The Moral Case for Fossil Fuels

Contact Your Elected Officials

Could everything we know about fossil fuels be wrong?

For decades, environmentalists have told us that using fossil fuels is a self-destructive addiction that will destroy our planet. Yet at the same time, by every measure of human well-being, from life expectancy to clean water to climate safety, life has been getting better and better.

How can this be?

The explanation, energy expert Alex Epstein argues inย The Moral Case for Fossil Fuels, is that we usually hear only one side of the story. Weโ€™re taught to think only of the negatives of fossil fuels, their risks and side effects, but not their positivesโ€”their unique ability to provide cheap, reliable energy for a world of seven billion people. And the moral significance of cheap, reliable energy, Epstein argues, is woefully underrated. Energy is our ability to improve every single aspect of life, whether economic or environmental.

If we look at theย big pictureย of fossil fuels compared with the alternatives, the overall impact of using fossil fuels is to make the world a far better place. We are morally obligated to use more fossil fuels for the sake of our economy and our environment.

Drawing on original insights and cutting-edge research, Epstein argues that most of what we hear about fossil fuels is a myth. For instance . . .

Buy It Now!

Myth: Fossil fuels are dirty.
Truth: The environmental benefits of using fossil fuels far outweigh the risks. Fossil fuels donโ€™t take a naturally clean environment and make it dirty; they take a naturally dirty environment and make it clean. They donโ€™t take a naturally safe climate and make it dangerous; they take a naturally dangerous climate and make it ever safer.

Myth: Fossil fuels are unsustainable, so we should strive to use โ€œrenewableโ€ solar and wind.
Truth: The sun and wind are intermittent, unreliable fuels that always need backup from a reliable source of energyโ€”usually fossil fuels. There are huge amounts of fossil fuels left, and we have plenty of time to find something cheaper.

Myth: Fossil fuels are hurting the developing world.
Truth: Fossil fuels are the key to improving the quality of life for billions of people in the developing world. If we withhold them, access to clean water plummets, critical medical machines like incubators become impossible to operate, and life expectancy drops significantly. Calls to โ€œget off fossil fuelsโ€ are calls to degrade the lives of innocent people who merely want the same opportunities we enjoy in the West.

Taking everything into account, including the facts about climate change, Epstein argues thatย โ€œfossil fuels are easy to misunderstand and demonize, but they are absolutely good to use. And they absolutely need to be championed. . . . Mankindโ€™s use of fossil fuels is supremely virtuousโ€”because human life is the standard of value and because using fossil fuels transforms our environment to make it wonderful for human life.โ€

Buy It Now!

Reviews

โ€œWith more politicians in climate science than scientists, the refining fire of debate has devolved into the burning of heretics. Alex Epsteinโ€™sย The Moral Case for Fossil Fuelsย may make your blood boil, but his cool reason and cold, hard facts will lead us beyond hysterics to a much better future.โ€
โ€”PETER THIEL, technology entrepreneur and investor

โ€œIf you want to see the power of fine logic, fine writing, and fine research, read Epsteinโ€™s book. In my long career, it is simply the best popular-market book about climate, environmental policy, and energy that I have read. Laymen and experts alike will be boggled by Epsteinโ€™s clarity.โ€
โ€”PATRICK J. MICHAELS, director, Center for the Study of Science, Cato Institute

โ€œAlex Epstein has written an eloquent and powerful argument for using fossil fuels on moral grounds alone. A remarkable book.โ€
โ€”MATT RIDLEY, author ofย The Rational Optimist

โ€œIn this brave book, Alex Epstein provides a clear, full-throated response to the catastrophists who want us to replace nearly all of our existing energy systems with expensive, incurably intermittent sources like wind and solar. We need more people like Alex who are willing to make the case for hydrocarbons. As Alex shows, those fuels are allowing billions of people to live fuller, freer, healthier lives.โ€
โ€”ROBERT BRYCE, author ofย Smaller Faster Lighter Denser Cheaper

Buy It Now!

About the Author

Alex Epstein started the Center for Industrial Progress to offer an alternative environmental philosophy to America, one that is antipollution but prodevelopment. A popular speaker on college campuses, he has publicly debated leading environmentalists. He lives in Orange County, California.

Buy It Now!
Book Knowledge
Book Knowledgehttps://www.thethinkingconservative.com/previews/books-magazines/
Book Knowledge shares books, magazines and other sources that help us grow in our knowledge of conservatism and help us make a difference in our country.

Was Texas Storm Manmade?

Another โ€œ1-in-100 yearsโ€ weather event in Kerr County happened next to a Texas designated โ€œWeather Modification Map of Rain-Enhancement Projects in Texasโ€.

The America Party Will Harm Democrats The Most

Elon Musk formed the America Party after an X poll asking his followers if they wanted โ€œindependence from the two-party system!

Democrats Exhibit the Dunning-Kruger Effect (DKE)

โ€œThe Dunning-Kruger effect is a cognitive bias where people with low ability at a task overestimate their competence, while those with high ability underestimate their competence.

250 Countdown

Those 56 intrepid men who signed put their very lives, honor and fortunes on the line. There was no auto-quill to accommodate their signatures.ย 

How the Senate Parliamentarian Changed the OBBB

An unelected bureaucrat does a important job in the U.S. Senate. Elizabeth MacDonough enforces senate rules on Trumpโ€™s โ€œOne Big Beautiful Billโ€.

Death Toll From Texas Floods Rises to 82, Including 28 Children; Trump Plans Visit

Days after catastrophic flash floods in central Texas, rescuers are still searching for potential survivors, including 27 girls who went missing from camp.

Trump Signs Major Disaster Declaration Over Texas Flooding

President Trump signed major disaster declaration for Kerr County, TX, following floods leaving dozens dead and FEMA has been activated to respond.

Storm Chantal Makes Landfall in Carolinas, Weakens to Tropical Depression

Chantal weakened into a tropical depression, and tropical storm warnings previously issued for parts of North and South Carolina were discontinued.

IBA President Says Imane Khelif Should Return Olympic Gold Medal

IBA president urged Algerian boxer Imane Khelif to return tgold medal won at 2024 Paris Olympics to the rightful winner, amid gender-eligibility row.

Trump Announces 25 Percent Tariff on Japan, South Korea

President Donald Trump on July 7 issued letters announcing 25 percent tariffs on Japan and South Korea, set to take effect on Aug. 1, 2025.

White House Asks Americans to Pray After Deadly Texas Flooding

White Houseโ€™s Faith Office said in a statement that it is asking people โ€œto join us in prayer for the precious lives lost in the Texas floods,โ€

Trump to Meet With Netanyahu Following Iran Strikes Amid Cease-Fire Talks

President Donald Trump is set to meet with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the White House on the evening of July 7, 2025.

Trump Threatens BRICS-Aligned Nations With 10 Percent Tariff

President Donald Trump said on Sunday that an additional 10 percent tariff will be imposed on countries aligning with BRICS policies.
spot_img

Related Articles