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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

Written 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.
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    This book is fantastic! Although u may not believe that our future needs more fossil fuels at first the valid and undeniable points brought up make so much sense. If u are unsure if you should read this I 100% recommend that you read this

    Wow wow wow

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    Alex does a solid job of contrasting the anti-impact framework to the appropriate human flourishing framework. A required reading for anyone who wants to look under the veil of (religious) anti-fossil fuel ideologies poisoning policy decisions and individual's critical thinking today.

    Fantastic look at required global energy.

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    Worth the read for sure ! And any Bad review for this book are from people that refuse to see any other narrative then the main stream climat change view!

    Amazing book!

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    Some food for that but doesn't provide the full context as the author claims at the start.

    flawed

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    An intelligent approach to discussing how and why humans will either flourish with fossil fuels, or suffer without fossil fuels, in the future. This is a legitimate, non-partisan, thought provoking book. You can have your opinion on the subject and not be insulted by his argument. If you don't come away from this book having learned something, then you are a stupid fool.

    This needs to be heard by everyone.

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