In this issue:
- Oil and gas CEO stands up to The North Face
- New talking points
- The physics of life, energy, and environmental impact with Adrian Bejan
- Tax-deductible sponsorship opportunity
- New interview on prominent bitcoin podcast
Oil and gas CEO stands up
For years I’ve been advocating that fossil fuel industry CEOs stand up for the moral goodness of the work that they do.
Thus I was thrilled to see this terrific letter by Adam Anderson, CEO of Innovex Downhole Solutions, in response to an anti-oil-and-gas policy by the clothing brand The North Face.
Here’s Adam’s explanation of the letter on LinkedIn–which I am proud to be tagged in.
I recommend reading the whole thing. I’m especially impressed that Adam forthrightly stated the facts about increasing fossil fuel use leading to decreasing climate danger.
Congratulations, Adam. I hope you inspire many other CEOs follow your example.
New talking points
One nice byproduct of my Energy Talking Points on Demand program for elected officials is that I’m developing a lot of talking points I can share publicly. I often post these talking points on Twitter. Here are some of the latest:
On the illegality of the Paris Climate Accords being adopted without Senate ratification:
The State Dept classifies something as a treaty using 8 criteria, including 1) it affects the whole nation, 2) it requires state law changes, and 3) it requires new federal legislation. These and the other 5 all apply to the Paris Accords. Treaties require Senate ratification.
(Here’s a great article on the subject.)
On the strategic incompetence of the Paris Climate Accords:
The Paris Climate Accords treaty commits the US to emissions reductions that would make our energy uncompetitively expensive–and to hundreds of billions in payments to countries that commit to virtually nothing. Joining it was not being a leader, it was being a sucker.
On the immorality of the Paris Climate Accords:
The Paris Climate Accords were
1) Incompetent: a unilateral US sacrifice
2) Illegal: a treaty without Senate ratification
3) Immoral: a call for outlawing fossil fuels, which are the only near-term way to provide reliable energy for billions of people at prices they can afford
On a proposed ban of fracking on federal lands:
Q: Should Biden ban fracking on federal lands?
A: No. Fracking is a safe and beneficial form of development–exactly the kind of activity the Bureau of Land Management is legally required to facilitate. Biden has no legal or moral right to ban it.
On the supposed “Halliburton loophole” and the likely attempt to regulate/ban fracking under the Safe Drinking Water Act:
Q: Isn’t there a 2005 “Halliburton loophole” that improperly prevents EPA from regulating fracking under the Safe Drinking Water Act?
A: No, that Act never applied to fracking. As Clinton’s EPA said: “EPA does not regulate…the hydraulic fracturing of methane gas production”.
On the growing practice of financial institutions of divesting from fossil fuels:
To institutions divesting from fossil fuels: By discouraging the lowest-cost form of reliable energy you are not making the world a better place to live. You are *keeping* the world a terrible place for the billions of desperately poor people who desperately need abundant energy.
On the push for Pennsylvania to join the carbon-taxing Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI):
In 2019, PA exported more electricity than any other state and CA imported more electricity than any other state. Yet instead of CA following PA’s lead, PA Governor Tom Wolf is following CA’s incompetent lead by pushing “RGGI,” a CA-style carbon tax. https://eia.gov/todayinenergy/detail.php?id=46156
Note: If you know any elected officials or staff in the US House, US Senate, or Governors’ offices, it’s not easy for them to sign up for Energy Talking Points on Demand. They can just go to EnergyTalkingPointsOnDemand.com.
The physics of life, energy, and environmental impact with Adrian Bejan
On this week’s Power Hour I interview Adrian Bejan, a Duke Professor and Benjamin Franklin Medal recipient renowned for identifying “constructal law.”
The topic is how physics, specifically thermodynamics, can help us better understand life, including our use of energy, our environmental impact, and the need for freedom.
Both Bejan and I were shocked at how aligned our work is despite coming from totally different intellectual backgrounds and never having interacted.
Topics covered include:
- How Bejan escaped communism, immigrated to the US, and studied at MIT.
- How Bejan identified “constructal law.”
- The universality of thermodynamics.
- Why humans impacting our environment is natural.
- Bejan’s predictions of our energy and climate future.
Next week Professor Bejan will come back to Power Hour to discuss the physics and value of freedom.
You can watch on YouTube or listen on Apple Podcasts.
Tax-deductible sponsorship opportunity
As I mentioned a couple weeks ago, a leading national organization is planning to host an 8-location college speaking tour with me in the Fall of 2021.
The organization has a great track record of using these tours to raise the profile of several now-nationally-known figures. I’m excited by the opportunity to reach many new audiences and will be speaking at a discounted rate.
If you are an organization or high-net-worth individual who is interested in sponsoring part of this tour for $10K or more, let me know and I’ll put you in touch with the organizers. All contributions are tax deductible.
New interview on prominent bitcoin podcast
Last week I was interviewed by economist Saifedean Ammous, author of the popular book The Bitcoin Standard. I had interviewed Ammous several months ago on Power Hour.
We covered a wide range of topics including energy economics, climate predictions, media distortion of science.
You can listen here.
To Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Energy,
Alex