The Mycelium of Life: A paradigm of absorption or symbiosis
A paradigm of absorption or symbiosis
Publication date: 2021-10-12
Energy Balance
Climate change, or catastrophe if you like, is an important geopolitical topic. The planet is warming as measured by ground and satellite based observation and can be directly seen by watching the retreats of glaciers globally. Causes are more complex to identify, with potentials being changes in solar activity (and lets face it, if there is one power in the solar system it's sol), and human activity. The reliance on fossil fuels have lead to a steady increase in CO2 atmospheric concentration, diligently measured at an observatory in Hawaii isolated from any local major CO2 producing industry which may have skewed its figures. Equivalently, the oil producing companies have also been measuring atmospheric changes in CO2 on ships since the 1970's and calmly looking at the data, but not sharing it. We have since learned that other gases are significant too for a "greenhouse effect", particularly methane, some 20 times more deleterious than CO2. Our increased and increasing population has lead to more factory based production for meats, and these in turn increase methane production. The resultant rise in temperature, due to whatever combination of causal factors, then warms the arctic permafrost which, release sequestered CO2 and more importantly methane, creating a rather nasty feedback loop.
So, something must be done!
Europe's political and bureaucratic elite chose fossil fuel consumption reduction as the key measure. The first targets were coal based electric power production, as it is inefficient in power production versus CO2 emissions. Next off the bat were oil based power production. Meanwhile, the disaster at Fukoshima also encouraged some countries, notably Germany, but also France and the UK to abandon, or reduce its reliance on or re-investment in nuclear fission based power production.
On the flip side, "natural gas" (gaseous hydrocarbons) is quite efficient in the power to CO2 ratio and thus has been a focus, along with wind and solar renewable methods, for adjusting national energy provision to meet "carbon goals".
The extended northern winter of 2020/2021 required the use of much of Europe's natural gas reserves. This was compounded a little by a warm and wind calm summer, reducing wind energy production, and placing more pressures on those natural gas reserves.
Meanwhile, over the last decade or so, European countries while adjusting their energy production mechanisms, have been at the behest of US/NATO engaged in “RussiaGating” using economic sanctions and various political actions. In the background, the policy on natural gas supply was to move from long term contracts in which prices are formulated along with oil prices by some unpublished formulas the EU is advised to use "market prices". This means short term contracts based on the Spot Market prices, which can fluctuate quite strongly.
The advantage of long term contracts is that both the supplier and consumer are aware in advance of the contractual terms and pricing structure. "Natural gas" is not Liquid Natural Gas. It requires large infrastructure for storage, and pipelines to deliver. Long term contracts enable the cost of storage and delivery to be ameliorated over the contract period. Short term contracts require the delivery mechanism to already exist, and its maintenance costs cross outside of the contract. This fits the LNG model better, as it can be transported by truck or ship more easily, but does require both the compression and decompression facilities for the producer and consumer, respectively, to exist. Different product, different transport and use requirements, and different technologies are involved.
Europe now finds itself in a bit of a quandary. It wants Spot priced short term gas contracts, which are now expensive. Major suppliers like Norway and Russia were also hit by the recent winter and will naturally prioritize filling their own reserves before they will sell excess. While the winds of Autumn will be good for the wind energy producers, when winter hits there's less wind and a lot less sun, which is why with less nuclear and/or coal/oil based electric supply more focus is placed on natural gas or LNG.
With this predicament, various political and media voices are calling foul on Russia. This is entirely nonsensical. You chose your bed, now lie in it. Russian Federation President Putin recently convened a meeting of the leaders of Gazprom, their sole natural gas exporter, and other national producers in the gas market. He calls out the ineptitude of the Brussels bureaucrats, accepts no responsibility for the little problem Europe has and listens to the gas producers. Gazprom declared that for them it is financially better to suffer the fines of breaking the contracts of Ukrainian transit delivery, and use the two NordStream pipelines. There be reasons! The Ukraine pipeline is 50 odd years old and cant withstand the pressure to increase supply, the Ukrainians siphon parts of the delivery, the transit costs are high, and Russia's newest gas fields are in the arctic, whereas the ones they were supplying via Ukraine are quite depleted. Putin says "Your reputation as a reliable energy delivery partner is more important than the financial margins; fulfill your contractual obligations!". While this is a "nice to see", there is a hidden message, and that is that post 2024, the expiry of these Ukraine transit contracts, there will be no extension. Thus, Ukraine loses some USD 3 billion per year. (I don't know the exact numbers, but its a LOT). The other consequence is much more interesting. I believe that NS1 (the first "NordSteam" pipeline) delivers to Germany, and NS2 certainly does. It is these new, higher pressure capacity pipelines that Gazprom/Russia wishes to use to deliver natural gas to "Europe". They are delivering it to Germany, and this gives Germany more clout in the European political space. This then explains the USA financial sanctions that were targeted against companies working on NS2, ignoring the obvious “protection” of overpriced USA LNG deliveries to Europe.
Its an old school "western" geopolitical fear that an alliance between Germany and Russia may evolve. Both have excellent engineering and manufacturing capacity, and Russia is huge, with massive amounts of natural resources. This change, post 2024, with Russia's gas supply to Europe running via Germany is a "weakening" of European energy supply diversity but it is also an increase in German influence via Russia's gas exports.
