{"id":254410,"date":"2023-04-24T10:01:36","date_gmt":"2023-04-24T08:01:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=254410"},"modified":"2023-04-24T10:01:39","modified_gmt":"2023-04-24T08:01:39","slug":"fossil-fuels-the-big-picture","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=254410","title":{"rendered":"Fossil Fuels: The Big Picture"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"723\" height=\"410\" data-attachment-id=\"254416\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?attachment_id=254416\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/00Screenshot-2023-04-24-100054.png?fit=895%2C508&amp;ssl=1\" data-orig-size=\"895,508\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"00Screenshot-2023-04-24-100054\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/00Screenshot-2023-04-24-100054.png?fit=723%2C410&amp;ssl=1\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/00Screenshot-2023-04-24-100054.png?resize=723%2C410&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-254416\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/00Screenshot-2023-04-24-100054.png?w=895&amp;ssl=1 895w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/00Screenshot-2023-04-24-100054.png?resize=300%2C170&amp;ssl=1 300w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/00Screenshot-2023-04-24-100054.png?resize=768%2C436&amp;ssl=1 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 723px) 100vw, 723px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/@PragerU\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"40\" src=\"https:\/\/yt3.ggpht.com\/QJ-oDMjWW2tTvPfdIdFyxYHZfZtYrYfUAkQ9Kj3CDhZL6K3IZ2SQSgK6VmKIkMItG9PgJ7MIwPM=s48-c-k-c0x00ffffff-no-rj\" alt=\"\">PragerU<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Should the world stop using fossil fuels\u2014oil, coal, and natural gas? <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Or should we embrace them as an essential part of modern life? <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Alex Epstein explores these questions. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Script: The world needs more fossil fuels\u2014more oil, coal, and natural gas. Not less. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Does that sound crazy? <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">It\u2019s actually not\u2014not if you employ one common-sense principle. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">It\u2019s the same principle you use when you decide whether to take a prescription drug. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Carefully weigh the benefits and the negative side effects. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">If the benefits of using fossil fuels outweigh the negative side effects, then we should keep using fossil fuels. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">If the negative side effects outweigh the benefits, then we should stop using fossil fuels as soon as possible. Which is it? <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">It turns out that the benefits of fossil fuels far outweigh the negative side effects. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The reason that most so-called experts, including many climate scientists, are against fossil fuels is that they violate this principle. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">They ignore the benefits of fossil fuels while overstating their negative side effects. To know the truth about the benefits and side effects of fossil fuels, you need to understand eight essential facts. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Fact One: Cost-effective energy is essential to human flourishing. This is almost never discussed, but no one can dispute it. Low-cost, reliable, versatile energy makes modern life possible. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">There\u2019s a simple reason for this. Energy powers the machines that allow us to be productive and prosperous\u2014from the combine harvesters that allow one farm worker to do the work of 1,000 to the incubators that save the lives of millions of premature babies. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Everything depends on energy. Thanks to the unprecedented availability of cost-effective energy\u2014overwhelmingly fossil fuel energy\u2014the world has never been a better place for human life. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Life expectancy has risen sharply. And extreme poverty (those that earn less than $2 per day) has plummeted from 42% in 1980 to less than 10% today. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Fact Two: Billions of people are suffering and dying for lack of energy. Most of us take cost-effective energy for granted. But much of the world doesn\u2019t have that luxury.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<span class=\"embed-youtube\" style=\"text-align:center; display: block;\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" class=\"youtube-player\" width=\"723\" height=\"407\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/8JiHbIW7ksg?version=3&#038;rel=1&#038;showsearch=0&#038;showinfo=1&#038;iv_load_policy=1&#038;fs=1&#038;hl=en-US&#038;autohide=2&#038;wmode=transparent\" allowfullscreen=\"true\" style=\"border:0;\" sandbox=\"allow-scripts allow-same-origin allow-popups allow-presentation allow-popups-to-escape-sandbox\"><\/iframe><\/span>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">SUBSCRIBE \ud83d\udc49 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/redirect?event=video_description&amp;redir_token=QUFFLUhqblJsSUJZeGlYZm05cEl3WlpxNVY4VkFoaDh3QXxBQ3Jtc0tuWGpyalJDbGVXWU80R1ZFd29RaEIyVGhQaGZvS0NsdlZyMWVXRUxjMDlreFRTbHBndUgzS0ZYMU5NSXpVU2haQ2hXVWlYYVhoSlp0cURCRzNIeHBRVTVvWjBTNzZFY3cyemZ2OFI3cEdpRmRZZ0REQQ&amp;q=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.prageru.com%2Fjoin&amp;v=8JiHbIW7ksg\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">https:\/\/www.prageru.com\/join<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>They ignore the benefits of fossil fuels while overstating their negative side effects. To know the truth about the benefits and side effects of fossil fuels, you need to understand eight essential facts. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":121246920,"featured_media":254416,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_coblocks_attr":"","_coblocks_dimensions":"","_coblocks_responsive_height":"","_coblocks_accordion_ie_support":"","advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[1],"tags":[691818228,691818155],"class_list":["post-254410","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-fossil-fuels","tag-gas","fallback-thumbnail"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/00Screenshot-2023-04-24-100054.png?fit=895%2C508&ssl=1","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/paxLW1-14bo","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":258372,"url":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=258372","url_meta":{"origin":254410,"position":0},"title":"Serious Energy: Coal, Oil &amp; Gas Deliver Warmth, Light &amp; Power All Day, Every\u00a0Day","author":"uwe.roland.gross","date":"05\/21\/2023","format":false,"excerpt":"Coal, oil and gas, are truly modernising forces, lifting billions out of agrarian poverty \u2013 powering machines and driving industrialization. People called on fossil fuels, when they should be called hydrocarbon heroes.","rel":"","context":"In \"CO2\"","block_context":{"text":"CO2","link":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?tag=co2"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/0Untitled-design-12.webp?