The Greens and their Labour enablers hate ‘fossil’ fuels and are keen to get them banned, to ‘save’ the planet. Such noble intentions.
I read a statement over the weekend that said:
Eliminate fossil fuels tomorrow and almost everyone in the developed world would be dead in about a month from starvation and exposure.
Now, there was no science to back this opinion but, on balance, it is probably not far off the mark.
The graph is from BP and is the global picture of energy consumption by fuel source, converted to millions of tonnes of oil equivalent. The takeaway from that graph is the global share of renewables, which is a measly 4%.
With our current energy-intensive developed world lifestyle, how long would we last on just 4% of current energy consumption?
Not long.
In New Zealand almost everything we eat is delivered by trucks and they, currently, all use ‘fossil’ fuel. When the fuel tanks run dry, food deliveries cease.
We are fortunate that, in New Zealand, we get nearly a quarter of our primary energy from hydro, so the lights and heating would stay on for a while until all those currently using gas for heating and cooking switched over to electricity.
There would be no gas-fired plants to ramp up and down to balance the grid when the wind and sun fluctuated, so the electricity grid would become pretty dodgy quite quickly. When it failed, as it would on a regular basis, there would be no diesel generators to kick in to keep the hospitals etc operative.
The lucky ones with wood burners and a supply of firewood would be okay for a time but, when the woodpile was gone, it would be a long walk with a wheelbarrow and axe to replenish the firewood supply for most of us.
Remember the survival rule of threes? It is said that we can live:
- 3 minutes without air.
- 3 hours without shelter.
- 3 days without water.
- 3 weeks without food.
- 3 months without hope.
Don’t know about you, but I quite like the feeling of energy security; it gives me hope for the future.
Also, why do the Greens not consider the environmental footprint issues involved with their anti-fossil-fuel campaign?
To replace a 1-hectare gas fired power plant, society needs 73 hectares of solar panels, 239 hectares of on-shore wind turbines or an unbelievable 6000 hectares of biomass.
Habitat destruction? Species extinction?
