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Energy literacy - understanding crude oil's vital role

By Ronald Stein - posted Wednesday, 12 February 2025


Over the last 200 years, and the world has populated from 1 to 8 billion because of the more than 6,000 products and different fuels for planes, ships, trucks, cars, military, and the space programs that did not exist before the 1800's. Today, the world is a materialistic society.

We have more than 50,000 merchant ships, more than 20,000 commercial aircraft and more than 50,000 military aircraft that use the fuels manufactured from crude oil. The fuels to move the heavy-weight and long-range needs of jets moving people and products, and the merchant ships for global trade flows, and the military and space programs, are also dependent on what can be manufactured from crude oil.

Today, American policymakers setting "green" policies are oblivious to the reality that electricity came AFTER the discovery of crude oil, and everything that NEEDS Electricity, are made with the products made from oil derivatives.

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  • ALL electrical generation methods from hydro, coal, natural gas, nuclear, wind, and solar are ALL built with the products, components, and equipment that are made from the oil derivatives manufactured from crude oil,
  • All EV's, solar panels, and wind turbines are also built with the products, components, and equipment that are made from the oil derivatives manufactured from crude oil.
  • Getting rid of crude oil would eliminate electricity, and all the products that need electricity to operate!

We've had more than 200 years to "clone" oil to support the supply chain of products demanded by our materialistic society and have been unsuccessful.

The January 20, 2025 executive orderof President Trump, "Unleashing American Energy (UAE)" calls for elimination of the "electric vehicle (EV) mandate" to promote consumer choice and access to gasoline-powered automobiles. It's true that we have no formal EV mandate, but 22 stateshave zero-emissions vehicle mandates or executive orders prohibiting sales of gasoline cars by a future date, typically 2035.

The few developed nations are oblivious that "Big oil" only exists because of the wealthier countries being addicted to the products and fuels that are manufactured from fossil fuels that makes THEIR lives more comfortable. The wealthy countries constantly pursue smaller and faster electronics, and bigger and faster planes, ships, and launches into outer space are the only reasons that crude oil is needed.

Seemingly unbeknownst to the "green" movements in the few wealthy countries, that are able to provide trillions of dollars of financial subsidies, and impose government mandates to transition to occasional electricity generation from breezes and sunshinethat is totally unaffordable by most on this planet.

The future prosperity of billions of people in developing countries is contingent on their economic advancement through the rightful access to harness the foundational elements of any flourishing economy, ie, the strategic use of fossil fuels and electricity to enjoy the products and fuels that are the basis of all the infrastructures such as: water filtration, sanitation, heating and ventilating, hospitals, medical equipment, transportation, appliances, electronics, telecommunications, and communications systems.

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The "green" movement policies, just in the few wealthy countries that are pursuing them with mandates and humongous financial subsidies, are totally unaffordable by more than 6 billion on this planet! Thus, the world is in desperate need of teachers to be the moderators of Energy Literacy CONVERSATIONS that discuss subjects that will benefit ALL 8 billion on this planet.

Shockingly, wealthy countries like, Germany, Australia, Great Britain, New Zealand, all the EU, and the USA still remain ignorant that 80% of the 8 billion on this planet are living on less than $10 a day. These billions of people cannot subsidize themselves out of a paper bag. How will more than 6 billion on this planet ever see electricity?

Policymakers have no comprehension that crude oil is virtually never used to generate electricity, but when manufactured into those petrochemicals that are the basis of more than 6,000 products, is the basis for virtually all the products that support hospitals, medical equipment, appliances, electronics, transportation, telecommunications, heating and ventilating, and communications systems.

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This article was first published by America Out Loud NEWS. Click this link to Sign up for Energy Literacy from Ronald Stein.



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About the Author

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.

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