When leading climate economist Richard Tol publicly criticized a Twitter thread of Alex Epstein’s blaming anti-fossil fuel policies for the current energy crisis, Epstein invited Tal on Power Hour to discuss the issue as well as Tol’s work in climate economics.



The result is an illuminating and wide-ranging discussion of many topics, including:

- What climate economics is

- Criticisms of climate economics by Noah Smith and others for not portraying man-made climate change as sufficiently catastrophic

- The philosophical assumptions underlying climate catastrophism

- How both Tol’s and Epstein’s work is based on a pro-human standard of evaluation

- Why Richard Tol withdrew from a major role in the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change

- How politics shapes every facet of the IPCC

- The role of government restrictions on fossil fuel production and transportation in the energy crisis

- The role of standard boom/bust cycles in the energy crisis

- The role of unexpected demand in the energy crisis

A wide-ranging discussion with leading climate economist Richard Tol

Every week on Power Hour energy philosopher Alex Epstein breaks down today's top energy, environmental, and climate issues.

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From Alex Epstein: "Recently I was having dinner with Peter Thiel (the billionaire investor/entrepreneur who founded PayPal and Palantir) and he raised some interesting challenges to my book Fossil Future (which he has enthusiastically endorsed). I suggested, 'Let’s record a discussion where you give me all your challenges to Fossil Future and I try to answer them.' Peter loved the idea, so we made it happen—recording a 90-minute discussion at his office in West Hollywood."

Peter Thiel challenges Alex Epstein on Fossil Future

On the latest episode of Power Hour, Alex Epstein explains in detail how to create Energy Freedom Talking Points, and announces new opportunities to work for or contribute to the Energy Talking Points project. Also: How Alex and Energy Talking Points are changing AI Chat.

How to become an Energy Freedom Policy Architect

On the latest episode of Power Hour, Alex Epstein interviews Senator Tom Cotton about his important new book, Only the Strong.

https://www.amazon.com/Only-Strong-Reversing-Sabotage-American/dp/1538726793



They discuss:

 Why America should have a foreign policy of self-interest
 What a principled and thoughtful policy of self-interest looks like
  How American foreign policy has devolved into various forms of international servitude
  The importance of energy security
  Senator Cotton's experiences in battle and in Congress

At the end of the show Alex shares some of his differences with Senator Cotton's book and offers some additional reading recommendations.

Senator Tom Cotton on "Only the Strong"

On this special episode of Power Hour Alex Epstein interviews Jusper Machogu, a Kenyan farmer who, thanks to the influence of Alex and others, has started to become a champion of fossil fuels in Africa.
Jusper discusses his aspirations in agriculture and in energy, and why he is asking for help to invest in his education.
You can support Jusper at his GoFundMe (Alex contributed $1000): https://www.gofundme.com/f/jusper-machogu-further-education-support

Jusper Machogu, emerging African Energy Champion

On this special episode of Power Hour to celebrate Fossil Future's launch week, I'm joined by wrestling legend and former MMA superstar Ben Askren. When Ben expressed interest in Fossil future on Twitter, I sent him an advance copy—which he read in full, and loved.
I asked Ben to come on the show to describe how the book impacted his thinking. I also asked Ben, known as one of the great innovators in modern wrestling, about the keys to his innovativeness—keys that apply to virtually any field.
This episode was both a thrill for me and a little surreal since as a longtime Jiu-Jitsu practitioner I've admired Askren from afar for many years. The fact that he responded to Fossil Future so positively is further confirmation to me that the framework and argument of this book are going to impact a lot of people's thinking for the better.

A wide-ranging discussion with leading climate economist Richard Tol

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