Fossil Fuels: Villain or Hero?

Fossil Fuels: Villain or Hero?

The media and supporters of Anthropogenic Global Warming (AGW) and climate change have gone on record saying we must eliminate the use of fossil fuels. 

They yell:

“Keep it in the Ground.”

Promoters of AGW have said CO2 emissions must be eliminated 100% by 2050 or there will be a climate catastrophe.

But, what has been the record of fossil fuels and how do they fit into our everyday energy mix?

Are fossil fuels really the villain denounced by the promoters of AGW? 

Historically, energy has allowed mankind to increase its quality of life while increasing life expectancy … Energy that’s mostly come from fossil fuels.

The accompanying chart shows that the vast majority of the world’s energy supply is from fossil fuels.

Chart from Climate Change Reconsidered II,
Source: Bithas and Kalimeris, 2016, Figure 2.1, p. 8. (ExaJules)

The table depicts primary energy supply in 2016, with 81% being from fossil fuels. (Biofuels include Wood.) Not shown in the table is that fossil fuels supplied 87% of the primary energy for the United States in 2016.

Table from Climate Change Reconsidered II

These facts make it clear that the proclamations by AGW supporters, such as Governor Brown, Senator Whitehouse, the Union of Concerned Scientists, Greenpeace and others, are useless and dangerous, because it’s impossible to replace 81% of the world’s primary energy supply with wind and solar and other renewables.

If wind and solar can’t replace 100% of our energy supply, while increasing our costs and reducing the reliability of our energy supply, why would we even consider draconian, useless measures to cut CO2 emissions?

Meanwhile, there is mounting evidence that CO2 has only a small effect on global warming. See, We Have Nothing to Fear From CO2, available free, from website.

Fossil fuels have provided the developed world with the energy it needed to create its high standard of living with longer life expectancy, while potentially providing billions of others the possibility of getting out of poverty.

We should be celebrating a bright future for fossil fuels.

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6 Replies to “Fossil Fuels: Villain or Hero?”

    • Concentrating Solar (CSP) appears to be less competitive than PV solar. Existing installations aren’t doing well under actual operating conditions. As intimated, CSP seems to be a ripoff.

  1. I do not think the “average citizen” can do anything to curb the Socialist propaganda regarding atmospheric CO2. The reasons are: 1. The theory has not been proven with empirical evidence; 2. The attack on CO2 makes this “problem” necessarily “Global”; 3. this global problem is necessary for the Globalists to change the World Order away from the Free Market approach we are currently using to a much more concentrated “planned economic” model. Political power would change from the current population to being given to the “elite” class. Eliminating fossil fuel use is, by far, their ultimate goal to force the population to accept this elitist approach to governance.

    • Thanks for your comments. The leader of the UNFCCC have said as much. It’s all about changing the economic system.