Fossil future?
Elba Pareja-Gallagher
Sustainability consultant & Keynote speaker & trainer | Gender equity & Allyship expert | ShowMe50% women leading 501 (c)(3) | UPS (Retired). I ??getting into good trouble!
Recently I was helping my father with his medicine. Before he consumed any of it, we read extensively to understand the benefits and the side effects.?We didn’t just accept the words of the “experts”. We researched, then weighed both positives and negatives.?
The experience reminded me of the diverse roles from my career. In Investor relations, the Wall Street analysts always wanted to evaluate the “puts and takes” to net out what the true result was. In my marketing strategy role, we had to show both the positive and contrarian marketing views and financial forecasts when we presented a business case.
However, when it comes to the fossil fuel and energy conversations, it seems overwhelmingly that all we hear in the mainstream is the fossil fuel “side effects.” We don’t hear both the “puts and takes.”
As an intelligent motivated sustainability advocate, I am often seeking to grow from the voice of critics. I am thrilled that I found my next book, “Fossil Future: Why global human flourishing requires more oil, coal and natural gas – not less,” by Alex Epstein . I’m only on page 173 of 468, but after partially listening to the audiobook, I have already purchased the paper book to retain as a reference.
In today’s post I want to share a few early takeaways. I hope you will join me in my journey. I welcome comments from all points of view.
Takeaway #1 – Climate related deaths have declined not increased
This diagram comparing atmospheric CO2 and climate-related disaster deaths, shows that climate-related deaths have declined significantly.
Takeaway #2 – Humanity has benefited from fossil fuels
Alex identifies three macro level metrics as a measure of human flourishing:
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This diagram, which the author calls the “hockey sticks,” shows how the world has become significantly better by the use of fossil fuels. What especially moves me, is that there are still so many parts of the world in need of the benefits the empowered world has experienced.?There are billions of people who still do not have reliable, low-cost electricity.
Takeaway #3 – A fraction of the benefits summarized
I made this graphic from some of the benefits the author introduced. This doesn’t do his narrative justice.
Bottom line
Intelligent motivated sustainability advocates can and should become better informed about different kinds of energy sources and how human beings, in both the developed and developing world, can flourish best. This book is an outstanding resource for critical thinking.
Sources & Further Reading
Disclaimer: Sustainability Navigator is Elba Pareja-Gallagher's personal ESG newsletter published every Monday (except holidays). Views expressed are her own. Corrections and respectful feedback are always welcome.
Head of GSAS Civil Group at Gulf Organisation for Research & Development. GSAS stands for Global Sustainability Assessment System.
1 年The decrease in the number of deaths from natural catastrophes is a consequence of better infrastructure, it does not mean that there are fewer natural catastrophes. Fossil fuel is causing climate change which results in more often and intense natural catastrophes, all you need to do is counting. A house made of concrete can better withstand a hurricane than a house made of wood. You should read The Three Little Pigs rather than this misleading piece of writing.
The author, Alex Epstein, never seems to mention the hidden costs of using FFs. A Harvard study finds 8 million people a year die from FF pollution (https://seas.harvard.edu/news/2021/02/deaths-fossil-fuel-emissions-higher-previously-thought). The IMF says explicit and implicit subsidies for FFs cost us $5.9 trillion a year (https://www.imf.org/en/Publications/WP/Issues/2021/09/23/Still-Not-Getting-Energy-Prices-Right-A-Global-and-Country-Update-of-Fossil-Fuel-Subsidies-466004). Biodiversity, a critical aspect of sustainability, is being lost due to global warming from fossil fuel carbon emissions: "These culprits are, in descending order: (1) changes in land and sea use; (2) direct exploitation of organisms; (3) climate change". "climate change... impacts expected to increase... in some cases surpassing the impact of land and sea use change." (https://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/blog/2019/05/nature-decline-unprecedented-report/) From a US business perspective we risk losing global leadership if we listen to FF apologists like Epstein rather than the consensus of climate scientists and economists: Carbon Pricing is Inevitable. When We Do It Matters! https://www.greenenergytimes.org/2022/12/carbon-pricing-is-inevitable/
Medical Writer-Editor
1 年Foreign Policy provided a review of this book. I like this quote from the authors "In calling for a recommitment to the carbon age, the book requires us to ignore the leaps and bounds made in the past few years. It requires us to ignore the innovators, scientists, activists, and policymakers laying out pathways to a brighter future. It requires us to presume that our status quo world of climate disasters, of ecosystem die-off, of environmental injustice, and of fossil fuel wars is the best that we as humanity can do. While Epstein declares?Fossil Future?to be a work of moral philosophy, at the end of the day, the only philosophy he’s selling is pessimism." https://foreignpolicy.com/2022/05/28/fossil-fuels-climate-change-energy-epstein-review/
Retired at Self-Employed
1 年I actually spend quite a bit of time looking at what the deniers are saying, but I haven't read Epstein's "Fossil Future" book - life is too short. After I seeing this post, I found this article about the book by Nitish Pahwa in Slate. To me, the important part is where Pahwa writes, "The new style of climate denial is here: It’s not that carbon emissions aren’t increasing, or aren’t warming the world, but look, you’re doing fine right now, right? So, we’ll be just fine!" https://slate.com/technology/2022/05/alex-epstein-fossil-future-climate-change-argument.html
Advocate for affordable safe and clean energy!
1 年I’m grateful for the amazing benefits to society realized in the Industrial Age made possible by burning coal and other fuels. But we now know fossil fuels (coal, oil, gas) create pollution when burned. We have put a blanket of pollution around the earth that is trapping heat that used to go back out to space. And that’s making the storms and drought stronger and melting the ice caps and flooding our cities. And the good news is we know what to do. We need to phase out the pollution and the temperatures will get better!