225
© Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2021
D. J. Soeder, Fracking and the Environment,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-59121-2_12
Chapter 12
Moving into the Energy Future
In the long term, fossil fuels are not sustainable. The present abundance of shale gas
and tight oil is only temporary, and should be used to help switch to new, climatefriendly, long-term sustainable energy resources. Carrying on with business as usual
will take humanity and the planet over a brink in the not too distant future, and the
closer we get to that brink, the harder it will be to turn away. This transition must
occur if human civilization and the ecosystems that support it are to have any chance
for long-term survival, but make no mistake: it will not be easy. Changing the energy
paradigm in the United States initially and the world eventually will require going
up against a lot of entrenched oil money and fighting a huge amount of economic
inertia. It will not be easy, but it cannot fail.
So what is to be done? Well, one thing we cannot afford is despair. The future of
humanity, civilization, and the very Earth itself depends on us not giving up hope. It
is understandably difficult for an ordinary person bombarded with bad climate news
every day not to feel like this whole thing is a lost cause. But it is not, at least not
yet. Energy transitions have been done before. Wood fires and muscle power were
replaced with coal and steam. Coal and steam have been largely replaced with
petroleum and natural gas, which in turn have given way to nuclear and renewables.
The technology to make this latest transition does not have to be invented. It exists,
and only needs to be implemented.
Momentous things have been done in the past when public outcry forced leaders
to act. The abolition of slavery, the right of women to vote, the implementation of
civil rights laws, the passage of the clean air and clean water acts, even actions to
stop acid rain and end the deterioration of the ozone layer all came about because a
few people got others to agree until it became an overwhelming tsunami of public
support. Many of the changes mentioned above are now taken for granted, but all
were said at one time or another to be “impossible.”
Even environmental scientists sometimes suffer from despair with what is called
“ecological grief.” Those who monitor the rapid transformation and degradation of
the environment are often profoundly affected by it. The loss of treasured species
and habitats can feel almost like losing a loved one, and scientific researchers have
© Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2021
D. J. Soeder, Fracking and the Environment,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-59121-2_12
Chapter 12
Moving into the Energy Future
In the long term, fossil fuels are not sustainable. The present abundance of shale gas
and tight oil is only temporary, and should be used to help switch to new, climatefriendly, long-term sustainable energy resources. Carrying on with business as usual
will take humanity and the planet over a brink in the not too distant future, and the
closer we get to that brink, the harder it will be to turn away. This transition must
occur if human civilization and the ecosystems that support it are to have any chance
for long-term survival, but make no mistake: it will not be easy. Changing the energy
paradigm in the United States initially and the world eventually will require going
up against a lot of entrenched oil money and fighting a huge amount of economic
inertia. It will not be easy, but it cannot fail.
So what is to be done? Well, one thing we cannot afford is despair. The future of
humanity, civilization, and the very Earth itself depends on us not giving up hope. It
is understandably difficult for an ordinary person bombarded with bad climate news
every day not to feel like this whole thing is a lost cause. But it is not, at least not
yet. Energy transitions have been done before. Wood fires and muscle power were
replaced with coal and steam. Coal and steam have been largely replaced with
petroleum and natural gas, which in turn have given way to nuclear and renewables.
The technology to make this latest transition does not have to be invented. It exists,
and only needs to be implemented.
Momentous things have been done in the past when public outcry forced leaders
to act. The abolition of slavery, the right of women to vote, the implementation of
civil rights laws, the passage of the clean air and clean water acts, even actions to
stop acid rain and end the deterioration of the ozone layer all came about because a
few people got others to agree until it became an overwhelming tsunami of public
support. Many of the changes mentioned above are now taken for granted, but all
were said at one time or another to be “impossible.”
Even environmental scientists sometimes suffer from despair with what is called
“ecological grief.” Those who monitor the rapid transformation and degradation of
the environment are often profoundly affected by it. The loss of treasured species
and habitats can feel almost like losing a loved one, and scientific researchers have