Surviving Capitalism (Not) : Drive to Replace Russian Gas Supplies to EU Intensifies

We’ve lived so long under the spell of hierarchy—from god-kings to feudal lords to party bosses—that only recently have we awakened to see not only that “regular” citizens have the capacity for self-governance, but that without their engagement our huge global crises cannot be addressed. The changes needed for human society simply to survive, let alone thrive, are so profound that the only way we will move toward them is if we ourselves, regular citizens, feel meaningful ownership of solutions through direct engagement. Our problems are too big, interrelated, and pervasive to yield to directives from on high.
—Frances Moore Lappé, excerpt from Time for Progressives to Grow Up

Sunday, July 26, 2015

Drive to Replace Russian Gas Supplies to EU Intensifies

Click here to access article by Steven MacMillan from New Eastern Outlook.

Since relations between the West and Russia have deteriorated so rapidly following the US coup in Ukraine, Western strategists have been working relentlessly to find a replacement to Russian energy supplies to the EU. In the immediate term, this is impossible, a reality that unnerves many in Washington and Brussels. But in the medium to long term, an assortment of countries could combine to replace Russian energy, or at least dramatically reduce Europe’s energy dependence on Moscow.

As Cold War II heats up, the Empire as well as its adversaries are scrambling to line up energy sources and pipelines. It seems to me that this author provides a well-balanced survey of these efforts which likely reflects the geopolitical strategies employed by both adversaries. For example, such considerations very likely influenced the recent deal with Iran, the outcome of which is in dispute by various analysts (see my commentary with this post).