9-4-2019
Climate Change versus Fossil Fuel
The 2019 Democratic Climate Change Debate session scheduled for 7-hours have produced some of the most ridiculous concocted statements from some of the left’s leading candidates for the 2020 Presidential Election against the reelection of President Donald Trump. I have tried to stay clear of the rhetoric and focus on other things – life, liberty and the pursuit of my happiness.
Today I asked myself “What is Climate Change” and this paragraph from NASA provides a very reasonable and down to earth definition:
What Is Climate Change? | NASA
https://www.nasa.gov/audience/forstudents/k-4/stories/nasa-knows/what-is-climate-change-k4.html
Climate change is a change in the usual weather found in a place. This could be a change in how much rain a place usually gets in a year. Or it could be a change in a place’s usual temperature for a month or season. Climate change is also a change in Earth’s climate. This could be a change in Earth’s usual temperature.
Next I wanted to know what exactly is fossil fuel? All the Democratic candidates seem to be dead set on getting rid of them and this American Heritage Dictionary provides a very good definition:
Fossil Fuel
n.
A hydrocarbon-based fuel, such as petroleum, coal, or natural gas, derived from living matter of a previous geologic time.
n.
any fuel derived from hydrocarbon deposits such as coal, petroleum, natural gas and, to some extent, peat; these fuels are irreplaceable, and their burning generates the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide
n.
fuel consisting of the remains of organisms preserved in rocks in the earth’s crust with high carbon and hydrogen content.
(From The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.)
So if fossil fuel is bad and causes climate change it only makes sense to get rid of them and do what we did before using fossil fuel. There are lots of ways fossil fuel is being used besides heating homes in certain areas and yes that produces air pollution and that is bad.
But however so is smoking right? Cigars and Cigarettes cause air pollution, lung cancer and lots of nasty problems within the human body. Why is nobody talking about banning Smoking EVERYWHERE AND ALL THE TIME? Because somebody invented Vaping! Vaping is one of those little eCigs that are the rage with kids and adults everywhere. It allows them to puff away without creating all that smoke, smell and causes no cancer to the lungs. There is a small drawback, vaping causes popcorn lung which causes the lung to sort of collapse within itself and makes it rather impossible to breath.
Let’s move on to something else that is directly related to fossil fuels, what kinds of products would we have to give up if we simply banned fossil fuels all together?
According to this US Energy Information Administration (EIA), this is a partial list of petroleum products and their share of total US petroleum consumption back in 2013.
Gasoline 46%
Heating Oil / Diesel Fuel 20%
Jet Fuel (kerosene) 8%
Propane / Propylene 7%
NGL / LRG 6%
Still Gas 4%
Petrochemical Feedstocks 2%
Petroleum Coke 2%
Residual / Heavy Fuel Oil 2%
Asphalt / Road Oil 2%
Lubricants 1%
Miscellaneous Products / Special Naphthas 0.4%
Other Liquids 1%
Aviation Gasoline 0.1%
Waxes 0.04%
Kerosene 0.02%
Of course these consumption rates have increased over time since then, don’t you think? Well I was thinking more about giving up fossil fuels and wind turbines and electric cars and stuff that operate on electricity would simply take up the slack as we phased out the petroleum product portions of fossil fuels. I found this partial list of products made from petroleum, but since inventors invent and consumers consume there seems to be that thing called supply and demand that overrides cutting back on many of the things we take for granted.
Here is a partial list of products made from petroleum?
Here is a quite large partial list of products made from petroleum. This list is constantly growing as new inventions are created. Here are some of the items which are made from petroleum.
So which ones are YOU willing to go without?
| Solvents | Diesel fuel | Motor Oil | Bearing Grease |
| Ink | Floor Wax | Ballpoint Pens | Football Cleats |
| Upholstery | Sweaters | Boats | Insecticides |
| Bicycle Tires | Sports Car Bodies | Nail Polish | Fishing lures |
| Dresses | Tires | Golf Bags | Perfumes |
| Cassettes | Dishwasher parts | Tool Boxes | Shoe Polish |
| Motorcycle Helmet | Caulking | Petroleum Jelly | Transparent Tape |
| CD Player | Faucet Washers | Antiseptics | Clothesline |
| Curtains | Food Preservatives | Basketballs | Soap |
| Vitamin Capsules | Antihistamines | Purses | Shoes |
| Dashboards | Cortisone | Deodorant | Footballs |
| Putty | Dyes | Panty Hose | Refrigerant |
| Percolators | Life Jackets | Rubbing Alcohol | Linings |
| Skis | TV Cabinets | Shag Rugs | Electrician’s Tape |
| Tool Racks | Car Battery Cases | Epoxy | Paint |
| Mops | Slacks | Insect Repellent | Oil Filters |
| Umbrellas | Yarn | Fertilizers | Hair Coloring |
| Roofing | Toilet Seats | Fishing Rods | Lipstick |
| Denture Adhesive | Linoleum | Ice Cube Trays | Synthetic Rubber |
| Speakers | Plastic Wood | Electric Blankets | Glycerin |
| Tennis Rackets | Rubber Cement | Fishing Boots | Dice |
| Nylon Rope | Candles | Trash Bags | House Paint |
| Water Pipes | Hand Lotion | Roller Skates | Surf Boards |
| Shampoo | Wheels | Paint Rollers | Shower Curtains |
| Guitar Strings | Luggage | Aspirin | Safety Glasses |
| Antifreeze | Football Helmets | Awnings | Eyeglasses |
| Clothes | Toothbrushes | Ice Chests | Footballs |
| Combs | CD’s & DVD’s | Paint Brushes | Detergents |
| Vaporizers | Balloons | Sun Glasses | Tents |
| Heart Valves | Crayons | Parachutes | Telephones |
| Enamel | Pillows | Dishes | Cameras |
| Anesthetics | Artificial Turf | Artificial limbs | Bandages |
| Dentures | Model Cars | Folding Doors | Hair Curlers |
| Cold cream | Movie film | Soft Contact lenses | Drinking Cups |
| Fan Belts | Car Enamel | Shaving Cream | Ammonia |
| Refrigerators | Golf Balls | Toothpaste (Yuck) | Gasoline |
While there will be a number of industries that benefit from lower oil prices, it isn’t usually an immediate effect. It takes time for input prices to filter through the corporate supply chain and the economy.
Given the large drop in oil prices, this should give you some ideas about areas that could benefit from these lower prices. Investing in the oil sector may require some caution. My thought is to be careful of catching a falling knife on oil prices. There will eventually be some great bargains in the oil and gas energy sector, but patience is always a virtue. Look elsewhere to related industries. (2015)
I’ve come to the conclusion that the climate always has and always will change over time. That’s the way God created it. Man has made great strides to use the resources available to him, and the overriding factor that “The love of money is the root of all kinds of evil” (from the bible) holds true. Money may not literally make the world go round (God created it to spin on its axis), but money makes man better able to control others, buy expensive toys and even try to shame those who either can’t afford or choose not to indulge in all the bells and whistles that are being touted as something we all must have to exist. I don’t know how much Americans can take from radicals and liberals on either wing because like it or not it’s all the same bird. One last thought before I close – It’s hard to soar with eagles when you surround yourself with turkeys! – I am the Real Truckmaster!
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