Fossil Fueled: The Concert—a landmark event
The first public, corporate-sponsored event I know of that is proudly, unapologetically, pro-fossil-fuel takes place in Midland, TX on April 18th
Fossil Fueled: The Concert—the first public, corporate-sponsored event I know of that is proudly, unapologetically, pro-fossil-fuel—will take place in Midland, TX on April 18th. There will be a panel of energy executives entitled “Head Held High” at 4:30, followed by a conversation between me and Innovex CEO Adam Anderson at 5:30. Both events are free to attend. (You need tickets to attend the concert portion starting at 6:00.) Learn more here.
Ever since I realized over 15 years ago that fossil fuel use has enormous, widely-ignored benefits to human flourishing (including making us safer than ever from climate danger) I have been trying to get the fossil fuel industry to stand up for itself proudly.
For many years this was, to put it very mildly, a struggle. Contrary to the myth that my pro-fossil-fuel views are a product of the fossil fuel industry, I came to them when I barely knew anyone in the industry (let alone had any financial relationship with anyone in the industry). I had trouble finding anyone who would listen to my “moral case for fossil fuels,” and for years I don’t think anyone in the industry was visibly influenced by my arguments.
But I kept developing my arguments and I kept looking for executives who would find them interesting. In 2013, I had a breakthrough. I wrote an essay directed at the fossil fuel industry entitled “The Moral Case for Fossil Fuels: The Key to Winning Hearts and Minds” and circulated it to the handful of executives I knew. It quickly became a phenomenon within the industry and it was discovered by a literary agent (Wes Neff) who convinced me (and Penguin) to turn it into the book The Moral Case for Fossil Fuels.
In the almost decade since, as The Moral Case spread, as I created EnergyTalkingPoints.com, and as I wrote and released Fossil Future, I’ve seen significant improvements in the messaging of the fossil fuel industry.
But nothing has made me as excited as an event taking place on April 18th called Fossil Fueled: The Concert in Midland, TX. Fossil Fueled is hosted by Innovex, whose CEO, Adam Anderson, prominently used arguments very similar to mine to take on The North Face several years ago.
Fossil Fueled is the first public, corporate-sponsored event I know of that is proudly, unapologetically, pro-fossil-fuel.
In one of his posts promoting the event Adam wrote “At Innovex we want to galvanize the industry around the message that providing clean, reliable and affordable energy deserves a congratulations not an apology. #fossilfueled”
At Fossil Fueled there will be a panel of energy executives entitled “Head Held High” at 4:30, followed by a conversation between me and Adam at 5:30. Both events are free to attend. (You need tickets to attend the concert portion starting at 6:00. You can get them here in exchange for a donation to Oil Patch Kids.)
I hope to see many ETP readers at the event! Please let me know if you’re coming!
In preparation for Fossil Fueled, here are 20 of my favorite talking points about why being “fossil fueled” is such a good thing.
Benefits of Fossil Fuels
Undeniable energy fact 1: Cost-effective energy is essential to human flourishing
Cost-effective energy—affordable, reliable, versatile, scalable energy—is essential to human flourishing because gives us the ability to use machines to become productive and prosperous.
Undeniable energy fact 2: The world needs much more energy
Billions of people lack the cost-effective energy they need to flourish. 3 billion use less electricity than a typical American refrigerator. 1/3 of the world uses wood/dung for heating/cooking. Much more energy is needed.
Undeniable energy fact 3: Fossil fuels are uniquely cost-effective
Despite 100+ years of aggressive competition, fossil fuels provide 80%+ of the world’s energy and they are still growing—especially in the countries most concerned with cost-effective energy. E.g., China.
Undeniable energy fact 4: Unreliable solar/wind are failing to replace fossil fuels
Despite claims that solar + wind are rapidly replacing fossil fuels, they provide < 5% of world energy—only electricity, ⅕ of energy—and even that depends on huge subsidies and reliable (mostly fossil-fueled) power plants.
Undeniable energy fact 5: Fossil fuel energy gives us an incredible climate mastery ability
Fossil fuels have helped drive down climate disaster deaths by 98% over the last century by powering the amazing machines that protect us against storms, extreme temperatures, and drought.
Myths about fossil fuels
Myth: The TX winter blackouts were a failure of fossil fuels, especially natural gas.
Truth: Fossil fuels perform beautifully in far worse winter weather than Texas had in February 2021. TX blackouts were caused by defunding reliable/resilient power in favor of unreliable solar/wind.
Myth: Replacing fossil fuels with solar/wind will make us more secure because we'll depend less on hostile countries.
Truth: Not only are solar/wind incapable of replacing fossil fuels, but the control of their supply by China dwarfs any nation's influence over fossil fuels.
Myth: Continued CO2 emissions will cause “irreversible” climate change.
Truth: At some point future technologies will enable us to reverse the rise in CO2 levels if we want. But nothing can reverse mass-death caused by trying to rapidly eliminate CO2 emissions.
