I used to work in "geo", as the author puts it. Oil is definitely important. It's the only good that behaves macroeconomically as if it were essential to every

I used to work in "geo", as the author puts it. Oil is definitely important. It's the only good that behaves macroeconomically as if it were essential to everybody, and you're right that organic chemistry, plastics, etc. are not just part of daily life, but irreplaceably so. That said, half of oil usage in the USA is for gasoline and diesel [0]; another 15% is natural gas produced as a byproduct of extraction. As we drive and fly less, we'll need less fuel. Oil demand collapsed earlier this year [1], and it could collapse over and over again until the industry shrinks to the right size. I don't think that taxation on oil imports is the right move, because it doesn't limit the USA's oil exports. Instead, we ought to tax oil products, specifically gasoline, diesel, and jet fuel; and use the funds to plan for when oil is no longer as important to us. [0] https://www.eia.gov/energyexplained/oil-and-petroleum-products/use-of-oil.php https://www.eia.gov/energyexplained/oil-and-petroleum-produc... [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2020_Russia%E2%80%93Saudi_Arabia_oil_price_war https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2020_Russia%E2%80%93Saudi_Arab...