Fossil Fuels Will Unveil the Truth of our Morality

Our standoff against Russia has revealed the truth about our dependence on fossil fuels.

The problem with fossil fuels extends beyond climate change and has now become a matter of national security.

Let’s just be real. It takes effort to care about climate change. Solid evidence exists, but it requires the synthesis of complex scientific data, a skill set many of us don’t possess. This shortcoming was exploited by oil companies that misconstrued the truth for monetary gain.

To the average person, climate change is an abstract idea. How can one truly connect the dots between severe weather events and the gas pump? This requires a strong leap of faith, a leap some people won’t indulge in due to misplaced skepticism or just a plain ol’ DGAF attitude.

But now we are faced with an issue we can’t ignore: WAR.

We’ve seen the videos on the news. We’ve seen the weary Ukrainian souls tirelessly defending their country.

And most importantly, we’ve seen nations and corporations rally behind a noble cause in defiance of an international bully. (Although some companies, such as Shell, McDonald's, and Coca-Cola — just to name a few — needed convincing, but that’s a different discussion for a different day).

This war has been senseless and confusing. And it’s being led by a narcissistic psychopath who doesn’t care about the aftermath of his actions. Reminds me of my favorite Game of Thrones quote:

“He would see this country burn if he could be king of the ashes.”

And it doesn’t take a genius to understand our most recent predicament. Russia is a major player in oil and natural gas. Due to recent events, we have already seen a huge spike in gas prices here in the US. We may be able to navigate around it, but much of Europe is dependent on Russia for natural gas. This means our most powerful allies are at risk of buckling under the pressure sooner rather than later.

In other words, we’re at a standoff, and the clock is ticking. The question now becomes:

Will our stance on human rights outlast our dependence on fossil fuels?

Carbon in the atmosphere is invisible, but military artillery is not. This invasion is in our faces and we can’t ignore it.

For those who fought viciously against face masks in the name of freedom, it’s obvious (now more than ever) that you were grasping for the tiniest semblance of control. Call it what you want, but it sure as hell wasn’t freedom. Instead, it was an illusion to help you sleep at night.

Putin is exercising what freedom really means. It’s apparent now more than ever that he can murder innocent people if he wants. He can do so while allowing his people to suffer the economic consequences. And he can do so because we handed over that freedom on a platter.

As a society, we are addicted to fossil fuels. Sooner or later, we will all adhere to this addiction.

“Look at what our dependence on energy does to our souls.” Jon Stewart

I was hopeful. I thought we could rally behind a noble cause. I thought that this time, it could be different (but then again, that’s what I thought about the pandemic). I’m disappointed because I know how this story will end.

We don’t care about human rights. Not enough, at least. If we did, we wouldn’t be in this predicament right now. We’ve seen countless environmental injustices in the name of fossil fuels.

If we truly wanted to transform our energy system, we could have done so by now. And by doing so, we wouldn’t be held hostage by a despot. We wouldn’t have to choose between the economy and a humanitarian crisis.

If we ever needed a clue, it doesn’t get more obvious than this. We could change if we wanted to. But if we don’t learn our lesson from this crisis, well then…

ALL HAIL THE KING OF THE ASHES!