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Epoch Times
18-05-2025
- Epoch Times
Power Outage, Inner Power
Commentary April 28th will be remembered as the largest blackout (so far) in European history. Power went down in the whole of continental Spain and Portugal, taking more than 20 hours to come back in some areas. It has been blamed on technical causes, although the Audiencia Nacional (National High Court) has opened an When I was growing up, at the end of Franco's dictatorship, small blackouts were frequent. The only outcome used to be that you were left without TV (black and white) or that, at nightfall, you had to light candles (some were ready). Landlines kept working. We relied much less on electricity. The internet didn't even exist (except as a military project) and it would be decades before the word 'cyberattack' was coined. More than half a century later, blackouts are unusual. But when they happen, as with this 'Great Blackout,' they create a helplessness that was previously unheard of. One would have imagined that this was not the road to progress. The more sophisticated a technology, the more fragile it tends to be. My grandfather drove a truck and knew how to repair most breakdowns. When our tools were simple, you knew how to mend them yourself. Today, tools are amazing, but only specialists know how to fix them. Technological progress makes life easier, but it also makes us more vulnerable. Today we have more information and more power than ever before, but we seem to be more lost. Everything points to a technological progress that is more and more incredible, in the strict sense that it is becoming less and less credible. Related Stories 5/11/2025 5/3/2025 The philosophers that have pondered about technology conclude that it is not a simple tool that we use. There comes a moment when technology escapes our control and takes hold of the wheel. From then on, alas, we are the ones being used by technology. Jacques Ellul wrote in ' 'Everything happens as if the technical system grew by an internal, intrinsic force, and without any decisive human intervention.' Reflecting on the growing imposition of mechanistic and dehumanizing visions, psychiatrist and philosopher Iain McGilchrist writes in ' '[W]e are in the grip of something bigger than us that tells us that it has our interests at heart in order to better control us.' On the afternoon of the day after, April 29th, El País (the Spanish equivalent of the New York Times ) ran an article with the title ' I have read widely in history, but I had never heard of an 'Analog Age.' Dictionaries define analog as a way of conveying information ('analog thermometer' and 'analog television' are two examples I found). However, is conveying information all that matters in life? Anyone with a soul knows that human life and history cannot be reduced to the transmission of information. If this piece you are reading is any good, it will be because it does much more than convey information. Jaron Lanier calls I type 'Analog Age' in Google and I get this: 'The 'Analog Age' refers to a period characterized by physical representations of information and mechanical processes, contrasting with the digital age which uses electronic data and computers. This era was defined by technologies like vinyl records, printed books ...' According to the prevailing technolatry, vinyl records and printed books belong to the past (note the past tense: 'was defined…'). Today, anyway, the vast majority of book readers prefer to read on paper (a few decades ago, it was vainly proclaimed that books were doomed). As for vinyl records, they are making a comeback (in the US their sales are growing more rapidly than those of other music formats) because The talk about the 'Analog Age' can only be done from an irrational faith in the total and lasting triumph of the 'Digital Age.' From the belief that everything—including currencies, IDs, therapies—must be digitized. But during the Great Blackout, in most cases you couldn't do your shopping or get a taxi ride if you didn't pay in cash. The so-called 'digital transformation' entails an erosion of what have been the rules of the game of human existence since the beginning of time: it displaces the properly human ways of acting and being in the world, and replaces them with their robotic or technocratic counterparts. It covertly imposes a technocratic totalitarianism in which people are more controllable, more manipulable, more vulnerable, and less autonomous. How come we are being forced to digitize everything, when blackouts cannot be ruled out? In a recent article in 'Despite today's high standards of reliability, low-probability but high-impact blackout events can still happen. These networks are not designed to be completely blackout-free because achieving such a level of reliability would require investment far beyond what is economically feasible.' Isn't there something quite peculiar about a world that relies more and more on electricity and yet cannot guarantee its supply? This does not look like a road to progress. Incidentally, it is not impossible for human life to flourish without electricity. Plato and Aristotle, Bach and Mozart, Leonardo and Goethe, never in their lives saw a phone, a screen or a socket. Nowadays, though, every new technology is uncritically embraced simply because it's new. And if it has adverse effects, we dogmatically believe that they will be solved by technological progress itself. Back in 1950, philosopher and theologian Romano Guardini wrote in ' Das Ende der Neuzeit ): 'Modern man believes that every increase in power is simply 'Progress,' advance in security, usefulness, welfare, life force […].' And concluded that 'The bourgeois superstition of believing in the intrinsic reliability of Progress has been shattered.' By 1950, after the Second World War, when it became clear that technology could empower in humanity, the idea of history as an irreversible path of progress had begun to shatter. Indeed, the idea of linear progress would have been incomprehensible to most human civilizations, including Ancient Greece and the Renaissance, which sought to return to the models of classical culture. After the mid-twentieth century, thinkers such as Arendt, Jaspers, Tolkien, Huxley, Heidegger, Horkheimer, Adorno, Guardini, Mumford, Schumacher, Ellul, and Illich, much as they disagreed on other issues, were all deeply concerned about the path the world was taking. The modern world dreamed that it was sailing on the ocean of History, aboard the ship Progress, toward a shore of Prosperity and Liberty. There were storms, we lost our way, but in the long run, Progress would deliver. Now we are not so sure. We find ourselves in turbulent waters, as if we were in rapids. The dream seems to be turning into a nightmare. We are left with one main option: to wake up into a wider consciousness, to come to our senses, to rediscover the here and now, and to realize that the ocean, ship, and shore are such stuff as dreams are made on. From the Views expressed in this article are opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times.
