The Moral Case for Fossil Fuels

1. Fossil fuels have dramatically improved human life and the environment

"Mankind's use of fossil fuels is supremely virtuous—because human life is the standard of value, and because using fossil fuels transforms our environment to make it wonderful for human life."

Fossil fuels enable human flourishing. Since the widespread adoption of fossil fuels, human life expectancy and income have skyrocketed. Fossil fuels power the machines that make modern civilization possible, from agriculture to transportation to healthcare.

Environmental benefits are overlooked. Contrary to popular belief, fossil fuels have made our environment cleaner and safer. They enable water purification, sanitation systems, and protection from natural disasters. The data shows that as CO2 emissions have increased, deaths from climate-related causes have plummeted by 98% in the last century.

Moral case for fossil fuels. Using fossil fuels to improve human life is virtuous. They have lifted billions out of poverty and continue to be essential for human flourishing. The benefits far outweigh the manageable risks and side effects.

2. The energy challenge: Cheap, plentiful, reliable energy for 7 billion people

"There are 7 billion people in the world, but 1.3 billion have no electricity. Over 3 billion are classified as not having 'adequate electricity'—a threshold that is far less than we enjoy and take for granted."

Enormous unmet energy needs. Billions of people lack access to adequate energy, which is essential for a good quality of life. For everyone to have as much energy as the average American, global energy production would need to quadruple.

Energy is ability. More energy means more ability to improve our lives in every way. It powers our homes, transportation, agriculture, industry, and healthcare. Energy scarcity means poverty, suffering, and death.

The challenge. Producing cheap, plentiful, reliable energy on a massive scale is an enormous challenge. Any viable solution must be able to scale to meet the needs of billions of people.

3. Fossil fuels are the most effective solution to the energy challenge

"Fossil fuel technology puts everything together: It can get a plentiful fuel source cheaply and convert it to energy cheaply—on a scale that can power life for billions of people."

Unmatched advantages of fossil fuels:

• Cheap and abundant
• Reliable and controllable
• Energy dense
• Portable (especially oil)
• Scalable to billions of people

Alternatives fall short. Renewables like solar and wind are unreliable and cannot scale to meet global energy needs. Nuclear has potential but faces major hurdles. Fossil fuels remain uniquely capable of meeting the world's enormous energy needs.

Continued importance. Even as alternatives improve, fossil fuels will likely remain essential for decades to come, especially for developing countries seeking to industrialize and lift their populations out of poverty.

4. The greenhouse effect is misunderstood and overstated

"There is a greenhouse effect. It's logarithmic. The temperature has increased very mildly and leveled off completely in recent years."

Greenhouse basics. The greenhouse effect causes some warming, but its impact decreases logarithmically as CO2 increases. We've already experienced most of the warming effect from CO2.

Mild warming so far. Despite rising CO2 levels, warming has been mild - less than 1°C in the past century. This matches what would be expected from the greenhouse effect alone, without major positive feedbacks.

Failed predictions. Climate models predicting catastrophic warming have failed to match reality. Warming has been much less than predicted, demonstrating that CO2 is not the dominant driver of climate that many claim.

5. Fossil fuels make our climate safer, not more dangerous

"We don't take a safe climate and make it dangerous; we take a dangerous climate and make it safe. High-energy civilization, not climate, is the driver of climate livability."

Climate has always been dangerous. Throughout history, humans have faced major risks from extreme weather, temperature swings, and other climate hazards. A "stable" climate is a myth.

Fossil fuels enable climate mastery. By powering modern technology and infrastructure, fossil fuels allow us to make our climate far safer:

• Better forecasting and warning systems
• More resilient buildings and cities
• Heating and air conditioning
• Drought mitigation through irrigation
• Flood control through dams and barriers

Dramatic improvement in climate safety. Climate-related deaths have decreased by 98% in the last century, even as CO2 emissions have risen. This demonstrates how fossil fuels have made us far safer from climate risks.

6. Environmental quality improves with fossil fuel use

"Fossil-fueled development is the greatest benefactor our environment has ever known."

Cleaner air and water. Contrary to popular belief, environmental quality has improved dramatically as fossil fuel use has increased. Advanced technologies powered by fossil fuels enable:

• Water purification and sanitation
• Cleaner-burning power plants and vehicles
• More efficient use of land for agriculture

Disease reduction. Fossil fuels power the technologies and infrastructure that have dramatically reduced deaths from infectious diseases, including:

• Modern hospitals and medical equipment
• Refrigeration for vaccines and medicine
• Pesticides to control disease vectors

Natural environment preserved. By enabling highly productive agriculture and industry, fossil fuels reduce pressure to exploit marginal lands, allowing more preservation of natural habitats.

