The Oil Drum: Europe

Sorry but here I can comment as an American I actually work in Extremadura Spain and the connection between Lisbon and Madrid is a absolute travesty. I know the province is poor on the Spanish side thats why I work there but what the hell ?

The buses are actually quite nice but its still not decent rail and this is between the two largest cities.

Sorry but you touched on my number one beef with all of Europe no high speed rail between Madrid and Lisbon.

I feel much better now :)

On the other hand, there are a number of factors that may benefit Portugal:

• The relatively large percentage of electric power that is provided by renewables (mostly hydro, but increasingly wind and even solar). It's supposed to be already around 45%.
• Some 70% (and rising) of the population lives near the coast, where the climate is gentle enough that one can survive winter without heating. It may not be comfortable (particularly in the northern regions where even in the coast temperatures can drop below freezing), but it is doable. On the other hand, global warming may mean that air conditioning usage may increase during the summer.
• Salaries are still low by European standards, meaning that companies may have an incentive to move production to Portugal if transportation costs make China too expensive.
• Serious economic hardship is not a foreign concept to most of the population. When talking to people over 50, it's not uncommon for them to recall actual hunger in their childhood days.