A TikToker who makes videos about climate-related topics highlighted a common fallacy that may give people pause about transitioning to cleaner energy sources.
Hazel Thayer (@hazelisonline) posted a clip demonstrating how advocates for environmental solutions are often met with pushback from people who believe that progress must be an all-or-nothing endeavor — or it is not worth doing at all.
@hazelisonline you can call me strawmanning but my strawman makes more sense than 90% of commenters lmao #endfossilfuels ♬ Cooking, bossa nova, adults, light(950693) - Kids Sound
The video begins with Hazel acting as a protester calling to end the use of dirty fuels such as gas, oil, and coal. "End fossil fuels?" another costumed version of Hazel asks in response. "I bet you drove here. Your clothes are made of petrochemicals. Your life depends on fossil fuels."
"Yeah, mate. That's kinda what we're mad about," one commenter pointed out. The viewpoint shifts back to eco-friendly Hazel, who further demonstrates that observation.
"I took a bus," this version of Hazel says, pointing out that public transit is a cleaner mode of transportation — even though this imaginary bus ran on gas rather than electricity, meaning it would have had tailpipe fumes.
Shifting positions to act as a dirty energy advocate, Hazel then presents an argument that seems sound on the surface but falls into the trap of assuming that a transition to clean energy means immediately stopping every gas- and oil-related activity.
"If we immediately went off all fossil fuels, we couldn't farm. We couldn't transport goods. We couldn't manufacture anything. Billions of people would die. Do you want that?" Hazel asks.
"We're not saying stop using fossil fuels today. We're saying stop using them as fast as possible," eco-friendly Hazel responds, noting that dirty energy companies were aware of their industry's impact on the environment and spent decades trying to cover it up.
"If people could just decide to not use fossil fuel without massively downgrading their quality of life, we would be in such a better position already," another commenter wrote.
Fortunately, electric semitrucks, solar and wind farms, nuclear fusion, and alternative shipping fuels such as clean ammonia are just a few of the expanding or emerging solutions to a crisis driven by dirty energy, which accounts for the majority of pollution causing the Earth to overheat. Home solutions such as solar panels also help put money back in the pockets of consumers.
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Another understandable concern about shifting away from dirty energy includes employment loss. However, the clean energy sector has just as much potential to create well-paying jobs as the dirty energy industry while reducing pollution linked to millions of premature deaths each year. A well-planned transition could limit the potential for short-term discomfort.
According to the U.S. Department of Energy, the market for renewable energy innovation is expected to be worth at least $23 trillion by the end of the decade.
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