Quick: What do makeup, prosthetics, and heart valves have in common? Unbeknownst to most Americans, all are made possible by fossil fuels.
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Quick: What do makeup, prosthetics, and heart valves have in common?
Unbeknownst to most Americans, all are made possible by fossil fuels. Fossil fuels are behind almost every aspect of our daily lives — from T-shirts to life-saving medical devices.
Unfortunately, a growing movement to keep oil and gas in the ground could cut off production of our favorite fossil fuel products. Green activists behind the effort believe continued use of oil and gas will destroy the planet.
Rather than leave fossil fuels in the ground, we should bury such green alarmist claims. Americans wouldn’t be able to survive without oil and gas. Contrary to the activist hysterics, these resources could help save the planet.
When Americans fill up their cars at the pump or turn on the burner of their stoves, they can see the benefits of fossil fuels pretty directly. But the full impact of these resources on American lives is mostly hidden. Everyday products — lipstick, sweatshirts, laptops, hangers, Band-Aids, and credit cards — are all produced with fossil fuels.
Seven million Americans depend on prosthetic hips or knees made with natural gas and oil. Each year, five million Americans with heart disease are given decades more to live with heart valves only possible through fossil fuels.
Most people have little acquaintance with the importance of fossil fuels. They’re ill-prepared to demand of green activists what will replace oil and gas across the full spectrum of everyday life. Are the activists prepared to jettison advanced prosthetics and go back to wooden peg-legs? Would that work with a heart valve?
Robert L. Bradley Jr. is the founder and CEO of the Institute for Energy Research.