Best printers for Home

Best Mixer Grinder

Best wired Earphones

Best 43 Inch TV in India

Best Wi Fi Routers

Best Home Theatre in India

Smart Watch under 5000

Best Laptops for Education

Best Laptop for Students

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Deutsche Energy Terminal has been told to reject Russian LNG, according to The Financial Times.</li></ul>Germany is believed to have told its ports to reject Russian cargoes of liquefied natural gas in a bid to further isolate Vladimir Putin's energy industry.The country's economic ministry told the state-owned Deutsche Energy Terminal not to accept deliveries of Russian LNG, according to a letter dated November 6 obtained by the <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.ft.com/content/94bb16b8-b4b1-4360-b7d0-cecca1ebffaa?accessToken=zwAGJtzDN_1YkdOUuxa4tLFDYNO30M7Moev_qg.MEYCIQClq2abFM5Kf3q6PR9Ry9NhImf-JYCu4Yh6Rh9BsTbqZgIhAPT3_uF_tz7M8QVY1Ev2iiCyzpSATlrHAOp2YMu48s9L&amp;sharetype=gift&amp;token=4d2150bc-286c-4fe0-9795-2102f9e6b9ca">Financial Times</a>.The letter was sent after the company was due to receive a Russian cargo shipment on Sunday at its import facility in Brunsbüttel, the FT said.It went on to say that the decision would protect Germany's "overriding public interests."The letter added that accepting the deliveries would defy the reason the German terminal was initially opened — to allow Germany and the EU to become "independent of Russian gas."It comes as the EU weighs up buying more LNG from the US when President-elect Donald Trump takes office in a bid to convince him not to impose high import tariffs on EU companies. Trump pledged on the campaign trail to impose <a target="_blank" rel="" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/global-reaction-donald-trump-election-victory-tariffs-trade-disputes-2024-11">a fresh era</a> of trade <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/global-reaction-donald-trump-election-victory-tariffs-trade-disputes-2024-11">tariffs</a>. He has vowed to impose a 60% tariff on goods imported from China and a 10% blanket tariff on all other goods entering the US.European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen said last week that she would consider replacing Russian LNG with more US imports as part of trade talks."We still get a lot of LNG from Russia, and why not replace it with American LNG, which is cheaper for us and brings down our energy prices," von der Leyen told reporters on Friday. "It's something where we can get into a discussion," she said, referring to the US's trade deficit with the eurozone, which reached <a target="_blank" rel="" class="" href="https://ustr.gov/countries-regions/europe-middle-east/europe/european-union">$131.3 billion in 2022.</a>"It would be in the interest of the US that Europe continues to shun Russian fossil fuels, given the US oil and gas industry has been one of the key beneficiaries of this move," wrote Warren Patterson, the head of commodities strategy at <a target="_blank" rel=" nofollow" class="" href="https://think.ing.com/articles/what-a-trump-presidency-means-for-oil-and-gas-markets/">ING,</a> last week.The EU — which previously relied on Russian energy — banned seaborne Russian crude imports and refined petroleum products following the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.As BI previously <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/russia-oil-gas-energy-industry-europe-target-trump-election-win-2024-11">reported</a>, it has also cut most of its piped natural gas imports from Russia, replacing much of it with LNG from the US. The US is now a top exporter of gas to Europe, accounting for <a target="_blank" rel=" nofollow" class="" href="https://energy.ec.europa.eu/topics/carbon-management-and-fossil-fuels/liquefied-natural-gas_en">46% of the bloc's supply in 2023.</a>Germany hasn't imported LNG directly from Russia since the invasion. However, according to a Kpler report obtained by FT, the country's state energy group, Sefe, has a long-term contract to import Russian LNG via France.In a statement to Business Insider, a spokesperson for Germany's economic ministry said it wouldn't comment on "possible leaked documents.""It is correct that Germany does not import Russian gas and it is also clear to the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Climate Action that this must not happen via German LNG terminals," the spokesperson added.Deutsche Energy Terminal and Sefe did not immediately respond to a request for comment from BI.

Germany banned Russian gas from its ports, the latest move to isolate Putin's energy industry: report

