That is a very good question. Another question is: There was, is, and always will be climate change, but is it currently man made or not, and is it harmful? Ok, two questions. I’m not so sure that the earth is warming, it seems the alarmists post pictures of glaciers melting, but not the ones growing, so there is plenty of room for doubt. Also, what does synthesized quartz cost, and how is it made? I could see where this could be a plus if it’s cheap enough and easy enough to be made, and getting the ingredients doesn’t harm the environment. It would cut down on the exhaust of furnaces which is not the best to breath, and really doesn’t look so great.
There is also that, if we can generate energy through other means, then it allows hydrocarbons to be used where they work best.
I will just give you a hypothetical world of my own to illustrate what I mean.
Nuclear power for the homes. Solar power for industrial uses, like in this article. Hydrocarbons for vehicles.
Or, if hydrocarbons have higher value than being used for fuel then would be better.
Creating an optimized world does not mean being a crazed environmentalist who thinks killing off 95% is necessary to bring balance.