Myth: Fossil fuels “kill” millions of people a year via air pollution.
Truth: This claim
1. Ignores how fossil fuels extend every life on Earth
2. Uses pseudoscientific speculation about pollution deaths.
3. Ignores the fact that fossil fuels can be burned very cleanly.
Myth: The anti-fossil-fuel movement is leading to better sources of energy.
Truth: Anti-fossil-fuel activists are responsible for artificially restricting the supply of fossil fuels and thereby causing a deadly, worsening global energy crisis.
Big-picture facts about energy and climate
Fossil fuel energy gives us an incredible climate mastery ability
Fossil fuels have helped drive down climate disaster deaths by 98% over the last century by powering the amazing machines that protect us against storms, extreme temperatures, and drought.
Undeniable climate fact: CO2 emissions correlate with 1°C warming, + greening
Fossil fuels' CO2 emissions have contributed to the warming of the last 170 years, but that warming has been mild and manageable—1° C. Here's what that looks like compared to normal temp changes.
Undeniable climate fact: Deaths from cold far exceed deaths from heat
While leading institutions portray a world as increasingly riddled with heat-related death, the fact is that even though Earth has gotten 1°C warmer far more people die from cold than heat (even in India!).
Undeniable climate fact: Warming from CO2 occurs more in colder places
The mainstream view in climate science is that more warming will be concentrated in colder places (Northern latitudes) and at colder times (nighttime) and during colder seasons (winter). This is good news.
Undeniable climate fact: Rising CO2 leads to diminishing warming
Mainstream climate science is unanimous about a conclusion that the public is, shamefully, not made aware of: the “greenhouse effect” of CO2 is a diminishing effect, with additional CO2 leading to less warming.
The truth about alternatives
Myth: We can rapidly reduce fossil fuels at very low cost.
Truth: Fossil fuels are a uniquely cost-effective form of energy, which is why they are 80% of global energy and still growing. Rapidly reducing fossil fuels, in a world that needs far more energy, is catastrophic.
Myth: Solar and wind are cheap.
Truth: Solar and wind are unreliable, parasitical sources of energy that add costs to the grid.
Claims of “cheapness” are based on ignoring the full costs of solar + wind—above all the cost of a reliable grid that gives them 24/7 life support.
Myth: Solar/wind is cheaper than fossil fuels because Lazard’s “Levelized Cost of Energy” (LCOE) is lower for solar/wind.
Truth: LCOE, by Lazard’s own admission, doesn’t include many costs of solar/wind—above all the cost of a reliable grid needed for 24/7 life support.
Myth: Solar and wind are “winning in the marketplace,” outcompeting fossil fuels and nuclear with superior economics.
Truth: Unreliable, parasitical solar and wind are only “winning” when given massive preferences—mandates, subsidies, and no penalty for unreliability.
Myth: Nuclear is too expensive, so we should use solar/wind instead.
Truth: Solar/wind can’t provide reliable energy; nuclear can. And nuclear is only expensive because it has, with the help of many “green” activists, been falsely labeled unsafe and effectively criminalized.
“Energy Talking Points by Alex Epstein” is my free Substack newsletter designed to give as many people as possible access to concise, powerful, well-referenced talking points on the latest energy, environmental, and climate issues from a pro-human, pro-energy perspective.
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My new book Fossil Future: Why Global Human Flourishing Requires More Oil, Coal, and Natural Gas—Not Less.
Alex, I'm a fan, and your book, "Moral Case for Fossil Fuels" was excellent. Unfortunately, not so for "Fossil Future", which could have been a great book at 200 or so pages, but a complete bore at 430 pages. You repeat yourself so often, over and over again, total redundancy (see what I'm doing here), that it was a very tough read. The first four chapters (173 pages) could have been written in 50 pages easily. I can only assume that neither you, your editor(s), or those you acknowledged at the end of the book actually took the time to read the book from beginning to end, as opposed to reading one chapter at a time as it was finished. If you did, you would understand what I am trying to convey here. This is unfortunate and I take no pleasure in writing this as I looked forward to reading this book. But someone has to say it. I eventually had to start skimming the book, something I never do. In a sense, I am a fellow traveler although I am much older than you. I read "Atlas Shrugged" in 1973, which lead me to free-market economics as well as delving into the whole environmental movement mess. I read many books as far back as the 1980's on all the environmental distortions of the facts, and was convinced global warming was a hoax (in terms of any catastrophic consequences) back in the 1990's. There is no doubt that many in the environmental movement want to rob us of energy in order to reduce the number of people on Earth and saw CO2 as a means to that end. I think Patrick Moore's book, "Fake Invisible Catastrophes and Threats of Doom" does a much better job at exposing the falsehoods of global warming. Otherwise, I support your efforts completely and only make these comments because I believe your book could have made a much larger impact if it was much more concise and to the point.
Congratulations on traveling the distance you have over the past 15 odd years. You have developed into a very credible and influential energy spokesman.