Earth has limited natural resources to continually support the generation of electricity

Today, the "green" movement is exacerbating the unsustainable extraction of the earth's resources of minerals and metals, JUST to support the generation of electricity. Without replenishment of those resources, there is a growing need to seek a method to generate electricity that utilizes the LEAST amount of those resources.

• Coal: The world is extracting more than 8.5 billion tons of coal per year, with less than 140 years of reserves remaining.
• Natural gas: The world is extracting more than 132 trillion cubic feet per year, with about 50 years of reserves remaining.
• Oil: The world is extracting more than 35 billion barrels of oil per year, with less than 50 years of reserves remaining.

With advances in technology, motivated by the increasing cost of those resources, we may find other ways to locate and extract more, like the "fracking" technology being used to extract more oil, BUT Planet Earth's fossil fuel resources are limited!

However, some countries' economies remain heavily dependent on oil reservoirs. What will happen when their reservoirs become depleted, and the wells run dry?

Even if technology advancements allow further extraction of fossil fuels and other resources, the "end" date will only be delayed for another 100, 500, or more years, but finally there will be nothing left to support the demand for fuels, products and electricity generation.

Further, ALL electrical generation methods from hydro, coal, natural gas, nuclear, wind, and solar, are ALL built with the products, components and equipment made from oil. Crude oil is not used to generate electricity, but the oil derivatives resulting from refining crude oil are necessary to make all the parts and components for every method of generating electricity.

The "green" alternative to the use of coal, natural gas, and oil, is the use of relatively scarce and little explored minerals and metals to make wind turbines, solar panels and batteries for EV's and other "green" infrastructure. In general, those minerals and metals are considered critical minerals exactly because they are relatively poorly distributed in the world, and because their production would need to be scaled up tremendously to meet the expected demand from new energy technologies. The projected extraction rates for the minerals and metals required for going "green" are astoundingly high in relation to current production, known reserves, and even in relation to their estimated resource base.

Most of the critical minerals and metals needed to support the much touted "energy transition" to EVs, wind turbines, solar panels and batteries, come from unreliable, unstable or poorer developing countries such as China, some African nations, and others. Those countries have minimal labor laws and poor environmental controls, so that their production of the critical minerals and metals needed for going "green" results in serious environmental degradation, dire social consequences, and human rights abuses to their population, predominantly made up of people with yellow, brown, and black skin. All this, just to support "clean" electricity in wealthier countries.

· Question: Do you believe it is ethical and moral for wealthy countries to continue subsidies to go "green", when they encourage China and African countries to CONTINUE exploiting many who work under miserable conditions, and when such subsidies entrench financial incentives for environmental degradation, just to support producing EV batteries, wind turbines and solar panels, mostly for wealthier countries"?

The extraction rates and R/P (reserves to production) ratio for many of the critical minerals and metals needed for going "green" are alarming, and most of these natural resources are NOT being replenished. This suggests a worrisome possibility of an unsustainable approach to the current policies of subsidies for "green" energies. Furthermore, even countries with the largest reserve base face important challenges to increasing production growth to meet projected future demand.

• Lithium: In 2024, the world mined about 240,000 tons of lithium, almost three times the amount mined in 2020. The International Energy Agency (IEA) projects that demand for lithium will increase to 450,000 tons per year by 2030. Despite a significant world resource base, production of those resources remains a major challenge.
• Cobalt: In 2024, the world produced an estimated 280,000 metric tons of cobalt, the highest amount ever recorded. The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) was the world's leading producer, accounting for 74% of the global total, while the country is known for the major problems with child labor and poor working conditionsof its mineral sector.

Today, a typical EV battery for a Tesla sedan weighs 1,000 pounds and includes these minerals and metals: