CEO and founder of the Get Fuel app with important advice following the situation in Europe: “Adopting new and more economical habits will result in a big improvement”
In collaboration with Shlomo Jacobson
The Russia-Ukraine war is still ongoing and those affected by it are not only the citizens and soldiers of the countries, but also citizens who are not related to the war at all, such as the residents of the countries in Europe as a whole. It seems that as of now, one of the more dismal results of this war for the Europeans is the gas supply problem.
According to Shlomo Jacobson, CEO and founder of the Get Fiol app, the problem created by the disruption of the gas supply is divided into two periods. “The first period started naturally with the outbreak of the war, when there was a disruption in the gas supply as a result of Putin’s war needs,” Jacobson explained. “The second period began not long ago, when the European countries decided to intervene and take an unequivocal position in favor of Ukraine. In response, Russia began to impose sanctions, cancel existing deals and deliberately reduce the supply of gas to Western Europe.”
Russia flows its gas through the Nord Stream 1 pipeline. In recent days, Russia has completely stopped the flow of gas through the pipeline, with the aim of “drying up” the countries of Western Europe and forcing them to change their position regarding the war. The official and diplomatic explanation is that there is a fault in the gas pipeline, but the prevailing position in most countries is that Russia stopped the gas flow on purpose.
How does the disruption in gas manifest itself, in practice? Shlomo Jacobson sheds light on what is currently happening in the countries suffering from gas shortages: “The shortage is not felt on a daily or personal level. That is, you will not encounter a situation where you want to turn on the light and have no electricity. But it does affect the gas and electricity bills, which have become more expensive by hundreds of percent, and increases These prices lead to strikes and struggles, whether it’s government companies that stopped receiving aid or organizations that started receiving reduced financial aid, or whether it’s citizens who aren’t ready to pay the high bills.”
How does this affect the citizens?
“In Prague, tens of thousands of citizens demonstrated against the European Union and NATO, which they believe are responsible for raising gas prices due to their support for Ukraine. In Italy, citizens burned their electricity bills in protest. There is an influence in other countries as well.”
What can be done to minimize the damage?
“Part of the problem stems from the fact that we did not know how to disconnect from raw gas sources and switch to green energy, which can be produced independently of this or that country. Unfortunately, we are not yet in this situation, so all that is left for us right now is to try to switch to green resources and save electricity. For the purpose To illustrate, imagine if all the cars were powered by electricity – how much it would save us from dependence on external resources, money and political entanglements.”
Each country and its solution
It is understandable, then, that these days, there is not a single government that is not concerned with the issue of disrupting gas and balancing the prices of gas and electricity for citizens, when some of them realize that it will cost them a lot of money. For example, the French government announced that it would help businesses and citizens with 25 billion euros, and the Italian government approved aid totaling 390 billion.
Some of the benefits are designed to create a fixed budget framework for electricity prices, while placing an upper price limit. Grants were also given to pensioners and students, with the assumption that without the grants they would not be able to afford to heat the house in the coming winter months. In Germany, where the gas sources are only 85 percent full, the government announced the taxation of profits in energy companies, which continue to work as usual without their expenses increasing, which means they are profiting from the crisis.
Is it possible to reduce the dependence of the entire world on Russian gas?
“Although the disconnection from Russian gas seems at first glance like very bad news, as well as the worsening of the economic situation worldwide, we do not necessarily have to pay for it in our private lives. If we consider a new course, and change our way of thinking, we can also on a personal level avoid gas bills and electricity are high. All the solutions are green and simple, and beneficial not only for our personal well-being and financial savings, but also for the entire planet.”
First tip: save fuel
Shlomo Jacobson believes that in a few years, we will all be driving electric vehicles. The market currently includes two types – an electric vehicle that does not need fuel at all, and a hybrid vehicle that needs very little fuel. Switching to such vehicles will completely cut us off from dependence on fuel, and will allow the earth to breathe twice – when driving there will be no gas emissions, and during oil mining and transportation no polluting substances will be emitted.
Second tip: carpool or public transportation
In some European countries, public transportation is good, accessible and efficient, and many can give up their private car. If you travel in Vienna, Paris or London for example, you will discover a subway station on almost every corner. “We don’t have this luxury,” says Shlomo Jacobson, “and therefore we have to make do with the existing public transportation: trains, buses and in some cities light rail.”
But who said you have to go to work by public transport? Many places began to adopt the carpool method – each time one driver collects several employees, so that each person only has to use the car once a week. This not only saves fuel, but also frees up more parking spaces. If you live not far from your workplace, consider getting there by bike or on foot – the greenest, healthiest and of course – it costs nothing.
Third tip: saving electricity
Saving electricity and adopting new and more economical habits will cause a great improvement for us and for the planet. “These are simple steps that can be started from the moment we choose our place of residence. A preference for green construction, which allows the use of the sun’s rays for energy needs and water heating, instead of using electricity,” Jacobson added.
In addition, even if you do not look for land intended for green construction, you can open the windows of the house and let the sun shine in your house, before you decide to turn on a light in the house. Shlomo Jacobson concluded: “In green construction, the windows are built so that they let in as much light as possible into the home, but standard windows also do the job perfectly. It is important to remember to turn off the light in every room you are not staying in, turn off all electrical appliances at night, use pressure cookers instead in slow cooking for hours – and so on.”