NBC reports on my energy influence

In this issue:

  • NBC reports on my energy influence
  • Why “the armchair economist” is “not an environmentalist”
  • New talking points
  • Quick Updates

NBC reports on my energy influence

The first major public story about Energy Talking Points was run by NBC.

This is good news: my messages are getting attention, and, as you’ll see if you read the article, the reporter is unable to say much negative about me.


Here’s how I responded on Twitter.

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Why “the armchair economist” is “not an environmentalist”

Several years ago, I came across the excellent essay “Why I am Not an Environmentalist” by economist Steven Landburg, who made numerous astute observations about the “religion of ecology” in contrast to “the science of economics.” This week I brought him on Power Hour for a wide-ranging discussion.

Here’s the official description

Why “the armchair economist is “not an environmentalist”

On this week’s Power Hour, Alex Epstein interviews economist Steven Landsburg, professor of economics at The University of Rochester, about how economics can help us understand many realms–including today’s “religion of environmentalism.”

They discuss:

  • How Landsburg’s popular book The Armchair Economist came about.
  • Why Landsburg regards “people respond to incentives” as the foundation of economics.
  • How understanding incentives makes sense of seemingly counterintuitive outcomes, such as recycling programs leading to fewer trees.
  • How understanding economics could have vastly improved vaccine distribution in the US.
  • The science of ecology vs. the religion of ecology.
  • How human beings ability to adapt to climate changes is largely ignored in today’s discussions–and why economists don’t speak up about it.
  • How “environmentalists” treat their personal preferences as morally superior to others’ preferences.
  • Landsburg’s economics-based approach to species extinction.

You can watch on YouTube or listen on Apple Podcasts.

New talking points

Here are some talking points I’ve shared on Twitter recently.

On the Biden “infrastructure” and “jobs” plan

Joe Biden's "infrastructure" bill, The American Jobs Plan, destroys our low-cost, reliable energy infrastructure and replaces it with high-cost, unreliable energy infrastructure–mostly made in China with fossil fuels. This is guaranteed to cause mass American joblessness.

https://twitter.com/AlexEpstein/status/1366898338230980609

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On resilience

https://twitter.com/AlexEpstein/status/1379769389612855297?s=20

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On the world’s “fossil future,” evaded by media and politicians

https://twitter.com/AlexEpstein/status/1379416762052083721?s=20

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https://twitter.com/AlexEpstein/status/1379609775554498562?s=20

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On the real cost of wind and solar

https://twitter.com/AlexEpstein/status/1379153895809642496?s=20

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https://twitter.com/AlexEpstein/status/1379602205620142080?s=20

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Quick Updates

  • The excellent new article “Inside the Church of Climate” by economist Robert Bradley, Jr explains how the climate catastrophe movement (different from belief in climate change) is based on anti-human religion.
    Rob has been a major figure in my energy career: he has authored several works that have influenced me, and he was the first major energy thinker to endorse my philosophical approach to energy.
  • Reader Rafe Champion has created a valuable resource on “net-zero” proposals. He also has a valuable article on the failure of green energy in South Australia.
  • In two weeks my Power Hour guest will be Steve Koonin, a highly respected physicist who worked in the Obama Administration. Koonin has a new book on climate science called “Unsettled: What Climate Science Tells Us, What It Doesn’t, and Why It Matters.” I highly, highly recommend this book as an objective exploration of what is known about climate and how that is wildly distorted by today’s knowledge institutions.
  • In addition to NBC running a story about me, the Texas Tribune also ran a story where my influence was mentioned.

    Here’s what I wrote on Twitter.

    https://twitter.com/AlexEpstein/status/1379215343881613313?s=20
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Thanks for reading this week’s newsletter. I’m spending most of my time doing the final editing for Fossil Future, but I’m glad that I have enough time and resources (especially Steffen Henne) to be able to make an impact on the current discussion, as well. Thanks to Accelerators for making this possible.

To Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Energy,

Alex