[joe fonebone]

Interesting...
I stopped reading at the first mention of the term fossil fuels...
There is no such a thing as a fossil fuel.

[Dr. Sivana]

There is no such a thing as a fossil fuel.

You are right, of course, and inappropriate for a math-centric column, even a popularly written one. Nonetheless, I put it in the same category as people who talk about "dialing" a number on a touchscreen, or filming an event with an iPhone. My 19 year old daughter uses the latter expression, even though she was barely walking when the age of general-use film cameras pretty much ended or at least became a niche product. The author means petroleum, coal and natural gas based products, and there is not a good short, one word substitute.