The Friday's Kids

 I sat and watched about eight minutes of the news from last night via ARD (German public TV) which focused on the Fridays For The Future German teenagers.  

The simple description of the group?  This is a loose-based group of German teens who came to appear in the spring of 2019....hyped-up to resolve the climate crisis.  Their chief theme?  They appear for class on Fridays at 8 AM, and typically 'walk out'.  They then meet somewhere in the region.....traveling by bus or train....for a group demonstration.  

Now if you asked....how many kids participate?  German journalists never ask or just pretend it's not important.  You can count a couple of thousand to show up in places like Hamburg, Berlin or Frankfurt.  But if you asked how many kids stayed in class, and didn't walk out?  No one knows the number. My general belief is more than 50-percent of German kids don't participate.

Last night's theme?  Well...they had some teenager who spoke to the new goal of the 'team'.....they want the 100-billion Euro.  

I thought....nice round number.  It couldn't be 44-billion or 66-billion.  Nice number chatter usually pushes my skeptical 'meter' up four notches.

Purpose?  Recyclable energy.  

Nuke energy?  Good heavens, NO!  By their estimate, that is the most expensive way of producing energy.  

The thing I find discomforting about this chatter?  If you wanted a flat scale view of economics and no chance of escalating cost (like with coal, natural gas, or back-up energy requirements for solar/wind).....then nuke energy makes perfect sense.  I should also note....if your thing was carbon neutral enthusiasm.....nuke energy makes sense there too. The argument of nuke plant accidents?  The massive bulk (globally) operate for 40 years, without accidents.

How the 100-billion Euro would be split up or spent?  Unknown.  The spokes-kid didn't get down to dynamics of that deal.  

The fact that most TV journalists for public TV don't challenge or argue the problems with the kid's logic?  That's the most comical part of watching this play out on TV.  

Where the 100-billion round-number came from?  No idea.  I'm sure if you dug into it and ask for the original ideas guy.....it'd be an adult from some special foundation....that seems attached to some agenda.

The thing about this discussion over electrical power and the grid...which will intensify this winter....you need a priority system that is long in strategic planning efforts, and centers on reasonable cost.  Once you start telling some German that their monthly 'old' rate was 70 Euro a month, and the new rate is near 200 Euro a month.....they go ballistic and some chatter by teenagers isn't going to help matters.  

Why the Friday's kids couldn't select poverty in Germany to protest upon?  Well....that's a good question.  But lets not confuse the young 'Einsteins'.  

My suggestion for the 100-billion?  Lets cut Fridays out of the German school system entirely, and add one additional year for kid to attend school and be 'gifted' enough to release out into the world.