American leaders—particularly those on the political left and ostensibly concerned about managing climate change—are poised to rewrite the longstanding energy paradigm responsible for fueling the enviable lifestyle and productivity enjoyed by the United States since the Industrial Revolution. By outlawing or harshly regulating traditional means of power and fuel generation and promoting renewable but unreliable “green” technologies, these leaders look to “pull the plug” on the fossil fuel industry. Doing so will dictate wholesale changes in how we live, work, play, produce, and consume.

While the politics behind these changes can be complicated, there is growing zeal for eliminating all so-called carbon pollution. Advocates would eliminate coal, natural gas, and oil for electricity generation and replace them primarily with wind and solar power. For most modes of transportation, this means disposing of the gasoline or diesel-burning internal combustion engine in favor of electric vehicles.

A social justice element is also at work, with supporters calling for a comprehensive reset in how society conducts its affairs. But as high-minded as these ideas and goals might be, a rather large fly is struggling in the ointment. In their rush to dispense with all fossil fuels and their carbon emissions, green energy enthusiasts have seriously overestimated the new technologies’ capacity to take over the world’s energy needs. At the same time, they have underestimated the value of fossil fuel’s availability, reliability, and affordability, especially during challenging times. Along with its growing reticence for more nuclear energy, the world is witnessing the onset of severe shortages of both electrical power and transportation fuels—and alarming price increases for both.

The COVID-19 lockdowns of 2020 and 2021 shut down much of global industry, hitting energy sectors particularly hard. Furthermore, the current American administration is openly utilizing the pandemic crisis to accelerate the eradication of all fossil fuels from the U.S. market. By increasing burdensome restrictions and canceling the construction of badly needed oil and gas pipelines, federal and state governments appear ready to force a calamitous transition on the oil and gas industries, regardless of the costs to the American people.

In response, oil industry CEOs and stockholders demanded a reduction of costs necessary to maintain profitability for not only the duration of the pandemic but also into the future. Doing so necessitated shutting down or curtailing exploration, research and development, drilling, refining, and distribution, with considerable emphasis on an already strained refining sector. To date, no new refineries have been brought online in the U.S. since 1977, and the industry holds out little hope of receiving a green light to build any others. Even if political sentiment suddenly changed in favor of fossil fuels, it would take a decade or more to add significant refining capacity.

The same holds true for the local electric company that once provided plentiful electricity from various combinations of coal, natural gas, oil, hydroelectric, or nuclear power. Excepting hydroelectric, all the other forms of traditional power generation are under regulatory fire from numerous political sources, and the national electrical grid grows more fragile, outdated, and unreliable.

Power companies are learning that converting coal, oil, and natural gas plants to utilize wind and solar energy puts a tremendous strain on an already stressed power grid. Moreover, with the ongoing droughts in the American West, hydroelectric generation is also under threat when it is needed most. Water volumes flowing through the rivers and into reservoirs for electricity production are dropping at an alarming rate. Already power generation from these natural sources is down and, in certain instances, may cease altogether unless the skies bring needed relief. Industry leaders are warning Americans who live in western states—and even the Great Lakes region!—to expect rolling brownouts and perhaps blackouts this summer and beyond.

Despite the anti-fossil fuel fervor, energy demand continues to roar back worldwide much faster than anticipated since the pandemic’s subsidence in late 2021. However, the damage is done. Energy producers everywhere struggle to regain their footing while dealing with the aforementioned refinery and pipeline shortages, labor shortages, rapidly rising costs, supply-chain issues, and continued regulatory abuse from a short-sighted and unfriendly government.

Renewable power sources are nowhere near ready to replace fossil fuels in generating power for our homes and industries. Wind and solar technologies are too unreliable and uncontrollable to provide for peak demand or to scale back temporarily when demand drops. They also tend to produce more energy during the spring and fall, when overall demand is much lower.

Likewise, electric vehicles are still too unreliable and expensive today. The charging infrastructure required to keep these vehicles on the road will take many years and likely trillions of dollars to build. While progressing in the last decade, critical battery technology is still woefully lacking and, ironically, brings about its own set of ecological challenges.

A strong dose of common sense—which comes with acknowledging and obeying God—is necessary to reverse the near-irreparable damage wreaked on American energy producers (Deuteronomy 28:1-2; Proverbs 14:34). Once the envy of the world, they faithfully provided Americans with cheap, plentiful, and readily available power for homes, industries, and transportation. Sadly, they may soon struggle to keep the lights on, the workplace productive, and the cars, trucks, and trains rolling if righteous action is not forthcoming to avoid the oncoming catastrophe (Deuteronomy 28:45-47).