Alex Epstein: “The Moral Case for Fossil Fuels” | Talks at Google

Energy philosopher Alex Epstein, author of The Moral Case for Fossil Fuels, challenges conventional wisdom about the fossil fuel industry and argues that if we look carefully at the positives and negatives of all our energy alternatives, we have a moral obligation to use more fossil fuels, not less.

Get the book here: https://goo.gl/nejqGy
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20 thoughts on “Alex Epstein: “The Moral Case for Fossil Fuels” | Talks at Google”

  1. Excellent talk! I've learned so much from your work! And that Objectivist way of breaking things down is phenomenal. Keep working to change the culture for the better.

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  2. His book is fantastic. All of his data in the book are all accepted data from all of the "govt and scientific community" accepted data sources. Its fantastic to see. His comparison to prediction models versus reality using these accepted data sets is really revealing.

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  3. Alex Epstein's approach to how one should think about energy issues and climate change is hard for any reasonable person to disagree with. Only radical environmentalists could deny that human well-being should be the standard of value by which to judge any given energy policy issue. Likewise, his point that one must consider both the costs and benefits of any policy proposal seems almost self-evident, yet hardly anyone in the energy and climate debates makes this point explicitly and systematically besides Epstein Lastly, his point that climate scientists, or any scientists, should be considered as advisors, not authorities on policy questions, is very sound, and I would argue is no different than the widely accepted approach of considering one's doctor as an advisor, whose opinions should be carefully considered, but not blindly obeyed. Overall, I thought that this was an excellent talk. I hope many people get a chance to watch it.

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  4. An excellent presentation on the necessity and life-affirming values of fossil fuels for human life and flourishing.

    Aside from the solid merits of the arguments presented, this will hopefully also help people to realize that this whole movement to push the myth of climate change down our throats through intimidation and falsehoods is wrapped up in Leftism.

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  5. Great talk, compelling points made.  Kudos to Google for promoting diversity of thought by hosting a speaker presenting a big-picture, full-context view of energy use.

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  6. I enjoyed this. The speaker is convincing to the extent that the conversation about fossil fuels, renewables, and impact need to be shifted towards more scientific, human-centric frameworks. He loses me by little bits with quotes like "we should only be worried about running out of Freedom". My eyes kind of roll a bit when I hear those one-liners, I feel they are pandering somewhat to certain ideologies and they will not be effective at reaching the audience who he most needs to convince. However, overall, he's very sharp in opening up the framework of our energy discussions. Most people take for granted the scope/scale of our energy infrastructure and how much goes into keeping civilization going through ravenous use of fossil fuels. Producing energy is a thankless and now often maligned task. Its easy to signal distaste for fossil fuels on social media, feel good about yourself, then go fill up your prius with gasoline while knowing you're one of the good guys. The truth is far more nuanced.

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  7. Brilliant presentation. Logical, clear, fact-based – this is a great tool for thinking through not just this issue, but any issue. It's interesting to read the comments – they show more about the commentators than about the truth and value of the contents of the presentation.

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  8. I really like the way Alex puts together his argument that fossil fuels do an incredible amount of good. I've read his book and it is one of the most intelligent, well laid out arguments I've heard on any subject. His clarity of thought is refreshing to hear in this day of anecdotal information.

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  9. One of the most important videos you'll ever watch if you want the truth about energy and the climate, with real facts, honest data, intelligent analysis, and incisive thinking.

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  10. One third of the sea level rising is because of the melting Mountain ice or glaciers. What are the people supposed to do when there's no water supply for them . People that depends on this.

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  11. "Body change is real? After vaccinations ? "Are you a body change denier.? that's a hell of a way to put it. He needs verification. Who the hell is he and what's it to him he probably doesn't have any children anyway. He needs quantification before he believes anything maybe he should just swallow some Drano exactly what happens. Does he need quantification of damage on the back of the bottle? The exact "magnitude" he says he needs to know before he can consider something dangerous. .

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  12. I second Tarsha's comment: "Alex has made me think about things I had taken for granted."

    Exactly! At a time when the response to any argument that is different resembles the approach of the Red Queen in Alice (i.e. "off with her head"), Alex's approach is refreshing. Plus the fact a company with the reach and respect of Google was willing to allow him a platform. Kudos to all who made it happen!

    As to the "nuanced" objection – I for one heartily concur. Notice how Alex didn't try to persuade – he just told us how he was persuaded. Hard to figure how to do more in one hour. How many "C" level talks have we all been in that amount to little more than platitudes (sorry, don't intend to disrespect, but sometimes when the shoe fits…).

    So, contrary to elfootman, please don't ignore what he has to say and hide behind some "denier" label. Bring it on! I want to hear more from the best that all sides have to offer! Human flourishing is too important. Let's advance our understanding! Do more.

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  13. I'd never heard of an "energy philosopher" before. Is that on Mr. Epstein's business card ?
    Now that I've watched this, I can see how it's the best title for Mr. Epstein. I've never seen such a philosophical presentation of energy. Everything else we hear and read is stupid sound-bytes and, basically, propaganda. This is a great video – highly recommended – please share it far and wide !!!

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  14. Very informative and thought-provoking. Refreshing to hear a different way of thinking about energy and fossil fuels.

    Glad to see Google being so open to alternative viewpoints.

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  15. So now he's comparing fossil fuels to vaccines. tread lightly my friend. he's basically saying that fossil fuels is bad for us as vaccines.

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  16. He was a very poor person at the time I'm sure he's very rich now with his compensation from the oil companies, or oil and natural gas pardon me. have you heard it's being deregulated in a couple states so far. that means you can buy directly your electricity from a little company like planet energy- that is a subsidiary of shell things like that..

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