Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
At the dawn of the twenty-first century, the country that faced down the tyranny of fascism and com-
munism is now called to challenge the tyranny of oil. . . . For the sake of our security, our economy, our
jobs and our planet, the age of oil must end in our time.
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While he was saying this, the oil industry he was comparing to the mass murderers of the twentieth
century was perfecting shale-oil (and shale-gas) technology. Thanks to Obama's lack of oversight in this
area, shale energy technology became the leading positive economic force during his administration.
That is,
a revolution in fossil fuel technology occurred because our government didn't know enough
about it to demonize and ban it
. This is not the kind of thing we want to depend on.
What if Obama had been aware of this revolution in the making ten years out? He would have no doubt
regarded it as a dangerous practice to be stopped, given that he viewed oil as a “tyranny” to be ended, not
expanded. Technological progress in the United States would have been thwarted—and with it, progress
around the world. The United States is the best place in the world to do fossil fuel research and develop-
ment, because we have the most private property that can be bought and explored, rather than delegated at
the whim of the state.
This example to me captures where we are—incredible threats to progress and incredible opportunities
forprogress.Wearestill arguablyatthebeginningofthefossilfuelage.Inseveral decades wemaybeable
to drill efficiently and safely at any depth, efficiently turn coal or gas into oil, and use fossil fuels to help
develop new generations of technology (likely nuclear) and help increase the amount of the most valuable
resources—food, water, beauty, and most important, human time. All indications are that, as the amount of
CO
2
in the atmosphere increases from .04 percent to .05 or .06 percent, we will continue to benefit from
more plant growth. If new climate dynamics are discovered, we will adapt—always keeping in mind as
full context the indispensable value of industrial civilization.
We
can
have it all.
We just need to be clear on what is right, then take the time and sometimes social risk to try to reach
the people who matter most to us. I wrote this topic so you could hand it to the people who matter most to
you—and so that you could take its ideas and make them your own, telling the people who matter to you
how you think and feel.
Iwrote this topic foranyonewhowantstomaketheworldabetterplace—forhumanbeings—including
many, many people who would start this topic opposed to or at least suspicious of fossil fuels. Having held
that position myself before, I know it can be well motivated. The idea of ruining the world for the less
fortunate and, even worse, for our children or grandchildren is horrifying to us. Thus, when someone tells
us of a major risk that our behavior is causing, we want to do something about it.
What we are not taught is that the biggest risk is
not
using fossil fuels, and that using them is incredibly
virtuous. We are not taught that we're building a civilization that serves us and the future, that we're creat-
ing knowledge and resources that can enrich everyone around the world. We're not taught that the choices
we make often reflect an extremely rational calculation that balances benefit and risk. We're not taught
that some people truly believe that human life doesn't matter, and that their goal is not to help us triumph
over nature's obstacles but to remove us as an obstacle to the rest of nature.
Make no mistake—there are people trying to use you to promote actions that would harm everything
you care about. Not because they care about you—they prioritize nature over you—but because they see
you as a tool.
The unpopular but moral cause of our time is fossil fuels. Fossil fuels are easy to misunderstand and
demonize, but they are absolutely good to use. And they absolutely need to be championed.
