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Fossil Future

Why Global Human Flourishing Requires More Oil, Coal, and Natural Gas--Not Less

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Fossil Future

By: Alex Epstein
Narrated by: Alex Epstein
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About this listen

 The New York Times bestselling author of The Moral Case for Fossil Fuels draws on the latest data and new insights to challenge everything you thought you knew about the future of energy

For over a decade, philosopher and energy expert Alex Epstein has predicted that any negative impacts of fossil fuel use on our climate will be outweighed by the unique benefits of fossil fuels to human flourishing--including their unrivaled ability to provide low-cost, reliable energy to billions of people around the world, especially the world’s poorest people.

And contrary to what we hear from media “experts” about today’s “renewable revolution” and “climate emergency,” reality has proven Epstein right:

  • Fact: Fossil fuels are still the dominant source of energy around the world, and growing fast—while much-hyped renewables are causing skyrocketing electricity prices and increased blackouts.
  • Fact: Fossil-fueled development has brought global poverty to an all-time low.
  • Fact: While fossil fuels have contributed to the 1 degree of warming in the last 170 years, climate-related deaths are at all-time lows thanks to fossil-fueled development.

    • What does the future hold? In Fossil Future, Epstein, applying his distinctive “human flourishing framework” to the latest evidence, comes to the shocking conclusion that the benefits of fossil fuels will continue to far outweigh their side effects—including climate impacts—for generations to come. The path to global human flourishing, Epstein argues, is a combination of using more fossil fuels, getting better at “climate mastery,” and establishing “energy freedom” policies that allow nuclear and other truly promising alternatives to reach their full long-term potential.

    Today’s pervasive claims of imminent climate catastrophe and imminent renewable energy dominance, Epstein shows, are based on what he calls the “anti-impact framework”—a set of faulty methods, false assumptions, and anti-human values that have caused the media’s designated experts to make wildly wrong predictions about fossil fuels, climate, and renewables for the last fifty years. Deeply researched and wide-ranging, this book will cause you to rethink everything you thought you knew about the future of our energy use, our environment, and our climate.     Engineering Politics & Government Palaeontology Natural History
    All stars
    Most relevant
    One of the most important books I have ever listened to. Helped to clarify my jumbled thoughts on fossil fuels, nuclear and unreliables. A MUST LISTEN!

    A Brilliant Treatise

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    Very well structured book which lays out all of its arguments clearly and succinctly. Once you see the “anti impact framework” which current debates centre on pulled apart with Alex’s “human flourishing framework”, you’ll gain a new appreciation for the importance of fossil fuels and better understand how catastrophic elimination plans are.

    It’s the only book I’m recommending to people. Everyone needs to read it.

    Most important book of its time

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    Very repetitive. Complex arguing to 100.
    Could have been said in 15 minutes. Too long.

    Repetitive

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    Outstanding framework to argue to 100 and slay the anti human delicate nurture negatives catastrophising climate change cult hydra, highly recommend you make the time to listen to it in full then make your own mind up!

    Excellent

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    I had to stop listening to this title. The reader has a weird habit of inflection g the end of each sentence up… as if each statement is a question. Regrettably, it spoilt the expletive for me

    Good book, difficult to listen

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    Loved it. Interesting and thorough. Should be required reading in schools for balance. Thanks, Alex!

    Outstanding

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    His logic is straight forward and his argument is compelling. This is a well thought out presentation which will be no doubt become the ‘standard’ by which other books are evaluated. Human flourishing should be universally accepted as the goal of any energy policy, and hopefully this book will start shifting the narrative globally.

    Persuasive

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    One of the hardest parts of having ideas, thoughts and beliefs that are at odds with the common narrative, is finding a way to express those ideas, thoughts and beliefs in a way that not only make sense to you, but to those who care to listen.
    This book is a great work, that takes information that you probably already know, and points out problems that you can probably already see, and rounds then up onto a coherent narrative that helps you to better understand and therefore articulate a truly progressive and human flourishing perspective around the fossil fuel debate.

    Making sense in a nonsensical world

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    Great. Facts on negative and positive aspects of carbon dioxide. Interesting that we usually only hear the negatives which exaggerated to the extreme to support antihuman idiology

    Exceptional balanced coverage of the topic.

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    Alex is clear, concise & thoroughly understands the subject of energy. Even people who disagree with him will learn something from this book.

    A real game changer

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