Fossil Fuels, the Sun and the Future of Mankind

How long have have you heard that oil, natural gas and coal are fossil fuels?

Of course, fossils are the remains of living organisms.

We have been told that fossil fuels have been formed naturally as part of a geological process involving the interaction of the remains of dead animals (such as dinosaurs) and plants with the earth's crust.

These fuels contain hydrogen and carbon which can be burned for energy.

It is claimed that carbon emissions from the burning of those fossil fuels is the cause of climate change.

If all of this is true, how does one explain this headline reporting that NASA believes there are more liquid hydrocarbons on Saturn's moon, Titan, than all of the known oil and gas reserves on earth.

Source: https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/titans-surface-organics-surpass-oil-reserves-on-earth

Surface organics?

Fossil fuels?

Titan's average temperature is minus 179 degrees Celsius or minus 290 degrees Fahrenheit.

How do those temperatures sustain any organic or animal life as we know it?

Is the term "fossil fuels" a fable?

Is it possible that the process by which our most important energy sources are formed comes about in ways that we do not fully understand?

If that is the case, is the entire climate change agenda based on concerns about carbon emissions from those fuel sources also based on faulty assumptions?

Let's also consider the largest energy source on earth---the sun.

The big news this past weekend was the geomagnetic storm that occurred on earth when several large sun spots produced significant solar flares.

These geomagnetic solar storms raise significant concerns about disruptions to communications, the electric grid, navigation and radio and satellite operations. 

A massive geomagnetic storm in 1859 that came to be known as the Carrington Event melted telegraph wires and disrupted the machines that transmitted the messages.

It’s been conjectured that a storm on the scale of the Carrington event, if it happened today, could cause an internet apocalypse, sending large numbers of people and businesses offline. For this reason, the U.K. government lists adverse space weather as one of the most serious natural hazards in its National Risk Register, and companies have contingency plans to deal with severe events — as long as they have sufficient warning of them.

Researchers from Lloyd's of London and the Atmospheric and Environmental Research agency in the U.S. have estimated that a Carrington-class event today would result in between $0.6 and $2.6 trillion in damages to the U.S. alone, according to NASA spaceflight.

It should be a reminder that what happens with our sun is many, many times more determinative of the climate on earth than anything man may be responsible for.

The sun spots that produced the flares are 15-16 times the diameter of Earth.

The area where the sun spots are on the sun is now rotating away from the earth lowering the immediate risk for any geomagnetic disruptions.

However, the area of the sun spots will once again line up with the earth in 2-3 weeks.

A massive solar flare that erupts at the same time that the earth is in direct alignment with the sun spot area could result in a lot more than the beautiful northern lights (aurora borealis) that were seen as far south as Alabama this weekend. In 1859, during the Carrington Event, northern lights were visible as far south as Cuba.

Here is a beautiful image of the Aurora Borealis taken by BeeLine reader Reed W. in Boise, Idaho on Saturday night.

Some scientists have postulated that sun spot activity has an effect on the earth's climate. Fewer sun spots result in lower temperatures and more sun spots result in higher temperatures in the thermosphere (the uppermost layer of air in our atmosphere). I wrote about this relationship in a blog post in 2018 entitled "Cold Will Be A Real Crisis".

Sun spot activity historically has ebbed and flowed over what is normally an 11-year cycle period.

The last minimum was in 2019 when there were no observable sun spots. Since that time we have seen increasing sun spot activity that is predicted to reach its maximum in 2025.

We are now in what scientists have classified as Solar Cycle 25.

The number of sun spots has already exceeded the maximum number in Cycle 24 but activity still remains below the levels seen in the 1980-2000 period.

Source: https://skyandtelescope.org/astronomy-news/sun-is-ramping-up-activity-but-still-within-predictions/

However, both Solar Cycles 24 and 25 have much lower solar activity compared to the average of the last 300 years.

Source: https://judithcurry.com/2023/07/04/solar-activity-solar-cycle-25-surpasses-cycle-24/

Is there anything we can do about sun spots and solar flares? No.

Is there anything that humans can do about climate change that would have any material effect on life on earth that would counter the forces of nature? Also no.

The only thing that is certain is that by banning those energy sources that made the industrial revolution possible and improved every aspect of the lives of almost everyone on earth is a gigantic risk to all of mankind.

Coal, oil and natural gas made the industrial revolution possible.

Before that we relied on wind, solar, water and horsepower.

Note the difference in the chart below.

There was not much in the way of human progress for thousands of years before those hydrocarbons started powering our world.

 

Energy makes the world economy go. We need it for anything we want to do. It needs to be available and it needs to be affordable. The economy does not work without energy. The consumer cannot spend on other things in the economy if they are spending excessive amounts on energy. If the consumer doesn't spend, the economy does not grow. If the economy does not grow, more and more people go without jobs.

When muscle power was the prime energy source in the world we could produce very little. Firewood and domesticated animals improved our ability to produce. However, the introduction of energy sources like coal, oil and gas allowed us to greatly leverage our productive capacity. 

It is not a coincidence that the industrial revolution coincided with the introduction of so-called fossil fuels beginning with coal and moving on to oil and gas and the development of machines that were powered by these energy sources.

Considering all of these FACTS why would anyone be willing to spend trillions of dollars believing it is in any way possible to overcome the power of natural and divine forces?

If all of this is not crazy enough consider how useful it is for some high profile Democrat politicians to blame climate change for any and everything in the world today.

Why is there so much illegal immigration and chaos at the southern border?

Climate change according to Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.

Why has California gone from a $100 billion surplus to what is now projected to be at least $56 billion over the next two fiscal years.

Governor Gavin Newsom says it is due to climate change.

Link: https://twitter.com/search?q=Newsom%20climate%20change&src=typed_query

Why is climate change so useful to use as a reason for most any problem on earth?

It is because the climate will always be changing----it will rain too much or too little, it will be too hot or too cold, the wind will blow too hard or not hard enough.

How can a politician ever be wrong in blaming almost anything on climate change?

It is a wonder that previous generations of politicians did not think of that tactic long ago.

Then again, how likely is it that previous generations of voters would be naive and gullible enough to believe any of this malarkey (one of Joe Biden's favorite words)?

It would all be laughable until one considers the risks to mankind if these politicians actually succeed in their misguided agenda to rid the planet of the hydrocarbons that power humanity on Earth at the same time they are overflowing on Saturn's moon Titan.