Alan Aubut is a retired geologist, based in Nipigon.Hydrocarbons are among the simplest compounds in chemistry yet among the most versatile in application. They are chains of carbon and hydrogen that occur in nature in every physical state: gases like methane and ethane, liquids like octane and kerosene, and solids like paraffin wax. For more than a century, the dominant narrative has been that petroleum — the primary source of hydrocarbons used by industry — originated exclusively from ancient life compressed in sedimentary basins. The term “fossil fuel” has carried both scientific weight and political baggage. Yet the evidence is not so one-sided. Hydrocarbons also form abiotically (without the involvement of living organisms) in volcanic environments, at hydrothermal vents, and in Archean black shales that predate life itself.The fact that hydrocarbons occur both biogenically and abiotically matters. It demonstrates that they are not rare substances tied solely to the decay of past ecosystems, but natural products of the Earth’s geochemical processes. In other words, hydrocarbons belong to the planet as fundamentally as iron or quartz. This recognition is critical because it reframes hydrocarbons not as pollutants or dwindling relics of prehistory, but as building blocks of modern society that can be manufactured, recycled, and sustained..QUESNEL: Workers' party or working government? NDP at a crossroads.The stability of hydrocarbons explains why they dominate natural reserves. Alkanes, with only single carbon-carbon bonds, resist chemical breakdown under heat and pressure. That is why petroleum is composed largely of these stable molecules. Alkenes and alkynes, with double and triple bonds, are more reactive and thus less common in geological deposits. Yet the fact that they exist at all, both in biological systems and in high-energy abiotic environments, demonstrates the diversity of hydrocarbon chemistry available to nature..It is also worth noting that hydrocarbons appear beyond Earth. Methane lakes on Titan, plumes on Enceladus, and simple hydrocarbons detected in interstellar clouds prove their formation is not limited to biology. If hydrocarbons are a natural product of the cosmos, there is no reason to see them as finite curiosities on Earth. The real limitation is not their existence but our imagination and capacity to produce them efficiently.History repeatedly shows that assumptions of scarcity are poor guides to the future. In the late nineteenth century, the scientific establishment largely agreed that heavier-than-air flight was impossible. Lord Kelvin himself declared in 1895 that “heavier-than-air flying machines are impossible.” Yet within a decade, the Wright brothers flew at Kitty Hawk, and by the First World War, aircraft had changed the nature of war and commerce..MUSHET: McGowan's attempt to take over .Similarly, within a single generation, the horse and wagon — once the backbone of transport — had been displaced by the automobile.This lesson should not be forgotten. Today’s pessimists warn of dwindling petroleum reserves, climate catastrophe, and the urgent need to abandon hydrocarbons altogether. These Malthusian voices dominate the media and shape government policy. They see limits where innovation sees opportunity. .Just as balloons and kites hinted at the possibility of powered flight, so too do the natural processes of hydrocarbon formation and the proven chemistry of synthesis point toward a future where hydrocarbons can be produced on demand.The chemistry of synthetic hydrocarbons is not speculative. It has been understood for nearly a century. In the 1920s, German chemists Franz Fischer and Hans Tropsch developed a process that converts carbon monoxide and hydrogen into liquid hydrocarbons using metal catalysts. Known as Fischer–Tropsch synthesis, the method was scaled during the Second World War to produce synthetic fuel when Germany faced blockades. South Africa later relied on it during apartheid when oil imports were restricted, with plants still producing hundreds of thousands of barrels per day..OLDCORN: Alberta’s classrooms are becoming English language camps.Fischer–Tropsch is only one of several pathways. Methanol-to-gasoline processes can convert syngas into high-octane fuel. Biomass gasification can turn agricultural residues, forestry waste, or even sewage into hydrocarbons. More recently, renewable electricity allows for electrolysis of water to produce hydrogen, which can then combine with captured carbon dioxide to form synthetic hydrocarbons. This is the basis of e-fuels, already being piloted in places like Chile, where wind power drives the conversion of atmospheric carbon into liquid fuels for transport..These technologies prove that hydrocarbons are not bound to geological timescales. They can be produced in factories, tailored for use, and scaled with demand. The bottlenecks are cost, efficiency, and infrastructure, all of which improve with innovation and investment. The suggestion that we have found all economically viable petroleum reserves is no more realistic than saying all diamonds or all gold have been discovered. Even if natural reservoirs are ultimately