There exists the “double standard” for reclamation for privately funded projects versus government funded projects. Refinery sites need to be brought back to pristine conditions, while failed wind turbine installations are just abandoned or dumped into waste dumps sites.
Electricity came about AFTER fossil fuels, as all the parts and components (wire, insulation, computers, glass) to generate electricity via coal, natural gas, hydro, nuclear, wind, or solar are MADE from fossil fuels.
Today’s transportation via billions of vehicles, trucks, 50,000 airplanes, and 50,000 ships came about came about AFTER fossil fuels, as all the parts and components to build those vehicles, trucks, airplanes, and ships are MADE from fossil fuels and transportation fuels to MOVE.
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Ridding the world of fossil fuel usage would severely undermine electricity, transportation, and the infrastructure that did not exist 200 years ago.
“Net-zero” ideologies are NOT affordable by the more than 6 billion on this planet living in poverty.
- After the U.S. capture of Nicolás Maduro in early January 2026, Venezuela has been receiving a lot of press the last few weeks
- Of particular interest is that as of today, more than 90 percent of the 30 million Venezuelans, i.e. 27 million, live in poverty. Nearly 70 percent are stuck in extreme poverty. Shockingly, 80% of the 8 billion on planet Earth, or more than 6 billion, are living on less than $10/day. The 27 million Venezuelans represent only about 5% of those 6 billion living in poverty around the world
In poor countries,
- From indoor air pollutionfrom having to burn wood, charcoal, grass and dung, because they don’t have natural gas, propane or electricity for cooking and heating.
- From bacteria and parasites in their water and food, because they don’t have electricity, water treatment or refrigeration.
- From malaria and other diseases, because their substandard clinics and hospitals lack electricity, clean water, sufficient vaccines and antibiotics, even window screens.
For affordable electricity, there are 460 coal plants under construction. Another 500 have been permitted or are about to be, with an additional 260 new plants expected to be announced. The vast majority of all this activity is in China and India.
Before we rid the planet’s usage of fossil fuels, we need to identify the replacement to support the supply chain of products and transportation fuels now demanded by all the infrastructures that did not exist 200 years ago. Wind turbines CANNOT make anything.
This reality does not deny the importance of environmental responsibility. Rather, it highlights the need for pragmatic frameworks that recognize material dependency, energy security, and global equity simultaneously. Sustainable progress must be grounded not in ideology, but in realistic transitions that preserve the foundations of modern civilization while improving environmental performance.
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About the Authors
Ronald Stein is co-author of the Pulitzer Prize nominated book Clean Energy Exploitations.
He is a policy advisor on energy literacy for the Heartland Institute,
and the Committee for a Constructive Tomorrow, and a national TV
commentator on energy & infrastructure with Rick Amato.
Yoshihiro Muronaka holds a PE.Jp and is a chemical engineer who
currently focuses on evaluating net-zero and decarbonization policies,
advocating alternative energy concepts such as "carbon symbiosis", and
promoting balanced international energy cooperation.
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Ronald Stein
Yoshihiro Muronaka
