All you need to know about the Nord Stream gas leaks — and why Europe suspects ‘gross sabotage’
Climate scientists described the shocking images of gas spewing to the surface of the Baltic Sea as a “reckless release” of greenhouse gas emissions that, if deliberate, “amounts to an environmental crime.”
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Two subsea pipelines connecting Russia to Germany are at the center of international intrigue after a series of blasts caused what might be the single largest release of methane in history — and many suspect it was the result of an attack.
An initial crime scene investigation last week into what caused the gas leaks on the Nord Stream 1 and 2 pipelines reinforced suspicions of “gross sabotage.”
As investigations continue, many in Europe suspect the incident was the result of an attack, particularly as it occurred during a bitter energy standoff between the European Union and Russia.
The Kremlin has repeatedly dismissed claims it destroyed the pipelines, calling such allegations “stupid” and “absurd,” and claiming that it is the U.S. that had the most to gain from the gas leaks.
The White House has denied any involvement in the suspected attack.
What happened?
On Sept. 26, a flurry of detonations on two underwater pipelines connecting Russia to Germany sent gas spewing to the surface of the Baltic Sea. The explosions triggered four gas leaks at four locations — two in Denmark’s exclusive economic zone and two in Sweden’s exclusive economic zone.
The magnitude of those explosions was measured at 2.3 and 2.1 on the Richter scale, respectively, Swedish and Danish authorities said, and likely corresponded to an explosive load of “several hundred kilos.”
Neither of the Nord Stream pipelines was transporting gas at the time of the blasts, although they both contained pressurized methane — a potent greenhouse gas.
Remarkably, the signature of the gas bubbling at the surface of the Baltic Sea could be seen from space.
A satellite image of the Nord Stream leak in the Baltic Sea, captured on Sept. 26, 2022.
Planet
Climate scientists described the shocking images of the methane erupting from the burst as a “reckless release” of greenhouse gas emissions that, if deliberate, “amounts to an environmental crime.”
At the time, Denmark’s armed forces said video footage showed the largest gas leak created a surface disturbance of roughly 1 kilometer (0.62 miles) in diameter, while the smallest leak caused a circle of approximately 200 meters.
The Nord Stream gas pipelines have become a focal point of tensions between Russia and Europe in recent months, with Moscow accused of weaponizing gas supplies in a bid to gain sanctions relief amid its onslaught in Ukraine.
Who’s to blame?
Sweden’s national security service said Thursday that detonations caused “extensive damage” to the pipelines and “strengthened suspicions of gross sabotage.”
Sweden’s Security Service said certain seizures had been made, without offering further details, and that these would now be reviewed and analyzed.
“The continued preliminary investigation must show whether someone can be served with suspicion and later prosecuted,” Sweden’s Security Service said.
Sweden’s prosecutor’s office said in a separate statement that the area was no longer cordoned off.
The European Union has warned that any deliberate attack on European energy infrastructure would be met with the “strongest possible response,” calling what it suspects is an intentional attack “utterly unacceptable.”
Most Western governments have stopped short of pointing the finger directly at Russia, while the Kremlin has sought to pin the blame on the West.
U.S. President Joe Biden described the blasts on the Nord Stream pipelines as a “deliberate act of sabotage” late last month, saying Washington was working with its allies to work out exactly what happened.
Fatih Birol, the executive director of the International Energy Agency, said at a conference in Paris last month that it was “very obvious” who was responsible for the gas leaks, Reuters reported. He did not say who that was, however.
Russia has denied it was responsible for the gas leaks. Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova said at a briefing on Thursday that such claims were “absurd,” according to Tass news agency.
Zakharova emphasized the “enormous investment” that the Kremlin took in the infrastructure project and lashed out at the West for blocking Moscow from taking part in the investigations.
Environmental impact
The unexplained Nord Stream gas leaks pose serious questions about the incident’s environmental impact.
Climate scientists acknowledged in the aftermath of the event that it was hard to accurately quantify the exact size of the emissions and said the leaks are a “wee bubble in the ocean” compared with the massive amounts of methane emitted around the world every day.
Methane is 84 times more potent than carbon and doesn’t last as long in the atmosphere before it breaks down. That makes it a critical target for combatting climate change quickly while simultaneously minimizing other greenhouse gas emissions.
“It was a deliberate act and in my opinion it can very likely be linked to the push for constant provocation by the Kremlin,” Spanish Energy Minister Teresa Ribera told reporters last month, according to Reuters.
