
- Google AI

The surge in energy prices triggered by the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran is putting European governments under pressure to help households and businesses, but strained finances in some major economies mean their firepower is limited.
That makes it unlikely ​they will match the broad support provided after Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine three years ago, when subsidies and other assistance ran into the hundreds of billions of ‌euros.
- https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/...026-03-13/

Quote:So Europe was zero concern about rising oil prices? Okay, then no need for them to get involved.

No one ever said that. They just don't agree with attacking Iran to open the strait. They believe in opening talks with Iran. Wow! What a concept eh?

"Indian foreign minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar has hailed direct talks with Iran as the most effective ​way to restart shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, in ‌an interview with the Financial Times published on Sunday. U.S. President Donald Trump on Saturday called on nations to send warships to keep the Strait of Hormuz open for ​shipping as Iranian forces respond to U.S. and Israeli attacks on ​Iran."

(Mar 17, 2026 06:30 AM)Magical Realist Wrote: [ -> ]

Quote:So Europe was zero concern about rising oil prices? Okay, then no need for them to get involved.

No one ever said that. They just don't agree with attacking Iran to open the strait. They believe in opening talks with Iran. Wow! What a concept eh?

"Indian foreign minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar has hailed direct talks with Iran as the most effective ​way to restart shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, in ‌an interview with the Financial Times published on Sunday. U.S. President Donald Trump on Saturday called on nations to send warships to keep the Strait of Hormuz open for ​shipping as Iranian forces respond to U.S. and Israeli attacks on ​Iran."

More talk that either goes nowhere or leads to giving Iran more money and reopening their path to nuclear weapons.
Terrorists attacking international shipping lanes will never be solved with talk short of complete capitulation to the terrorists. The best you can hope for is another Neville Chamberlain moment in history.

Quote:More talk that either goes nowhere or leads to giving Iran more money and reopening their path to nuclear weapons.

That may have been true in the past but now that Iran has basically become disarmed and helpless in terms of military power it would definitely favor them making negotiations and getting along with other nations. It's just a matter of bargaining with them.

(Mar 17, 2026 07:02 AM)Magical Realist Wrote: [ -> ]

Quote:More talk that either goes nowhere or leads to giving Iran more money and reopening their path to nuclear weapons.

That may have been true in the past but now that Iran has basically become disarmed and helpless in terms of military power it would definitely favor them making negotiations and getting along with other nations. It's just a matter of bargaining with them.

Iran currently refuses all of these bargaining points:

Key areas Iran refuses to discuss or negotiate:

Ballistic Missile Program: Iran has consistently refused to discuss its missile capabilities or limit their range.
Regional Influence/Proxies: Tehran rejects U.S. attempts to negotiate its support for armed groups across the Middle East.
Direct Nuclear Talks with the U.S.: Iran has rejected direct negotiations with the Trump administration regarding its nuclear advancements, viewing previous talks as a pretext for conflict.
Ceasefire Terms: Amidst ongoing military engagements in early 2026, Iranian officials have stated they have "never asked" for a ceasefire.
Existing Security Structure: Iran insists on maintaining its control over regional maritime security, such as in the Strait of Hormuz.

Following the 2026 military conflicts, Iran has maintained that it has no reason to negotiate with the U.S. until Washington changes its approach, often characterizing U.S. sanctions and demands as unreasonable and illegitimate.
...
As of March 2026, Iran is refusing to grant International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) inspectors access to its primary uranium enrichment sites.
While Iran has allowed inspectors into "unaffected" nuclear facilities (such as the Tehran Research Reactor), the most critical enrichment locations remain off-limits following military strikes in mid-2025.
- Google AI

So which of these are we willing to let them keep and what else is there for them to offer?

If not before then now Trump has convinced Iran that Kim Jong Un had the right idea. Trump will likely lose interest in a few weeks and the population will remember being bombed by US and Israel. While Trump might pretend his bombs are 'friendly' I suspect Israel are just bombing because they can. The seeds Trump is sowing may not be quite what he is pretending they are.

In a free market - if price goes up then demand goes down. If the suppliers with tankers blocked behind the Strait of Hormuz were really bothered they'd be sending their own navy to deal with the situation. Strangely the one keenest to keep oil prices low is Trump. 'Europe' isn't bothered about high oil prices because, well, they don't seem to be - certainly not bothered enough to get involved in a war - that's Trump's thing - not Europe's.

Asia gets 84% of the fossil fuel that comes through the Strait, thus why Europe can feign indifference (the latter only receives 12% to 14% of it).

Europe only ruling out NATO and military missions to Strait of Hormuz
https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/europ...ait-hormuz

EXCERPT: For his part, UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer also ruled out a NATO mission, but said he was working with allies to come up with a "viable" plan to reopen the waterway.

"We're working with all of our allies, including our European partners, to bring together a viable collective plan that can restore freedom of navigation in the region as quickly as possible and ease the economic impacts," he said in Downing Street.

