Bishop Hill It's a plot!
Jun 20, 2014 Energy: gas Greens The news that is rocking the world this morning is that the head of NATO has said that the Russians are funding a sophisticated plot to undermine shale gas development in the west.
Russian agents are secretly working with environmental campaigners to halt fracking operations in the UK and the rest of Europe, the head of Nato warned yesterday.
Vladimir Putin’s government has ‘engaged actively’ with green groups and protesters in a sophisticated operation aimed at maintaining Europe’s reliance on energy exports from Moscow, said Nato Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen.
He said the Russians had mounted a highly developed disinformation campaign to undermine attempts to exploit alternative energy sources such as shale gas.
When you think about it, it's pretty unlikely that Putin wouldn't be doing everything he could to undermine shale gas development in the West, given the centrality of oil and gas to the Russian economy. Nevertheless it's surprising that NATO have come right out and said so.
I wonder what Vangel has to say about it?
Reader Comments (63)
Of course it is no evidence, but it colours the environmental sky. From Wikipedia: Active Measures (Russian: Активные мероприятия) was a form of political warfare conducted by the Soviet security services (Cheka, OGPU, NKVD, KGB) to influence the course of world events, "in addition to collecting intelligence and producing politically correct assessment of it".[1] Active measures ranged "from media manipulations to special actions involving various degrees of violence". They were used both abroad and domestically. They included disinformation, propaganda, counterfeiting official documents, assassinations, and political repression, such as penetration in churches, and persecution of political dissidents.[1]
Active measures included the establishment and support of international front organizations (e.g. the World Peace Council); foreign communist, socialist and opposition parties; wars of national liberation in the Third World; and underground, revolutionary, insurgency, criminal, and terrorist groups.[1] The intelligence agencies of Eastern Bloc states also contributed to the program, providing operatives and intelligence for assassinations and other types of covert operations.[1]
Retired KGB Maj. Gen. Oleg Kalugin described active measures as "the heart and soul of Soviet intelligence": "Not intelligence collection, but subversion: active measures to weaken the West, to drive wedges in the Western community alliances of all sorts, particularly NATO, to sow discord among allies, to weaken the United States in the eyes of the people of Europe, Asia, Africa, Latin America, and thus to prepare ground in case the war really occurs."[2]
Active measures was a system of special courses taught in the Andropov Institute of KGB situated at SVR headquarters in Yasenevo, near Moscow. The head of the "active measures department" was Yuri Modin, former controller of the Cambridge Five spy ring.[1]
The idea that this particular leopard has not changed his spots doesn't seem that far-fetched.
There is, of course, a sort of Catch-22 in this for those on the environmentalist side of the argument which is unfortunate for them because their accusations of "conspiracy theory" or "seeing reds under the bed" or simply pooh-poohing the whole idea of Russian influence can easily be met with the Rice-Davis Gambit, "you would say that, wouldn't you?"
Which means none of us actually is any the wiser — and that would suit the Russians as well! No way out of this, I'm afraid.
Mike Jackson - "No way out of this" - until the holes are drilled, pumped with sand and water and enhanced gas extraction from shale is actually demonstrated domestically in the UK to be uneconomic and futile ...
Meanwhile, some (not all ! ) in DECC and the EA are obstructing the whole thing mightily largely at the behest of some folk who should be able to prove that they are free of the taint of foreign political interference....
Which is why it must be causing some considerable discomfort in Greenie la-la land! - especially one has to suspect Greenpeace International - based in that haven of fiscal probity Switzerland just up the road from quite a few of those Russian company "international offices"... They (Greenpeace) don't seem to be proactive on the transparent accounts front regarding the international operation.
One wonders why the Russians are actually giving Greenpeace back their rotting tub impounded after the last Arctic episode? It should have been auctioned off as is where is....
Again no evidence, but there is some warming between the Russians and the Greens. It is reported that the repaid bail is 3 million roebels, about 80.000 dollars.
MOSCOW, January 22 (RIA Novosti) – Russian authorities have started paying back the bail money paid by eco-organization Greenpeace for 30 activists arrested last year while protesting Artic oil drilling and later freed under presidential amnesty.
Anton Beneslavsky, a lawyer with Greenpeace Russia, told RIA Novosti on Tuesday that investigators recently refunded part of the money the NGO paid to bail out the activists weeks after hooliganism charges against them were dropped.
Russian authorities have also returned part of the belongings that the activists had when detained by border guards in September aboard the Arctic Sunrise icebreaker after some of the activists tried to stage a protest on a Gazprom oil rig.
The charges were dropped as part of a broad prison amnesty approved by state lawmakers last month to mark the 20th anniversary of the Russian Constitution.
Beneslavsky said it was still unclear when Greenpeace would get back its Dutch-flagged icebreaker, which remained docked at a port in Russia’s northern city of Murmansk.
