Good. We need a steady reduction of the economic volume.

Our first colour tv cost about 3 months of my dad's salary in the early 1970s. And the Siemens mainframe computer in the company he worked for was tens of thousands (which was more than a year's worth of the average salary). Rent. Every month. It had less computing power than my smartphone.

https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/statistics-explained/index.php?title=Energy_statistics_-_latest_trends_from_monthly_data#Gas_consumption

Looking at monthly data from January 2022 to December 2022 (Figure 11), with the exception of March and April, consumption has been consistently below the 2017-2022 average of the respective months of those years. Between January and July 2022, natural gas consumption in the EU varied between 1 938 Petajoules (PJ) in January and 785 PJ in July, indicating a monthly decrease overall, even before the target of 15% gas reduction was set up

While the gas reserves are higher than ever (https://www.consilium.europa.eu/de/infographics/gas-storage-capacity/)

Absolutely no reason to worry about supply, cold homes, or lights going out.

I have been reading what you wrote, but I don't consider your "renewables can't" a valid point. They can.

But I don't think we will ever be able to convince each other. Can we agree on that?

You can't just ignore the cost. Why spend €100 on nuclear, when you can generate 3 times as much electricity using wind, with the same amount?

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Levelized_cost_of_electricity

France regularly imports (renewable) electricity from Germany when they have to shut down some of their reactors due to cooling problems in summer. So 50 are not enough. For a smaller economy.

don’t you think we should be exploring every carbon free avenue, and shutting down every single fossil fuel power plant?

Sure. But nuclear is probably not the answer: we don't have those decades left it takes to build hundreds of new plants. Not to mention the astronomical cost. The ship had sailed 30 years ago.

Edit: the last 3 nuclear plants we shut down this year had a combined capacity of around 4 GW. In 2022 we installed over 7 GW of solar and about 2.5 GW of wind capacity (this year it will probably significantly more)

Your first link is almost one year old. They did indeed prepare for a worst case, which didn't occur after all. Coal and gas consumption (total, not just percentage wise) did not go up, but down instead.

Yes, a mild winter helped. Unfortunately, winters are getting warmer and warmer, and the last one was no exception there.

https://strom-report.com/strom/

The amount of electricity generated from fossil and conventional energy sources fell by 12.2% in the first half of 2023 compared to the same period of the previous year. The largest decline, at 22%, was measured in power generation from coal. Coal-fired power plants fed in a total of 17.3 billion kWh less than in the previous year. Nuclear power generation has also declined due to the shutdown of the last 3 nuclear power plants. Nuclear power plants still fed 6.7 billion kWh of electricity into the grid in the first half of 2023 and thus contributed 3% to the electricity mix. Electricity generation from natural gas fell by 4.1% compared to the same period last year

Kind of says the opposite, doesn't it?

So why are we still using fossil fuels then?

You already gave the answer: Because they should have started sooner.

My basics:

• second hand almost everything
• some stuff from my balcony (chives, chard, strawberries, rosemary)
• sewing machine to alter and mend my (second hand) clothes or linens, and to make stuff from scraps (like pillowcases, handkerchiefs or potholders)
• "ugly" vegetables (not pretty enough for supermarket shelves)
• cloth napkins, rugs and handkerchiefs
• almost no meat
• only tap water to drink (well, ok, coffee in the morning and herbal tea in the evening)
• no car, but a public transport pass and two bicycles

Jarring: Not much of a learning curve, and you hardly need any equipment. I do have jars anyway for shopping at the zero waste shop, and you can simply use your oven. But still I hardly ever do it.

I rent, so could only install a small solar system on my balcony. Not high on my priority list - but I have some shares in local solar and windpower co-ops. Electricity is expensive (Germany), but is covered that way

Minimalism: I prefer a minimalistic look, but I think if you save money, you are a minimalist even if it doesn't show.

I do have a bread maker and wouldn't want to miss it.

I only wear natural fibres, so of course cotton (or wool!) socks and underwear. But those are the only clothes I buy new so I can easily afford the best quality there. I darn my socks, by the way.

Drugs: I don't drink any alcohol but I vape, and treat myself to a good Cuban cigar every once in a while.

In Europe it's required by law for most items. And it's the only price I look at when I buy stuff.