In this issue:
- Fact-check Thursday’s climate debate with EnergyTalkingPoints.com
- A climate activist turned fossil fuel supporter
- Lafayette speech on YouTube
- UT Austin President cites me in commitment to free speech
- An open letter to Gavin Newsom from a reader
Fact-check Thursday’s climate debate with EnergyTalkingPoints.com
This week I’ve been creating some custom talking points for candidates behind the scenes.
This Thursday’s Presidential debate is supposed to feature the issue of climate prominently.
EnergyTalkingPoints.com has you covered, especially these three entries:
Please share them!
A climate activist turned fossil fuel supporter
On this week’s Power Hour I interview Joakim Book, an up-and-coming economic and environmental commentator who has been heavily influenced by The Moral Case for Fossil Fuels.
I first learned of Joakim from his article “Against the Bambi Syndrome: Nature Is Not Nice”.
I was curious to know about Book’s intellectual journey and future plans.
Little did I know, as he revealed during the beginning of the interview, that he used to be a climate activist! This makes his journey that much more interesting–and, I believe, full of good lessons.
We discussed:
- Book’s time as a climate activist.
- Why Book and others never questioned the rightness of opposing fossil fuels.
- How economic thinking changed Book’s perspective.
- How Book was influenced by The Moral Case for Fossil Fuels.
- What lessons we can learn about persuasion from Book’s experience.
You can watch on YouTube or listen on Apple Podcasts.
Lafayette speech on YouTube
My recent speech and extended Q&A at Lafayette College is finally available on YouTube. As I’ve mentioned the past couple weeks, this is my favorite talk I’ve given and a good one to share with people new to my ideas.
UT Austin President cites me in commitment to free speech
University of Texas at Austin president Jay Hartzell just published an article, “There is no higher education without free speech,” citing my speech there a year ago.
Faculty members of all stripes — across disciplines and specialties in public and private universities across our state — want the freedom to teach their students and present their academic discoveries transparently. This, too, is true of the students who populate our great Texas colleges and universities. Whether it be the presence of a speaker on campus or the reading of a particular text, there will be times when our community members disagree on whether something is appropriate….
This happens when we bring together opposing viewpoints on key issues, like hosting both Alex Epstein, the author of “The Moral Case for Fossil Fuels,” and Richard Heinberg, the author of “Afterburn: Society Beyond Fossil Fuels” for events in recent years.
I believe the goal of a public research university, as an educational institution, is to open the minds of our students, expose them to different perspectives and beliefs, and prepare them to lead extraordinary lives. That doesn’t happen in an echo chamber. That doesn’t happen when everyone agrees. It happens when beliefs and preconceptions are tested. That’s how we teach and that’s how we learn.
An open letter to Gavin Newsom from a reader:
Rod Guice, a reader of this newsletter and an Accelerator, wrote a powerful letter to Gavin Newsom that he said I could share.
I’ve attached a fun letter that I wrote to Governor Newsom wherein among other things, I recommend that he make contact with you to improve his Energy and Climate Policies. Without your efforts I wouldn’t have the ammunition to write letters such as this. So, I’m grateful for your work, and accordingly have made another small accelerator contribution to the Center For Industrial Progress. I’m confident you’ll use it well!
Here’s how Rod’s letter begins.
Governor Newsom,
It is my duty to provide feedback on how your policies, actions, and decrees related to Energy, Oil & Gas Regulation, and Climate (along with those of your predecessor) have affected my life and family, along with thousands of others trying work in California’s Petroleum Industry. I will also discuss your directives in response to COVID-19 and the impact they’ve had. As an introduction, I’m a California Petroleum Engineer, one of your Constituents, and am very proud to have worked for more than 40 years so far in the Oil and Gas Industry- I’m even more proud that I’ve spent my career helping to find and produce the fuel that is the most cost effective and Reliable source of Energy in human history.
I’ve pasted some long excerpts from Rod’s letter at the end of this newsletter. You can also read the whole letter on his LinkedIn profile.
Thanks for reading this week’s newsletter.
One final note. A number of readers recently sent me this video of Shawn Steffee, leader of the Boilermakers Local 154 union in PA, championing fossil fuels. The video has attracted a lot of attention, in part because it involves a misstatement by Joe Biden, but also (and I hope moreso) because Steffee is unusually unequivocal in his support of fossil fuels. I don’t know for sure if Steffee is familiar with my work, but it sure seems like it. In any case, it’s great to have another illustration of the fact that a clear, courageous voice for fossil fuels will win a lot of support.
To Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Energy,
Alex