The Sun
30-04-2025
- Politics
- The Sun
Spain starts probing causes of massive blackout
MADRID: Spain began investigating Tuesday the causes of the crippling blackout that disrupted millions of lives across the Iberian Peninsula, with a court probing potential 'sabotage' of critical infrastructure. Telephones, internet and lights were working again, train services resumed, shops reopened and workers flocked back to offices in Spain and Portugal following the outage Monday that lasted up to 20 hours in some places. Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said his government had set up a commission to investigate what caused the incident and refused to rule out any hypothesis. 'All the necessary measures will be taken to ensure that this does not happen again,' he told a press conference. In a separate probe, Spain's top criminal court, the Audiencia Nacional, said it was investigating whether the blackout was 'an act of computer sabotage on critical infrastructure' that could be classified as 'a terrorism offence'. Although the causes are unknown, 'cyberterrorism is among' the potential explanations and the 'critical situation' generated for the population meant an investigation was necessary, the court said. But Spanish grid operator Red Electrica (REE) and a Portuguese government spokesman ruled out a cyberattack earlier in the day. 'There was no type of intrusion in Red Electrica's control systems that may have caused the incident,' REE's director of operations, Eduardo Prieto, said at a news conference. Sanchez held an emergency meeting later Tuesday with representatives of the country's main electricity firms including Endesa and Iberdrola to ask for their cooperation in the probe. 'We must make the necessary improvements to secure supply,' he wrote on X after the talks. 'Secure supply' Sanchez also denied reports that a shortfall of nuclear energy was behind the outage, saying proponents of the suggestion were 'lying or demonstrating their ignorance' in a response to criticism from the far-right Vox party. Nuclear power, which the leftist government has planned to phase out, 'was no more resilient' than other electricity sources and 'with a greater dependence on nuclear, the recovery would not have been so quick', Sanchez said. Portuguese Prime Minister Luis Montenegro, who is facing an early general election next month, said his government had requested an independent audit of electrical systems from the EU Agency for the Cooperation of Energy Regulators (ACER) and created a commission to assess the handling of the crisis. For Pratheeksha Ramdas, a senior analyst at the consulting firm Rystad Energy, the episode highlighted the region's 'heavy dependence on cross-border electricity flows'. The high percentage of renewables in Spain's energy mix 'exposed difficulties in balancing intermittent supply, while Portugal's complete reliance on imports underscored its lack of flexibility and energy storage', Ramdas wrote in a research note. 'Afternoon of respite' People in both countries began to recover a semblance of normality Tuesday after the chaos and confusion, with businesses and schools reopening. But police found the bodies of three elderly people at a home in the northwestern region of Galicia who died from suspected carbon monoxide poisoning after using a generator to power an oxygen machine during the blackout. Susana, a 50-year-old finance sector worker in Madrid who declined to give her full name, said she struggled Monday during her 90-minute trek home on foot -- in heels. The lesson she learned? 'Wear sneakers,' she joked in a cafe where a television replayed images of the chaos. Some people, like 32-year-old lawyer Marcos Garcia, welcomed the pause as 'an afternoon of respite, a technology break, an impromptu disconnection'. High-speed Spanish train lines, including those connecting Madrid, Barcelona and Seville, were back up and running on Tuesday and regional services were gradually being restored, said national railway operator Renfe. Madrid's Atocha station was packed with expectant travellers on Tuesday who cheered every time a departure was announced. Monday's disruption saw huge tailbacks on roads, customers rushing to withdraw cash from banks and residents finding themselves trapped in lifts. Thousands of stranded travellers slept in train stations overnight and streets were plunged into darkness with all lampposts and traffic lights off. The episode also affected areas of southwestern France as well as in Morocco and Denmark's Arctic territory of Greenland.
