Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has led to a massive spike in energy costs, which has helped demonstrate a basic truth we’ve been struggling to avoid: Civilization requires cheap energy. Making human life longer, better, more fulfilling and more comfortable will always require the creation and transportation of goods in physical form, which will always require huge amounts of energy. Rather than making energy more scarce and more expensive, though, we must embrace the use of fossil fuels to help supply the inexpensive energy we need.
