Thus Der Spiegel today. “As recently as three years ago, many thought that it was only a matter of time before solar thermal plants in North Africa supplied a significant portion of Europe’s energy needs,” elaborates the newspaper. “But Desertec has hit a road-block. Industrial backers are jumping ship, political will is tepid, and a key pilot project has suddenly stalled.” The Sahara has run dry once again. By the way, the industrial backers mentioned are Siemens and Bosch. The key country defecting is Spain. But the main argument against the German project is that the prices of oil and gas are too low at present to warrant the extravagance. And this is how things will remain for the length of the current depression. Say, a decade. How about the long run, though? Forget about the long run, this is capitalism. In the long run we are all dead, as John Maynard Keynes famously put it.