Weather, climate, fossil fuels and nuclear power
John Shanahan
July 15, 2023
Weather and climate are important processes for life on Earth. They deliver water to land masses so life there can exist. They moderate temperature extremes so life can exist. The dry and wet, cold and warm seasons contribute to wildlife migrations and provide food up and down the food chain of wildlife. All this is presented in wonderful nature and wildlife documentary films and on websites.
Storm on the ocean
South Africa
Hydrocarbons made by nature (coal, oil and natural gas) are the most important molecules besides carbon dioxide and water for life on this planet.
Man-made global warming alarmists and anti-fossil fuels extremists in Australia, Europe, North America, the United Nations, the World Economic Forum, Greenpeace, etc. are determined to force the world to leave fossil fuels in the ground and to capture carbon dioxide and sequester it forever. Such policies are as bad for humanity as many wars. No one should follow the man-made global warming Pied Pipers.
Nuclear power advocates who are against the use of fossil fuels and against carbon dioxide should make little progress by insisting on having a nuclear power only world in a few decades. The supposed harm of CO2 from fossil fuels is a phantom. Hydrocarbons, carbon dioxide and water made by Mother Nature in the evolution of the universe are every bit as important for life as uranium, plutonium, and thorium. All are wonderful, but in different ways. Fossil fuels and nuclear power shouldn’t be presented as either-or or none of the above. Wind and solar should be avoided like COVID-19 or the plague.
The best course for the future is to use hydrocarbon fuels wisely, not wastefully. They are "free" because Mother Nature made them. Just pay for extraction, refining, etc.
Nuclear power will never replace all the uses and by-products of fossil fuels.
This graph will change gradually and take hundreds of years until there is no black area.
Nuclear power will be the main energy source for tens of thousands of years for generating electricity and manufacturing synthetic liquid and gaseous fuels, most likely synthetic hydrocarbons or hydrogen.
Let's work together for a prosperous, peaceful world. Promote harmony with nature, wildlife habitat and biodiversity. Everything doesn’t have to be converted to cities, parking lots and farmland. The oceans don’t need to be fished until there are no more whales and tuna fish.
This graph of energy usage from 1965 to 2015 shows beyond a doubt that fossil fuels are the main energy source for the world - past, present, and for a long time into the future. No other energy source will significantly replace fossil fuels any time soon. Politicians always make promises that are not kept. Alarmists sound false alarms. Those who abandon fossil fuels will become poorer, miserable and die. Why follow false man-made global warming alarmists like Joe Biden, John Kerry, Barack Obama, John Holdren, Al Gore, Jim Hansen, Bill McKibben, Michael Mann, and Paul Ehrlich?
The best way forward is with fossil fuels and nuclear power for a prosperous, peaceful world with respect for the environment, preservation of wildlife habitat, clean atmosphere and oceans, preservation of marine life, and dedication to biodiversity.
Email: John Shanahan
john.shanahan@allaboutenergy.net