To top off the no evidence trilogy: From around 2005 if I remember correctly: Red Support for Greenpeace
Greenpeace achieved a remarkable status last year when it opened an office in Moscow. Although Greenpeace often postures as an opponent of Soviet whaling, Danish news reported that the organization was granted diplomatic immunity by the Soviet government, allowing its ships and personnel to travel with freedom unprecedented for private organizations in any country, much less the Soviet Union. The head of the new Moscow office has an interesting background: Michael Gylling Nielsen was the author of a confidential 1983 report to the chairman of Greenpeace International. This document outlined a plan to destroy the economy of Norway through American and European boycotts of its key industries.
Not only were fish imports from Norway successfully prevented, but the report also contained plans for having foreign contracts for Norwegian oil canceled, and for pressuring foreign tourist agencies not to book tours to Norway or on Norwegian cruise ships. Nielsen even suggested in the report “that we do some direct actions against the Cruise Lines.” Norway shares a border with the Soviet Union, and also lies along the route used by Soviet ships and submarines to reach the Atlantic; destabilizing Norway could prove strategically useful to the Soviets.
The Soviet Union has done even more to help Greenpeace. A rock music promotional album was issued last year by the organization, featuring such major rock groups as the Eurythmics, U2, and Dire Straits, and has already raised tens of millions of dollars. Known as Rainbow Warriors in Western nations and Breakthrough in East Bloc countries, the album was released as a joint venture through Melodiya, the record company owned by the Soviet government. The Soviet magazine New Times proudly announced in March 1989: “Everyone who buys the album can consider himself a member of Greenpeace, which means it will soon have millions of new members here in the Soviet Union.”
Half the profits went to Greenpeace, helping to open the new Greenpeace office in Moscow; the other half went to help establish the International Foundation for the Survival and Development of Humanity, described by the August 22, 1989 Financial Times as “an East-West Soviet ‘think tank.’” This institute is co-directed by Greenpeace and the Soviet government, and its chairman is none other than Michael Nielsen, head of Greenpeace’s Moscow office. Thus, the Soviet government helps Greenpeace raise funds, while the environmentalist group helps formulate Soviet propaganda.
tomo
Agreed. I was thinking in terms of the argument itself to which there is no solution unless we find a "smoking gun" as for example if that money that Greenpeace pissed away had been roubles!
But see the second comment from oebele bruinsma above!
I wonder what Vangel has to say about it?
I say that the optimists have yet to show us the producers that have self financing shale operations. It has been quite a while since the request was made and I still do not see the examples roll in.
For whatever it is worth I see shale as one of the great scams that will destroy much of the financial system of the West. Note that the only reason why the bond bubble has yet to pop comes from faith that the dollar will remain strong because of the promise of energy independence and cheap energy for the United States. Take away this support and you may get the catalyst that brings gold to $20,000 an ounce and silver at $500 as the dollar heads towards the fiat graveyard that all fiat money has been buried in.
Note that ND just released the Bakken production data for April and that as usual, there is an interesting story to tell. The number of operating wells increased by 218 from the previous month but that the daily production only went up by 23300 barrels while the average monthly rate fell by 143 barrels. That is more than $1.6 billion in new spending in a month and the average well production is still falling. (Note that in April 2012 the monthly production rate was 537 barrels higher.)
So what we have are companies that are not self financing borrowing more money just so that they postpone the day that they will have to write off the impaired assets and finally have to admit that shale has not been effective with the given technology at the current prices. Now we could get 'lucky' and get $300 a barrel oil as ISIS takes out an Saudi export terminal or blows up the LNG terminal in Qatar. That would certainly allow the shale producers to make a few bucks on wells already drilled but it would not leave enough of a profit to pay off the old debt or to finance a new program going forward. And note that we are only months away from the Bakken peaking.
Frankly, I would love to see what analysis the SVR, MI6 or the CIA have on this problem. I bet you that is is a lot closer to my view than to the naive optimists who have yet to produce any evidence that the shale producers are capable of self financing.
Well dear Vangel, for some fracking good information you only have to look east (at least from my curious point of view)
Estonia becomes self-sufficient on shale gas boom
The Baltic tiger of Estonia is the world’s first country to meet all its power needs from shale, with enough left over for neighbours and fuel exports for the shipping industry. (UK newspapers end of 2013).
From the Mail :
He declined to give fuller details of the alleged plot, but said: ‘That is my interpretation.’
So we have no evidence this is just the opinion of a functionary. Until we have evidence it might be unwise to speculate which side are the propagandists in this story.
sadbutmadlad
"Greenies think with their emotions not their heads"
Correct, they are ruled by the Amygdala.
I call them Amygdalanians.
Check out "Omygdala hijack" for more info
I don't see why the Russians would waste their money on loony loose cannon Green activists who hardly need encouragement.
Still, stranger things have happened.
On the general propaganda front, as can be noticed by anyone who watches Russia Today, they give unusual prominence to any anti-fracking story. Which would be inconsistent with their otherwise supportive attitude to hydrocarbon production.
They're just not so keen on it when it threatens Russian interests.
The Russians were also the primary driving force behind the formation of the IPCC. The biggest result of the Global Warming scare has been that the West has voluntarily impaired its ability to produce energy. And coincidentally (or not) Russia has been the primary beneficiary.
I smell a big commie rat behind this, whatever this is. I smell a big commie rat everywhere.