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Many Gen Z Americans are prioritizing financial savviness, aiming for early retirement.</li><li>Young Americans invest more than previous generations; two-thirds save for retirement early.</li></ul>Gen Z is becoming more <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/gen-z-most-financially-savvy-generation-retirement-saving-investing-2023-11">financially savvy</a> — and many are doing whatever they can to retire early.Many more young Americans are <a target="_blank" href="https://www.cfainstitute.org/about/press-releases/2023/finra-cfa-institute-gen-z-research">investing</a> compared to their parents in their early- and mid-20s, and two-thirds of Gen Z has already started <a target="_blank" href="https://www.transamericainstitute.org/docs/default-source/research/post-pandemic-retirement-realities-multigenerational-workforce-report-july-2023.pdf">saving for retirement</a>, according to the Transamerica Center for Retirement Studies.Four Gen Z Americans told Business Insider they've followed the principles of the FIRE — <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/millennials-retiring-early-fire-movement-financial-independence-millionaire-savings-work-2024-5">financial independence, retire early</a> — movement to achieve a high net worth before their 30th birthdays. These include <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/gen-xers-financial-independence-retire-early-fire-started-saving-late-2024-6">cutting back on spending</a>, investing in <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/financial-planners-suggest-index-funds-start-investing-2024-5">index funds</a> and real estate, having passive income from <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/side-hustle-recommendations-jobs-to-try-this-year-concerts-surveys-2024-3">side hustles</a>, and <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/personal-finance/how-much-do-i-need-to-retire#:~:text=You%20can%20maximize%20your%20retirement,out%20your%20retirement%20accounts%20first.">maxing out retirement accounts</a> early.Some said they don't intend on following the "<a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/early-retirement-overrated-financial-independence-fire-return-to-office-balance-2024-6">retire early</a>" part of the acronym and instead want to pursue their passions while making money doing so.Their stories vary widely, from a serial entrepreneur, to a Boeing engineer, to an enlisted sailor in the Navy. But all four emphasized that their sacrifices and risks earlier in life may be the key to their financial stability down the road.<h2 id="259eb44a-82f4-4e95-8a7c-7a266ae95f9b">Cody Berman, entrepreneur and "passive income expert"</h2><div type="image" title="cody berman headshot blue background" height="3123" width="4164" msid="111730410" hostid="261"></div>Cody Berman, 28, hit <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/best-worst-national-parks-states-financial-independence-retire-early-fire-2024-7">financial freedom</a> at 25 but has no plans to retire early. He started a handful of businesses in college, some of which failed. He achieved success with his disc golf manufacturing company."I had always thought of 'rich' people being people who made a really high dollars per hour — doctors, lawyers who make $200, $300 an hour," Berman said. "Then I realized that you didn't actually have to trade your time for money on a linear basis. You could trade your time, your energy, your money, for things were going to pay you perpetually, whether or not you're working on them."He got a corporate job as a commercial real estate lender but worked on <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/how-to-change-careers-freelancing-side-hustle-earn-six-figures-2024-3">side hustles</a> each morning and night, sometimes working 15-hour days. He left his job after seven months and went all in on freelancing, digital products, blogging, and podcasting.At 25, he made about $400,000 in a year from side hustles, which is when he considered himself financially independent. He saved about 90% of his income, investing most of his money into index funds and his portfolio of 11 rental properties."I'm not in the <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/financial-independence-not-retiring-early-millennial-fire-seattle-modest-living-2024-7">FIRE movement</a> for the RE part," Berman said. "I love building businesses."His net worth is about $2.8 million, but he drives a 2015 Nissan truck approaching 100,000 miles. He and his wife live in a one-bedroom property and rent out a four-bedroom property next door. Cutting back on housing costs allowed him to spend almost $10,000 a month in travel, dining, and concerts.Berman co-founded <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://goldcityventures.com/">Gold City Ventures</a>, which helps others launch Etsy businesses selling printables through workshops and courses. Berman said they've seen people quit their corporate jobs and make much more through online selling.<h2 id="4b47ae11-acf6-4bf0-9809-810562964fea">Jubilee Bosch, engineer taking a sabbatical</h2><div type="image" title="Jubilee Bosch at a museum." height="1110" width="1480" msid="111730412" hostid="261"></div>Jubilee Bosch, 26, has worked as an engineer in St. Louis since graduating from college, though with over $190,000 in net worth, she's taking a sabbatical.Bosch was raised in a lower-middle-class family in California by a stay-at-home mom and military father who worked three jobs until starting a house-cleaning business. Though raised to be frugal, she never learned how to invest.After attending community college and a four-year college, she got a mechanical engineering degree and <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/earned-thousands-in-scholarships-graduated-college-debt-free-2023-4">graduated debt-free</a> due to merit scholarships, college jobs, and some assistance from her parents.After an internship, she was hired full-time by Boeing, making $64,000. She struggled to transition to the corporate world and burned out quickly, but she kept rising up the ranks, negotiating a promotion and a salary increase to $95,000 a year. Around this time, she read about strategies for reaching <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/financial-independence-retire-early-fire-millennial-income-wealthy-business-owners-2024-4">financial independence</a>, and increased her investments while helping her friends open Roth IRAs.She kept expenses to about $22,000 a year and put most of her savings into the market. She moved into a smaller space with her partner, strategically meal-prepped, and got travel credit cards to lower out-of-pocket flight expenses."I was starting to realize I probably didn't want a traditional career, and I'm sure I'll probably have gaps in my life where I don't have a regular job, so I can roll those over and be tax efficient," Bosch said.She had enough investments and savings to take a year off from work, so she eased up on investing to build a cash cushion. She realized she didn't need to be "hyper-frugal" anymore and could spend on things that mattered to her. She now anticipates retiring between 45 and 55, as she wants to try different career paths."I started to spend more in areas that brought me a lot of joy and realized that some lifestyle creep is worth it and changes the bottom line very little," Bosch said.<h2 id="d1eaf570-5105-4828-808c-817293adc94c">Amber Smith, tech worker-turned-online reseller and content creator</h2><div type="image" title="Amber Smith on a boat" height="2268" width="3024" msid="111730406" hostid="261"></div>Amber Smith, 27, has a net worth of about $250,000 and quit her tech job earlier this year to pursue her side hustles full-time.Smith, who lives in West Des Moines, said her parents sold things on eBay for extra money and stressed the importance of side hustles. She got a full scholarship at college and stumbled into a financial planning internship. She read finance blogs and received training from her manager on how to help others — and herself — best prepare for the future."Here I was in my first real office job, and I thought I could do this for another 40 years of my life, or I could save aggressively now and cut that timeline much shorter," Smith said.After graduating, she did contract work with her local government and a bank. She landed at a startup making $78,000 two years out of college, then transitioned to a financial tech company making about $100,000. However, she was laid off from two jobs back to back, and when she landed in an insurance role, she felt stressed and directionless.She quit her insurance job to grow her side hustles, as she had a large enough nest egg to avoid the office for a few years. She turned down recruiter interviews and focused on monetized <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/top-ways-to-make-money-as-content-creator">content creation</a> and reselling secondhand clothing.She made $30,000 to $50,000 a year reselling part-time while at her previous companies. She brought in more from brand deals and influencing in the first five months of 2024 than in all of 2023. Content creation hasn't been as consistent, though she made $2,800 once for a brand deal and accepted others paying over $1,000.Though her savings are down this year because of the drop in income after leaving her corporate job, she said she's been smart about her investments and isn't too worried since her net worth continues to grow."I want a way to pay my bills and afford my life, and I want to do that in a way where I'm not stressed out," Smith said. "The peace of it is such a big part, even if I am making less than I was in my insurance job."<h2 id="1e1475eb-db83-4014-8a04-395e1251ab06">Cory Sarkisian, enlisted sailor in the Navy pursuing a financial planning role</h2>Cory Sarkisian, 27, has been an enlisted sailor in the Navy for eight years, saving and investing $375,000 in the process. He and his wife, who have two kids, have been a single-income household for the last six years, moving between San Diego, Hawaii, and Connecticut.Sarkisian had $10,000 saved by the time he joined the Navy, and for his first three years, he didn't have to worry about food or housing, allowing him to save most of his earnings. In 2016, he bought a four-year-old Honda Civic in cash and still drives it.In 2018, he moved out of government quarters and got married. He was given a housing stipend of $2,700 a month, the set amount for someone of his rank, and he and his wife found an apartment for $1,700 a month and kept the rest. He has also never had to pay for healthcare, which is free through the military.In 2020, he began investing in index funds through his Roth IRA and Thrift Savings plan, and he and his wife put 10% down on a condo with a 15-year loan and 1.75% interest rate. He was forced to move to Connecticut two years later, though they sold the condo for $70,000 more than they paid, which they used to start funding their kids' 529 plans, purchase a used car, and put more into brokerage accounts.They've put $180,000 into their Roth accounts, $125,000 in after-tax brokerage accounts, $45,000 in savings, and $21,000 in 529s. With their savings, they traveled to four Hawaiian islands and New Zealand. Sarkisian said he's looking to pursue financial planning after his time in the Navy."We don't feel like we are depriving ourselves," Sarkisian said. "Maybe early on, we endured some deprivation, but we think we have found a pretty good balance."Are you part of the FIRE movement or living by some of its principles? Reach out to this reporter at <a target="_blank" href="mailto:nsheidlower@businessinsider.com">nsheidlower@businessinsider.com</a>.

