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Big chill: Bulgarians battle to keep warm - no heating for thousands of…
Big chill: Bulgarians battle to keep warm - no heating for thousands of people
Economics
An electrical shop sold 240 heaters for one day.
Even though this isn't bad for economy, it still affects it, as the heater industry is growing. I believe it wasn't only one shop that sold so many heaters, but it is rather a trend, since thousands of people are left without heating. The heaters industry benefits from such situations and experiences economic growth.
Glass, steel, beer and metal producers were forced to shut down
So many essential producers shutting down provides big economical problems both for the manufacturers and the country. Obviously, while shut down, the glass, beer and metal producers are losing money they could have made if they were working during the time they were shut down and the country is losing money on potential export of these products while the producers were shut down. The industries' estimated loss was around 500 million leva.
Gas supplies for many companies were cut back.
Gas supplies cut back for many companies is a huge issue for them. If the companies depend on gas and/or need gas for optimal production are cut off of it, they are facing negative growth as they are not manufacturing particular products at their best rate. This would lead to losses for the companies and if some of them shut down because they cannot work at all without gas, they might even go bankrupt
Politics
Gas supplies from Ukraine were shut off
This is where the initial problem started. Due to international political relationships, the gas supply was shut down and initiated this serious problem for the country which itself led to many problems.
Bulgaria is almost 100% dependent on Russia for energy, and has no access to any alternative gas routes or suppliers
A controversial contract was signed between the two countries two years before the crisis. It is very bad for a country to depend entirely on one supplier of gas because as it can be seen in this situation, a conflict might lead to the cutting off of the certain supply and that can cause many problems to Bulgaria in this case.
"We feel like pawns in someone else's game," said Krasimir with a philosophical grin.
That game of diplomatic chess mixed with energy hardball appeared to be inching closer to resolution yesterday, but even if the gas taps are switched back on, Bulgarians are still facing a chilly weekend. The earliest that supplies can be restored is Monday.
This passage, directly taken from the article shows that the ones suffering from the political conflicts are the common people. The conflict is referred to as chess because instead of attacking Bulgaria or a person of high authority from Bulgaria, Russia and Ukraine are cutting off the gas supply which indirectly causes problems to Bulgaria. The international political issue of the gas supply cut is causing inner political problems and chaos for the leaders o the country.
Society
Schools were closed; there were even concerns about prison inmates' health.
Schools being closed because of health concerns for the children is the right thing to do, but since it is unknown how much time will the gas cut last, it is bad for society because the children that miss school will miss essential school material that would later have impact on their lives and they will have to figure out how to get back the time they have lost. The fact that there were concerns about prison inmates' health shows that this is a serious issue and there is actually need to be worried.
Drivers of trams were ordered to turn off heating on public transport between 10 am and 4pm.
The shutting down of public transport is a serious issue because thousands people a day use trams, buses, etc. and if the conditions in the trams, which you are paying for, are not optimal, people would stop using them. The uncomfortable conditions in the trams is a problem for society because people who don't have cars would either have to ride in a cold tram or find another way to travel across the town they live in.
Many workers are forced to stay with their coats on in their working spaces because of the lack of heating and the low temperatures.
This is a big social problem because people spend most of their day working. If the working environment isn't in its best condition it first of all, makes the workers more uncomfortable and therefore less productive and second, it is dangerous for their health, as people might get a cold. This may lead to people leaving or not attending their working places because of their concerns.
Georgi Atanasov 10/9