November 13 will mark the three year anniversary of the publication of The Moral Case forFossil Fuels. Since then the book has been read by tens of thousands of people, praised by many of today’s thought leaders, and become the go-to resource for industry leaders seeking to motivate their employees and change the hearts and minds of their friends, family, and colleagues.
The most meaningful thing to me is that the book proved that it is possible to persuade many people typically seen as “unpersuadable” by offering them a better framework forthinking about energy issues: a pro-human, whole-picture framework.
To celebrate the anniversary, I’m offering a special deal throughout November and December: any company that purchases 10 or more licenses for my Energy Champion program will receive a free copy of The Moral Case for Fossil Fuels foreach team member who enrolls.
For more information about my Energy Champion program, see here.
And if you have any questions about the program or the special offer, just reply to this message and put “Energy Champion” in the subject line.
The New Republic on the influence of the moral case for fossil fuels
This article from The New Republic describes the growing influence of the moral case for fossil fuels among Republicans, especially the leading figures in the Trump administration.
The article warns that “the ascendant moral case for fossil fuels is even more pernicious than the climate-change denial on which it rests” because it “conveniently ignores two important realities: the rise of affordable and viable renewable energy, and the scientific consensus that our reliance on fossil fuels will increase human suffering.”
Unfortunately, the article ignores that I didn’t “ignore” those “realities” but discussed them at length in The Moral Case for Fossil Fuels. Like Jody Freeman’s “review” of my book (which TNR cites without mentioning my response [PDF]), the TNR article attacks The Moral Case for Fossil Fuels, not by disagreeing with the framework it offers for thinking about energy issues, or even by disputing the facts–but by ignoring and misrepresenting its arguments.
A victory for fossil fuels–and free speech
Last year Turning Point USA, a free-market student group, started a campaign to educate students about the value of fossil fuels, drawing on many of the ideas in The Moral Case forFossil Fuels. When one campus put a stop to the campaign, Turning Point fought back. According to The Washington Post:
A Michigan college said it would change its speech policy Wednesday after a conservative campus group sued, saying it was silenced after praising fossil fuels.
Macomb Community College (MCC) is a school of about 23,000 students in Warren, Mich., about 15 miles north of Detroit. In April, members of a campus chapter of Turning Point USA—a conservative organization whose website says it promotes “the principles of freedom, free markets and limited government”—wanted to tell students about theimportance of fossil fuels. One member even donned a Tyrannosaurus rex costume for theoccasion.
But while pointing out “the value of fossil fuels to human flourishing currently outweighs environmental concerns,” Turning Point was shut down by campus police “because at MCC public expressive activity is strictly prohibited without prior permission and a permit from theadministration,” according to a federal lawsuit Turning Point filed against the school in August in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan.
Congratulations to Turning Point for its victory–and for its commitment to championing fossil fuels.