What this current war has revealed about our over reliance on fossil fuels and what to do about it

No matter what else happens in the current Iran War, there is one lesson the world should finally and fully learn: Oil is indefensible.

For over a century, fossil fuels have powered our global economy. They’ve contributed to industrialization, economic growth, the modernization of our food systems. They’ve provided previously unimaginable benefits to humanity. Without fossil-derived energy, we would have never developed the technologies we now use to heal and help, couldn’t have developed our economies to the point where famine is a distant memory for most. They’ve also polluted our commons, led to the destruction of vast habitats, and, if you believe science, contributed towards the gradual heating of the world (whether or not they outweigh their costs is for another time).

And now they’ve become literally indefensible: despite fossil fuels’ benefits, the war has proven that any actor set on causing global chaos need only deploy a few hundred inexpensive drones packed with explosives to cause havoc and gain geopolitical leverage. Because it isn’t just the Iranian closure of the Straits of Hormuz that has people rattled, but rather the Iranian threat to double down on its campaign to ruin Gulf fossil fuel infrastructure that’s had America pause the war. Instead of focusing on the later – on the insecurity associated with remaining addicted to fossil fuels – the media has been flooded with statements whose purpose is to keep us tied to the stuff, at a time when alternatives are more accessible than ever.

It’s worth........

© The Times of Israel (Blogs)