Fossil Fuels as “Buried Treasure”

Fossil fuels are dirty, toxic, destroyers of the environment and our health…

That is how many people think of fossil fuels today.

But they were thought of very differently just a few decades ago…

Consider this 1960’s ad:

Fossil Fuels are the Greatest Buried Treasure on Earth.
This 1960 ad for steel proudly proclaims: These highways go underground to bring you buried treasure.

This brilliant ad refers to oil, gas, and coal, as “the greatest buried treasure on earth.”

And they are.

Fossil fuels are the energy source of choice for our modern civilization, making up 80 percent of energy sources globally. That’s because, as Alex Epstein notes:

“Fossil fuels alone provide what I call ultra-cost-effective energy, energy that nails all four criteria of cost-effectiveness. Fossil fuel energy is (1) low cost, (2) on-demand, (3) incredibly versatile, and (4) on a scale of billions of people in thousands of places.”-Alex Epstein [Fossil Future, 21]

I am confident we can regain that “buried treasure” perspective on fossil fuels, given how they enrich our lives, and thanks to the work of people like: Alex Epstein, Robert Bryce, Robert Bradley, Michael Shellenberger, Kenneth Green, and others.