How to Think About Consensus
A couple months ago, a young researcher named Emily Harari reached out to me about my views about the scientific consensus on climate change. She raised some interesting questions I hadn’t commented publicly on, so I agreed to do the interview if we could share it with my listeners. This week’s Power Hour features that interview. Some of the topics we cover are: - The legitimate and illegitimate view of consensus - How to learn the actual state of consensus - The National Climate Assessment - How consensus statements often misrepresent the state of consensus - The role of the media in distorting science - How transparent should consensus discussions be - The obligation of scientists to stand up to false consensus statements
23 Syys 20201h 16min
Patrick Moore on How “Green” Forest Mismanagement Caused the California Wildfire Disaster
On a special bonus episode of Power Hour Alex Epstein interviews Patrick Moore, ecologist and cofounder of Greenpeace, on the realm causes of California’s wildfire disaster. Moore pins the blame squarely on “green” forest mismanagement. Topics covered include: - What are the top policy changes necessary to prevent dangerous, out of control wildfires (not the same as fires)? - How does private vs. government ownership of land affect the likelihood of dangerous fires? - What are the major drivers of dangerous, out of control wildfires? - What places in the world have the best wildfire management? - How have government policies changed for the worse in the US? - How do you respond to claims that these fires are inevitable because of climate changes? - Dr. Moore’s forthcoming book on invisible catastrophes.
16 Syys 20201h 16min
The California Wildfires: A Historical Perspective with Chuck DeVore
On this week’s Power Hour Alex Epstein interviews Chuck DeVore, a Vice President at the Texas Public Policy Foundation and former California state assemblyman on the California wildfires. DeVore has extensively studied the history of fires in California, and gives a fascinating historical perspective that points the right path forward. Questions covered include: - What is California’s climate like historically in terms of being prone to fire? - How were forests and fires dealt with by natives prior to the Gold Rush? - How were forests and fires dealt with subsequent to the Gold Rush? - What policies have been most responsible for making us Californians vulnerable to dangerous fires? - How have logging policies affected vulnerability to dangerous fires? - How have air quality policies affected vulnerability to dangerous fires? - What are the most important policies to fix the situation? - How can we as citizens get involved?
16 Syys 202058min
Promoting freedom and energy in 2020 — interview with the Club for Growth’s David McIntosh
On this week’s Power Hour, Alex Epstein interviews David McIntosh, President of the Club for Growth, one of the world’s most influential free-market organizations. The Club for Growth recently shared Alex’s EnergyTalkingPoints.com website with its members and the candidates it works with. In the interview Alex asked McIntosh a wide range of questions relating to promoting freedom and energy in 2020, including: - What does the Club for Growth do? - How does the Club for Growth select and help free-market candidates? - What are the most important issues at stake this election? - Why did the Club for Growth share Alex Epstein’s EnergyTalkingPoints.com? - What has McIntosh learned about effectiveness in Washington that supporters of energy freedom can utilize to become more effective?
9 Syys 202038min
Congressman Chip Roy on The 2020 Energy Debate
On this week’s Power Hour, Alex Epstein brings on Congressman Chip Roy to discuss the 2020 energy debate and how pro-freedom candidates and citizens can be successful in it. Some topics they cover include: - Why energy policy has not been a big topic of discussion so far, particularly among Republicans. - Why we can expect energy policy, including climate policy, to be a big topic in the final two months of campaigning. - What Congressman Roy thinks of EnergyTalkingPoints.com. - The challenges candidates face in dealing with a wide variety of issues. - Some of the most common energy and climate questions candidates need help responding to. - How to promote EnergyTalkingPoints.com.
2 Syys 202034min
The Real Villains Behind CA Wildfires and Blackouts with Michael Shellenberger
On this week’s Power Hour, Alex Epstein brings back Michael Shellenberger, our most popular guest of 2020, for an in-depth look at the California blackouts and the California wildfires.
26 Elo 20201h 6min
Economics, Energy, and Bitcoin
On this week’s Power Hour Alex Epstein interviews economist Dr. Saifedean Ammous about economics and energy. Dr. Ammous, in part due to his influence by The Moral Case for Fossil Fuels, is working on a new economics textbook that makes energy a central focus in analyzing the causes of prosperity. Dr. Ammous is best known for his popular book The Bitcoin Standard, a fascinating look at the economics of Bitcoin. Alex and Dr. Ammous discuss a wide range of topics, including: - How Ammous got interested in energy economics. - What Ammous learned studying the economics of biofuels. - Why it’s crucial to think of time as the most important resource. - How energy relates to time. - How economists tend to undervalue energy–and what Ammous is doing to address this. Additionally they discuss several foundational issues in economics, such as the nature of money, economic calculation, the nature of value, and opportunity cost. I hope you enjoy the wide-ranging discussion. As a bonus, on this episode Alex gives his first ever public explanation of “the private jet problem,” a central idea in The Moral Case for Fossil Fuels 2.0.
19 Elo 20201h 23min
EnergyTalkingPoints.com
On this week’s episode of Power Hour, Alex Epstein shares EnergyTalkingPoints.com–a growing library of short, powerful, and carefully-referenced talking points that any pro-freedom candidate or citizen can use. He discusses the enthusiastic responses he’s gotten so far and asks listeners to spread the word by: - Sharing them with campaigns you’re connected to and encourage those campaigns to talk to me. - Sharing them on social media. - Sharing them with coworkers and employees. - Sharing them with programs you like and encourage the hosts to invite me on. We want more campaigns to get them and use them like the one who sent this message did: “[Y]our talking points are so thorough…We’re going to work these into our messaging on energy and the environment. Much appreciated!”
17 Elo 202024min
