Staff day

Today, the autumn semester got off to a flying start as the whole department gathered down at the river at P5. On my way there, I was able to pick up Monocle’s special “Mediterraneo” edition which is somewhat of a summer classic here at Rawls & Me and the perfect distraction for any escapist.

Otherwise, today was surprisingly hot with 26 humid degrees, reminding me of how extreme this summer has been for much of continental Europe, with many rivers drying up and parts of Germany turning into a savannah of sorts. Coming full circle, the coal shipments are now unable to make it up the Rhine to the power stations as the water level is at a historical low. With Sweden’s emergency oil-fired power station in Karlshamn starting up due to the lack of firm capacity, I am back wondering what kind of feedback that it would actually take to make the 100% renewable crowd reconsider their views? Sadly, I fear, as with other wicked problems, that learning will remain extremely difficult and that neither record high electricity prices nor outright blackouts will be sufficient to make people question the received dogma.