Mare Taagepera: “The one-sided use of the rich raw material-oil shale-has led to rapid depletion of reserves. In 1939, oil shale was projected to last "at the present rate of consumption" another 3,000-4,000 years.26 By the 1950s only 200 years of reserves remained. More recently, the projection is for another 30-50 years or for just another generation.27 It would indeed be ironic if one of the few states of Europe which could be self-sufficient in energy were forced to start importing energy. Oil shale mining and electric power production has increased some 10-20 fold over the last thirty years (Table 3)-much too rapidly to keep pollution problems under control. Of the total 16 x IO9 kwh of electricity produced in 1973, only 6 billion was used in Estonia. Ten billion kwh were used in the Leningrad area and Latvia.28

Estonians make up roughly 0.5% of the total Soviet population, yet they provide some 2% of Soviet electric power. As seen in Table 4, per capita electric output in Estonia has increased more rapidly than the Soviet average. The production increase has come without regard to environmental disruption. Mining losses are outrageously high: up to 50% in the "Estonia" mine.29 Most of the by-products such as lower grade shale, limestone, and peat are simply dumped.”

Andsoforth

Good questions:

“This article is concerned with the pollution problem in the Baltic republics in a worldwide time and space framework. The current phase of ecological history- the industrial phase-differs from the previous phases because of the following factors: ( 1 ) the growth rate of energy consumption is greater than population growth; (2) biochemical cycles are no longer intact; (3) the environment has been overburdened with synthetic chemicals; (4) world population has been doubling at the rate of once every 35 years instead of once every 1 ,500 years before the industrial phase.1 The industrial phase with its spiralling population and industrial growth cannot last. The post-industrial phase lies ahead and survival will depend on humankind's ability to adapt biologically and culturally. How is the world adapting? How are the Baltic states adapting?"

Mare Taagepera, 1981. POLLUTION OF THE ENVIRONMENT AND THE BALTICS Source: Journal of Baltic Studies, Vol. 12, No. 3, SPECIAL NUMBER: BALTIC REFLECTIONS OF WORLD ISSUES (Fall 1981), pp. 260-274

The above case of oil shale mining in Estonia is an example of the Great Acceleration.

Re Helme and “an expensive investment in the range of €10-15 billion” for nuclear power:

“The meltdown at Three Mile Island turned a multimillion dollar asset into a multibillion dollar liability overnight and helped seal the fate of nuclear power in the United States. To claim otherwise is nothing but public relations spin.” https://www.greenpeace.org/usa...

updated March 11, 2019.