Europa Press News | Europa Press | Getty Images
The two Nord Stream pipelines were estimated to have contained enough gas to release 300,000 tons of methane — more than twice the amount released by the 2015 Aliso Canyon leak in California, the largest known release of methane in U.S. history.
While that means it could be one of the largest single releases of methane, the incident pales in comparison with the roughly 70 million tons of methane emitted by the oil and gas industry each year.
The European Space Agency estimated that the emissions leak from the Nord Stream gas pipelines was roughly equivalent to one and a half days of global methane emissions.
Nonetheless, environmental campaigners argued the incident serves as yet another reminder of the risks associated with fossil fuel infrastructure.
— CNBC’s Emma Newburger contributed to this report.
Tesla has confirmed that it is redesigning its door handles with electronic releases after people were left trapped inside its cars.
Earlier this week, we reported that the NHTSA had opened a new investigation into Tesla over children getting stuck inside cars after electronic door releases fail.
Tesla uses frameless doors with electronic door handles. The button to open the doors first causes the window to lower slightly, allowing the door to open. Then, it electronically unlatches, enabling the door to be swung open.
There’s also a manual latch, but it has been known to be somewhat hard to locate for people who didn’t read the owner’s manual, which is most people.
If there’s an electronic failure, especially after a crash, it can result in occupants having issues exiting the vehicle when they are in a state of panic.
Additionally, if a child is in the vehicle after a failure, it can be challenging for them to locate and use the manual release, which is what the NHTSA is now investigating.
Following the publicization of this long-standing issue this week, Tesla announced that it is redesigning its manual release.
Franz von Holzhausen, Tesla’s chief designer, said in an interview with Bloomberg that the automaker is going to combine the electronic and manual releases into one:
“The idea of combining the electronic one and the manual one together into one button, I think, makes a lot of sense. That’s something that we’re working on.”
The designer said that Tesla is already testing this in China.
It’s not a novel design. Toyota already has the same concept in some of its vehicles. The electronic button to release the door can also be pulled to activate the manual release, which works even if the car has no power.
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Environment
Hyundai reveals new EVs, hybrids, a midsize pickup, ultra-luxury vehicles, and much more
Get ready to see a lot more Hyundai vehicles on the road. The South Korean auto giant just revealed its most ambitious growth plan ever, packed with advanced new EVs and hybrids across nearly all segments. Hyundai is also launching its first midsize pickup and an extended-range vehicle (EREV) that promises to deliver over 600 miles (960 km) of range.
Hyundai bets on new EVs, hybrids, EREVs, and trucks
During its first CEO Investor Day held outside of Korea, Hyundai unveiled “its most ambitious growth strategy” in company history.
Hyundai is promising to lead the industry’s shift to electrification with a slate of new vehicles set to launch across nearly every powertrain and segment imaginable.
“In an industry facing unprecedented transformation, Hyundai is uniquely positioned to win,” José Muñoz, President and CEO of Hyundai Motor Company, said during the event held in New York on Thursday. Hyundai isn’t simply adapting, “We’re leading it,” Muñoz told attendees.
Hyundai plans to sell 5.55 million vehicles globally by 2030, including 3.3 million “electrified” vehicles, or about 60% of total sales.
With 18 new hybrids, including the first under its luxury Genesis brand, Hyundai expects “significant growth” in North America, Europe, and Korea.
Hyundai said the new vehicles, including EVs and hybrids, will be custom-tailored for buyers in its biggest markets.
Custom-tailored vehicles for the US, Europe, and China
In North America, Hyundai will launch its first midsize pickup by the end of the decade. Hyundai offers the Santa Cruz, which launched in 2021, but the company promises the new model is aimed at “the heart of the US market.”
Those in Europe will see the IONIQ 3, a smaller and more affordable little sibling to the IONIQ 5. It will feature a next-gen infotainment system, Hyundai said, specifically designed for drivers in Europe.
Hyundai announced plans to introduce its first extended range electric vehicle (EREV). Set to arrive in 2027, Hyundai said the new EREV will deliver an “EV-like driving experience with more than 600 miles (960 km) of range” that will use an added gas-powered engine to extend range.
Unlike traditional EREVs, however, Hyundai will use in-house batteries, which it promises will deliver “full EV power performance with less than half the battery capacity.”
In China, Hyundai will take on BYD and other automakers, leading the shift to EVs, with its new Elexio electric SUV. The Elexio SUV is Hyundai’s first locally produced electric vehicle using tech and software from Chinese leaders.
