"U.S. pledges $1 billion aid to Ukraine, condemns Russia"
"West approves $3.2 billion package for Ukraine"
And that's just economic pumping. There are many (hello, neocons!) calling for more, um, robust forms of assistance. Because, hey, what's a little global thermonuclear war between friends?
But there is before us an opportunity to strike a blow against the growing, militant Russian nationalism, expand European economic security, empower individuals, generate goodwill and fight climate change.
I say we light 'em up. And I'm not talking bombs. I'm talking panels.
Thankfully, it's finally starting to warm up a little in the northern latitudes. The demand for Russian gas will slacken a bit, putting a bit of a crimp in the big old bear's finances (fossil fuels are a whopping 3/4 of Russia's exports).
What if the United States, Germany, France, the UK, Poland, Sweden, Denmark, heck the whole lot of us, all chipped in on a massive aid package consisting of photovoltaic panels, inverters, grid interfaces and batteries right now, spent the summer months topping as many roofs as we could throughout central Europe? If we really put our best efforts to it, how much of a dent could we really put in demand for Russian gas before next winter?
Such a move could have as much economic impact on our neo-Stalinist pal Ras-Putin as any sanctions currently proposed, with the added benefit of reducing CO2 emissions throughout northern Europe, as well as easing (somewhat) the current oversupply of PV panels on the world market.
I know many will look at such a proposal as unrealistic, but just how realistic is the idea of countering Russian aggression with force? While nuclear winter would also ameliorate the effects of warming, side effects make the treatment less than ideal.