How 4 Gen Zers are reaching financial independence

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Russ Perry was taken aback when his daughter, then 7, asked to do the grocery shopping alone.</li><li>But he weighed up the safety risks and allowed her to complete the chore at Trader Joe's every week.</li></ul>This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with dad-of-three <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://russperry.substack.com/">Russ Perry</a>, 41, CEO of a creative design company and writer. It has been edited for length and clarity.Every Friday after school, I give my 8-year-old daughter, Paige, a handwritten shopping list and drop her off outside <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/trader-joes-vs-walmart-grocery-shopping-which-is-better-review-2024-8">our local Trader Joe's</a>.She rolls up 20 minutes later with a full cart of groceries, a receipt, and my credit card in her hand — and a beaming smile on her face.It's our weekly ritual, and she absolutely loves it. Although it's a mundane task, the sense of responsibility boosts her self-esteem and independence.It's amazing to see as a parent because those are the characteristics you want instilled in your children.Some friends are shocked when I tell them about it. One said he never lets his kids out of his sight. "Aren't you afraid she'll get kidnapped?" he asked.<h2 id="c1671856-2632-4bc6-bd01-ec3f5ae273bb">My first reaction was to say 'no' when Paige asked to do the shopping</h2>I'm not living my life day-to-day <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/elizabeth-smart-kidnapped-14-now-very-protective-of-her-kids-2022-11">worried about kidnappings</a>. I've researched and figured out how misinformed we are regarding the risk.Social media has amplified the danger, making it sound big and scary. But statistically speaking, we exist in a safer, more supportive environment than ever.Paige's shopping expeditions were triggered by the little kids' carts in the front of the store. She enjoyed wheeling them around the place.Then, at the beginning of 2023, when she was 7, she said, "Hey, can I do it myself now?" My first reaction was to say "no." But I rapidly questioned my thinking.A couple of years ago, I read "<a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.thecoddling.com/">The Coddling of the American Mind</a>." The authors discuss the need to give kids more freedom and independence. They advise parents to unwire their brains to think the world is dangerous.<h2 id="7f9f49db-222d-4b61-8590-92b718cc27e0">I accompanied my kids to the park out of habit</h2>The book was an eye-opener — research-based, factual, and data-driven. It showed how people's fear is overblown about stranger danger and child abduction.I recognized that the everyday parenting habits had crept up on me in escorting my kids to parks and playgrounds. We live in a <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/walmart-spark-delivery-driver-gated-communities-smaller-tips-than-apartments-2024-1">family-friendly, gated community</a> in Arizona, but I still watched Paige and her sister, Rees, now 12, when they went outside.The park was minutes from the house, and I accompanied them whenever they wanted to go. I wasn't really harboring these fears that I needed to protect them. It was something I was doing unconsciously.<div type="image" title="A father and daughter sitting on a balcony in front of a sunset." height="3024" width="4032" msid="113502184" hostid="261" sizebytes="396510"></div>So, one day, I let them go unsupervised, and it was their most exciting adventure. It opened up a new level of freedom for them, where their exploration and activities were no longer dependent on my schedule, my energy levels, or my willingness to do it.The rule was that you couldn't leave the house without letting us know where you were. If you go to the park, be at the park. Use other people's phones if you need us. Or we'll find you if we need you.After Paige said she wanted to do the grocery shopping, I thought, "I just need to think about the steps here." I looked at it as something for her to learn. We do the shopping almost mindlessly as adults, but for a child, it's new territory.Grocery shopping has three parts: what you need, where it is, and checking out. We broke it down. For several weeks on consecutive Fridays, I gave her the list and shadowed her to say, "OK, here's what we need." She learned the layout of the grocery store and how to use the <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/how-credit-cards-save-me-thousands-on-travel-2024-8">chip on the credit card</a>.<h2 id="4d14d3ca-122e-4379-bc9f-e8aec93e5c6e">My daughter knows what to say if she is questioned about being alone</h2>Before long, she felt so confident that she did not want me to follow her anymore. I started standing in the front by the flowers. She'd ask employees for help to grab things like yogurts that were out of her reach on the refrigerator shelf. It was adorable.Soon, I began hanging out outside the store. Now, I'll catch up on my email, or when she's been with Rees, I'll run off to <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/amazon-walmart-and-target-let-customers-keep-some-returns-2021-1">do a return at the store </a>next door. It's created a bit of efficiency.Meanwhile, I've prepared Paige for if or when she gets questioned by staff or other shoppers. She knows to say, "No, my dad's here. I'm practicing grocery shopping by myself." So far, nobody has bothered her. She projects a high level of certainty.<h2 id="1d25c3c2-6a25-48fc-9b7a-2ba87c6a6b01">Paige embraces responsibility and independence</h2>I admire her problem-solving skills and willingness to assert herself if she needs help. Grocery shopping is super fun for her. She wants to do it because it makes her feel responsible.As parents, we can learn to use seemingly mundane tasks in creative ways to teach our kids life and social skills and confidence. It doesn't have to be some huge, complicated project. You can find the simplest ways to <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/new-netflix-tv-show-old-enough-causes-among-parents">say yes to independence</a>.Paige's shopping list includes chicken, pasta, pasta sauce, cereal, milk, and fruit.Still, she usually comes out the door with a few extra desserts we did not plan on. She's rational about it. "Well, Dad," she'll say. "I wanted to make sure that we had some chocolate-covered strawberries — just in case."Do you have an interesting story about your parenting style to share with Business Insider? Please send details to <a target="_blank" href="mailto:jridley@insider.com">jridley@businessinsider.com</a>

I've let my daughter do the family grocery shopping alone since she was 7. It fosters her independence.

