Fossil fuels are deeply embedded in our economy from "summary" of This Changes Everything by Naomi Klein
Fossil fuels are not just a form of energy. They are a set of economic interests, a way of organizing power, a bundle of cultural symbols and traditions. They are also a set of economic interests, a way of organizing power, a bundle of cultural symbols and traditions. Fossil fuel projects are typically the largest investments in any given country, often comprising the single largest chunk of foreign direct investment. They are, in the words of scholar Timothy Mitchell, a “carbon imaginary” that has come to dominate the global economy. It is not just that fossil fuel companies are deeply enmeshed in the global economy. It is also that their business model is so intertwined with our most fundamental needs that it is hard to see how we can solve one problem without addressing the other. The oil companies are planning to extract and burn five times more oil, coal, and gas than the planet can safely handle, and they are betting their futures on the idea that this will not change. In this way, their business model is directly at odds with a livable climate. This kind of logic has been so deeply embedded in our economic system for so long that it is now part of our most basic assumptions about how things wo...
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