By DAVID BIEDERMAN Pictured below is an outcrop (exposed section) of oil-soaked sand. Oil sands are naturally occurring mixtures of sand, clay, and a viscous type of petroleum called bitumen. The brown and grey layers are sand, sandstone, and clay; the black layers are the oil sands. What a contrast it was to hold this crumbling and seemingly useless mixture …
A new strategy for industry to win hearts and minds
Ever since I became passionate about fossil fuels 9 years ago, I have regarded the fossil fuel industry as a crucial potential ally in winning hearts and minds. I say “potential” because historically the industry has often done more harm than good for its cause—which is really the cause of everyone who care about human flourishing. The dominant message from …
The Myth of Wind and Solar “Capacity”
Last week, our Department of Energy’s Energy Information Administration released an announcement and a graph that appeared to show wind as the leading new source of electricity. “Wind, natural gas, and solar made up almost all new electric generation capacity in 2015, accounting for 41%, 30%, and 26% of total additions, respectively, according to preliminary data. The data also show …
Why Green Energy Means No Energy
Here are some basic facts about energy and human well-being. There are 7 billion people in the world who need cheap, plentiful, reliable energy to flourish. Some three billion have virtually no energy by our standards. Over a billion have no electricity whatsoever. In the history of energy technology, only three methods of energy have proven able to produce cheap, …
Fossil Fuels Make the Planet More Productive
We are often taught that nature provides us with what we need to survive, and that our responsibility is to use this bounty in a “sustainable” way. But the truth is that nature doesn’t give us the wealth we need to survive: we have to create it—and, thanks in large part to the fossil fuel industry, we have created so …
Discussing The Moral Case for Fossil Fuels on The Glenn Beck Program
I went on Glenn Beck’s radio show this morning to talk fossil fuels. Some of the topics we discussed in my half hour segment: How my background in philosophy led me to champion fossil fuels. Why having risks or side-effects doesn’t make something immoral. How to think about your environment, if your goal is to maximize human well-being, instead of minimizing …
Prager University: “Why You Should Love Fossil Fuels”
Every year on Earth Day we learn how bad humanity’s economic development is for the health of the planet. But maybe this is the wrong message. Maybe we should instead reflect on how human progress, driven by fossil fuels, has made our environment cleaner and healthier. Alex Epstein went on Prager University—an online educational platform created by leading talk show host Dennis Prager—to …
Fossil Fuels: Arguing to 0 vs. Arguing to 100
I believe supporting fossil fuels can be a winning election issue in 2016, if those of us making the case for them take the right steps to reframe the energy debate. I spoke last month at the Leadership Program of the Rockies Annual Retreat to explain how we can do just that, and the talk is now available to watch …
Power Hour: Michael Lynch on the Economics of Oil Prices
On this episode of Power Hour I talk to Michael Lynch, President and Director of Global Petroleum Service at Strategic Energy & Economic Research Inc. (SEER), about the recent oil price drop and its underlying economics. Download Episode 98 with Michael Lynch Subscribe to Power Hour on iTunes
New Yorkers Turn Their Backs on Progress with Fracking Ban
In December of 2014, New York State (NYS) Governor Andrew Cuomo announced a statewide ban on hydraulic fracturing (fracking), following a presentation made by the state’s health commissioner Howard Zucker, who is quoted by the Syracuse News as stating “We don’t have the evidence to prove or disprove the health effects, but the cumulative concerns of what I’ve read gives …