NDTV
29-04-2025
- Politics
- NDTV
"Spain Sets Up Commission To Probe Blackout": Prime Minister
Madrid: Spain has set up a commission to investigate the causes of a sweeping blackout that paralysed the Iberian Peninsula, Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said on Tuesday. The announcement came as the country's top criminal court announced a probe into possible "sabotage" of critical infrastructure. Sanchez refused to rule out potential explanations, and defended his government's planned nuclear phase-out. "All the necessary measures will be taken to ensure that this does not happen again," Sanchez told a press conference a day after Spain and Portugal were plunged into darkness, cutting phone and internet access and stranding trains. In its separate announcement, the top criminal court, the Audiencia Nacional, said it was investigating whether the blackout was "an act of computer sabotage on critical infrastructure" that could be classified as "a terrorism offence". Its announcement came after Spanish grid operator Red Electrica ruled out a cyberattack as the cause of the crisis. Spain's far-right Vox party attacked the leftist government by linking the sudden loss of power to the scheduled phase-out of Spanish nuclear plants, prompting Sanchez to bite back. "Those who link this incident to the lack of nuclear power are frankly lying or demonstrating their ignorance," Sanchez said, saying atomic power "was no more resilient" than other electricity sources. Sanchez said the nuclear plants were still being reconnected on Tuesday, which showed that, "with a greater dependence on nuclear, the recovery would not have been so quick". Renewable energies like solar and wind power are now leading the country's energy mix and reducing nuclear's contribution, raising hackles among some sector figures and the right-wing opposition.
CNA
29-04-2025
- Politics
- CNA
Spain sets up commission to probe blackout: PM
MADRID: Spain has set up a commission to investigate the causes of a sweeping blackout that paralysed the Iberian Peninsula, Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said on Tuesday (Apr 29). The announcement came as the country's top criminal court announced a probe into possible "sabotage" of critical infrastructure. Sanchez refused to rule out potential explanations and defended his government's planned nuclear phase-out. "All the necessary measures will be taken to ensure that this does not happen again," he told a press conference a day after Spain and Portugal were plunged into darkness, cutting phone and internet access and stranding trains. In its separate announcement, the top criminal court, the Audiencia Nacional, said it was investigating whether the blackout was "an act of computer sabotage on critical infrastructure" that could be classified as "a terrorism offence". Its announcement came after Spanish grid operator Red Electrica ruled out a cyberattack as the cause of the crisis. Spain's far-right Vox party attacked the leftist government by linking the sudden loss of power to the scheduled phase-out of Spanish nuclear plants, prompting Sanchez to bite back: "Those who link this incident to the lack of nuclear power are frankly lying or demonstrating their ignorance." He retorted that atomic power "was no more resilient" than other electricity sources. The nuclear plants were still being reconnected on Tuesday, which showed that "with a greater dependence on nuclear, the recovery would not have been so quick", he added. Renewable energies such as solar and wind power are now leading the country's energy mix and reducing nuclear's contribution, raising hackles among some sector figures and the right-wing opposition.
RTHK
29-04-2025
- Politics
- RTHK
Spain sets up commission to probe blackout: PM
Spain sets up commission to probe blackout: PM Spain and Portugal were plunged into darkness, cutting phone and internet access and stranding trains. Photo: AFP Spain has set up a commission to investigate the causes of a sweeping blackout that paralysed the Iberian Peninsula, Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said on Tuesday. The announcement came as the country's top criminal court announced a probe into possible "sabotage" of critical infrastructure. Sanchez refused to rule out potential explanations, and defended his government's planned nuclear phase-out. "All the necessary measures will be taken to ensure that this does not happen again," Sanchez told a press conference a day after Spain and Portugal were plunged into darkness, cutting phone and internet access and stranding trains. In its separate announcement, the top criminal court, the Audiencia Nacional, said it was investigating whether the blackout was "an act of computer sabotage on critical infrastructure" that could be classified as "a terrorism offence". Its announcement came after Spanish grid operator Red Electrica ruled out a cyberattack as the cause of the crisis. Spain's far-right Vox party attacked the leftist government by linking the sudden loss of power to the scheduled phase-out of Spanish nuclear plants, prompting Sanchez to bite back. "Those who link this incident to the lack of nuclear power are frankly lying or demonstrating their ignorance," Sanchez said, saying atomic power "was no more resilient" than other electricity sources. Sanchez said the nuclear plants were still being reconnected on Tuesday, which showed that, "with a greater dependence on nuclear, the recovery would not have been so quick". Renewable energies like solar and wind power are now leading the country's energy mix and reducing nuclear's contribution, raising hackles among some sector figures and the right-wing opposition. (AFP)
