Abundant, reliable, affordable energy
– the vast majority of it fossil fuels – made all this and much more
possible. It carried us from human and animal muscle, wood, dung and
water wheels, to densely packed energy that could reliably power
factories, laboratories, schools, hospitals, homes and offices.
Those
fuels also run equipment that removes harmful pollutants from our air
and water, and they ended our unsustainable reliance on whale oil,
saving those magnificent mammals from extinction.
Today,
coal, oil and natural gas still provide 80% of America’s and the
world’s energy, for transportation, communication, refrigeration, heat,
lights, manufacturing, entertainment and every other component of modern
life. Together, the scientific method and industrial-grade energy
enable our Ultimate Resource
– the human mind – to create more new ideas, institutions and
technologies that make life for poor people in wealthier countries
better, healthier, fuller and longer than even royalty enjoyed a mere
century ago.
Medical
research discovered why people died from wounds; the true causes of
malaria, smallpox, cholera and other diseases; antibiotics,
vaccinations, insecticides and pharmaceuticals to combat disease and
improve our overall well-being; anesthesia and surgical techniques that
permit life-saving operations and organ transplants; sanitation
(toilets, soap, trash removal) and water purification; and countless
other advances that raised the average American’s life expectancy from
46 in 1900 to 76 today for men and 81 for women."
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