How to Become an Energy Freedom Policy Architect
How my team and I create Energy Freedom Talking Points, and new opportunities to work with us
On a new episode of my (occasional) podcast, Power Hour, I explain how the Energy Talking Points project is having incredible success helping pro-freedom elected officials with messaging and policy ideas—and announce some new opportunities to work with us. During the episode I give my most detailed breakdown ever as to how we create Energy Talking Points. I think this breakdown will be useful for anyone who is trying to influence thinking and policy in any field.
See below for some detailed bullet points on what I cover. (Also, note that the episode begins with some great news about Energy Talking Points’ progress in the world of AI chat.)
Background
Energy Talking Points is receiving overwhelming demand from major elected officials (and staff) for usable "energy freedom" policies.
To meet this demand, and to more quickly achieve our vision of a comprehensive Energy Freedom Platform, we are recruiting one or more Energy Freedom Policy Architects, as well as accepting submissions of Energy Freedom Talking Points (provided they follow certain conditions).
For the EFPA position(s), we are open to a variety of arrangements: part-time (minimum 50%) to full-time, significant compensation, and drawing from a wide-variety of backgrounds (energy industry, think tanks, Hill staffers, trade groups, academic).
We will also keep any communications entirely confidential, so feel free to apply knowing that we won't contact your current employer. (And encourage others to do the same!)
Broader goal: By sharing the "under the hood" methodology I hope to see more good Energy Talking Points and Energy Freedom Talking Points in the world.
How to create Energy Talking Points
What are Energy Talking Points?
Short (Tweet-length), powerful, well-referenced pieces of writing (sometimes with graphics) that help change someone's thinking on energy for the better—especially when bundled together.
Energy Talking Points are
Self-contained: They can be read on their own and will make sense to a general audience.
Integrated: When coupled with other points there must be a flow among the points; they are not just disjointed bullets.
Tweet-length: They must be 280 characters or less. (This can include abbreviations.)
There are different types of Energy Talking Points, including
Essentialized explanations
Power-facts
Stories
Myth/Truth
Framing/Reframing
How to create Energy Freedom Talking Points
These follow all the rules of Energy Talking Points, but advocate for and specifically prescribe particular energy freedom policies.
Energy freedom policies = policies that achieve energy progress by (properly) freeing producers and consumers to act on their best judgment while not unreasonably endangering others.
The 5 basic Energy Freedom policies we're focused on (which require many, many sub-policies)
Liberate responsible development
End preferences for unreliable electricity
Incorporate proper cost-benefit analysis in air and water emissions standards
Address CO2 emissions long-term through liberating innovation, not punishing America
Decriminalize nuclear
Our current focus: Building out the specific policies to make this actionable
Energy Freedom Talking Points have a basic structure (example: CO2 emissions)
The Opportunity
The Problem
The Cause
The Solution
The most important part of the structure by far, and the focus of an Energy Freedom Policy Architect, is The Solution
Solutions should be
1 — Understandable by a general audience
2 — Specific enough to be useful to elected officials and staffers; if they are overly broad they’re not useful.
3 — Positive: Say what the government should do vs. criticizing what it is doing. In some cases it’s sufficient to say "Eliminate X" if that truly is all that is needed to be done. But sometimes/often X needs to be replaced by something different: Y. And we need to say what Y is.
4 — Both short-term and long-term where possible. E.g., what can be done to improve the electricity grid now, and what long-term could be done to make it more truly competitive?
4 sources to draw upon when conceiving solutions
Policies that are being used in other places and what (overall better) results they have led to.
Out-of-control wildfires: What are the best-practices around the world?
Policies that have been tried in the past and what (overall better) results they have led to.
Out-of-control wildfires: What policies have been tried in the US and around the world in the past, and which had the best results?
Policies that have been argued for by free-marketers that are plausible, and their projected results.
Out-of-control wildfires: What are the best proposals in the free-market literatures?
Policies that we can think of that we have reason to believe would work, and their projected results.
Out-of-control wildfires: Significant increase in barrier-building.
How to apply for an Energy Freedom Policy Architect position — or just submit Energy Freedom Talking Points
It is very rare to find people who can truly propose energy freedom solutions that meet the above requirements.
The only way I think we can reliably vet people is by having them create sample Energy Freedom Talking Points.
Test assignment: Create a set of Energy Freedom Talking Points that gives some (not all) specific solutions to one of the following categories of problem
1: Out-of-control wildfires
2: Glacial pace of development
3: Unreliable electricity
4: Lack of progress in nuclear energy
5: Crippling air-water emissions standards
Please follow the guidelines (talking points can be up to 350 characters)
Apply or submit points at this website: https://alexepstein.com/projects/policy
Final thoughts
This is not for everyone, but if this is potentially for you, note that this is perhaps a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to impact energy policy.
Please share this with talented people who might be interested. At minimum it can help them create more valuable content.
“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.
Popular links
EnergyTalkingPoints.com: Hundreds of concise, powerful, well-referenced talking points on energy, environmental, and climate issues.
My new book Fossil Future: Why Global Human Flourishing Requires More Oil, Coal, and Natural Gas—Not Less.
This is truly great. I love how the framework can be applied across other disciplines, not just energy. This will help advocates for freedom to make talking points and policy recommendations. Thank you Alex!