Planet Earth will be under threat for a long as we burn coal, gas and oil to make our electricity, and propel our automobiles. Sun Tzu was a philosopher, writer, and military strategist during the Eastern Zhu period of ancient China. He said we need not fear a hundred battles if we know our enemy as well as ourselves. Hence we need to understand dirty energy if we are to immobilize its power.
The Birth of Dirty Energy 360 Million Years Ago
Around 360 million years ago trees began to evolve from plants. These primitive life forms gradually developed the ability to convert oxygen essential for life from carbon, and store it. As the ages followed, Earth had dense forests in low-lying wetland areas where dinosaurs roamed.
As those trees died to make way for new growth, floods covered their remains with soil trapping them in peat bogs. Countless layers followed compressing the remains under high temperature. Very slowly, this rotting vegetation converted to coal. Nature had stored the carbon away safely, where it should have remained untapped forever.
Oil and gas dirty energy, on the other hand derived from algae and other organisms living in oceans. Their carbon stored when sediment covered their dead bodies. However, unlike coal their oils and gases migrated upwards to sedimentary rock where Nature intended them to rest safely forever. And then, unfortunately, along came humans.
When We Burn Fossil Fuel We Release Stored Carbon
Chopping down an Amazon forest giant releases stored carbon into the atmosphere when it rots, or we burn it. The exact same process occurs when we burn oil, coal and gas. However, in the latter case we undo the work Nature has done over many millions of years.
There’s a great truth in that, although as John F Kennedy said lies are not the greatest enemy of truth. The real danger lies in deliberate, contrived, and dishonest beliefs that assume the mantle of truth. Russian-American writer Ayn Rand said truth is acceptance of reality. However, ‘truth’ about dirty energy is unfortunately more likely to be the majority opinion of those in lobbies of power.
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