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The Moral Case for Fossil Fuels |  |
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The Moral Case for Fossil Fuels | |
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When I first started looking for a career, I had one goal in mind: providing for my current & future family. I figured the first step was finding out what the highest paying jobs were and then narrowing it down by comparing what was out there to my (lack of) skill set. I received advice from several mentors and took into consideration what I might actually enjoy doing. Ultimately, I ended up at an oil and gas company.
Up until a few weeks ago, I was of the opinion (like most) that we were simply big oil, a necessary evil needed temporarily until we finally switch over to the "good" types of energy. You know, we had economic benefits, but at the same time we were "killing" the planet and the people who inhabit it. My perspective was so narrow and I had no idea.
In an effort to develop my understanding of energy as a whole (simply to be better at my job), I came across "The Moral Case for Fossil Fuels" (by Alex Epstein) and read several of the reviews/summaries. I could not believe that someone was not only saying we shouldn't slow down production and usage of fossil fuels, but that we should INCREASE production and usage; moreover, that it would improve the environment and every major measurement of human livelihood. I thought, "okay, I'll humor you. $20 on amazon, pretty short read, I'll find holes in his theory quickly and go on maybe with a few fun facts for work conversation."
I won't go into all of his arguments, but I will say that they drastically changed my perception of the fossil fuel industry and changed the argument from a economic standpoint (which is why I have been pro-necessary evil in the past) to a question of morality. At the very least, I recommend picking up a copy to understand how energy (he goes into each form) works. I geeked out over all of the data and loved following Epstein's rationality. If you work in the fossil fuel industry, know someone who does, or are simply interested in how energy impacts people--I would highly, highly, recommend taking 4-5 hours to read this book. You won't be disappointed.
It's appropriate that I'm writing this review on Thanksgiving, a holiday in celebration of an abundant harvest. I think the author would approve. As The Moral Case for Fossil Fuels amply demonstrates, the predominately fossil fuel-powered energy industry is perhaps the most productive, life-giving industry of all. Energy is that important, underlying and making possible all the other varied industries that improve our lives in so many ways, from transportation to communication to an agricultural industry able to feed a global population of over seven billion people better than most people have ever been fed. It enables me to write this in a comfortable, climate-controlled home on a cold winter day and with a click of a button to share my thoughts with anyone, anywhere, who cares to read them. It makes it easy for me to travel vastly farther, faster, more safely and at less expense than has been possible to the overwhelming majority of people who have ever lived, again in complete comfort AND with the ability to listen to an unimaginably vast library of music (or any other audio content) of my choice at the touch of a button. And it powers the "smart" devices we all carry around in our pockets or purses that are orders of magnitude more powerful than the technology that put men on the moon, giving us access to more information more readily than any previous generation could have even dreamed of. Not to mention the turkey feast I'm about to enjoy. Clearly, we owe the fossil fuel industry a profound debt of gratitude. It quite literally, to use Epstein's memorable phrase, "adds years to our lives, and life to our years." Without energy, there is no life. With abundant energy, there is abundant life.
All that would be enough to rank this book among the most important published this year (or decade), but in The Moral Case for Fossil Fuels, Epstein gives us so much more. Many other reviewers have talked about his excellent discussions of the risks and benefits of using fossil fuels, but perhaps even more important is the methodology Epstein teaches us. That big-picture thinking is just part of it. He also, for instance, lays out the proper way to use experts. This is extremely valuable at a time when the media are prone to browbeat us that all scientists agree, without ever bothering to tell us exactly which scientists think what and for what reasons, or even being very clear about what it is they supposedly agree on. (And we've seen some of the so-called scientists in this debate deliberately suppressing important information about how they derived their data and reached their conclusions.) And yet, Epstein insists that experts are important and we need to take what they say seriously. We could hardly get by without them! But the key, as he aptly summarizes it, is to use experts as advisers, NOT authorities. We should take their reasons into consideration using our own independent judgment, not simply blindly believe what we are told they collectively assert.
But for my money, the most valuable idea in the book is Epstein's insistence on approaching the issue by focusing primarily on the positive, while also acknowledging and working to minimize any side effects and risks. If we fail as a society to learn this lesson, we run the even greater risk of allowing our biases and unfounded fears to mislead us into making some very bad decisions. The Moral Case for Fossil Fuels is really a book about the life-or-death necessity of valuing the good, rather than fixating exclusively on what's perceived to be bad, using the fossil fuel industry as an eloquent case study. But we can apply this lesson to improve our thinking about any other industry, issue, or idea. This review is an attempt to apply that lesson to the book itself, and in that spirit, thanks to anyone in the fossil fuel industry who happens to read this for the enormous life-giving value you provide, and thanks Mr. Epstein for providing the even deeper value of moral clarity to underlie the energy industry that underlies all the rest.
Then cheap, reliable and scalable energy is profoundly good. The author makes a compelling argument that the development of such energy is the foundation of industrial progress. And turns each of us into "superman", amplifying our abilities a hundredfold or more.
Fossil fuels power 87% of the world. The past 20 years has seen billions of people lifted out of crippling poverty. Lifted by the introduction of electricity and machines powered by fossil fuels.
This is an overwhelmingly positive value to human life. What about the negatives of fossil fuel use? What about the forecasts of catastrophic climate change? Or the immediate real threat of pollution directly harming people?
The author isn't blind to the very real risks and concerns with finding and using fossil fuels. But, unlike you'll hear from almost any other source, he puts these risks into the context of the overwhelming benefit fossil fuel provides to humans. And the proven ability fossil fuel gives us to minimize these risks as technology progresses. And calls BS on the biases and prejudices underlying the motivations of the thought leaders of the anti-fossil fuel movement.
It's an interesting read and a compelling case for a position diametrically opposed to just about everything else out there.
Read it and judge for yourself.
This book is well written, easy to read and understand. It provides an alternative way of looking at fossil fuels, the bane of many environmentalists who fail to see the big picture. In my view, most environmentalists, like me, have good hearts and have the desire to improve the lives of human beings without destroying the planet we all live on. Unfortunately, many environmentalists do not consider how the resources of our planet, such as fossil fuels, have allowed human beings to flourish, as Epstein explains, which has greatly improved our lives. In most cases, environmentalists only consider the negative risks and potential problems associated with fossil fuels. This book presents a very good case for looking at the benefits of fossil fuels, and, in my opinion, suggests that the failure to utilize more fossil fuels would be morally wrong. My reading of the book leads me to believe the author is asking the reader, "How can we, in good conscience, keep the same energy we use on a daily basis out of the hands of the underdeveloped/undeveloped countries, knowing that the energy from fossil fuels has enriched our lives and improved our standard of living?"
I would certainly recommend this book to those environmentalists who have an open mind, and enough critical thinking skills to evaluate the book honestly. For the ideologues' whose minds cannot consider other view points without retreating to a safe place, don't buy the book. It may disturb you to discover that other rational beings live on the planet. I know that this book provided me with an idea that I had not considered before, which is the standard of value we should be considering when making policy and economic decisions, and it is first and foremost human life.
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