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Sen. Joe Manchin praised Kamala Harris' campaign.</li><li>"I've been surprised. She's done some good things," he told the Times.</li></ul>Before becoming an independent earlier this year, Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia had long been one of the more conservative Democrats in the upper chamber.Manchin, who often laments the once-unshakable level of bipartisanship that was an earlier hallmark of the Senate, previously floated running for president — while criticizing President Joe Biden for some of his more <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/biden-progressives-coalition-2020-election-sanders-aoc-2024-8">left-leaning policies</a>.After Biden stepped aside as the Democratic presidential nominee last month, Manchin briefly opened the door for a potential campaign.But Vice President Kamala Harris quickly secured support from Democratic leaders, and Manchin <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.nytimes.com/2024/07/22/us/politics/joe-manchin-presidential-run.html">shut down</a> the campaign idea.Within days, Harris' political stock soared and her campaign boasted a surge in enthusiasm and millions of dollars in donations.In a recent <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.nytimes.com/2024/08/18/opinion/joe-manchin-kamala-harris.html">interview with The New York Times</a>, Manchin praised his former Senate colleague."I've been surprised. She's done some good things," Manchin said of Harris' early moves as the presumptive Democratic nominee."She and I sat on the Intelligence Committee for one year together, side by side. So we were very close, worked well together," he continued. "She's very bright, very smart."Manchin said Harris — who had a <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2024/08/12/kamala-harris-senate-kavanaugh-legislative-record/">distinctly liberal legislative record</a> when she served in the Senate — has energized the campaign."What she's been able to do in three weeks has been amazing. I think she's put a vivacious energy to this campaign," he said. "[S]he's got people fired up."Manchin also complimented Harris' shift on fracking. As a 2020 presidential candidate, Harris <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/graphics/politics/policy-2020/climate-change/fracking-ban/">backed</a> a ban on the oil and gas drilling technique. But her campaign said late last month that she would not support a fracking ban."[N]ow, facing this leadership as one of the most powerful people in the world, she's looking at where we stand on energy, and I'm happy for that," Manchin said.The senator, who has served in the upper chamber since 2010, declined to run for reelection in November.

Joe Manchin says Kamala Harris has brought a 'vivacious energy' to the 2024 campaign: 'She's got people fired up'

