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Clearly, achieving an all-renewable future is a massive transition that will take time. And more important, it will take energy...a lot of it...not just to construct renewable infrastructure but also to extract from the ground all the resources that make up that infrastructure. There's no getting around the fact that most of that energy will have to come largely from fossil fuels. In other words: If we prematurely call a halt to the continued development of fossil fuels, we'll make it impossible to get to the renewable future that we all want. Increasing Complexities The challenges and complexities are only going to grow. For instance, realize that the transition to renewables will come in the context of burgeoning long-term growth in developing countries. That growth is essentially synonymous with enormous infrastructure creation, which, like all infrastructure, will require huge energy inputs to achieve. Could we simply opt to try to slow down growth in the developing world? No, that wouldn't solve the problem, because these countries, beyond their urgent push to improve living standards, also contain the vast bulk of world commodity resources. If the developing world stagnates and remains largely without infrastructure, these resources, many of which are vital to renewable energy infrastructure, will stay in the ground. The Democratic Republic of Congo, an African nation with a per capita income of about $1,000, is widely considered the country richest in natural resources. These range from vast amounts of bauxite, cobalt, and copper to limestone, tin, and zinc and are estimated be worth at least $25 trillion. These and other commodities will be vital in providing the steel, cement, aluminum, and chemicals without which a world powered by renewable energies will just be a dream. For now, fossil fuels will be essential in getting them out of the ground. Watch This Video: The Raw Materials of Wealth I hope it's clear that in arguing that it's total folly to limit oil production, it's not because I love oil or am an apologist for the oil industry. It's because all the evidence shows we will need all the fossil fuels we can get to build the renewable future that will ultimately free us from carbon-based energy. We also still need oil to extract the critical materials vital for society. Among these critical materials are commodities such as copper. Oil is a vital raw material and the same goes for the "red metal." Copper is vital for building construction, power generation and transmission, electronics, industrial machinery, and transportation vehicles. Copper wiring and plumbing are mainstays of heating and cooling systems, appliances, and telecommunications links. This year and beyond, as the world economy resumes growth and infrastructure spending explodes, so will demand for copper. For our favorite investment play on this crucial commodity, click here now. | 
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