Oil and Gas are not Essential - Samuelson&Nordhaus

Should we be taking steps to limit the use of these most precious stocks of society’s capital so that they will still be available for our grand children? ... Economists ask, would future generations benefit more from larger stocks of natural capital such as oil, gas and coal, or from more produced capital such as additional scientists, better laboratories and libraries linked together by information highways? ... In the long run, oil and gas are not essential.

Paul Samuelson and William Nordhaus