Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
We always need to be clear about our standard of value so we know the goal we're aiming at. Aiming
at human well-being, which includes transforming nature as much as necessary to meet human needs, is a
lot different from aiming to
not
affect nature. The humanist believes that transforming nature is bad only
if it fails to meet human needs; the nonhumanist believes that transforming nature is intrinsically bad and
that doing so will inevitably somehow cause catastrophe for us in the long run.
Because many of the people predicting dire consequences from fossil fuel use avowedly do not hold a
human standard of value and because the vast majority of discussions on the issue are not clear about the
standard of value being used, we need to always ask, when we hear any evaluation: “By what standard of
value?”
THE MORAL CASE FOR FOSSIL FUELS
In my experience, if we follow these principles to get a big-picture perspective on what will and won't be-
nefit human life, the conclusion we'll reach is far more positive and optimistic than almost anyone would
expect.
The reason is that the cheap, plentiful, reliable energy we get from fossil fuels and other forms of cheap,
plentiful, reliable energy, combined with human ingenuity, gives us the ability to transform the world
around us into a place that is far safer from any health hazards (man-made or natural), far safer from any
climate change (man-made or natural), and far richer in resources now and in the future.
Fossil fuel technology transforms nature to improve human life on an epic scale. It is the only energy
technology that can currently meet the energy needs of all 7+ billion people on this planet. While there
are some truly exciting supplemental technologies that may rise to dominance in some distant decade, that
does not diminish the greatness or immense value of fossil fuel technology.
• • •
Ultimately, the moral case for fossil fuels is not about fossil fuels; it's the moral case for using cheap, plen-
tiful, reliable energy to amplify our abilities to make the world a better place—a better place
for human
beings.
That's where we will start. In chapters 2 and 3, I will make the case that no other energy technology be-
sides fossil fuels can even come close to producing that energy for the foreseeable future (although several
can be valuable supplements).
In chapters 4, 5, 6, and 7, I will make the case that just as energy dramatically improves our ability to
dealwithanyaspectoflifebyusingmachines—increasing ourmentalcapacitieswithcomputers,ourmed-
ical capabilities with MRI machines, and our agricultural capabilities with high-powered farming equip-
ment—so it dramatically improves our ability to make our environment healthier and safer from natural
and man-made threats. The data clearly show that we have never had higher environmental quality and we
have never been safer from climate, despite—no, because of—record fossil fuel use.
In chapter 8, I will make the case that fossil fuel use is not “unsustainable” but progressive—by using
the best energy technology today and in the coming decades, we pave the way for fossil fuel technologies
not only to harness the copious amounts of fossil fuels remaining in the ground, of which we have just
