The latest issue of Barron’s includes Anne Korin’s review of The Moral Case for Fossil Fuels, a recent book authored by Alex Epstein.
Plentiful, reliable, affordable energy is necessary for human flourishing and indeed for human life, and at this point, that energy can best be provided by fossil fuels: coal, petroleum, and natural gas. Such is the premise of the well-researched, well-argued, and highly readable Moral Case for Fossil Fuels, by Alex Epstein, the founder and president of the libertarian-leaning Center for Industrial Progress.
The author drives home the idea that the crusade against fossil fuels stems less from a desire to ensure clean air and water for human use, than from an idealization of “untouched” nature—the view that humanity’s nonimpact on the planet is to be striven for, above all else. Cue Britain’s Prince Philip, president emeritus of the World Wildlife Fund: “In the event that I am reincarnated, I would like to return as a deadly virus, in order to contribute something to solve overpopulation.”
Epstein argues that if one is concerned about sea-level rises or destructive hurricanes, one should cheer on industrialization all the more loudly. Prosperous economies are best able to manage the challenges Earth’s climate throws our way. “It is only thanks to cheap, plentiful, reliable energy,” he writes, “that we live in an environment where the water we drink and the food we eat will not make us sick and where we can cope with the often hostile climate of Mother Nature.”
From air conditioning to desalination, it is industrial society—enabled by affordable and abundant energy—that allows humans to transform their environments and thrive in otherwise unpleasant climates. Think Las Vegas in the summer without air conditioning or upstate New York when the cold hits. Compare the thriving, below-sea-level Netherlands with the overflowing misery in Bangladesh.
