Outgoing climate czar John Kerry, just before joining Biden's re-election campaign team, made the incredulous statement that the world would "feel better" about the Ukraine war if Russia cut their carbon emissions. I'm sure that the last thing most people in the world think about when considering the Russia-Ukraine war is whether or not the Russians are following the recommendations of the green new deal.
One of the things that the climate lobby has not addressed is where we would get many of our common needs if fossil fuels were completely replaced. As a chemist in research and later in marketing I have been personally involved with products that are derived from petroleum products. I will make a listing of them here, divided by the main areas of usage.
Within the house we use plastics-- high- and low-density polyethylene--in many products. These plastics are used in food wrappings, garbage and laundry bags, and a host of other things. Many textiles and carpeting are made from different types of nylon, as is much clothing. Biodegradable detergents are made from petrochemical derivatives. Heating and cooling of our houses are usually made from natural gas or propane. Most of our household electricity comes from fossil fuel sources. Chances are that if a product is not made of wood, metal, or glass it will have petroleum parentage.
Our cars use large quantities of petroleum products and derivatives. Gasoline and lubricants, of course; but many other components that can also be traced back to fossil fuels. Three or four decades ago the metal in car bodies was replaced by RIM plastics which made the autos lighter, and therefore more fuel efficient. Car tires are made from synthetic (SBR) rubber. The world does not have sufficient natural rubber to fill these needs even if it could compete financially. Antifreeze/coolant is made from ethylene and propylene, petroleum derivatives. Even electric cars have these. We have discussed elsewhere that the heavy electric car batteries use considerable quantities of fuel in their manufacture.
In agriculture, petroleum products are used to make ammonium fertilizers and herbicides. Imagine a world where we were unable to feed the hungry because the crops were reduced through lack of fertilizer. Natural manure was insufficient to meet the required needs, and disease and blight often limited production.
Many miscellaneous products are the derivatives of petroleum. For example, in the manufacture of most pharmaceuticals the starting raw materials are petroleum based. Aspirin and Tylenol stand out among many others. Further miscellaneous products are dyestuffs, explosives, and solvents.
Before John Kerry can fly off to Davos in a private jet, or Al Gore can travel the world to give climate speeches, their planes must be filled with fossil fuel-based aviation fuel. There is no substitute.
If the object of the "Green lobby" is to cut emissions by half in the not-too-distant future, then petroleum usage will have to be significantly curtailed. It is too much to expect that it will be eliminated altogether because of all the essential uses described above. However, the supply would be dramatically reduced, and therefore prices would skyrocket, adding to inflation. The answer? Drill baby drill!
One final thought: If global warming is brought about by man's use of fossil fuels as the "Greens" claim, then why was the last ice age ended ten thousand years ago? The polar ice cap was many hundreds of feet thick in parts as far south as Maine before it melted. I don't remember reading that Adam and Eve drove a gas-guzzling V-8! So, if man's use of fossil fuels was not responsible for global warming when the last ice age ended, why is it now?
Peter Gilderson, Madison.
