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.
I believe you and I share both a history and a conclusion. The idea that we need fear a temperature increase that’s lost in the background noise of both daily and annual temperature changes shows we are living in a time warp of insanity. The very idea that the symbiotic connection between oxygen and carbon dioxide is invisible to most humans is largely the root of the energy scarcity destroying so much human life. I’ve spoken to more than a few people who have no idea of what our atmosphere is composed of and to expect them to understand that the richness of their lives is irrevocably tied to their availability to use hydrocarbon energy cannot be done with graphs or number. The premature African birth story in The Moral Case does reach those people. The charlatans that harvest their votes by a nonexistent climate scare and a green utopian free-energy future are the ones who block a flourishing future. Criticality the voters need to be made aware that a windy/solar future means we’ll be doing the equivalent of throwing out agriculture and going back to hunting and gathering food. Waiting for the sun to shine for electricity means living in a very dark world. I’m certain less than one in twenty people would survive in the energy staved world the green will give with their success.
That said, Fossil Future is a worthwhile read for a competent energy advocate that is looking to back up an intellectual argument... something those of us that have rejected those green pills already largely see a more trade jargon that will never unseat the lies from the Gorical guru. But I will go out on a limb and say that if we can persuade Alex to reread his JD Rockefeller essay, give it a bit of thought, I’m certain he can write the book we want, burying the graphs and statistics in an appendix.
To be real blunt though we are living in a time where those in control demand freedom for the birds and the whales further including destructive and insane pre-human beings while demanding incarceration and curtailment of every productive activity, the very thing that allows us all to live. If this insanity is not stopped, Atlas Shrugged will truly be with us.
Congratulations on traveling the distance you have over the past 15 odd years. You have developed into a very credible and influential energy spokesman.
Good on you Alex, You are a secular-Saint in my opinion. Have read and shared both your books - and herald you with near-all I encounter. We (all of us) are fortunate you exist. Thanks - Pete & Susan Werner
I'm a former Chemical Engineer, long-time fan -- own and have read your books -- and plan to attend the Midland event. But I've been all over the website, and cannot figure out how to procure tickets for the concert. Can you point me n the right direction?
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.
I believe you and I share both a history and a conclusion. The idea that we need fear a temperature increase that’s lost in the background noise of both daily and annual temperature changes shows we are living in a time warp of insanity. The very idea that the symbiotic connection between oxygen and carbon dioxide is invisible to most humans is largely the root of the energy scarcity destroying so much human life. I’ve spoken to more than a few people who have no idea of what our atmosphere is composed of and to expect them to understand that the richness of their lives is irrevocably tied to their availability to use hydrocarbon energy cannot be done with graphs or number. The premature African birth story in The Moral Case does reach those people. The charlatans that harvest their votes by a nonexistent climate scare and a green utopian free-energy future are the ones who block a flourishing future. Criticality the voters need to be made aware that a windy/solar future means we’ll be doing the equivalent of throwing out agriculture and going back to hunting and gathering food. Waiting for the sun to shine for electricity means living in a very dark world. I’m certain less than one in twenty people would survive in the energy staved world the green will give with their success.
That said, Fossil Future is a worthwhile read for a competent energy advocate that is looking to back up an intellectual argument... something those of us that have rejected those green pills already largely see a more trade jargon that will never unseat the lies from the Gorical guru. But I will go out on a limb and say that if we can persuade Alex to reread his JD Rockefeller essay, give it a bit of thought, I’m certain he can write the book we want, burying the graphs and statistics in an appendix.
To be real blunt though we are living in a time where those in control demand freedom for the birds and the whales further including destructive and insane pre-human beings while demanding incarceration and curtailment of every productive activity, the very thing that allows us all to live. If this insanity is not stopped, Atlas Shrugged will truly be with us.
Congratulations on traveling the distance you have over the past 15 odd years. You have developed into a very credible and influential energy spokesman.
Fossil energy ... something that lets you see when it’s dark.
Fossil energy... gives life where there was only existence before.
Fossil energy... granting one man the power to lift 1000 tons.
Fossils energy ... making Antarctica hospitable for humans life.
Fossil energy ... let’s you read a book with your feet up while traveling at the speed of sound.
Congratulations in advance on the unprecedented Midland event!
Good on you Alex, You are a secular-Saint in my opinion. Have read and shared both your books - and herald you with near-all I encounter. We (all of us) are fortunate you exist. Thanks - Pete & Susan Werner
Thank you, Alex! I'm all signed up!
I'm a former Chemical Engineer, long-time fan -- own and have read your books -- and plan to attend the Midland event. But I've been all over the website, and cannot figure out how to procure tickets for the concert. Can you point me n the right direction?
I'm so sorry for the confusion! I didn't include the proper link where I was supposed to. I'll fix it now, but here's the link:
https://www.betterunite.com/oilpatchkids-innovexfossilfueledconcert