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/0Untitled-design-12.webp?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/0Untitled-design-12.webp?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/0Untitled-design-12.webp?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/0Untitled-design-12.webp?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":286793,"url":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=286793","url_meta":{"origin":254410,"position":1},"title":"What if we went back to a fossil-free society like the 1800\u2019s?","author":"uwe.roland.gross","date":"11\/06\/2023","format":false,"excerpt":"If we stopped oil, gas and coal extraction immediately - what would happen? What would we need to change about the way our economies and societies work in order to adjust to that resource no longer being available?\u00a0 From\u00a0CFACT By Ronald Stein and Frank Lasee The transformation to a fossil-fuel-free,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In \"aircrafts\"","block_context":{"text":"aircrafts","link":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?tag=aircrafts"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/image-148.png?fit=1056%2C617&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/image-148.png?fit=1056%2C617&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/image-148.png?fit=1056%2C617&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/image-148.png?fit=1056%2C617&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/image-148.png?fit=1056%2C617&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":271265,"url":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=271265","url_meta":{"origin":254410,"position":2},"title":"The war on fossil fuels empowers China","author":"uwe.roland.gross","date":"08\/03\/2023","format":false,"excerpt":"Autocratic\u00a0Producers\u00a0(primarily Saudi Arabia, the Emirates, Russia, Iran, Qatar, Venezuela, and China) and certain democratic (or semi-democratic)\u00a0Consumers\u00a0(fossil fuel-dependent nations, mostly in the Global South), are uniting over oil, gas, coal, petrochemicals, natural gas-derived fertilizers and wind-solar-battery raw materials that are essential for building and maintaining modern industrial nations.","rel":"","context":"In \"China\"","block_context":{"text":"China","link":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?tag=china"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/image-95.png?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/image-95.png?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/image-95.png?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/image-95.png?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/image-95.png?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":288491,"url":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=288491","url_meta":{"origin":254410,"position":3},"title":"Hydrocarbons Are the Greenest\u00a0Fuels","author":"uwe.roland.gross","date":"11\/23\/2023","format":false,"excerpt":"From Science Matters By\u00a0Ron Clutz I\u2019ll summarize a recent paper that was published by our Coalition stating that\u00a0coal, oil and natural gas are the greenest of the energy sources.\u00a0The paper was published by one of our distinguished members Dr. Indur Goklany. This is no lightweight scientist we\u2019re talking about here.\u2026","rel":"","context":"In \"CO2\"","block_context":{"text":"CO2","link":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?tag=co2"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/2000px-carbon_cycle-cute_diagram.svg_.png?fit=1200%2C926&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/2000px-carbon_cycle-cute_diagram.svg_.png?fit=1200%2C926&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/2000px-carbon_cycle-cute_diagram.svg_.png?fit=1200%2C926&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/2000px-carbon_cycle-cute_diagram.svg_.png?fit=1200%2C926&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/2000px-carbon_cycle-cute_diagram.svg_.png?fit=1200%2C926&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":404082,"url":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=404082","url_meta":{"origin":254410,"position":4},"title":"The end of fossil fuel era? It\u2019s nowhere near","author":"uwe.roland.gross","date":"09\/22\/2025","format":false,"excerpt":"For the last few years, climate and energy policymakers have convinced themselves the world was inexorably moving away from fossil fuels. Breaking news: it is not.","rel":"","context":"In \"carbon dioxide emissions\"","block_context":{"text":"carbon dioxide emissions","link":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?tag=carbon-dioxide-emissions"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/0fossilfuelsu.jpg?fit=1200%2C781&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/0fossilfuelsu.jpg?fit=1200%2C781&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/0fossilfuelsu.jpg?fit=1200%2C781&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/0fossilfuelsu.jpg?fit=1200%2C781&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/0fossilfuelsu.jpg?fit=1200%2C781&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":241577,"url":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=241577","url_meta":{"origin":254410,"position":5},"title":"Are You Really Against Fossil Fuels?","author":"uwe.roland.gross","date":"01\/26\/2023","format":false,"excerpt":"Are people aware of the extent to which their lives are dependent on fossil fuels? Do they know that more than 90 percent of things used in their everyday lives are derived from fossil fuels?","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/image-1113.png?fit=927%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/image-1113.png?fit=927%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/image-1113.png?fit=927%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/image-1113.png?fit=927%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/254410","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/121246920"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=254410"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/254410\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":254417,"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/254410\/revisions\/254417"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/254416"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=254410"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=254410"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=254410"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}