The Moral Case for Fossil Fuels

By: Alex Epstein

Narrated by: Alex Epstein

Length: 6 hrs and 11 mins

Publisher's summary

For decades environmentalists have told us that using fossil fuels is a self-destructive addiction that will destroy our planet. Yet by every measure of human well-being, from life expectancy to clean water to climate safety, life has been getting better and better. How can this be?

The explanation is that we usually hear only one side of the story. We're taught to think only of the negatives of fossil fuels, their risks and side effects, but not their positives - their unique ability to provide cheap, reliable energy for a world of seven billion people. And the moral significance of cheap, reliable energy is woefully underrated. Energy is our ability to improve every single aspect of life, whether economic or environmental.

If we look at the big picture of fossil fuels compared with the alternatives, the overall impact of using fossil fuels is to make the world a far better place. We are morally obligated to use more fossil fuels for the sake of our economy and our environment.

©2014 Alexander J. Epstein (P)2015 Tantor

Critic reviews

"If you want to see the power of fine logic, fine writing, and fine research, read Epstein's book." (Patrick J. Michaels, director, Center for the Study of Science, Cato Institute)

A different point of view

As a hardcore lib I'm always looking for ideas that challenge my own. I've never given much thought or tried to disprove my current beliefs towards climate change and this book has provided a new and well written perspective.

A must

I have worked in the electrical and solar fields for 5+ years and this is a book that is essential to understanding the green movement.

One of the most important ideas of our time

I feel that the ideas represented in this book represent one of the most important set of ideas both of our current times, and for our future.

We need to hold ourselves to a higher standard, and be sure to only support things because we have a firm understanding of their consequences; both from a practical and a moral point of view. In order to honestly judge the latter, we need to be sure that we clearly understand the standard of value with which these moral judgments are made.

We need to make sure that we look at the consequences of an action on all groups not just one group, and that we look at both the short term and the long term consequences, i.e. we need to make sure that we look at the 'big picture'.

We need to be clear that our standard of value is not human nonintervention. We need to be clear that our standard of value is human life.

At the end of his work, the author summed up his 'moral case for fossil fuels' as follows:

"Mankind's use of fossil fuels is supremely virtuous, because human life is the standard of value, and because using fossil fuels transforms our environment to make it wonderful for human life."

BRILLIANT!!!

The point is extremely well and extensively presented. Great narration. I thought I heard everything by the middle of the book, but the author kept coming up with more and even stronger arguments to support his valid point.

The stories and examples are vivid and relevant. This is a great listen. The greenhouse effect is perhaps is real, but the irreversible climate change is definitely a hoax.

This book is a devastating blow to the anti-human Green movement. It exposes it as having non-human values, which are detrimental to the human welfare, prosperity and survival.

The book portrays the Greens' fight against the oil industry as a smear campaign, just like to the one described against Hank Rearden in Atlas Shrugged. An outstanding and very accurately observed parallel.

The next Industrial Revolution begins here

Alex Epstein eloquently defends life giving industry in this succinct exploration of of the morality of fossil fuels. He thoroughly exposes the limits of faddish alternative energy while showing exactly why a society that is based on pristine nature ideology is doomed to fail.

If you love human ingenuity and relish human life, this is a must read.

One of the most paradigm-shifting books I’ve read in years

Imagine it takes 2000 calories a day to live. Imagine 1600 calories come from 1 vitamin and there is no substitute.

The Green Movement wants to eliminate that vitamin and force us to live on 400 calories a day!

Those who support human flourishing and who see fossil fuels as a major component to sustaining life should be the true alarmists sounding the alarm against all who want to keep millions of people suffering.

A Hugely Important Book

Nobody has thought this issue through as clearly and thoroughly as Alex Epstein. Anyone on any side of the energy debate will benefit from the clarity and holistic ideas in this book.

Recommended to all

This is a good book for everyone to read. It not only has many facts you should know but it affectively defends the use of fossil fuels. The book falls short primarily because it is now five years old. Mr. Epstein brushes off the fact, although briefly mentioned, that we have had a pause in global temperature for 20 years. I think he has done that because he didn't want to confuse the reader or alienate people who insist that global warming is a climate crisis. I think today that Mr. Epstein realizes that we are now in the Eddy Grand Solar Minimum and the trend will go from temperature pause to temperature drop will become evident in the near future as Solar Cycle #25 fails to show signs of increase in solar activity. I can see his point that he couldn't argue two subjects in in the same book. It is really important that people realize that people like AOC are just ignorant. She is not alone. I think she's gotten about a hundred people to sign on to her Green Dream.

Self-serving - Like a DC Super Villains

Alex Epstein is Lex Luthor. Just as Lex wants to protect the comic book world from the evil Superman that so many love, Alex wants to protect you from the green movement. Meanwhile both are going to the bank and in league with the other Super Villains. It is utterly genius in the way it is structured with the big reveal at the end that he's out to make a money making organization. Bravo. I feel ripped off.

Ridiculous

He even suggested killing all the animals that are not useful to us. He says the earth is 100% resource for humans and we must use it in any way we want. It sounds like he wrote this book just to create a big false controversy and make money for himself by selling his book with the heat of debates.