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Renewables can offer cheaper energy than fossil fuels, but the grid isn't designed to handle them.</li><li>We explore the places in the US making progress on this front. </li></ul>Think about the last time your <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/blackouts-power-outages-more-common-climate-change-electric-grid-infrastructure-2023-3">power went out</a>.Maybe a car hit an electricity-distribution pole or a falling branch took down a power line <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/moving-from-texas-power-outage-ercot-energy-grid-winter-storm-2023-12">during a storm</a>. It probably took at least a few minutes, maybe hours, before your power turned back on.Most likely, that's because workers at your local utility first had to assess how to restore your power. Then dispatchers had to drive to the nearby switches that <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/texas-winter-storm-power-cuts-white-house-emergency-declaration-2021-2">control the flow of energy</a> and manually flip them until everyone's lights were back on.Not in Chattanooga, <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/moving-to-tennessee-pros-cons-nashville-memphis-chattanooga-2023-2">Tennessee</a>. Instead, software automatically sends commands to smart switches throughout the system, rerouting the flow of electricity to restore power in seconds.The electric utility in Chattanooga, EPB, has invested $280 million in creating one of the <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/power-smart-grid-electric-investment-save-money-prevent-blackouts-2024-4">smartest power grids</a> in the country. It has this self-healing system and manages energy more efficiently than traditional grids, reduces carbon emissions, and saves customers money on their electricity bills."They are an example of people who are looking forward to say: We see technology coming," Kevin Schneider, the chief engineer studying power systems at the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, told Business Insider. "It is a challenge. It will be expensive, but we view it as less expensive and less challenging than doing nothing for the next 10 years and then trying to catch up."Nationwide, our <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/power-grid-strain-home-vehicle-electrification-ai-startups-2024-3">power systems are in trouble</a>. The <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/biden-laws-us-infrastructure-invest-funding-2024-3">infrastructure is aging and outdated</a>, costing consumers billions a year in higher energy bills. Moreover, the aging grid is not ready for the barrage of <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/climate-change-migration-where-moved-escape-natural-disasters-extreme-weather">increasingly severe weather</a> that the climate crisis is bringing, nor the incoming surge of renewable energy and battery storage as the US moves toward the Biden-Harris administration's goal to achieve a carbon-pollution-free grid by 2035."Much of our grid infrastructure is 40, 50, 60-plus years old," Joe Rand, an energy policy researcher at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, told BI. "And so it is in need of upgrading and maintenance."Smarter grids, like Chattanooga's, are just part of what it will take to modernize the American grid in the coming decades. They can deliver electricity in a "cleaner, more efficient, faster way," Joshua Rhodes, a research scientist studying smart grids at the University of Texas at Austin, told BI.However, getting that electricity in the first place from <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/texas-green-power-energy-america-economy-wind-oil-solar-prices-2023-11">wind, solar, and other renewables</a> is where the challenge begins.<h2 id="69b81dd9-e41b-4840-b480-f88f0bf2481c">A troubled transition to renewable energy</h2><div type="image" title="giant wind turbines standing in water" height="1414" width="2121" msid="110091236" hostid="261" sizebytes="187698"></div>Last year was record-breaking for <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/us-renewable-energy-transition-solar-electric-vehicles-hit-records-2024-2">clean energy in the US</a>. Renewables, including wind, solar, and hydropower, represented about <a target="_blank" href="https://www.wri.org/insights/clean-energy-progress-united-states">25% of the electricity generated</a> in the US in the first half of 2023.And this year is off to a solid start. South Fork Wind — New York's first offshore wind farm — began powering homes in March. And the Edwards &amp; Sanborn project, the US's largest solar energy and energy storage project in California, came online in January.Renewable energy is not only cleaner than fossil fuels but also often less expensive."In many parts of the United States, wind and or solar are basically the cheapest ways that we can <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/solar-panel-industry-electricity-generation-us-eia-tariff-prices-trade-2024-2">generate electricity</a>," Rand said.But we have a long way to go to reach 100% clean electricity by 2035. Renewables are intermittent energy sources. Unlike fossil fuels, the amount of energy they generate fluctuates. But <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/hedge-funds-betting-electricity-power-grid-congestion-trading-2024-3">our grid system wasn't designed</a> to handle that variation.Plugging intermittent energy sources into this outdated grid network can cause problems, such as energy imbalances that exceed capacity and trigger outages, <a target="_blank" href="https://www.stevens.edu/profile/podonkor">Philip Odonkor</a>, an assistant professor in the School of Systems and Enterprises at Stevens Institute of Technology, told BI.So what's happened is a bottleneck: Renewable projects are generating energy but with limited ways of getting it to towns and cities. At the end of 2023, <a target="_blank" href="https://www.energy.gov/sites/default/files/2022-04/Queued%20Up%E2%80%A6But%20in%20Need%20of%20Transmission.pdf">930 gigawatts</a> of power — enough to power <a target="_blank" href="https://www.seia.org/solar-industry-research-data">roughly</a> 171 million homes — were waiting to connect to the grid.To achieve zero-emissions electricity by 2035, the US needs to revamp the grid with up to 10,100 miles of new transmission lines that can transport renewable energy from point A to point B. The Midwest grid operator, Midcontinent Independent System Operator, has approved the <a target="_blank" href="https://www.nrdc.org/bio/toba-pearlman/midwest-grid-operators-inching-forward-miles-go-0">country's largest transmission investment</a> to date, totaling $10.3 billion, to improve how it delivers electricity to 45 million people across the Midwest.But in general, construction on new high-voltage transmission has slowed to a trickle over the past decade, Rand said. In 2013, the US <a target="_blank" href="https://www.ferc.gov/sites/default/files/2020-05/dec-energy-infrastructure_3.pdf">completed</a> over 3,000 miles of transmission projects. Last year, it <a target="_blank" href="https://cms.ferc.gov/media/energy-infrastructure-update-december-2023">completed</a> 251 miles.It's not economic or technology barriers holding these projects back, Rand said: "It's institutional, regulatory, and social issues."<h2 id="ed839077-604c-48e7-a55c-f3e216767d9a">Breaking down barriers</h2><div type="image" title="A man walks through a power station" height="1937" width="3000" msid="110091239" hostid="261" sizebytes="1045202"></div>When South Fork Wind began operations in March, it was a major milestone but also years behind schedule. Economic headwinds struck in 2020 with the Trump administration's moratorium on offshore wind, which stalled progress for two years."The clearest delay for South Fork was losing those years of progress," said <a target="_blank" href="https://wrisenergy.org/about-wrise/leadership/board/">Julia Bovey</a>, the director of external affairs for offshore wind at <a target="_blank" href="https://www.eversource.com/content/residential">Eversource Energy</a>, which co-owns South Fork Wind with <a target="_blank" href="https://us.orsted.com/?gad_source=1&amp;gclid=Cj0KCQjwir2xBhC_ARIsAMTXk84wQN2zsVWYlPKJurVNpM-v2sPcNdUtPeJL5HMpCMOYQ9fYAfdwwnwaAu_mEALw_wcB">Ørsted</a>.Other obstacles stand in the way of clean energy — the biggest being the lengthy permitting process and interconnection queue delays. The permitting process for renewable-energy projects involves massive amounts of paperwork and can take <a target="_blank" href="https://www.osc.ny.gov/press/releases/2024/04/dinapoli-renewable-energy-projects-taking-years-become-operational-nys#:~:text=On%20average%2C%20the%20permit%20application,permit%20process%20is%20not%20improved">three or more years to finish</a>.In the end, about <a target="_blank" href="https://emp.lbl.gov/sites/default/files/2024-04/Queued%20Up%202024%20Edition_1.pdf">80%</a> don't make it to completion, and those that do can get stuck in the clogged interconnection queue for as long as <a target="_blank" href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbestechcouncil/2024/03/01/the-energy-sector-and-ai-unplugging-the-interconnection-queue-backlog/?sh=4932ad4162f4">five more years</a>. By the end of 2023, almost <a target="_blank" href="https://emp.lbl.gov/sites/default/files/2024-04/Queued%20Up%202024%20Edition_1.pdf">12,000 projects</a> were in the queue, waiting to be connected to the grid."It's a seriously complex process with so many stakeholders," Bovey said.South Fork Wind was the first utility-scale offshore-wind project in the US to make it through this process. In doing so, it revealed a lot of issues that could be fixed through standardization and better agency coordination, Bovey said. But it also proved that bringing offshore wind online was possible."Every hope is that this has paved the way for future projects to be cheaper, bigger, faster, and just as responsible — just as well sited," Bovey said.On the whole, Paul Denholm, a principal analyst and senior research fellow at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, is more skeptical of the country's prospects. We'll be closer to a 50% renewable-power grid by 2035 with the way things are going, he told BI.Right now, we lack the federal policy necessary to solve regulatory and permitting delays, clear the interconnection queue, and drive rapid infrastructure upgrades and technology implementation, Denholm said.For example, the Midcontinent Independent System Operator's transmission investment, while noteworthy, took 11 years to get approval, and its next series of approvals have been delayed."So from that standpoint, it's pretty clear that we're not on a path to get to 100%," Denholm said.<h2 id="a55db279-156b-40fd-940e-ba037839bbdf">There's no going back</h2><div type="image" title="An electric vehicle charges in California" height="683" width="1024" msid="110091241" hostid="261" sizebytes="41490"></div>Regardless of how quickly the US gets there, we're headed for a clean-energy revolution. The federal government has invested nearly <a target="_blank" href="https://www.energy.gov/infrastructure/clean-energy-infrastructure-funding-projects-and-programs">$100 billion</a> in clean energy through its Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and the Inflation Reduction Act.Old infrastructure must be modernized across the country because the production and use of energy are going to get much more complicated.Nationwide, the grid draws power from about 12,000 power plants. Over the next 20 years or so, it will have to balloon to incorporate millions of small, distributed energy-generation resources, from hydropower dams to offshore wind farms to rooftop solar panels.Then there will be the batteries, which store wind and solar energy until a rainy day. Meanwhile, newly electrified cars and heating systems will increase energy demand.Eventually, home appliances may tap into data from the grid — how much people are drawing energy from it, how much carbon it's emitting, and how much electricity costs at any given hour — to help you make smart decisions about when to wash your dishes or heat your house."Historically it was meant to go one way," Schneider said of the grid. "Now we've got solar that pushes power back in. We've got EVs. We've got new loads like heat pumps. So the edge is getting so much more complicated with a lot more stakeholders in there."Smart grids are essential for integrating all that new stuff. The rollout of smart-grid technologies, renewable projects, and new transmission lines will happen piecemeal across the country, at different paces in different places, depending on policies, utility finances, and the economy — high up-front costs can be a major deterrent. However, the return on investment can be even greater.Take Chattanooga. EPB spent $280 million to refurbish its power system with smart technologies. In its first 10 years, the project generated $2.7 billion worth of economic value by creating jobs, attracting businesses, and reducing customers' electricity bills, an EPB-funded <a target="_blank" href="https://assets.epb.com/media/Lobo%20-%20Ten%20Years%20of%20Fiber%20Infrastructure%20in%20Hamilton%20County%20TN_Published.pdf">study</a> found.MISO foresees a similar return on its $10.3 billion investment. It estimates that investment will bring <a target="_blank" href="https://blog.ucsusa.org/sam-gomberg/midwest-transmission-system-investments-will-be-a-game-changer-for-a-clean-energy-future/">$37.3 billion of value</a> for customers by transporting cheaper, more reliable power. So the benefits can outweigh the cost."As we move forward, things are becoming more complex," Schneider said. "And we need to find ways to work together collaboratively. Because no one group or organization has all the answers, it's going to be a lot of different things coming together."