7. The risks of fossil fuels are manageable and decreasing

"It's clearly possible to increase fossil fuel use while decreasing pollution."

Pollution trends improving. In developed countries, air and water pollution have decreased dramatically even as fossil fuel use has increased. This shows that the risks are manageable with proper technology and practices.

Safety improving. Fossil fuel extraction and use is becoming safer over time. Worker fatality rates in the oil and gas industry are now lower than in many other industries.

Technological solutions. Many of the risks and side effects of fossil fuels can be mitigated through technology:

• Scrubbers and filters on power plants
• More efficient engines and industrial processes
• Better practices for extraction and transportation

Proper perspective needed. While fossil fuels do have risks, these must be weighed against their enormous benefits and compared to the risks of energy poverty.

8. Sustainability fears are misplaced; resources can be created

"Resources are not taken from nature, but created from nature."

Resource creation, not depletion. Human ingenuity and technology can turn previously unusable raw materials into valuable resources. We are not running out of resources, we are creating new ones.

Abundant raw materials. The Earth contains vast amounts of hydrocarbons and other raw materials that can potentially be turned into energy resources. We have only scratched the surface of what's available.

History of expanding resources. Throughout history, new technologies have allowed us to access and utilize resources that were previously unusable. This trend is likely to continue.

Focus on progress, not sustainability. Instead of trying to sustain current resources indefinitely, we should focus on continued progress in our ability to create and utilize new resources.

9. Using fossil fuels benefits future generations

"The greatest gift he can give to both himself and to the future is to be a creative human being who enjoys his life."

Creating a better world. By using fossil fuels to build knowledge, technology, and infrastructure, we create a better starting point for future generations. This is more valuable than preserving raw materials.

Expanding human potential. Fossil fuels enable more people to engage in innovation and problem-solving, accelerating the pace of progress. This compounds over time, benefiting future generations enormously.

Time is the ultimate resource. Fossil fuels give us more time by increasing productivity. This allows more time for education, innovation, and enjoying life - the true gifts we can give the future.

10. The attack on fossil fuels stems from an anti-human philosophy

"The environmental thought leaders' opposition to fossil fuels is not a mistaken attempt at pursuing human life as their standard of value. They are too smart and knowledgeable to make such a mistake. Their opposition is a consistent attempt at pursuing their actual standard of value: a pristine environment, unaltered nature."

Non-impact as the ideal. Many environmental leaders see human non-impact on nature as the ideal, rather than human flourishing. This leads to opposition to fossil fuels regardless of their benefits.

Bias against human impact. There is a cultural bias against transforming nature to serve human needs, even though this is essential for human survival and flourishing.

Need for human standard. We must explicitly adopt human life and flourishing as our standard of value when evaluating environmental issues.

11. We need a new ideal of industrial progress, not "green" thinking

"We don't want to 'save the planet' from human beings; we want to improve the planet for human beings."

Industrial progress as the ideal. We should embrace the ideal of improving our environment through human industry and technology to serve human needs.

Reject non-impact standard. The "green" ideal of minimizing human impact is deeply flawed and anti-human. We should reject it in favor of thoughtful development.

Balancing benefits and risks. We need to rationally assess the benefits and risks of development, rather than assuming all human impact is negative.

Celebrate human achievement. We should take pride in our ability to transform our environment to make it better for human life, rather than feeling guilty about it.

12. The fossil fuel industry must make a moral case for its work

"The fossil fuel industry is a moral industry at its core. Members do immoral things, to be sure, but transforming ancient dead plants into the energy of life in a way that maximizes benefits and minimizes risks is an activity that the industry should be proud of, and we should be proud to use its product."

Proud, not ashamed. The fossil fuel industry should proudly defend its work as moral and essential for human flourishing, rather than apologizing or conceding to critics.

Educate about benefits. The industry needs to better communicate the enormous benefits fossil fuels provide to humanity, which far outweigh the manageable risks.

Challenge false narratives. Common misconceptions about fossil fuels need to be actively countered with facts and reasoned arguments.

Inspire support. By making a compelling moral case, the industry can inspire passionate support rather than grudging tolerance of a "necessary evil."

Last updated: July 23, 2024