[firebot]

Fossil fuels hopefully aren't going anywhere.

We should absolutely stop burning them, though.

For instance, modern medicine requires petroleum and there's no real alternatives at this time.

[mcswell]

OP here: I was referring to fossil fuels as things we burn to drive automobiles, airplanes and ships, or to power electric generators. So yes, petroleum will continue to have its uses, just not power. (Although my ten year timeline was hopelessly optimistic, I admit.)

[dgellow]

Doesn’t the term “fuel” imply they are burnt? Genuine question, I’m not native speaker

[chii]

Fuel is simply a noun for a source of energy, it doesn't need burning for something to be fuel. Look at nuclear fuel - it doesn't burn.

[firebot]

Yea. That last part is a bit incongruent. My bad.

Modern medicine relies heavily on petrochemical feedstocks (derived from fossil fuels.) These are used to make plastics, solvents, reagents, packaging, and some pharmaceuticals Many of these materials currently have no scalable, cost-effective substitutes.