What it will take to modernize the American grid and usher in the clean-energy revolution

<ul class="summary-list"><li>I've known from a young age that I don't want to have kids. </li><li>I value my independence greatly, and I also want more time to invest in my own health.</li></ul>I remember the first time I knew that the typical German life wasn't for me. I was <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/family-travel-tips-for-road-trips-international-vacations-2024-1">on vacation with my family</a>; I must have been 13 or 14. We got to know another family with a girl my age, and we chatted about what our lives would look like at 30. When the girl talked about her future, I felt my whole body tense.It was a visceral feeling of rejection to the story that many other people seemed to want. Get a good job, find a good man, marry, <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/buying-a-house-keeps-getting-more-expensive-nar-report-2024-5">buy a house</a>, have a child or two, and be a good citizen. Ugh. That didn't sound like what I wanted.My plans were completely different. I had worked since the age of 13 and knew I wanted to become the CEO of one of the best events agencies in Germany, where I lived, be well-known, and travel. Traveling and being in a position of power were passions of mine. Why leave that to the men? I never understood that thinking.On top of that, I knew I <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/helped-raise-siblings-dont-want-kids-child-free-2024-6">never wanted children</a>. Ever.<h2 id="c7ba6833-4266-4f2e-8822-38b90135445b">I don't want kids for a few reasons</h2>There were a few reasons for my lack of desire to have kids. I was born in East Germany, behind the wall. My parents and the generations before them had to fight all their lives to gain their freedom. I never wanted to be confined to one place or be tied to someone else. Freedom has always been incredibly important to me.I was also born with kidney failure. Even after it was fixed, I still had <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/guides/health/conditions-symptoms/why-do-i-keep-getting-uti">painful urinary tract</a> and kidney infections. Starting from the age of 4, I have been dealing with migraines, which often lasted for many days each month. Around the age of 12, I also started to experience epileptic seizures with my migraines.Since I was little, I felt like I had to fight for my life. I just wanted to make the best out of my life through all of the pain, ongoing doctor visits, and uncertainty about my future. With all of this, I simply couldn't see myself having a child to care for. I wanted to live my life for myself.I am turning 38 this year, and I have fulfilled many of my dreams. I started traveling when I was 19 and left Germany seven years later. So far, I have <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/europe-solo-travel-woman-burnout-phd-academic-2024-3">traveled solo</a> to 45 countries and lived in nine. I am the CEO of my own business, don't have children, and am the happiest I can be.<h2 id="79356538-5603-4787-803d-28b1cc02a4d5">Being child-free has allowed me to invest in myself</h2>Choosing not to have kids has allowed me to invest my time, money, energy, and other resources in myself. For my 30th birthday, I trekked to Machu Picchu. I also danced in the official Carnaval of Rio de Janeiro with one of the best Samba schools, Mangueira. We won the official Samba championship that year.I've had the time to do extensive research, worked with various practitioners, and found things that help me cope with many of my health issues. Through alternative medicine, lifestyle changes, and therapy, I was able to eliminate my kidney infections and <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/guides/health/treatments/migraine-relief">reduce my migraines</a> drastically. I'm working with an osteopath and other holistic practitioners to help with my nerve pain, the severity of which has decreased over time.However, there are still days I have low energy and pain, and during these times, it would be difficult to care for anyone but myself. <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/husband-wife-dont-regret-staying-child-free-2024-7">Remaining child-free</a> has given me the space to take care of myself and get to know myself better.Over the past 25 years, many people have asked me why I don't want children. I've also received plenty of unsolicited advice and opinions.For 10 years, my mom told me I just needed to find the "right one" and that when I did, I would change my mind. My grandfather always said I wouldn't survive alone when I was old. He said I wouldn't have anyone to care for me if I didn't have kids.Once, at a business networking event, I ended up in a circle of women. They were talking about their partners and children. They asked about mine, and I said I had neither. One of the women kept asking why I didn't have children, so I explained I never wanted any. She told me I take up valuable space on this planet if <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/gen-z-childless-no-children-parents-2023-12">I don't have children</a>; I was shocked.A few years later, I met with some new friends for a lunch date when the topic came up again. One of the women was my friend, but I didn't know the others well. When I explained how much I loved my child-free life, my friend complained that I shouldn't use the term "child-free" and brag about it since I would offend other women who may want children but haven't had any yet. She said I should be more quiet about my lifestyle.It's not just in-person — when I post about my child-free life online, I regularly get comments about how people without children are not worthy role models and how we don't contribute to the world. Most of the time, I can brush it off and not let it get to me. Only those who fundamentally question my worth as a human being are puzzling to me. I just can't understand how someone truly believes that a human being only has worth if they reproduce.At almost 38, I <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/dont-regret-not-having-kids-child-free-decision-2024-6">have no regrets</a> about my decision not to have children. You may say, "Wait another 25 years, and you'll think differently." But I will tell you the same thing then.Creating a peaceful, happy, and fulfilling life is the greatest achievement, whatever that looks like for you. For me, it means living my life to the fullest, exactly as I am. Happy, healthy, and child-free.

I've never wanted kids, and I love my child-free life. I value my independence more than anything.