Wait, there’s even more
We will also see seven new high-performance “N” models added to the lineup by 2030. Hyundai aims to sell 100,000 N-branded vehicles by the end of the decade. The new IONIQ 6 N “will introduce a new paradigm for high-performance EVs,” the company said, with advanced new features and tech.
The luxury Genesis brand is celebrating its 10th anniversary with big growth plans over the next few years, including new EREVs, hybrids, and a flagship SUV.
The flagship Genesis electric SUV is expected to launch as the GV90, which we’ve seen out in public testing with ultra-luxury features, including coach doors.
Hyundai announced plans to ramp up production at its Metaplant America (HMGMA) EV plant in Georgia. With a new $2.7 billion investment, the company is creating 3,000 more jobs in Georgia. By 2028, Hyundai plans to build 500,000 hybrid and EV models at the facility annually.
By 2030, Hyundai expects over 80% of vehicles sold in the US will be made domestically. Its supply chain sourcing in the US will also increase from 60% to 80%.
Globally, Hyundai plans to add 1.2 million units to its production capacity by the end of the decade, including in the US, South Korea, and India.
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Back in August of 2024, I wrote about buying an electric chainsaw for the first time. It was a Father’s Day present for my dad, who has several acres of property to manage and is reaching the point where even his dad strength isn’t enough to hand saw all day. I wasn’t quite sure what to expect from the current state of electric chainsaws, but I was excited to put the new machine to work. Fast forward a full year, and I’ve got an update: we’ve abused the heck out of it – and it’s still going strong!
Over the past 12 months, this Ego Power+ 18-inch 56-volt electric chainsaw has seen more wood than a mom-and-pop lumber mill. I’ve cut through your standard backyard trees, gnarly old branches, telephone poles, construction lumber, and plenty of 2x4s.
We’ve basically started treating it like a general-purpose tool. If anything is fiber-based and currently of a size that is larger than it should be, the standard response is “go grab the chainsaw…”.
And not just on nice sunny days either – this saw’s been dragged through rain, dust, and mud. And more than once it’s been used in situations that absolutely should have killed it: fully underwater.
At my parents’ place, a good-sized tree had fallen into their lake after the last big storm and needed to be cleared out. We had been putting it off due to the size of the thing, but the water level was rising, and soon it was going to be swamped. One of the most recent times I went over to visit my parents, my dad and I decided it was time to finally tackle the job. Unfortunately, by then the water had risen to the point where the tree trunk was already half-submerged, creating a navigational hazard for all the weird little electric boats I’ve dropped in that lake.
We started by trying to just cut the exposed portion, and I figured we’d then put a long line on the UTV and see if we couldn’t just break the rest of it free. But that’s where my dad’s more hours on the saw than mine played a key role: knowing he could keep pushing it. My dad waded in with the chainsaw and absolutely went to town. He had that thing so deep in the water, cutting through the massive trunk that if it had been a gas-powered chainsaw, it would have literally needed a snorkel to keep running.
And yet, it worked. Not just worked – it powered through. We pulled it out, dried it off, and then it was on to the next job.
The battery life has stayed impressive, the power is still solid, and the chain hasn’t even needed a replacement yet (though I should probably give it a sharpening one of these days). I’ve lost count of how many logs this thing has ripped through, and it’s never let me down.
There is one minor downside worth mentioning: the chain tensioner has gotten a bit stiff. It used to adjust nice and easy, but now it takes a little more effort to tighten. It still works, but you’ve got to put a bit of muscle into it. That’s literally the only wear-and-tear issue I’ve noticed after a full year of borderline tool abuse.
I expected an electric chainsaw to be a convenient, eco-friendly option for light-duty work. What I didn’t expect was a rugged, waterproof (apparently), do-it-all beast that could handle nearly anything I threw at it.
So here’s the one-year verdict: I bought an electric chainsaw, I used it for everything I possibly could (and some things I probably shouldn’t have), and it still works like a champ. If you’re wondering whether an electric chainsaw can hold up over time – this one has more than proven itself.
And if I ever buy a second one, I’ll try to keep it out of the pond. No promises, though.
Author’s note: On reading through this again to proofread, it almost sounds like an ad, but I promise it’s not (those have big “Sponsored” labels on them and I generally steer clear of those). This is just a chainsaw I bought for my dad and we’ve been thrilled with it one year later.
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