Fossil Future

Why Global Human Flourishing Requires More Oil, Coal, and Natural Gas—Not Less

By: Alex Epstein

Narrated by: Alex Epstein

Length: 16 hrs and 15 mins

Publisher's summary

New York Times best-selling author of The Moral Case for Fossil Fuels draws on the latest data and new insights to challenge everything you thought you knew about the future of energy.

For over a decade, philosopher and energy expert Alex Epstein has predicted that any negative impacts of fossil fuel use on our climate will be outweighed by the unique benefits of fossil fuels to human flourishing—including their unrivaled ability to provide low-cost, reliable energy to billions of people around the world, especially the world’s poorest people.

And contrary to what we hear from media “experts” about today’s “renewable revolution” and “climate emergency”, reality has proven Epstein right:

• Fact: Fossil fuels are still the dominant source of energy around the world, and growing fast—while much-hyped renewables are causing skyrocketing electricity prices and increased blackouts.
• Fact: Fossil-fueled development has brought global poverty to an all-time low.
• Fact: While fossil fuels have contributed to the one degree of warming in the last 170 years, climate-related deaths are at all-time lows, thanks to fossil-fueled development.

What does the future hold? In Fossil Future, Epstein, applying his distinctive “human flourishing framework” to the latest evidence, comes to the shocking conclusion that the benefits of fossil fuels will continue to far outweigh their side effects—including climate impacts—for generations to come. The path to global human flourishing, Epstein argues, is a combination of using more fossil fuels, getting better at “climate mastery”, and establishing “energy freedom” policies that allow nuclear and other truly promising alternatives to reach their full long-term potential.

Today’s pervasive claims of imminent climate catastrophe and imminent renewable energy dominance, Epstein shows, are based on what he calls the “anti-impact framework”—a set of faulty methods, false assumptions, and anti-human values that have caused the media’s designated experts to make wildly wrong predictions about fossil fuels, climate, and renewables for the last 50 years. Deeply researched and wide-ranging, this book will cause you to rethink everything you thought you knew about the future of our energy use, our environment, and our climate.

©2022 Alex Epstein (P)2022 Penguin Audio

A much better framework for energy considerations

This is a great book for all. There is no climate denial here but a more holistic look. You know how you hear something on both sides that’s radical and the truth is typically in the middle? This framework gets to the middle, truth.

Humanist Approach to Earth

Enlightening to say the least. The earth and humans can and should flourish. Making the world unlivable by canceling fossil fuels is suicide.

Is it important to you to consider the whole picture?

A philosophical look at what it means to reduce fossil fuel production and human flourishing.

Amazingly persuasive

I loved this audio book because it showed both sides of the state of climate change and weighed the pros and cons of renewables as well as fossil fuels.

Alex uses persuasive language in a way I’ve seldom read to convey his message. I would recommend this book to climate change activists, climate change deniers and everyone in between.

Perspective

No matter where you stand on going green, this book gives an excellent perspective - an energy humanist point of view.

A biologists (MD’s) perspective

This author (Alex Epstein has degrees in computer science and Philosophy from Duke)… This makes him remarkably thoughtful, complete, knowledgeable and moral in his discussions & presentation. He has analyzed our world energy situation THOROUGHLY and fairly…He has spent the last 14 years studying energy production options, history, successes & failures. He has come up with a human flourishing plan for around the world as a reachable goal with the use of Nuclear energy (the safest but inaccurately maligned source) combined with other energy sources (mostly new cleaner fossil fuels) and some Solar (the least cost effective) plus limited geothermal where it exists. …. Now days I prefer audible books…He narrates his own and his ethics & passion comes through.
He admits that he used to be an enemy of fossil fuels but his deep knowledge & analysis has shown him that Cost Effectiveness (affordability) to society MUST be a huge element in world energy policies but today is politically pretty much ignored……. You will be surprised & pleased that we can have a flourishing future and the catastrophes we are warned of are not true !!!!&

Very well done

Alex provides the balance that is missing from our media and institutions. There has never been a discussion about why we have our present standard of living. Nor,what are the consequences and risks of removing fossil fuels and replacing them with energy sources which have there own drawbacks both economic and political. His arguments are methodical and persuasive. Love his thought process. If you believe in humanity’s future, this is a must read.

Most influential book I've read in years!

Most influential book I've read in years! An incredibly articulate book with a level headed approach to the future of energy.

Truth or Concurrences

I am reading a book: Revolt Against Reality. A theme of the book is that some form of insanity or possibly chaos will result from denying reality. Alex Epstein makes a strong case that the majority of the world is denying benefits of fossil fuel energy greatly benefiting billions of the poorest and exaggerating the negative aspects of fossil fuel energy use. Fabulous book.

Full of false assumptions

Listen to this to get a full view of the self deception required to fight for status quo.