finite, the chemistry to recycle and reproduce hydrocarbons ensures their future is open-ended..EYRE: What would Elizabeth I think of Canada’s out-of-control spending?.This has immediate relevance to modern society. Industrialization and agriculture both depend heavily on hydrocarbons. Tractors, fertilizers, transport networks, plastics, and energy storage all rely on them. Far from trapping humanity in poverty, hydrocarbons have been central to lifting billions out of it. In the past fifty years, the global population has grown rapidly, yet this is not because people are reproducing at wildly higher rates. It is because survival has improved. Infant mortality has declined, lifespans have lengthened, and societies once mired in subsistence farming now enjoy the productivity of mechanized agriculture and global supply chains..Hydrocarbons made this possible by fueling industry, enabling fertilizer production, and driving transport.Advanced societies are already adjusting to stable populations, with birth rates in many countries falling to replacement or below. This is not evidence of decline but of adaptation. As more people live long, secure lives, reproduction naturally balances. The challenge ahead is not runaway growth but ensuring that developing regions have the same chance to rise out of poverty. Hydrocarbons — natural, synthetic, and recycled — are indispensable to that task..BORG: Canadians told to cut carbon while COP30 delegates emit a Canadian town’s worth of co₂.The greatest obstacle is not technical but ideological. For decades, Malthusian narratives have warned of overpopulation, resource exhaustion, and environmental collapse. These views consistently underestimate human ingenuity. In the 1960s and 1970s, predictions of mass starvation due to limited agricultural yields failed to account for the Green Revolution. In the 1970s, dire warnings of peak oil missed the coming revolution in exploration and unconventional extraction. Today’s forecasts of hydrocarbon scarcity or inevitable climate disaster risk making the same error.The way forward is not denial of environmental challenges but refusal to accept despair as policy. Synthetic hydrocarbons offer a path that meets energy needs while reducing reliance on natural reserves. They allow for recycling of carbon, integration with renewable power, and compatibility with existing engines and infrastructure. In short, they provide hope where Malthusianism offers only austerity..The analogy to heavier-than-air flight is not casual. At the turn of the twentieth century, even after controlled flight had been demonstrated, many experts dismissed its utility. They could not imagine a future where aircraft would become routine. Today, a similar blindness afflicts debates about hydrocarbons. Critics see only pollution and decline. They cannot imagine hydrocarbons as a renewable resource, manufactured as easily as steel or concrete..RUBENSTEIN: Canada eagerly embraces a genocide double standard.Yet the chemistry is settled. The technology is proven. The economics improve with each advance. What is required is the recognition that hydrocarbons are not a curse but a gift — one that humanity can manage wisely and reproduce sustainably. The future of hydrocarbons is not about running out but about learning to recycle and reuse. Just as metals are melted and recast, so too can hydrocarbons be broken down and remade. .Far from being a dead end, hydrocarbons are the foundation of a brighter, more prosperous future.Hydrocarbons are natural products of Earth’s geochemistry, not aberrations. They occur both from ancient life and from abiotic processes that continue today. Their stability makes them abundant in nature, and their chemistry makes them amenable to synthesis. History shows that what is dismissed as impossible can become commonplace in a generation. Just as the Wright brothers disproved the skeptics of flight, synthetic hydrocarbons will disprove those who insist we must abandon them..THOMAS: Next chapter of blanket upzoning to be written on Monday .For Canada, the opportunity is clear. With its resources, energy, and expertise, it could become self-sufficient in hydrocarbon production. Doing so would ensure energy independence, economic resilience, and a hopeful path forward. Malthusian pessimism has held sway for too long. It is time to reject policies that handicap innovation and instead encourage bold thinking.Canada has always faced grim realities. Much of the country spends half the year below freezing. We adapted by finding new ways to stay warm, extend the growing season, and build thriving communities despite the climate. Innovation was once our hallmark, and it can be again.The future belongs to those who see hydrocarbons not as a problem to escape but as a foundation to build upon. By treating hydrocarbons as natural, recyclable, and renewable through synthesis — unlike batteries, which falter in colder climates — Canada can lead the way in ensuring prosperity for future generations. Like the Wright brothers who turned doubt into flight, we too can rise to the challenge and build a brighter, self-sufficient future.Alan Aubut is a retired geologist, based in Nipigon.
