Alex Epstein’s Powerful Argument For More Fossil Fuel Energy
Date:
Jun 01, 2022
In this episode of New Ideal Live, Keith Lockitch and Nikos Sotirakopoulos discuss Fossil Future, a powerful new book on energy and climate change written by former Ayn Rand Institute fellow Alex Epstein. The book argues that to achieve a better world, we need to expand our use of fossil fuel energy, not decrease it.
Among the topics covered:
- Fossil Future in relation to other recent books challenging climate alarmism;
- Epstein’s account of the widespread ignorance of the benefits of fossil fuels;
- Epstein’s concept of a knowledge system by which expert knowledge is reached and disseminated (often inaccurately) to the public;
- How problems in our knowledge system are caused by the acceptance of an “anti-impact” moral standard;
- The human flourishing framework Epstein endorses as a positive alternative;
- Objectivism’s influence on Epstein’s perspective on energy and climate;
- The persuasive power of explicitly naming the moral ideas involved in a debate.
Mentioned in this podcast are Epstein’s book
Fossil Future, Gregory Salmieri’s lecture
How to Be an Objective Consumer of Science, Ayn Rand’s essay
The Anatomy of Compromise from Capitalism: The Unknown Ideal, Lockitch’s review of Fossil Future, and other articles by Lockitch.
energyprogressenvironmentalism
Parts:
1
Handout:
none
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