The Green Libertarian

40 Years After Chernobyl, the "Nuclear Renaissance" Has Run Aground

Aug. 14, 2026 | Categories: energy-economics, market-solutions, energy-transition, european-energy-policy, nuclear-power

The summer of 2026 is showing that the “Nuclear Renaissance” is not just full of empty promises, but that it is increasingly becoming “intermittent” due to climate-change.

Over 40 years ago, on April 26th, on a beautiful sunny day in what was then the USSR, ordinary people were going about their lives, enjoying the spring sunshine yet struggling to survive in the increasingly dysfunctional late Soviet economy. They were not aware that something had happened that morning that would directly impact their lives and change the course of history. Unbeknownst to them, in what was then Soviet Ukraine, a nuclear meltdown, caused by a flawed reactor design and a mishandled safety test as well as disregarded safety procedures, was burning¹ uncontrollably and spreading a radioactive cloud over a large part of Eastern Europe. It was only a few days later, when Swedish authorities registered a spike in radiation and questioned its source, that a sliv...

Stepping on the Same Rake Twice: Europe's Second Energy Crisis in Five Years, and the Lessons Brussels Still Has Not Learned

April 26, 2026 | Categories: energy-transition, policy-analysis, european-energy-policy, fossil-fuel-energy-crisis

Last weekend, as spring was in full swing, the Green Libertarian was over at his brother's house performing his customary gardening duties. The task of the day involved sifting through leaves, rocks, and sand, so he arranged the various tools needed for the job in a careful semicircle around the pile he was working on. Unfortunately, as he walked back and forth with a shovel, he failed to notice that he had left the rake casually propped up against the retaining wall, tines pointing skyward in the manner of a small but very patient mantrap.

"Scheisse," he exclaimed, with the particular cadence reserved for the moment a wooden handle bangs against the forehead. Thankfully, the bump was small. But the lesson was clear: put the damn rake away, lest you step on it again.

A Charged day in Viana do Castelo : A Portuguese EV Trip Cautionary Tale (Part 3)

Nov. 24, 2025 | Categories: energy-transition, policy-analysis, ev-infrastructure, european-energy-policy, personal-war-stories

click here for Part 2

The next few days were uneventful. That is to say, I was finally on holiday and enjoying life without having to think about where to obtain the next electrons. I did, however, discover that the campsite where I was staying had a charger, and I took advantage of it on my last day there. The only caveat was that it was an extremely slow one. I honestly just wanted to top up before making the drive north, but even though I was connected for over two hours, I only got a measly 50km out of it. I paid six euros since the campground charged by the hour and not by the kilowatt. I wondered if it was a fair price, but how could I know? Apparently, the different pricing mechanisms for electricity were as varied as the varieties of bacalhau in a typical Portuguese restaurant. Live and learn.

The Energiewende Katastrophe: How to Spend €520 Billion on a Clean Future and Still Burn Coal

Nov. 22, 2025 | Categories: renewable-energy, climate-policy, energy-economics, market-solutions, energy-transition, policy-analysis, european-energy-policy

Picture this. It's October 2025. As the wind turbines sit still and solar panels languish under a grey autumn sky, Germany is in dire need of electricity. The bureaucrats in Berlin and Brussels are trading blows over building new gas capacity. Meanwhile, coal, supposedly a relic of the dirty past, has temporarily won this fight. This is not the green clean future German citizens were promised by their government.

What went wrong? The answer is two German words: Energiewende and Dunkelflaute. Without turning this blog post into a German lesson, we will dig into the facts behind these Teutonic terms to understand the mess Germany is in. And how it can learn from its mistakes and become a true European champion of renewable energy instead of a cautionary tale of bureaucratic ambition gone horribly wrong.

'Eppur si muove!' : A Portuguese EV Trip Cautionary Tale (Part 2)

Nov. 14, 2025 | Categories: energy-transition, ev-infrastructure, european-energy-policy, personal-war-stories

click here for Part 1

I woke up next morning in my tent with a distinct feeling that I was on holiday. A feeling that quickly dissipated when I poked my head out and realised that my car - which I'd been half expecting to be parked next to the tent - was not there.

It was Monday morning in September. The sun was shining brightly after the morning mist dissipated. A beautiful day, but I was dreading confronting the reality of the situation I was in.

Mindful of my friend's schedule, I asked him what time he could get me back to my stranded car, sitting in some random village 20km away. He said he'd be happy to take me there, but first he had to go for a surf in the morning. Couldn't blame him. After all, it wasn't his fault I'd got myself into this mess.

The Green Libertarian Manifesto

Nov. 1, 2025 | Categories: renewable-energy, climate-policy, energy-economics, market-solutions, energy-transition, policy-analysis

The climate activists have it backwards. They want to overthrow capitalism to save the planet. The fossil fuel industry wants to preserve capitalism by denying the crisis exists. Both are wrong -- and their battle is destroying any chance of actually solving the problem.

Here's the heresy: Free markets can solve the climate crisis faster than any revolution. Not the rigged markets we have now, but actual free markets where polluters pay their costs.

Let me explain why this matters more than ever in 2025.

Ten years after the Paris Climate Accord promised to limit warming to 1.5°C, we've blown past that target. Global temperatures breached the limit in 2024. Floods, droughts, wildfires, and intensifying storms are no longer future predictions—they're today's headlines.