Europe’s Energy Suicide and Colorado’s New Family Leave Mandate

On December 8, 2022, the day after the 81st anniversary of Pearl Harbor, Kim Monson returned from a brief hiatus to examine two pressing issues: Europe’s catastrophic energy policies and their warning for America, and Colorado’s newly enacted Family and Medical Leave Insurance program that begins affecting workers in January 2023.

Europe’s Energy Crisis: A Warning for America

Start listening at 15:53 – Hour 1

Robert Bryce, Texas-based author, journalist, and producer of the documentary “Juice: How Electricity Explains the World,” delivers a stark assessment of Europe’s energy catastrophe. Bryce identifies four critical errors that led to what he calls “energy suicide”: overinvestment in renewables, underinvestment in hydrocarbons, premature closure of coal and nuclear plants, and excessive reliance on imports.

The consequences are devastating. German electricity prices have reached 400 euros per megawatt hour compared to roughly $50-70 in the United States. Natural gas at the Dutch TTF trading hub costs $46 per million BTUs versus $5.80 at Henry Hub in America. Europeans are going without heat, wearing coats indoors, and industrial giants like BASF are relocating operations to Louisiana.

Bryce warns that the Biden administration is pushing the same failed renewable policies that destroyed European competitiveness. He points to Germany’s ironic decision to dismantle a wind project to expand a lignite coal mine, calling the renewable push “crazy town” and a “mirage” that Europeans bought “hook, line, and sinker.”

“Europe committed energy suicide. This is all the result of bad policy that the European countries adopted themselves.”

Robert Bryce, Author and Energy Expert

Electric Vehicles and Agricultural Reality

Start listening at 30:00 – Hour 1

The conversation turns to the physics of energy density and why electric vehicles cannot replace diesel-powered agriculture. Bryce explains that diesel fuel contains 13,000 BTUs per gallon, making it irreplaceable for combines and tractors that run nearly 24/7 during harvest season. The idea of charging combines in the middle of rural Kansas during harvest, he says, ignores the fundamental laws of physics.

Bryce also addresses the environmental hypocrisy of climate activists who turn a blind eye to the wind industry’s impact on bald and golden eagles and the critically endangered North Atlantic right whale. NextEra Energy was fined $30 million for building a wind project in known Golden Eagle habitat after three warnings from Fish and Wildlife Service.

“People will do whatever they have to do to get the electricity they need. That’s the iron law of electricity.”

Robert Bryce, Author of A Question of Power

Vaccine Safety Questions

Start listening at 63:00 – Hour 2

Cora Madison of Roots Medical raises concerns about COVID-19 vaccine data. She cites V-Safe statistics showing 33% of the 10 million tracked recipients reported adverse effects, with 1.6 million unable to return to normal activities the following day. Madison notes that 58% of COVID deaths in August 2022 occurred among vaccinated or partially vaccinated individuals.

Madison points to a troubling pattern at the University of Colorado, where lectures on new medications include side effects discussions except when it comes to COVID vaccines. She encourages vaccine-injured patients to seek practitioners who will listen, mentioning Colorado Healthcare Providers for Freedom as a resource.

“What is it going to take to wake people up that this is not safe for our children?”

Cora Madison, Roots Medical

Colorado’s FAMLI Program: New Payroll Deductions Coming

Start listening at 70:57 – Hour 2

Susan Kochevar, entrepreneur and owner of the 88 Drive-In Theater, breaks down Colorado’s Family and Medical Leave Insurance program that voters passed as Proposition 118. Beginning January 2023, employers must deduct 0.9% from employee paychecks to fund the program. Businesses with 10 or more employees must match half of this premium.

The program allows up to 12 weeks of paid leave for major life events, with some circumstances permitting 16 weeks. Kochevar points out a glaring inequity: local governments can vote to opt out, but small businesses cannot. She predicts businesses will avoid growing past nine employees to stay under the matching threshold.

Kochevar calls the program “decentralization of taxation” designed to fragment opposition. While the state income tax decreases, these thousand small cuts nibble away at paychecks through mandates that individual industries lack the resources to fight.

“If it was such a great idea, why is it that local governments could vote to opt out again, picking winners and losers?”

Susan Kochevar, Owner, 88 Drive-In Theater