Ashley Cornell, email: [email protected]

The roughly 6,500 members of the centre-right Independence Party Junts, who were consulted for two days, had the final say in the internal war that is undermining the regional government. President Aragones, a moderate, is now solely in charge of the Generalitat, along with the elected members of his ERC political family.

A Junts party adviser had bought a box to pack his belongings in, just in case. A wise precaution as it accompanies Carles Puigdemont’s party in opposition.

Carles Puigdemont’s party moves to the opposition

Tensions between the two separatist parties Junts and ERC, resulting from two opposing strategic visions: confrontational separatism for ex-President Puigdemont’s friends and dialogical separatism for Aragones’, made joint governance increasingly difficult. Until Pere Aragones clearly tells his allies to choose between staying in government or joining the opposition. Question that the leaders of the junts cleverly chose to return to their militant base.

Also read:
Political crisis in the Generalitat of Catalonia: ERC already ready to govern alone

Moderate solely responsible

“Do you want Junts to continue to be part of the current government of Catalonia?”. Simple question, simple answer: no. 55.73% of members surveyed (with 79% participation) refused to give the ERC-Junts a second chance. Moderate supporters of dialogue and advocates of confrontation with Madrid, an ultimately unlikely couple who publicly tear themselves apart. Again around the Diada in early September and of course last week with an awkward (?) vote of confidence followed by the sacking of Junts VP Jordi Puignero.
Quim Torra, Pere Aragones’ “Junts” predecessor, was happy about the divorce. “Congratulations!” he shouted happily to the activists from his Twitter account as soon as the result was known. As for Carles Puigdemont, by the end of the day he still hadn’t reacted to the news, he who was pleading for the union this week.

Also read:
New crisis in Catalonia: the separatist government is hanging by a thread

On the way to a high-speed overhaul

Pere Aragones and his party were already working on the possibility of a reshuffle earlier this week. Aside from calling early elections, the president must quickly redistribute six portfolios (justice, business, health, external action, research and universities, social rights) who want to wrap up the episode “as soon as possible,” Councilor Laura Vilagra confirmed yesterday. To this end, this Friday evening, he held a meeting with his close guard at the Palace of the Generalitat in Barcelona.
His new government is also to be tightened. The Catalan daily La Vanguardia spoke yesterday of the abolition of three departments and of mergers, particularly between justice and home affairs or equality and social rights. In this case, few or no new entrants to the Generalitat.

Also read:
Catalonia: Junts leave power and let ERC rule alone

As is well known, miracles are not that common and if you have them major health problems, a dip in the Lourdes swimming pool is unlikely to solve them. However, sometimes that is true Things change fast and opens up new possibilities. That’s what happens with renewable energy. To speak of a “miracle” is a bit much, I know, but recent technological developments have given us a tool that we could not even have dreamed of until a few years ago. And that could solve certain problems that once seemed unsolvable.

I’ve been walking around for years holding conferences on climate change and other upcoming problems, such as B. Lack of oil. Usually those who came to listen were people prepared for a not-so-reassuring message, but the problem was what to do about it. At the end of the conference, a debate ensued in which they said to each other always the same things: Riding a bike, turning down the thermostat in the house, putting double glazing on the windows, low consumption lightbulbs, stuff like that.

Also read from Renzo Rosso’s blog

Supercritical geothermal energy has the potential to replace fossil fuels

It was a comforting little ritual, but in reality everyone knew these weren’t real solutions. Not that they’re useless, but they are sprinkle with green on a system that continues to rely on fossil fuels to function. So we’ve been talking about double glazing and bikes for at least twenty years, but CO2 emissions continue to rise as before, but faster. If we don’t get to the heart of the problem, then that is a eliminate fossils, we’re not getting anywhere. But how does it work? Until a few years ago, there seemed to be no way out but to hoe the fields again as in the Middle Ages.

But today things have changed radically. You probably didn’t notice because you were involved in the election debate. But whether the right or the left wins, little changes: the real change comes with renewable technologies. The wind and photovoltaic systems have been optimized and size factors have resulted in massive savings in production costs. Today, a kilowatt-hour produced by a photovoltaic panel costs perhaps a factor of ten less than the kilowatt-hour of natural gas (and even one-fifth of the kilowatt-hour of nuclear power). We used to call renewable energy “alternative”, but now we do all others that are “alternatives”..

In addition, generating energy from renewable plants is environmentally friendly, requires no non-recyclable materials, produces no greenhouse gases, is not penalized and Nobody can bomb the sun to let us lose energy. Now don’t let me say that Renewable energies automatically solved all problems. It is true that today they are cheap, but it is also true that they are not free. And then, it needs investment adapt nationwide energy infrastructures, create energy storage systems and much more. These are not things that can be done in a month or even a few years. We’re talking at least a decade to get to an energy system based primarily on renewable energy.

Also read from Mario Agostinelli’s blog

Bills, special profits and renewable energy: why doesn’t Italy nationalize energy?

But that’s also true Every journey starts with the first step. And now we see a road in front of us. A path that will lead us to a cleaner, more prosperous and hopefully less violent world. I haven’t stopped giving talks, but now I can suggest a few real solutions. And I’m not the only one who noticed the change. In the debate today, we feel the excitement of being able to do something concrete. Many people ask if they can install photovoltaic modules at their home. Others say they have already done so. Some are angry blacks (rightly so) about the red tape preventing them from installing on their roof or in their yard. This can also be seen in discussions on social media.

There is always someone speaking out against renewable energy, arguing like medieval flagellants running around shouting:Remember you must die“. But there are also those who answer him in rhyme, like: “So go and live happily in your cave with the other cavemen.” (or also, like Massimo Troisi, “Now I sign it”). If you one to have south balcony (and if your municipality doesn’t put a spanner in the works), you can already install some Photovoltaic modules hanging on the railing which will help you reduce your electricity bill. Little by little we will succeed!

As fuel is running out at many gas stations in France, tanker trucks are now also allowed to drive on weekends. The ban on vehicles weighing more than 7.5 tonnes carrying hydrocarbon products was lifted until Monday, according to a decree published on Saturday night. One of the main reasons for the current supply problems is likely to be the strike at three of the six French refineries, which has lasted several days.

According to media reports, up to 20 percent of gas stations are affected by shortages of gasoline or diesel. Bottlenecks are particularly common in northern France and the Paris region. The tank discount currently in effect in France has also led to a rush, especially in border regions.

Environment Minister Christophe Béchu called for “calm and responsibility” and assured in an interview with Franceinfo television on Saturday: “The situation must continue to improve”. Currently, nationwide restrictions are not planned.