In our previous piece dated October 14, 2022, we’ve covered the first paragraph of commentary from Chevron CEO Mike Wirth found in the Financial Times dated October 12, 2022. In this piece, we cover the second paragraph of the same article written by Derek Brower.
The second paragraph states:
“Mike Wirth, Chevron’s chief executive, said a premature effort to transition from fossil fuels had resulted in ‘unintended consequences’, including energy supply insecurity from crisis-hit Europe to California.”
They say that a good way to gauge the relative progress of history is to see what they said 100 years prior and see how much progress has been made. Looking back at what was said in September 1922, we get a glimpse into a world that we currently take for granted.
In an article titled “One Hundred Years From Now” by Brewster S. Beach, it is proposed that power will be transmitted by radio waves and a grid network of power stations throughout the country.
If we shorten our lens from 100 years ago to approximately fifty, we find some accurate but curious takes on the future of energy. In this piece found in Barron’s dated June 18, 1973, we find that solar energy was accurately represented as impractical at the time. We consider it a win for solar that it was mentioned at all.
If we look at the history of energy sources in the United States from 1850-2040 (detailed image found on twitter), as published in the 2009 Exxon Annual Report, we can see that the transitionary trend from oil started in the 1970s & 1980s as natural gas and oil peaked when nuclear and “modern” renewables came online in full force.
This brings us back Mr. Wirth’s claim that “…a premature effort to transition from fossil fuels had resulted in ‘unintended consequences’…”.
It is difficult to believe that the progression from a primarily coal, natural gas, oil dependent economy has prematurely transitioned to alternative energy sources. In fact, as we’ve stated in the past, the delayed move from an oil based economy to “renewables” is due to the fact that the “peak oil” theory continues to be proven illusory, so far.
Whether alternative energy sources come to dominate the fossil fuel standbys, with over 100 years of transitioning from theory to practice, we cannot suddenly proclaim that we have rushed into this with “unintended consequences” that have not been examined ad infinitum.
see also:
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October 14, 2022 “Deconstructing Mike Wirth Claims 1/N @derek_brower”
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October 12, 2022 Financial Times “Chevron chief blames western governments for energy crunch”
- Deconstructing Mike Wirth Claims