As the US and Iran fight over the Strait of Hormuz, last week Toronto—two hours from where I live—had the worst air quality of any city in the world. 
Many American cities were also heavily polluted by smoke from the over 800 wildfires burning in Canada, which were largely due to human-caused climate change fueled by our dependence on the oil industry.
Oil is over. The reign of petroleum is finished. What we’ve been warned about for decades is now happening. We all know this; it’s no secret. All those who support fossil fuels are themselves fossils, dinosaurs slated for extinction.
If the same subsidies that are currently granted to the oil industry were given also (or instead) to the cause of advancing renewable energies, our society could completely convert in ten years.
Of course, renewables have their own problems, but not nearly as drastic as oil. And here’s the main thing: Renewables are the right direction. They are the way of the future. As we commit to renewables and move in that direction, new and astounding sources of clean energy will be discovered and developed.
To cite just one example: hydrogen. Natural hydrogen (as opposed to manufactured) is a truly game-changing energy source whose only byproduct is water vapor. Already plans are underway to mine natural hydrogen everywhere from Saskatchewan to the moon. Indeed, along with solar and nuclear, this is only means of obtaining lunar energy.
For of course, there is no oil on the moon. There is no oil anywhere else in the universe (that we know of) because oil is the remains of biological life. No life, no oil.
Therefore, if we are ever going to colonize other planets, we must develop alternatives to petroleum. Yes, colonizing other planets is a long way off. But colonizing the moon is right on our doorstep.
The dream of moving to other planets after we’ve destroyed our own is lunacy. But the development of new technologies through space exploration (and other ways) may well be the route to saving this dear old world of ours.
Thanks to our Creator, we are a creative species. So let’s look to the future, not side with the dinosaurs. Especially those rapacious tyrannosaurs whose heads are stuck in the tar sands.
To be sure, this old world is passing away, and there is no stopping that. But in the meantime, it is God’s creation and we are responsible to care for it. Let’s not pour oil on the flames that are already consuming our home.
Next Post: Remembering Brian Doerksen: Voice of Renewal
