Europe on alert, Greece complacent?
We turn on the tap but the water that “runs” (wrong verb) is minimal. Measured drops land on hands steaming with sweat and heat, reminiscent of what we once called “plenty of soap and water” combined. Drought.
Months later from the drought, comes the cold. Heating measured. Lights out, inside and outside the house. From one room to another, the route is also done blindly. However, walking on the streets has ceased to be pleasant. Darkness everywhere.
Images are not so much arbitrary constructions of the mind or the future. They arise from the news of the day. The first, from a publication by “K” (25/8) that, according to scientific estimates, the drought affecting Europe is the worst of the last five centuries. EU official confirmed the figures of the Drought Observatory released: 47% of the area of the E.U. is on “warning” with insufficient soil moisture, while 17% is already on alert as dry conditions affect vegetation.
In the land of benefits and allowances, what possibilities do we have to adapt to reality?
The second picture has Germany as a precursor. As of September 1st, the first of two packages of energy saving measures will be implemented. For the responsible Minister of Economy, Robert Hambeck, the appeals and proposals on how to reduce the consumption of natural gas for heating and lighting were not enough. Thus, from next Thursday, indicatively: the maximum heating limit in public buildings will be set at 19 degrees, the lighting in monuments and buildings will be turned off when it is done for aesthetic reasons, private pininas, closed or open, must not be heated with natural gas or electricity, illuminated billboards or systems that are switched off between 10pm and 6am when not needed for safety.
A few days ago, Emmanuel Macron warned the French about “the big upheaval” they will face when they return from the summer holidays. He called it “the end of abundance”, “certainties” and “carelessness”. He cited the recent “series of serious crises”, from Ukraine to the drought, and called on members of the government to “say things”, to “name them very clearly and without catastrophes”. “It is easy to promise everything, sometimes to say everything and whatever happens. Let us not succumb to these temptations, it is the temptation of demagoguery. They flourish today in all democracies, in a complex and frightening world. It may continue to seem charming to say what people want to hear (…), but we must first think and ask the question whether it is effective and useful”.
In the Greece of benefits and allowances, of governments that lack truths, considering that they seriously damage health (and votes), what possibilities do we have to adapt to reality? As much as the economically weaker citizens need support from the state, it is more than clear that an economy based on benefits is not sustainable.
No matter how much electricity we consume, the state covers the cost, we read. It is possible; Is it up to everyone’s conscience (and wallet) to exercise discipline in saving energy?
The only “campaigns” that are organized and the only videos that are shot refer to “interceptions”. But… a source of inspiration for the government and opposition staffs that should be the frantic race of natural gas and electricity prices and the preparation of households to adapt to the new crisis condition, which will not be temporary. Europe on alert, Greece complacent? Not only does it not make sense, it is also dangerous. It does not strengthen trust, it intensifies anxiety, fear, it leads us unprepared into a future that “will have a lot of drought”. And contrary to the poet’s warning, “do not be negligent/ Take water with you”, for the “negligence”, in this case, society is not responsible.