The fossil fuel age is over, bar the shouting…
Steve Mayfield’s peak oil totally approximative graph is still the best way to understand that our use of fossil fuels is a very short moment in history of mankind: a period during which we burned all the coal, oil and gas we could extract from the interior of the planet, refusing to recognize the consequences of which, which have been well known for at least half a century.
The vague conclusions of COP26 in Glasgow are a mere distraction from the reality we refuse to face up to, because to all intents and purposes, the era of fossil fuel abundance is over, and what comes next is the exit from that era. For an entire industry, it’s every man for himself.
One OPEC member has urged fellow members to invest more in renewable energy and to move from being oil companies to focus on energy production. Harvard, like other entities and several sovereign wealth funds, is disinvesting in everything related to fossil fuels, while advertising agencies are considering ceasing to offer services to these companies; other players are focused on how to abolish them or put them to an end.
