Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
Fossil fuel energy is, for the foreseeable future, necessary to life. The more of it we produce, the more
people will have the ability to improve their lives. The less of it we produce, the more preventable suffer-
ing and death will exist. To not use fossil fuels, therefore, is beyond a risk—it is certain mortal peril for
mankind.
That bringsustothe issue ofthe major risks cited with fossil-fuel use: climate change andenvironment-
al degradation. As we begin to think about risks, we need to keep this in mind: The reason we care about
risk is because it is a danger to human life. Thus if something is essential to human life, like fossil fuels,
we need to assess all risks in that context.
We need a rigorous, big-picture examination of fossil fuels' impact on climate and other environmental
issues. We must clearly hold human life as our standard of value, or if we don't, we must make clear that
we are willing to sacrifice human life for something we think is more important. With that standard, we
must look at the big picture, the full context. And we must use experts as advisers, not authorities, getting
precise explanations from them about what is known and what is not known, so that we as individuals can
make the most informed decision.
