David Cromwell

David Cromwell argues in the following viewpoint that society’s reliance on the combustion of fossil fuels for energy threatens to destroy the environment. He contends that oil companies—supported by government tax benefits and subsidies—have established a centralized power base from which they can dictate future energy policies that will benefit their industry at the expense of the environment. Cromwell recommends transitioning from a fossil fuels energy economy to a locally controlled, solar-based one, which will not harm the Earth. David Cromwell is an oceanographer, associate director of www.MediaLens.org and author of “Private Planet” ( Jon Carpenter Publishing).

As you read, consider the following questions:

1. According to the Royal Commission on Environmental Pollution, by what percentage will carbon dioxide emissions have to fall within the next...