Today we talk about fossil fuel. Our guest considers the position held by Earth.com, an environmental activist website, and interacts with the science. Should we stop fossil fuel extraction in an attempt to limit global warming? Initially you may ask yourself, as a Christian, why should I even consider such a question? Secondly, is the earth delicate and nurturing, or is it more robust and at times violent? What is "raw" nature really like? What has God called us to do in His word with respect to the world and its animals, raw materials, etc.? It's these sort of considerations that are needed as we go down the path of the stewardship of creation. The modern move to impact nature as little as possible - that view, comes from some upfront assumptions. God gives human beings good guidance, that applies to us today. What are these requirements? Our guest explains. After that initial set of questions, our guest gets into the question at hand of working with the earth to extract energy. He discusses human flourishing and what that means. Our guest points out that different forms of energy are high density sources while others are low density. The higher the density that you start with, the lower the cost. Our guest also points out uncomfortable facts about countries which are attempting to embrace 100% renewable energy, such as Germany. How are they doing? Fact is, Germany, after spending nearly half a trillion dollars, in 20 years went from getting 84 percent of their primary energy from fossil fuels to 76 percent. And that was using the "low laying fruit" as it were. Then he asks, "Can you tell me how you'd go from 76 percent fossil to zero by 2030, or 2035?" The reality is what it is. If Germany's not going to do it, developing nations certainly aren't. This fact ties into the discussion of some countries signing on to the Paris Climate agreement and what they really do. "...there is no enforcement mechanism in either the Paris agreement or the Glasgow pact; that both China and India, which together constitute 35% of the world's population, have every intention to increase their consumption of fossil fuels for decades to come � and are absolutely justified in doing so to ensure that their 2.8 billion people can flourish. Indeed, most of the world's developing countries, with their additional 2.3 billion people, have the same intention. With no enforcement mechanism and no buy-in to the agenda by developing countries with their 63% of the world's population, the target is simply unattainable." We also talk about whether or not Carbon Dioxide is truly dangerous. It is a green house gas, yes, but is that so bad? The phrase "carbon" is bandied about (it sounds dirty you see), yet we know it is carbon dioxide. Trees and all plants love it. How does it really tie in to human flourishing? These are just a couple simple questions using accurate terms that are worthy of asking it seems. Our guest also touches upon the side-effects of fossil fuel use. "...what about the side-effects of fossil fuel use � global warming and sea level rise, driven by carbon dioxide emissions? The warming happens primarily toward the poles (especially the North Pole), primarily in winter, and primarily at night. That means already high temperatures (toward the equator, in summer, in daylight) but cold temperatures that raise global average temperature, and that's good news, because extreme cold kills 20 times as many people per day as extreme heat. The sea-level rise, at a rate of about a 1 to 1.5 feet per century, is slow enough for us to adapt at a cost that is a small fraction of global GDP." Our guest mentions the book: State of the Climate 2021. Participants: Dr. E. Calvin Beisner, Dan Elmendorf