Only a handful of individuals have ever seen or touched crude oil, but every one of the 8 billion people on this planet enjoys the products made from the oil derivatives manufactured from that black gold.

Chemical products, such as plastics, solvents, medical supplies, and fertilizers, are essential for supporting modern lifestyles.

The world is trying to transition away from fossil fuels, but the ruling class is not yet cognizant of the limitations of solar and wind. The elephant in the room that no one wants to talk about is that wind and solar only generate electricity but manufacture absolutely nothing for society. This 1-minute video is short, educational, and entertaining and has already been viewed more than 800,000 times on social media.

Over the last 200 years, when the world population increased from 1 to 8 billion, we learned that crude oil is virtually useless unless it is manufactured into oil derivatives that are the basis of more than 6,000 products in our daily lives, products that did not exist before the 1900s. They also produce the fuels to power the heavy-weight and long-range machine needs of more than 50,000 jets moving people and products and more than 50,000 merchant ships for global trade, not to mention the military and space programs.

Ridding the world of fossil fuels to help achieve net-zero emissions without a replacement supply chain for the products and fuels now derived from crude oil will impact the 8 billion people on this planet in negative ways, including:

• A massive reduction in reliable sources of products and fuels now manufactured from crude oil, leading to a society in which we are regularly left freezing in the dark, resulting in at least a million dead in cold countries that impose net-zero.
• A dangerous reduction in the availability (and so a huge increase in the cost) of all the products we use in the modern world that derive from petroleum such as plastics, paints, pharmaceuticals, etc.
• A huge reduction in the food supply, leading to mass starvation in countries that impose net-zero if all nitrogen fertilizers are banned.
• For those who survive the above outcomes, a financial collapse, including a deep depression and a consequent collapse in our standard of living and, with that, a huge reduction in environmental protection because we no longer have the products and fuels needed to engage in environmental protection and are forced to rely on dirty energy sources such as wood (goodbye forests), garbage, dung, etc.
• For those who survive the above, significant social unrest, skyrocketing crime, and the likely consequent imposition of martial law with the removal of basic freedoms in those countries that impose net-zero.
• With the collapse in the economy, there would be a serious weakening of our military deterrence and consequent emboldening of our adversaries who do not go net-zero (China, etc.) to engage in invasions at will, possibly culminating in the direct invasion and collapse of western democracies.

Leaders from wealthy countries omit from the conversation the extraordinary social benefits of CO2 and fossil fuels. Carbon dioxide, including that from the burning of fossil fuels, serves as plant food that increases crop production and enables the feeding of more people. CO2, as well as the greenhouse gases of methane and nitrous oxide, help to keep Earth at temperatures conducive to life. Without them, people would suffer. Fossil fuels are economical and abundant sources of energy necessary for modern societies and are critical feedstocks for everyday products and transportation fuels, and fertilizers and pesticides that support the lives of billions of people.

The ruling class also ignores the disastrous consequences of reducing fossil fuels and CO2 emissions to net-zero. It cannot be overemphasized that eliminating fossil fuels and implementing net-zero policies and actions would mean the elimination of the 6,000 fossil fuel-derived products that are the foundation of today’s lifestyles and economies. It would also destroy the nitrogen fertilizers and pesticides, resulting in about half the world’s population not having enough food to eat.

For the sake of the 8 billion now living on this planet, before we jump out of an airplane without a tested parachute, the world needs to have a plan to support the demands of the population on this globe. This includes a plan to manufacture the products and infrastructures that exist today that did not exist a few hundred years ago.

Where is our elite leaders’ plan to keep the planet’s eight billion alive and well? 

In summary, life without oil is not as simple as you may think. Renewable energy is only intermittent electricity from breezes and sunshine, and neither wind turbines, nor solar panels, can manufacture anything for society.

This piece is adapted from an article that originally appeared at Committee for a Constructive Tomorrow with permission.