If you use a machine you can get more work done in the same amount of time -- think mowing your lawn.
Getting more done in less time is how we prosper. If you can mow your lawn in only an hour, compared to, say, four, then you ave time to do other things.
Machines run on energy. Close off the energy supply, as Joe Biden is trying to do, you reduce the work of the machines, and you ireduce prosperity.
Ralph Schoellhammer, assistant professor in economics and political science at Webster University, Vienna, says it better than I can:
The development and transformation of energy production and use has gone hand in hand with growing prosperity. That’s because with every improvement in energy use, humans have been freed up to pursue other endeavours that have invariably advanced our knowledge and mastery of nature. Once you can grind cereals into flour using wind or water mills instead of your hands, for instance, you have time to engage in other activities, such as science and medicine. Energy production is the motor force of progress. It has allowed societies to become more productive and individuals to live longer lives.
But there's more, he says:
Given the way in which energy production has gradually freed humanity from nature, we should probably see coal as a symbol of liberty. Indeed, the coal-powered steam engine did not just supercharge industrial output, it was also the final nail in the coffin for slavery, destroying its economic viability. It is no coincidence that Britain, the nation that produced the Industrial Revolution, also became the leading force in the abolition of slavery in the 19th century. Similarly, it was the industrialised North that fought against the slave-holding South in the American Civil War of 1861-65.
Certainly, industrialisation has caused suffering, too, as the experience of the working classes attests. But it has also allowed for a massive improvement in their material living standards. Improvements in energy production have the potential to free up and improve the lives of everyone. The average Briton in 1960 was nearly six times richer than his ancestors in 1860. Today’s Brits are even wealthier than that.
Whether greens like it or not, the history of human prosperity is the history of access to energy," he consludes. "And so every political decision that could result in a reduction of energy use will ultimately also lead to a reduction in prosperity. ‘Just Stop Oil’ might be a slick and catchy slogan, but its consequences would be devastating for millions of people.
When you see Biden/Obama shutting down drilling and pipelines and coal plants, imagine mowing your yard with wind power.