The Moral Case for Fort McMurray's Fossil Fuel Industry by Heinz Schmitz

To all of you Enviro-Fascists out there hating on the victims of the Fort McMurray fire, let me educate you a little on Fossil Fuel energy. Without it, half you would be dead right now. Oil does much more than fuel your sissy little Vespas. It is the motive power of the lives you live, your homes, your smartphones that you hypocritically use, your clothes...practically everything you engage in was made possible by oil and oil workers, and without it your lives would plummet into a pre-industrial hell-hole when the average life-expectancy was 30. When you see your baby in an incubator or a loved one on life-support, remember those aren't hooked up to solar panels or windmills, nor would you want them to. The US Department of Energy estimates that hospitals use 836 trillion BTUs of energy annually and have more than 2.5 times the energy intensity of commercial office buildings, Also, modern medicine is dependent on oil, such as gloves, syringes, medications, sterile packaging, CT and MRI scanners, ASA pain relievers, Soft Contact lenses, Toothpaste, Petroleum Jelly, Antiseptics, Vitamin Capsules, Antihistamines, Rubbing Alcohol, Denture Adhesive, Electric Blankets, Hand Lotion, Shampoo, Aspirin, Heart Valves...literally tons of medicines and plastic disposables made from petroleum are the cornerstone of our healthcare model.

Other uses of oil include: Solvents, Insecticides, Bicycle Tires. Fishing lures, Dresses, Tool Boxes, Shoe Polish, Motorcycle Helmet, Caulking, Food Preservatives, Soap, Shoes, Cortisone, Deodorant, Dyes, Panty Hose, Refrigerant, Percolators, Life Jackets, Linings, Shag Rugs, Electrician's Tape, Tool Racks, Car Battery Cases, Epoxy, Paint, Mops, Slacks, Insect Repellent, Oil Filters, Umbrellas, Yarn, Fertilizers, Hair Coloring, Roofing, Toilet Seats, Fishing Rods, Lipstick, Linoleum, Ice Cube Trays, Synthetic Rubber, Speakers, Plastic Wood, Glycerin, Tennis Rackets, Rubber Cement, Fishing Boots, Dice, Nylon Rope, Candles, Trash Bags, House Paint, Water Pipes, Roller Skates, Surf Boards,  Wheels, Paint Rollers, Shower Curtains, Guitar Strings, Luggage, Safety Glasses, Antifreeze, Football Helmets, Awnings, Eyeglasses, Clothes, Toothbrushes, Ice Chests, Footballs, Combs, CD's & DVD's, Paint Brushes, Detergents, Vaporizers, Balloons, Sun Glasses, Tents, Crayons, Parachutes, Telephones, Enamel, Pillows, Dishes, Cameras, Anesthetics, Artificial Turf, Artificial limbs, Bandages, Dentures, Folding Doors, Hair Curlers, Cold cream, Movie film, Drinking Cups, Fan Belts, Car Enamel, Shaving Cream, Ammonia, Refrigerators, Golf Balls and much more.

Americans consume petroleum products at a rate of three-and-a-half gallons of oil and more than 250 cubic feet of natural gas per day each!

Dramatic improvements in human health during the last 150 years have coincided with unprecedented economic growth and prosperity (Capitalism). This progress has depended on heavy energy usage, much of it from fossil fuels such as coal, petroleum, and natural gas. Petroleum is thoroughly integrated into the modern economy,  The more energy we can produce, the greater our ability to use machines to improve our lives, the more time we buy ourselves to spend our time learning and inventing and creating, the faster we can get to the next cure.

As you can see, the oil industry is the difference between life and death. Instead of wishing the worst, you should instead hug an oil-worker and John D Rockefeller, an early oil pioneer, should be seen as a god that deserves to be on the $20 bill.

Interesting Fact: Before the oil industry, people used Whale Oil for light and fuel. The carnage was incredible. The oil industry literally Saved The Whales. When horses were used as a primary source of transportation, horse manure was a major source of pollution on city streets. Some cities had vacant lots with manure piled up to 60 feet. The advent of the automobile literally Saved The Environment.

Moving on to wildfires: Large wildfires are hardly a recent occurence. Old fires were large and devastating as well, such as the 1825 Miramichi Fire (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1825_Miramichi_Fire). This book below written in 1847 catalogued many devastating fires about 170 years ago. Peddling fears are important motivational tools used to promote cults and political movements.

I will end with these words by Alex Epstein: “In one sense, the answer to “Why do we believe the wrong thing about fossil fuels?” is simple. Lack of education. We haven’t been taught all the right facts. We aren’t taught in school how energy makes our climate safer, only how CO2 emissions supposedly make it more dangerous. We aren’t taught in school how energy makes our environment better, only ways (usually exaggerated) in which fossil fuels make it dirtier. We aren’t taught in school how the fossil fuel industry is a resource-creating industry; we are taught that it is shamelessly exploiting dwindling natural resources. If only the truth were taught, the world would be a different place, right?”  ― Alex J. Epstein, The Moral Case for Fossil Fuels

-Blog by Heinz Schmitz