154: Alex Epstein - The Moral Case for Fossil Fuels

# Episode 154 **Summary:** In Episode #154 Ari shares an enlightening conversation with Alex Epstein of _[The Moral Case for Fossil Fuels](http://amzn.to/1Q3w4KE)_. During this short but powerful interview, Alex explains why he believes the prevailing moral opinion of “fossil fuels are bad” is not only misguided, but flat-out wrong. **Special Announcements:** # [Less Doing Does Europe!](https://www.gazelles.com/summits/EGS-2015/Barcelona/index.html) Watch Ari bring the lessons of Less Doing to some of Europe’s most famous cities including Barcelona, Munich, Amsterdam and Budapest for the 2015 European Growth Summit. Ari will be joined by fellow masters of entrepreneurship Steve Martin, Director of _Influence at Work_ in the UK, and Verne Harnish, founder and CEO of Gazelles. ## EO Vancouver On June 18th, join Ari at the Fairmont Waterfront Hotel in b-e-a-utiful Vancouver, B.C. as he takes the microphone for _EO Vancouver_. Enjoy this unique opportunity to watch Ari candidly discuss life as an Author, Speaker, Teacher and – most importantly – Achievement Architect. **Time Stamped Show Notes:** - 08:17 – Introduction of Alex Epstein, author of _[The Moral Case for Fossil Fuels](http://amzn.to/1Q3w4KE)_ - 08:34 – How Alex came to his very unique conclusions about the planet and fossil fuel usage - 09:55 – The energy industry empowers us to do everything in our lives - 10:30 – Fossil Fuel energy is _vastly _more efficient (right now) than using any other form of energy - 11:41 – The concept of efficiency is not defined in most contexts and therefore not used well in most circumstances - 12:43 – “The internal combustion engine is super-inefficient” but by what standard is that statement being made? - 13:00 – The cost-benefit ratio of using an ICE (internal combustion engine) is far more favorable that the cost-benefit ration of any other resource - 15:02 – It takes very little skill and equipment to take crude oil and convert it into usable fuel (gasoline) - 15:25 – Only 3 forms of energy are cheap, plentiful and reliable—Fossil, Nuclear and Hydro-Electric—of the three, only Fossil is really scalable - 15:48 – All 3 of these forms have 3 things in common: they’re naturally concentrated, they’re naturally plentiful and they’re naturally stored - 18:14 – The “morality of bad” - 19:03 – People foolishly latch onto things they deem “virtuous” - 19:25 – Alex’s take on Global Warming - 20:20 – We tend to not value energy in the many ways it deserves to be valued - 21:30 – Yes, we are having a warming effect, but it’s very moderate and, in many ways in-line with normal atmospheric trends - 22:10 – People are exaggerating the threat of global warming because there is this inherent belief that it is wrong for us to impact the climate, which – if you truly want to live your life beholden to that standard – means you should protest the existence of cities - 22:29 – People “draw the line” at complete arbitrary places - 23:25 – Anti-impact prejudice coupled with a fear of the new - 23:35 – Center of Industrial Progress - 23:51 – The Green movement is the Anti-Human movement - 25:05 – Drawing the line at “are humans impacting things” – is the wrong place to draw the line - 25:43 – Alex’s _Top 3 Tips to be More Efficent_ - 26:05 – Always have a purpose in mind—be able to ask the question “what is my purpose?” Know the answer - 28:10 – You cannot upgrade the basic structure of your life too much - 28:58 – Prioritize the structure over the work - 30:04 – [IndustrialProgress.com](http://www.industrialprogress.com/) **7 Key Points:** 1. Fossil fuel is the cornerstone of modernity. 2. When looking at energy consumption with a cost-benefit mindset, fossil fuel is the winning fuel sources hands-down. 3. Only 3 forms of energy—fossil, nuclear and hydro-electric—are readily available, reliable and cheap. 4. Global warming isn’t a lie, but the way in which it is being pi