I’m not an oil expert, but I have a friend who seems to staunchly believe that the oil industry needs to be moved away from over time, and that solar energy, wind energy is the future. I’m trying to research a bit more on why it’s important for the oil/coal industry to continue. Could I get the help from fellow pedestrian to provide me more understanding as to why it’s important to keep it going?
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It's not just about energy. There are over 6,000 consumer products made from oil.
https://oilandgasinfo.ca/products/
If you know markets, the easiest analogy is, "Return On Investment". There are currently NO alternative energies that provide MORE energy than it took to CREATE the devices made. Net energy loss. Ask your friend if buying a ten dollar antique that will sell for $5 is a good investment. Nope. Never.
All this BS is to control "CO2", control of people. Plants need the stuff to stay alive, if they had lobbyists, they would kill the fake environmentalists. Hitler's back-up plan was environmentalism. There are renewable sources like wood, for fuel, but everyone's standard of living directly depends on available, harnessable energy. Without energy, people in Northern climates will die. Then ask "Why doesn't any OTHER country have to stop fossil fuels, EXCEPT U.S.A."? What "They" want are a bunch of slaves unable to fight off an authoritarian government. Why else would they insist on disarming America?
Obama had pushed a huge solar movement. Oddly enough it went heels up. Search that up.
The main problem is your leftist friend has is they believe in climate change and we’re destroying the world. Ask him or her to look back 50/60 years and read the same climate change doom sayers and their predictions, look familiar? The most successful strategy is to get them to look it up themselves while you speak with them. This makes them confront information that damages the mental foundation developed by MSM. When they see numerous inconsistencies they either double down (lost cause) or they question it and you’ve got a shot. No matter what, 4-6% of the population is a lost cause. There is no convincing regardless of whatever proof you show them.
Oil and coal are used in manufacturing as well as energy.
No steel w out coal
No plastic w out oil.
Solar requires boron and silicate, mining those is very destructive.
Windmills aren't as clean as look from the outside. I've climbed quite a few and they are constantly pissing hydraulic fluid. Everytime I jump one I bring a garbage bag to put my rig in for the climb up to keep the grease off of it.
Thorium salt nuclear reactors would be a much safer, cheaper, and stable source of energy but we would still need fossil fuels for manufacturing to maintain our current lifestyle.
Solar is the worst. By 2030, there will be tonnes and tonnes of solar waste, way more harmful than carbon fuels. This model is simply not sustainable.
https://www.wired.com/story/solar-panels-are-starting-to-die-leaving-behind-toxic-trash/
a good analogy for people who think oil is the boogey man (or so-called fossil fuels for that matter) is a person who has been told they need to lose weight:
is it more sensible for that person to gradually make more and more healthier food and lifestyle choices over a longer period of time that they can live with or to make an irrational decision to cut out everything all at once? then make the same argument about co2/oil/coal/whatever they are afraid of. ask them which is the more sustainable option- the hardcore all or nothing approach or sensible baby steps?
then explain how we have been making tremendous strides as a nation over the last 30 years or so and almost entirely as the result of technology advancement and private industry- not government intervention.
in fact one of the greatest advancements in reduction of co2 emissions has been through the increased use of natural gas over the last 15-20 years. so in the end if he's against all fossil fuels the only possible replacements are nuclear and hydroelectric which obviously have other tradeoffs from an environmental standpoint. even "clean" forms of energy like solar require rare earth metal mining and the equipment has a limited shelf life.
just like weight loss plan, any predictive model for muh climate change worth a damn requires dramatic increases in EFFICIENCY (or using less fuel) to meet our needs and still make reductions.
If oil is such a dangerous pollutant (literally bubbles up from the ground and pools in places) shouldn't we extract as much of it from the earth as we can? To make sure it is refined cleanly and utilized in the most efficient means possible.
Sure let’s all move to nuclear
The sun only shines during the day. And even wind corridors can be still.
As well as the fact the battery capacity to store excess solar and wind energy isn't there.
No way to recycle wind turbines/solar panels. Most are disposed of in landfills.
Natural gas is a very clean burning fuel. The US has lots and it is cheap.
Tell her that 573,000 birds are killed by wind turbines annually.
And that birds can be incinerated (in flight) when they fly over solar panels.