The Moral Case for Fossil Fuels

Posted on 22 April 2018 by Alex Epstein

A sure to be controversial defense of the fossil fuel industry Conventional wisdom says fossil fuels are an unsustainable form of energy that is destroying our planet But Alex Epstein shows that if we look at the big picture, the much hated fossil fuel industry is dramaticallyimproving our planet by making it a far safer and richer place The key difference between a healthy and unhealthy environment, Epstein argues, is development the transformation of nature to meet human needs And the energy required for development is overwhelmingly made possible by the fossil fuel industry, the only way to produce cheap, plentiful, reliable energy on a global scale While acknowledging the challenges of fossil fuels and every form of energy , Epstein argues that the overall benefits, including the largely ignored environmental benefits, are incomparably greater. Best Download [ The Moral Case for Fossil Fuels ] By [ Alex Epstein ] For Kindle ePUB or eBook – kino-fada.fr At the risk of sounding hyperbolic, if you only read one non fiction book in the next five years, this should be the one.Epstein, an outsider with a background in philosophy, reframes the energy debate in terms of standards of value the non impact group traditionally called environmentalists vs the group whose highest value is human life, and thus improving human life for all 7 billion of us on the planet So, pick yo...I really like reading books that express viewpoints opposed to my own My hope is that they will contain valuable insight that will cause me to revise my thoughts to form a better opinion.Here s what I learned from this book Solar and wind are stupid and unreliable and are a waste of time.Using fossil fuels is wonderful Environmentalists are bad.Catastrophic climate change is a myth.Using fossil fuels is FREEDOM and VERY AMERICAN.Alex Epstein likes Brazilian jujitsu a lot and mentions it on two I really like reading books that express viewpoints opposed to my own My hope is that they will contain valuable insight that will cause me to...I m going to do this review a bit differently I just started and am in chapter 2, but I m going to write my impressions along the way because there is a lot of stuff happening I ll update my star rating as well as I go on.I need to start by saying that Epstein and I actually agree on a few things so far I do, like he does, believe that the promise of solar and wind are being dramatically overstated and the downsides basically ignored, such as the frightening pollution going on in China in the I m going to do this review a bit differently I just started and am in chapter 2, but I m going to write my impressions along the way because there is a lot of stuff happening I ll update my star rating as well as I go on.I need to start by saying that Epstein and I actually agree on a few things so far I do, like he does, believe that the promise of solar and wind are being dramatically overstated and the downsides basically ignored, such as the frightening pollution going on in China in the processing of heavy metals for electronics including photovoltaic cells and wind turbines and battery systems He also claims I believe with justification that they require a tremendous commitment of land and resources to make the materials to capture these dilute energy sources Though there are certainly lots of rooftops that cou...What an outstanding book I really enjoyed this inversion of all the bromides that the chattering classes think they are supposed to teach the rest of us First rate book.If George Orwell s 1984 and Ayn Rand s Atlas Shrugged could produce offspring, the result would be this book, The Moral Case for Fossil Fuels There s lots to criticize about this book, but before I do, I should mention that is does contain some good points, which makes it worth reading In particular, he describes the positive attributes of coal, oil, and natural gas.What makes coal so attractive It is plentiful, widely distributed, easy to extract, requires little processing, and easy to tr If George Orwell s 1984 and Ayn Rand s Atlas Shrugged could produce offspring, the result would be this book, The Moral Case for Fossil Fuels There s lots to criticize about this book, but before I do, I should mention that is does contain some good points, which makes it worth reading In particular, he describes the positive attributes of coal, oil, and natural gas.What makes coal so attractive It is plentiful, widely distributed, easy to extract, requires little processing, and easy to transport The downside It s bonded to high quantities of sulfur and nitrogen, and it has the highest percentage of carbon among fossil fuels.What makes natural gas attractive It is ideal as a peak load energy provider Clean burning, which makes it good for ho...It is too bad the topic of energy has been hi jacked by the black and white when life is actually lived in the silvers, slates and pearly grays I start my Goodreads quest by looking at the 5 star and 1 star reviewers For Epstein s book it was interesting to see only one 1 star review and that person appears to have missed the entire point of the book From the 5 star side I see a trove of reviewers with phrases like fact based , risks and benefits , mankind , clarity and even parts per m It is too bad the topic of energy has been hi jacked by the black and white when life is actually lived in the silvers, slates and pearly grays I start my Goodreads quest by looking at the 5 star and 1 star reviewers For Epstein s book it was interesting to see only one 1 star review and that person appears to have missed the entire point of the book From the 5 star side I see a trove of reviewers with phrases like fact based , ...The popular climate discussion has the issue backward It looks at man as a destructive force for climate livability, one who makes the climate dangerous because we use fossil fuels In fact, the truth is the exact opposite we don t take a safe climate and make it dangerous we take a dangerous climate and make it safe kindle location 1814 There were no computer problems before computers And just as we use computers to help solve computer problems, so we can use fossil fuels to help solve f The popular climate discussion has the issue backward It looks at man as a destructive force for climate livability, one who makes the climate dangerous because we use fossil fuels In fact, the truth is the exact opposite we don t take a safe climate and make it dangerous we take a dangerous climate and make it safe kindle location 1814 There were no computer problems before computers And just as we use computers to help solve computer problems, so we can use fossil fuels to help solve fossil fuel problems kindle location 2449This book for the most part will fa...Here, in a sentence, is the moral case for fossil fuels, the single thought that can empower us to empower the world 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 pg 209, emphasis addedIf you have ever felt that you wanted to becomeinformed on the issue of fossil fuels but have been unable to sift through all the hyperbolic white noise in Here, in a sentence, is the moral case for fossil fuels, the single thought that can empower us to empower the world 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 pg 209, emphasis addedIf you have ever felt that you wanted to becomeinformed on the issue of fossil fuels but have been unable to sift through all the hyperbolic white noise in the public discussion, Epstein s book is for you What makes Epstein s work so different than other discussions on climate change, global warming cooling, energy policy, and fossil fuel...Excellent explanation of why fossil fuels are indispensable to human flourishing.Literately billions of people are fed, housed, and healed because of the cheap, reliable energy provided by fossil fuels Fossil fuels are the means by which we improve our lives and our environment For the foreseeable future, alternatives like solar and wind, will only provide a small fraction of the world s energy needs To deprive ourselves of fossil fuels is to condemn billions to poverty, suffering and even de Excellent explanation of why fossil fuels are indispensable to human flourishing.Literately billions of people are fed, housed, and healed because of the cheap, reliable energy provided by fossil fuels Fossil fuels are the means by which we improve our lives and our environment For the foreseeable future, alternatives like solar and wind, will only provide a small fraction of the world s energy needs To deprive ourselves...Why didn t I rate this after I first read it I can t remember Maybe I was too busy freaking out at how AWESOME it was I heard Alex Epstein speak and it really restructured everything I d heard about fossil fuel I devoured his book in one sitting, then went back to re read passages I like how he ...

English
22 April 2018

Alex Epstein