The Power Liars: How Google, Microsoft, and Amazon pretend to be 100% renewable

In this issue:

  • Upcoming “Accelerator call”: an overview of The Moral Case for Fossil Fuels 2.0
  • The Power Liars: How Google, Microsoft, and Amazon pretend to be 100% renewable
  • New interview on “COB Tuesday”
  • New interview on “Death to Tyrants” podcast
  • Catch up on the Human Flourishing Project

Upcoming “Accelerator call”: an overview of The Moral Case for Fossil Fuels 2.0

Thanks to the generous support of our Accelerators I’ve been able to invest a lot of time and resources lately on my writing. Most of that time has been on finishing The Moral Case for Fossil Fuels 2.0. Next week I’ll be hosting the first of what I hope to be many “Accelerator calls” to discuss strategy, share new insights, and answer questions. This one will be an overview of The Moral Case for Fossil Fuels 2.0. I’ll be sharing a detailed outline of the book, explaining some of the major changes, and answering questions. If you’re already an Accelerator, you’ll get an invitation. If you’re not and want to come on the call, become an Accelerator at any level.  

The Power Liars: How Google, Microsoft, and Amazon pretend to be 100% renewable

Last week Google made headlines by refusing to develop new AI technologies for oil and gas companies.

The common narrative on this issue is: Google, Microsoft, and Amazon are doing a good job by becoming 100% renewable themselves, but undercutting that by helping oil and gas companies become more efficient. This narrative was put forward by a Greenpeace report that prompted Google’s announcement.

My view is the exact opposite: Google, Microsoft, and Amazon are doing a good job by using digital technologies to help oil and gas companies become more efficient—but undercutting that with dishonest and cowardly claims that they are anywhere near “100% renewable.”

I discuss why on this week’s Power Hour, featuring my long-time researcher Steffen Henne.

We discuss:

  • Why no company is or can be 100% renewable for the foreseeable future.
  • The three dishonest techniques companies use to claim that they are “100% renewable” or “carbon neutral.”
  • How Google, Microsoft, and Amazon use these techniques to deceive the public.
  • Why companies’ refusal to consider nuclear energy is cowardly.
  • How 100% renewable propaganda pollutes the energy debate.

You can access the episode on YouTube or Apple podcasts. (Note: This week’s YouTube episode doesn’t feature video but I’ll be back to video next week.)

Interview on “COB Tuesday”

Yesterday I was a guest on energy investment bank Tudor, Pickering, and Holt’s “COB Tuesday” video show. I discussed many aspects of the energy landscape, including Google’s decision to stop developing new AI. Maynard Holt, CEO of TPH, is one of the executives who best understands the moral case for fossil fuels, so it’s always a pleasure to talk to him.

You can access the full interview here, or click below to go straight to a particular question.

Interview on “Death to Tyrants” podcast

Last week I was a guest on the “Death to Tyrants” podcast. The host, Buck Johnson, said early on he loved the message of the book. I asked him what he took away from it. His answer was:

“Well, I would say that, basically, the moral case you’re taking is, when you look at it, the morality aspect of it is, what’s good for human life, what’s good for human flourishing and raising Humans up from a level of poverty to not necessarily rich, but maybe from, we could say third world to first world if possible. And that’s the take that I got from it.”

Good take!

Here are some of the questions we covered:

5:31 – What does Alex do?
7:32 – Do any oil companies advocate for energy freedom?
9:29 – What is Alex’s approach to The Moral Case for Fossil Fuels?
13:18 – Does Alex see a religious aspect to the environmentalist perspective? Also, why do they make it a fear-based issue?
18:12 – What does Alex think about the “97% of scientists agree” point?
21:03 – What is the most common fallacy Alex sees with this issue?
22:29 – In Alex’s book, he writes that the Green movement would grudgingly oppose fossil fuels, even if they were the cheapest source of energy and had no emissions or resource depletion concerns. Why is that?
24:53 – Does the Green movement use overpopulation as a foundation for their views?
27:36 – What is the false attribution fallacy?
29:46 – What is Alex’s distinction between anti-pollution and anti-development?
31:00 – Why is the moral case for fossil fuels important?

Catch up on The Human Flourishing Project

Here are some recent episodes of my other podcast, The Human Flourishing Project. You can sign up to receive updates on that podcast here.

To Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Energy,

Alex