Life without fossil fuels: The choice is ours

Bob Hughes

Opinion

Many centuries before the 18th century Industrial Revolution, humans discovered fire and harnessed nature’s natural energy. We relied upon the Sun for warmth and progressed to harnessing wind, water and animal power, along with our puny muscle power, which was all we had until 300 years ago.

Then fossil fuels came along to make everything so much easier. But, thinking it would last forever, we got carried away. Now we must face the consequences of our wastefulness, for we have done so much damage to the health of the planet and we must give up fossil fuels to safeguard ourselves and most other species. The big word now is transition.

Our history is full of energy transitions — call it living and learning. Examples include animal skins to woven blankets for comfort; sledges to wheel paddles to sail for transport; water wheels, whale oil, animal power all later to be replaced by fossil fuel . . . now losing favour because of the climate crisis. Governments and industries are pushing hard for renewables and assume some miraculous technological breakthroughs will get us out of the woods and allow us to continue the lavish lifestyles we have become accustomed to.

The road we are on is the road to ruin. We must all live more in harmony with nature, and the transition to less damaging ways is desperately needed right now. It must be done.

Renewables will be nowhere near enough to replace the loss of fossil fuel, and carbon capture and storage schemes to reach net zero carbon “is not a climate solution” (Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis report).

We can live without fossil fuels.

I well remember early WW2 when petrol, oil and diesel were already restricted, then fuel rationing became necessary in 1942 after Japan entered the war. Petrol rationing ended in May 1950, well after peace was declared.

In 1947, a friend and I embarked on a cycle tour of central North Island via the Waioeka and Manawatu Gorges. With rationing still on, motorists drove more sedately (maybe also because of ongoing restricted tyre repair services).

Twenty years later my fledgling tree care business was hit hard by fuel restrictions because of the 1970s OPEC fuel crisis. There were carless days and no fuel available during weekends. However, most found ways to dodge excessive travelling with country work. For me, I camped out and returned home only on weekends.

More recently the Covid-19 lockdown saved many New Zealanders’ lives, and we discovered alternatives to motoring — walking everywhere, connecting with nature and becoming more familiar with our surroundings. The carbon footprint of New Zealand households decreased by 6.3 percent in 2020, with 26 percent of that from lower transport emissions.

Oil interests had their way at the recent COP28 talks, forcing “phasing out” from the final wording with regard to fossil fuels, and with no targets for how to achieve net zero. Climate experts have said this is insufficient for reducing the impact of emissions.

We still have time to fix our future. We are already experiencing significant climate impacts, but we can and must act now to avoid truly catastrophic consequences. We are at a crossroads that will either haunt our future, or redeem it.

Politicians and vested interests can keep catering to the fossil fuel industry and condemn us to runaway climate chaos, or we can boldly reverse course, act for the benefit of humanity and take the necessary steps to end fossil fuels. The choice is ours.

Again, for our survival, we must go easier on Mother Earth Pupatuanuku.