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< | Fossil Fuels: A Call for Transformation | >
> | Fossil Fuels: A Call to Action | | | -- By ShayBanerjee - 13 Mar 2015 | |
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< | Author's Note: This essay obviously deviates substantially from the original, but I also believe that it is more faithful to my original purpose. Ultimately I wanted to write an essay that integrated biophysical notions of historical development with perspective on a contemporary social problem. I am convinced that this essay does so more assertively than the last | | | Introduction
Enough games. It is time to get serious. | | | Despite these realities, the United States government continues to back the failing fossil fuel industry, and that mistake diverts from our economic strength. In addition to the government spending over $40 billion in subsidies on the fossil fuel industry, pollution from fossil fuels produces an estimated $120 billion in domestic health care costs. Moreover, the government has spent an estimated $8 trillion since 1977 to protect midstream oil flow in the Persian Gulf, and the amount spent in other regions is beyond calculation. Over the last several decades, our dependence on the fossil fuel industry has contributed to blundering foreign policy choices, multiple recessions, rising economic inequality, and a reduced moral standing in a world increasingly captivated by environmental politics. | |
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< | Time is of the essence. Fossil fuels will be replaced with energy sources better capable of providing for the needs of modern society. The question is no longer “if” but “when.” Alternative energy sources already undercut the price of fossil fuels in many regions, and, by some estimates, they will achieve complete grid parity by 2020. A storm is coming, and nations must reassert their economic positions in a changing world. | >
> | Time is of the essence. Fossil fuels will be surpassed by energy sources better capable of providing for the needs of modern society. The question is no longer “if” but “when.” Alternative energy sources already undercut the price of fossil fuels in many regions, and, by some estimates, they will achieve complete grid parity by 2020. A storm is coming, and nations must reassert their economic positions in a changing world. | | |
The Case for a National Solution | | | Mainstream economic theories have repeatedly failed to identify this fundamental truth. Instead, at different time periods, political economists have variously emphasized the relative roles of land, labor and capital. Yet land is only as valuable as the resources produced on it directly or indirectly by solar energy. Labor is nothing more than the harnessing of human energy. And capital is simply the technical equipment capable of utilizing an energy throughput. | |
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< | The underlying truth is this: when the predominant energy flow powering an economy becomes too costly, growth stagnates, nations become poorer, and societies collapse. Winning societies counteract this by revolutionizing the processes by which energy is acquired, stored, and put into production. Societies lacking foresight wait until it’s too late. | >
> | The underlying truth is this: when the predominant energy flow powering an economy becomes too costly, growth stagnates, civilizations become poorer, and societies collapse. Nations that lead counteract this by revolutionizing the processes by which energy is acquired, stored, and put into production. Nations that fall behind wait until it is too late. | | | | |
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< | At every recent turning point in human development, nations that prospered took a prominent role in promoting more efficient energy strategy through government involvement. America is no exception. Following the Great Depression, the processes underlying the New Deal and WWII unleashed electrical modernization on the American home and petroleum-based automobiles on the transportation sector. Decades before, the rapidly urbanizing North flexed its coal-fired industrial muscles, crushing the back of an antiquated Southern plantation system built around agricultural land and slave labor. Serious realignment of energy strategy has never been cheap or uncontroversial, but when history beckons, a Nation must answer the call. | >
> | At every recent turning point in human development, successful nations promoted more efficient energy strategy through government involvement. America is no exception. Following the Great Depression, the New Deal and WWII unleashed electrical modernization on the American home and petroleum-based automobiles on the transportation sector. Decades before, the rapidly urbanizing North flexed its coal-fired industrial muscles, crushing the back of an antiquated Southern plantation system built around agricultural land and slave labor. Serious realignment of energy strategy has never been cheap or uncontroversial, but when history beckons, a Nation must answer the call. | | | We have reached another turning point, and the basic infrastructure of the economy must be transformed once again. As always, cultural forces tied to the Old Ways are resisting, but we must continue unabated. Our Nation’s future demands it. | |
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< | Today, fossil fuels permeate virtually every system of production, distribution, and consumption in America. Our transportation systems, electrical networks, schools, hospitals, industries, and homes are powered by fossil fuels. Our economic welfare fluctuates with the availability and quality of coal, petroleum, and natural gas. The problem will not be solved with mere tax credits, fuel efficiency standards, or LEED certification stickers. | >
> | Today, fossil fuels permeate virtually every sector in the American economy. Our transportation systems, electrical networks, schools, hospitals, industries, and homes are equipped to run on fossil fuels. Something fundamental must change, and the federal government must change it. The grid must be torn down and rebuilt. New vehicles must be designed and distributed. Residences, public facilities, and office buildings must be renovated from the ground up.
No more excuses. We have work to do.
Author's Note: The topic of this essay obviously deviates substantially from the original, but I also believe that it is more faithful to my original purpose. Ultimately I wanted to write an essay that integrated biophysical notions of historical development with perspective on a contemporary social problem. I am convinced that this essay does so more forcefully than the last | | | | |
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< | Something more fundamental must change, and the federal government must change it. | >
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