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Malcolm Aw said he pulled out of a <keyword id="19998110" type="General" weightage="100" keywordseo="Neom" source="keywords">Neom</keyword> contract because of alleged Saudi <keyword id="20531932" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="human-rights-abuses" source="keywords">human rights abuses</keyword>. </li><li>The CEO of Solar Water told BI that he had planned to build solar <keyword id="21441601" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="desalination-plants" source="keywords">desalination plants</keyword>. </li></ul>A <keyword id="19895435" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="green-energy" source="keywords">green energy</keyword> founder pulled out of a $100 million <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/neom-saudi-arabia-forces-authorized-kill-villagers-the-line-colonel-2024-5">Neom</a> contract after he realized that the Saudis were bulldozing villages to make way for the megacity. Malcolm Aw, the CEO and founder of Solar Water, told Business Insider that he initially got involved with Neom to help realize its ambitions as a pioneering green energy "<keyword id="22368252" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="eco-city" source="keywords">eco-city</keyword>." Neom is the centerpiece of Saudi ruler <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/vision-2030-saudi-arabia-plan-future-proof-oil-economy-2023-8">Mohammed bin Salman's Vision 2030 project</a> to diversify the Saudi economy away from fossil fuels and transform it into a luxury tourism destination and innovation hub. However, Aw said he was so appalled at reports of human rights abuses that he canceled the Neom contract in 2022, despite having already begun planning some of his desalination plants there. "They just, they bulldoze their way right through villages and everything, which is just unbelievable," said Aw. Aw spoke to BI after <a target="_blank" href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-68945445">BBC News</a> reported that an exiled Saudi colonel said <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/saudi-arabia-neom-middle-east-conflict-israel-peace-tourism-2024-5">Saudi Arabia</a> authorized the use of lethal force to clear the way for its <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/saudi-arabia-neom-roadshow-china-investor-interest-funding-2024-4">Neom</a> desert megacity. Col Rabih Alenezi said he was ordered to evict people living on the land to make way for a part of the project called <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/neom-what-we-know-saudi-arabia-500bn-mega-city-2019-9">The Line</a>. The area was mostly populated by the Huwaitat tribe. The BBC said it was not able to independently verify Alenezi's comments about lethal force. However, satellite images analyzed by the BBC showed three villages, including schools and hospitals, were destroyed to make way for Neom. One of the villagers, Abdul Rahim al-Huwaiti, was<a target="_blank" href="https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2020/4/15/saudi-forces-kill-man-who-refused-to-give-up-property-activists"> later reportedly killed by Saudi authorities,</a><a target="_blank" href="https://www.ohchr.org/en/press-releases/2023/05/saudi-arabia-un-experts-alarmed-imminent-executions-linked-neom-project"> said the UN.</a> "What it tried to do is turn the whole province into Dubai or Qatar or something, but in doing so, they are clearing the people who have been there for years out of the area," said Aw. "These people could be such a contribution to this whole development. You know the villages have all been removed." Aw, who is a descendant of Tiger Balm founder Aw Boon Haw, told BI that he had initially been drawn to work on the Neom project because of its commitment to green energy and ecology. Aw's company uses solar energy for desalination, while most desalination plants burn fossil fuels and have been found to pollute oceans. Neom had offered Aw's company, Solar Water, $100m for exclusive rights to use his technology. Neom's planners say they want to be an"eco-city," with the signature project "The Line" — a vertical mirrored skyscraper cutting through the desert — <a target="_blank" href="https://www.neom.com/en-us/regions/theline">running on 100% renewable energy</a> and 95% of the land preserved for nature. They claim to be committed to "respecting existing communities and cultural heritage within our region." But Aw believes the promises are not being fulfilled, and planners are performing a U-turn on their original vision for the city. "What they're doing is not ethical and what they're doing is they're creating an exclusivity to house wealthy people in a wealthy touristic area. But that wasn't the original idea. The idea was to develop a green scenario," he said. "The whole idea we came in is to make the place green, and for the people, the local people, the indigenous who have been there for ages, for yonks, to be able to share into development," said Aw. "But then they change course. Suddenly, they are totally different from what we expect to do, and in doing so, they have done a lot of damage." Neom declined to comment on Aw's claims. The Saudi embassy in the UK did not respond to a request for comment. <keyword id="19905161" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Saudi-Arabia" source="keywords">Saudi Arabia</keyword> has been trying to quell public criticism about its <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/vision-2030-saudi-arabia-plan-future-proof-oil-economy-2023-8">Vision 2030 plans</a>. <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/saudi-woman-gets-30-years-prison-criticizing-neom-megacity-twitter-2023-6">Last year, BI </a>reported that the crackdown extended to those criticizing the evictions on social media, with Fatima al-Shawarbi sentenced to 30 years in prison for speaking out. The project has been beset by problems in recent months, with costs spiraling to an estimated $1 trillion and key projects delayed or cut back. In April, <a target="_blank" href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2024-04-05/saudis-scale-back-ambition-for-1-5-trillion-desert-project-neom">Bloomberg reported</a> that Saudi officials were reducing the number of people expected to be living in Neom from around one million to 300,000 by 2030. The report also said the length of The Line could be cut from around 100 miles to one mile. Aw urged planners to stand by their original ethical and ecological vision. "You know, we have the technology to solve the [green energy] problem that people are complaining about today. Absolutely. Absolutely. But there's just not the vision or the ethical commitment," he said. Correction: July 5, 2024: An earlier version of this story misstated one of Malcolm Aw's claims. While Aw's company, Solar Water, was contracted to build desalination plants in Neom, it withdrew before construction work had begun.

Energy CEO said he canceled a $100M contract with Neom when he realized the Saudis were bulldozing villages to make space