Who thinks that Germany will choose "short term contracts"? Me neither.
Post the AUKUS alliance weirdity, France expressed its displeasure at the cancellation of their USD 50 Billion submarine contract by withdrawing their ambassadors from both the US and Australia. It is the first time that France has withdrawn an ambassador from the USA in 200 years. Toys out of the pram, and all that.
Since then, France has announced a mutual defense pact with Greece, after Turkey has purchased Russian S-400 anti-missile defense systems and seems likely to purchase more. This Turkish action could signal an exit from NATO for Turkey, thus placing the NATO lines at Greece, into which France has positioned itself.
So, we are seeing different energy and military power reconfigurations happening at the center of the EU. In the background, Ex-EU UK is sailing its aircraft carrier around the western Pacific (the other side of the planet). The question is who is calling who’s bluff? It is quite obvious the end result of a conflict in the East or South East China seas, as demonstrated by USA war gaming.
Walking in a Solar System
As we see geopolitical maneuvering occurring there is a far more fundamental interaction occurring. People (commentators) love to say that if there is a nuclear war (fire all the ICBMs) then the planet is destroyed.
Rubbish.
The extremophiles in frozen rocks and glaciers will survive. This is their evolutionary path. Many of the smaller size oceanic species will find niches in which they can survive. Fungi will thrive. And the eternal bacteria will just keep on keeping on. Try as we may, we cannot destroy this planet. The 4 600 000 thousands of years of its existence says to our 200 "good luck".
The issues are changes in the biosphere. What? The Earth's radius is about 6300 Km. The crust (the rocks) are 5 to 20 Kms thick. The atmosphere is 80 to 100 Kms, depending on where you draw the line. Got that? 6300 vs bugger all (100). The biosphere exists in this beautiful but thin space, protected by our magnetic field created by the planet's solid (inner) and liquid (outer) iron (with a bit of nickel) core. Our current oligarchic crew think that relocating to Mars is a worthy endeavour. Yes! Go there, you idiots. No magnetic field, and what's left of the atmosphere will be continuously eroded by the solar wind, you twats. Fly away, please.
Carl Sagan inspired many to look to the stars and understand our place amongst them. We are made of star dust, as he rightly said. His "solar system" jewel was Saturn. I vehemently disagree. The jewel of our little system around our rather normal yellow G2 class star is our planet. All hale Jupiter and its massive influence, and bow down before our star for it is THE THING in our space. On a mass scale, take the solar system and divide it into 1000 pieces. The sun, sol, is 999 of that. For that last piece, divide it into 7 parts, Jupiter is 5 of that 7. Everything else is 2 of that 7th of a “thousandth”.
Perspective is important.
Walking on a Planet
A few days ago a friend invited me to join him for a little forest camping trip.
Mushroom hunting. Really? Cool.
Fungi are one of the highest classifications of life, a phylum.
As my feet trod across the land in mid-autumn northern Europe they were "talking" to other species below. I had watched and listened to Paul Stamets' talk years before. I had an understanding of inter-connectivity, and am sensitive to environmental political arguments.
But, intellectual understanding is weak. Talk to the people who construct experiments. Data is everything; the edge of science. The inescapable razor of measurement; observation with instruments. It is one thing to “know” and quite another to observe and experience.
Walking on the Ground
Armed with a basic understanding of nature and with modern technology, we began our exploration, our fungi hunting journey. My friend had an “app” on his phone which with a supplied picture could identify the species of fungi, including its Latin taxonomic name, and if it was edible or dangerous.
The camouflage of the oak leaves were a challenge.
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Identifying deadwood was useful.
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Over time I became a better observer, and learned to "see".
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We watched, hunted and searched, looking for the best "catch".
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Sometimes a cornucopia of ‘shrooms appeared. In one location, within a 2m radius I visually identified 6 different species.
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As my observation skills grew I saw the vast numbers of "flowers" of fungi. One had to learn to “see” them. They were everywhere. Our appreciation of the mycelium networks beneath us grew. My friend reminded me that different fungi species are more likely to be found next to different tree species.
The "mushrooms" speak with the trees. Yes. The network under the “flowers” were in communion with the trees.
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It’s not all sunshine and rainbows. There were dangerous ‘shrooms out there too.
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We had a laugh discussing this one. It visually says “you really dont want to eat me”. The laugh was that it was beside a road on which we walked on our way out the next morning. If it was edible some other mushroom hunter would have already claimed it. Its pure existence in a trafficked area said “don’t touch”.
Listening to the Woods
It was the sounds of the forest as I lay in my hammock that night which provided my connection with the unknown.
I knew that under my hammock were massive networks of connectivity and nutrient exchange between the fungi mycelium networks and the trees, an internet of symbiosis with their own energy exchange. Its a long term contract.
Sources
How France conquered Europe, Aris Roussinos, UnHerd, 2021-10-04
6 ways mushrooms can save the world, Paul Stamets, TED, 2008 March
Furious Putin Slams EU Policies for Creating Gas Crisis, Signals End of Ukraine Gas Transit, Alexander Mercouris, his youtube channel, 2021-10-10