"Let me be clear: that won't be, and it's never been envisioned to be, a NATO mission."

Energy Secretary Ed Miliband said on Sunday that the British government was considering sending minesweeping drones rather than warships to Hormuz.

[...] A number of Scandinavian and Baltic countries, which have been keen to ensure US support over Russia's activities near their borders, suggested they were not closing the door on the issue.

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(Mar 17, 2026 05:33 AM)Syne Wrote: [ -> ]Published: Jan 15, 2026, 2:09 p.m. MST
To mainstream renewable energy, Germany shut down its last three nuclear power plants in 2023. Just three years later, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz told business leaders it was a “serious strategic mistake,” and the country will rebuild nuclear production. [...] https://www.deseret.com/u-s-world/2026/0...rich-merz/

[...] Although apparently he's changed his tune since then:

03/11/2026
On Tuesday Chancellor Friedrich Merz, himself a member of the CDU, said previous federal governments had decided to phase out nuclear energy and rolling back that decision was not possible. "I regret this," he said, "but it is the way it is, and we are now concentrating on the energy policy we have."
- https://www.dw.com/en/germany-nuclear-po...a-76305267

And in addition to that disastrous March reversal on returning to nuclear power, Germany is still building the gas power plants. Ergo the ironic continuance on fossil fuels to offset the unreliable supply of electricity from wind and solar. The "hope" is that at some point in the distant future the natural gas will be replaced by hydrogen, but that's technological romantic fantasy to soothe the crusaders.

Germany says new gas power plants will be online by 2031 following EU deal
https://www.cleanenergywire.org/news/ger...ng-eu-deal

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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuclear_po...wed_debate

German magazine Cicero claimed that German Economy Minister Robert Habeck had misled the public in 2022 and ignored the advice of experts who said nuclear facilities were still safe to operate. By early 2025 the journalists had used court orders to gain access to internal documents, which allowed them, in conjunction with the findings of an investigative committee, to reconstruct how the highest officials in Habeck's ministry, Patrick Graichen and Stefan Tidow, had suppressed experts who advocated keeping the nuclear power plants and only forwarded statements which argued against nuclear power.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuclear_po...#Phase-out

[,,,] In 2022, Vox commented that "Germany’s decision to restart old coal plants rather than extend the life of its nuclear power facilities reflects a failure of environmental priorities", and NPR wrote, "Facing an energy crisis, Germans stock up on candles." The last three nuclear power plants in Germany—Emsland, Isar II and Neckarwestheim II—were shut down on 15 April 2023. In April 2023, several critics of nuclear power plant shutdowns argued that the switching off of nuclear power plants deprives Germany of a source of low-emission power and forces the country to continue using fossil fuels that contribute to climate change.

"Joe Kent, the director of the National Counterterrorism Center, has resigned from his post over President Donald Trump’s decision to take the U.S. to war with Iran.

Kent announced the move in a post on X, writing he could not “in good conscience support the ongoing war in Iran” because Iran posed “no imminent threat to our nation.”

He added that it was “clear” that the U.S. war on Iran had been started “due to pressure from Israel and its powerful American lobby.” In an accompanying resignation letter addressed to Trump, Kent accused “high-ranking Israeli officials and influential members of the American media” of having “deployed a misinformation campaign” to undermine Trump’s policies and “ encourage a war with Iran.”

He told Trump that an “echo chamber” had been used to “deceive” him into believing Iran had been an “imminent threat” to the U.S. and that attacking would lead to a “clear path to a swift victory.”

“This was a lie and is the same tactic the Israelis used to draw us into the disastrous Iraq war that cost our nation the lives of thousands of our best men and women. We cannot make this mistake again,” said Kent, the former U.S. Army special forces soldier and CIA operator."--- https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world...Gl6cY_cSPg

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"Donald Trump has launched a scathing attack on Nato, claiming the alliance abandoned the US “in its time of need” by refusing to help open the Strait of Hormuz.

In a post on Truth Social, the US president said Washington “did not need” the help of the military alliance in securing the key waterway, which has been closed by Iran since the US and Israel began strikes last month.

His post came shortly after the head of the US National Counterterrorism Centre resigned in protest at the war with Iran, becoming the first and most senior member of Donald Trump's administration to do so, saying Tehran posed no imminent threat to the United States.

Joe Kent wrote in a letter to the US president that it was clear the US started the war due to “pressure from Israel and its powerful American lobby”.

Meanwhile, the European Union’s top diplomat has called on the US and Israel to end the war “so that everybody saves face”.

Kaja Kallas, the EU’s foreign policy chief, said: “Nobody is ready to put their people in harm's way in the Strait of Hormuz. We have to find... diplomatic ways to keep this open so that we don't have a... food crisis, fertilisers crisis, energy crisis in the world."--- https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world...0VROzBZP5Q

BWAHAHAHA! They nailed it!

https://www.facebook.com/reel/1434380678367224