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Russia's economy risks a deep recession within the next year, according to a UC Berkeley economist.</li><li>The nation is seeing its energy revenues wane while losing access to the US dollar.</li></ul>Vladimir Putin's claims that Russia's <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/russia-economy-ukraine-war-putin-moscow-budget-isolation-west-sanctions-2023-12">economy is doing just fine</a> may soon be hard to back up.According to UC Berkeley economist Yuriy Gorodnichenko, the nation's economy is in deep trouble and is set to enter a damaging recession within a year.That's mainly because Russia is losing two things its economy desperately needs, he told Business Insider — a robust energy trade and a steady flow of US dollars.Moscow's economy is extremely dependent on petrodollars, or dollars obtained through the oil and gas trade, Gorodnichenko said. Yet, with Russia's energy flows upended by sanctions, it's unclear if sales to friendly nations will be enough to prop up the Kremlin's hefty war budget — or if Russia will have enough access to dollars to readily import all the goods and resources its economy needs to function, he said.That could put Russia's economy on the fast track to a recession in the next 12 months, Gorodnichenko predicted."If they have to finance the war and they don't have this resource, it's not clear where they will raise this money," he added. "I predict they're going to face a very serious recession."<h2 id="70520a9d-ef05-44c5-91d9-dc3ad2cadb1b">Withering energy empire</h2>The energy trade is Russia's biggest money maker. However — thanks, in part, to <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/russia-economy-west-secondary-sanctions-hitting-oil-exports-payments-revenue-2024-3">Western sanctions</a> — Moscow's oil and gas business has suffered over the last year, with <a target="_blank" href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/news/commodities/russian-energy-revenue-crude-oil-prices-gas-exports-sanctions-ukraine-2024-1">sales plunging 24%</a> to a three-year-low in 2023.That decline is a big financial problem for the Kremlin. Its war against Ukraine is growing more costly, with <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/russia-economy-putin-ukraine-war-military-spending-budget-kremlin-inflation-2023-10">the government signing a record military budget</a> for 2024. The nation is set to rack up a deficit of 1.59 trillion rubles, or around $18 billion this year, according to the current exchange rate."You do a back-of-the-envelope calculation, and you very quickly realize that if Russia doesn't have petrodollars, they're going to face a very difficult problem," Gorodnichenko said.Declining oil sales mean Russia is losing access to the US dollar, as crude transactions are primarily conducted with the greenback.A smaller pool of dollars to transact with could isolate Russia further from the global economy, given the US currency is the backbone of global trade. The dollar accounted for one side in <a target="_blank" href="https://www.bis.org/statistics/rpfx22.htm">88% of all foreign transactions</a> in April 2022, far more than any other currency, according to the latest data from the Bank for International Settlements.Putin has played up Russia's independence from the US and its currency, moving to <a target="_blank" href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/news/currencies/dedollarization-dollar-dominance-brics-currrency-china-russia-trade-yuan-ruble-2023-12">de-dollarize trade</a> and create <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/dedollarization-russia-actively-working-brics-local-currencies-platform-us-dollar-2024-6">alternative payment systems</a> with its allies. But those actions are only pushing the nation closer to economic hardship, Gorodnichenko said, especially considering the fact that Russia still imports "just about everything," from cars to food to furniture and other consumer goods.A historical view of Russia's finances also shows that GDP is highly correlated to how many petrodollars the economy has access to, Gorodnichenko said. Russia fell into a recession during the global financial crisis and later in 2014, when oil prices plunged and lowered the amount of dollars it was able to bring in.Gorodnichenko also noted that when the Soviet Union lost access to petrodollars, its economy collapsed within five years. He suggested that Russia's economic decline could occur even quicker, given that the Soviet Union was far more self-sufficient resource-wise than Russia is today."If they don't have petrodollars to pay for all the consumer investment goods, they're going to face some difficult problems," Gorodnichkeno said. "Maybe you can get [resources] from China or somebody like that here and there, but globally, it can't really borrow. And so when you have an adverse shock … the effect is going to be amplified."Economists have been warning about the risk of economic calamity for Russia since 2022, when its invasion of Ukraine prompted a barrage of sanctions that upended trade and finance.<a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/russia-economy-ukraine-war-moscow-putin-inflation-labor-shortage-rates-2024-5">Russia's economy</a> is becoming <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/russia-ukraine-north-korea-putin-kim-economy-war-military-inflation-2024-7">increasingly fragile</a> the longer the war drags on, experts have said. Even <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/russia-economy-ukraine-war-putin-moscow-budget-isolation-west-sanctions-2023-12">Putin</a>, who has pushed the narrative of Russia's resilient economy, has admitted to key weaknesses in the nation's finances, with the country reeling from <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/putin-russia-economy-inflation-business-ukraine-war-ruble-interest-rates-2023-9">sky-high inflation</a>, <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/russia-economy-central-bank-hikes-interest-rates-war-inflation-markets-2023-12">elevated borrowing costs</a>, and <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/russia-economy-worker-shortage-ukraine-war-military-wages-unemployment-2024-1">soaring wages</a>.

Russia's weakened energy trade and lost access to the dollar will spark a severe recession within a year, a top economist says

Director <keyword id="271660" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="ram-madhvani" source="Orion">Ram Madhvani</keyword>, who is receiving a lot of positive response for his recently released third season of the Sushmita Sen-starrer crime-thriller show 'Aarya', has said that contrary to the popular belief, he is not in the business of making movie but what he considers "the business of capturing energies" while working with talents. Ram is the creator on the third season of 'Aarya', and is known for his silent sets where yelling "action", "cut" or "silence" is prohibited, and the director feels that maintaining the right energy on set is very important. He told IANS: "I'm not in the business of making movies but in the business of capturing energies. So, what happens is when you're trying to capture that energy, you have to be very careful because it's very delicate. Also, I enjoy the process more than the end result. If you're enjoying the process and are honest about it, the output will be near perfect." Pointing out the irony that has become a norm on film sets, he said: "I've often seen sets where people scream silence before taking a shot, beats the purpose doesn't it? When you scream 'action', 'silence', 'cut', what it does is that it disturbs the peace of the artiste and if they get disturbed, how are they going to perform to their maximum potential? I never say 'action' or 'cut', these have become sort of tense words." For the third season, Ram has taken the onus as a show creator and has his first assistant director from the first season of the show - Shraddha Pasi Jairath taking the flight as director. Talking about nurturing new talents, he told IANS: "A lot of people say that I'm mentor to them but in reality, young people are mentors to me because they come with new energy, new perspectives. There's a lot of reverse learning which makes you reinvent yourself. So, I do this for myself more than me giving new opportunities to them (laughs)." For Ram, who has been in the field of advertising, every new season starts with active listening -- listening to what the audience is trying to tell him. He shared: "The writing starts by listening to what the audience wants, what was their feedback on season 2, a lot of this comes from my advertisement background, I believe in research and in marketing. Like we got to know that the audience wanted Aarya to take control in season 3, they wanted her to be the don. So, we went with that and it put us on the right path." He also spoke about the origins of his 360 degree system of shooting where an entire set is like a live theatre making the experience for the actors very immersive. Explaining the origins of the 360 degree system, he said: "The 360 degree system began years ago with my first film 'Let's Talk' when I decided to make the film with a limited crew. Now, I'm constantly making commercial cinema but I come from a very independent cinema thought process. I want to make independent films but if I do that I won't be able to reach a lot of people. So, what I have done is that I have mixed the two. While my thinking leans towards independent cinema, my means to reach the audience are commercial and the indie stories have commercial sensibilities." Created and co-directed by Ram Madhvani and co-produced by Amita Madhavni, Ram Madhvani, Ram Madhvani Films and Endemol Shine India, 'Aarya 3' streams on Disney+ Hotstar.

You Searched For "energy independence" and got 9 results

Germany banned Russian gas from its ports, the latest move to isolate Putin's energy industry: report

Mikhaila Friel

How 4 Gen Zers are reaching financial independence

Noah Sheidlower

I've let my daughter do the family grocery shopping alone since she was 7. It fosters her independence.

Jane Ridley

Joe Manchin says Kamala Harris has brought a 'vivacious energy' to the 2024 campaign: 'She's got people fired up'

John L. Dorman

What it will take to modernize the American grid and usher in the clean-energy revolution

Morgan McFall-Johnsen,Jenny M…

I've never wanted kids, and I love my child-free life. I value my independence more than anything.

Monique Lindner

Energy CEO said he canceled a $100M contract with Neom when he realized the Saudis were bulldozing villages to make space

Tom Porter

Russia's weakened energy trade and lost access to the dollar will spark a severe recession within a year, a top economist says

Jennifer Sor

I'm in the business of capturing energies: Ram Madhvani

IANS

Popular Keywords

Buying Guides