We Rise by Xiuhtezcatl Martinez

Author:Xiuhtezcatl Martinez
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Rodale
Published: 2017-04-04T04:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER 9

The True Cost of Fossil Fuels

The Future of Energy Is Not Down a Hole

“We pull out of the ground death. We burn death in our power plants. Why do we get shocked when we get death in our sky in the form of global warming, death in our oceans as oil spills, death in our children’s lungs as asthma and cancer?“

–VAN JONES

Human beings have done an incredible job of constantly evolving, developing, and progressing as a species. Just look at the major technological advances and discoveries that we’ve made over the course of our existence. We’ve explored space, cured disease, created democracy, and, in 2012, we even brought 2Pac back to the stage in the form of a hologram. Even so, our greatest challenges lie ahead.

The resources from the fossil-fuel industry have led to amazing technological innovations, while becoming one of the most profitable industries in the history of the world. However, the next steps we take as a species cannot be fueled by a finite resource. Fossil fuels are the remains of dead animal and plant matter, dating back to the time of the dinosaurs. They cannot be replenished once they are gone.

While coal, oil, and natural gas still supply most of the world with energy, we know that there is a ticking clock on the fossil-fuel economy. Our dependency could be our downfall. Unless we start to transition away from carbon-based energy sources, we’ll pay the price of having our food, transportation, and heating tied into the price of oil.

This is especially concerning, because the price you see on the gas pump isn’t actually what it costs to produce the oil. Like Big Ag, fossil fuels are heavily subsidized. A 2013 report by the Global Subsidies Initiative found that fossil fuels receive an estimated $548 billion dollars in direct subsidies and tax breaks combined, at least five times that of renewable energy. Some of these subsidies are for production and help companies cover the cost of extraction and processing, while others are exploration subsidies that help companies look for more fossil fuels to mine and burn. The study also showed how these subsidies are specifically designed to undercut the competitiveness of renewable energy.

Those, however, are not the only subsidies we pay. Taxpayers have been forced to pay the toll for nonrenewable energy sources that damage our environment, health, and public infrastructure. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) estimates that we pay around $5.3 trillion annually for the costs the industry leaves behind. That is more than $10 million a minute that we are spending to prop up an industry that’s harming our health and our environment and our economy.

A Harvard study estimated that, if we accounted for the true cost of coal, it would be double or triple the price, because of environmental, health, and climate impacts. This is considered an indirect subsidy. Without these subsidies, it would no longer be economical for coal companies to mine and burn coal. By making these corporations pay for their damages

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