Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
1
THE SECRET HISTORY OF FOSSIL
FUELS
“YOU MUST MAKE A LOT OF MONEY”
“You're an environmentalist, right?” the girl, college age, asked me. It was 2009, in Irvine, California. I had
stopped at a farmers' market near my office for lunch, and she was manning a Greenpeace booth right next
to it.
“Do you want to help us end our addiction to dirty fossil fuels and use clean, renewable energy instead?”
“Actually,” I replied, “I study energy for a living—and I think it's good that we use a lot of fossil fuels. I
think the world would be a much better place if people used a lot more.”
Iwascurioustoseehowshewouldrespond—Idoubtedshehadevermetanyonewhobelievedweshould
use
more
fossil fuels. I was hoping that she would bring up one of the popular arguments for dramatically
reducing fossil fuel use, and I could share with her why I thought the benefits of using fossil fuels far out-
weighed the risks.
But fossil fuels cause climate change, she might have said. I agree, I would have replied, but I think the
evidence shows that climate change, natural or man-made, is more manageable than ever, because human
beings are so good at adapting, using ingenuity and technology.
But fossil fuels cause pollution, she might have said. I agree, I would have replied, but I think the evid-
ence shows that ingenuity and technology make pollution a smaller problem every year.
But fossil fuels are nonrenewable, she might have said. I agree, I would have replied, but I think the evid-
ence shows that there are huge amounts of fossil fuels left, and we'll have plenty of time to use ingenuity
and technology to find something cheaper—such as some form of advanced nuclear power.
But fossil fuels are replaceable by solar and wind, she might have said. I disagree, I would have replied,
because the sun and the wind are intermittent, unreliable fuels that always need backup from a reliable
source of energy—usually fossil fuels, which is the only source of energy that has been able to provide
cheap, plentiful, reliable energy for the billions of people whose lives depend on it.
But she didn't say any of those things. Instead, when I said I thought that we should use more fossil fuels,
she looked at me with wide-eyed disbelief and said, “Wow, you must make a lot of money.”
