Brent Bennett on the physics of energy progress and the politics of Texas electricity
On this week's Power Hour, Alex Epstein interviews Brent Bennett, a materials scientist by training and Policy Director of Life:Powered. In the first half of the interview, Brent shares how his background in physics and materials science has informed his views on the future of energy. In the second half, he summarizes the politics of Texas electricity--before, during, and after the recent mass-blackouts. Some of the specific topics covered include: - Alex's analogy between drug addicts and "renewable" power sources. - How Moore's Law is not a physical law, and how treating it that way distorts thinking about batteries. - The limitations of batteries given existing physics knowledge. - The proper relationship between physics and economics, and how today's politicians invert it. - How Texas did not have enough electricity generation to avoid rolling blackouts even if zero natural gas and coal plants had gone down. - Why today's Texas electricity "market" is totally unfair to reliable producers of electricity. - What reforms are needed to make Texas electricity "markets" fair and reliable. - How large financial institutions and tech companies are advocating policies that double down on unreliable electricity when Texas desperately needs reliable electricity. - The powerful lobbyists that shape Texas electricity policy.
29 Apr 202156min
Obama administration physicist explains why climate catastrophism is unscientific
On this week's Power Hour, Alex Epstein interviews Steve Koonin, a highly accomplished physicist and author of the new bestselling book "Unsettled: What Climate Science Tells Us, What It Doesn't and Why It Matters" In 2014, Koonin, who had worked in the Obama administration, began to question climate catastrophism when he led a panel of physicists assessing the current state of climate science. In his new book he summarizes what he regards as the actual state of climate science--which does not support claims of climate catastrophe at all. In this interview, Koonin discusses: - His conclusion that "Humans exert a growing, but physically small, warming influence on the climate." - Why "The net economic impact of human-induced climate change will be minimal through at least the end of this century." - Why "Government and UN press releases and summaries do not accurately reflect" scientific research reports. - How the US National Climate Assessment manipulated data to create an extreme heat pattern in the US that doesn't exist. - Why "the working scientists are often embarrassed by the way the IPCC winds up describing the state of the science." - Why "many of the senior climate scientists think that by the time now we've gotten to the sixth [IPCC] assessment report, it's no longer the A team that is preparing the reports." - How Koonin's career has enabled him to do a deep dive both into climate science and into energy economics. - The private response Koonin has gotten from other scientists. - What Koonin thinks of Bill Gates's book ("I think Bill wrote a pretty good energy book...but I think Bill's discussion of the climate is wrong and I would relish the chance to point out to him at some point.") - Why Koonin is eager to debate any climate scientists who disagree with him.
22 Apr 202155min
China’s Power Play
On this week’s Power Hour, Alex Epstein interviews John Robson of Climate Discussion Nexus, about how the green energy movement is weakening free countries like the United States and increasing Communist China’s odds of achieving its goal of being the world superpower by 2049. They discuss: - John’s excellent video The Red-Green Menace - China’s openly stated goal of world superpower status - China’s continuing embrace of fossil fuels - How US “green energy” is inferior energy produced largely by Communist China using fossil fuels - How the corporate world plays into China’s hands - How US companies should stand up to climate catastrophism - The virtues of speaking the unpopular truth - How John debunked the 97% consensus myth
15 Apr 202156min
Why "the armchair economist" is "not an environmentalist"
On this week's Power Hour, Alex Epstein interviews economist Steven Landsburg, professor of economics at The University of Rochester, about how economics can help us understand many realms--including today's "religion of environmentalism." They discuss: - How Landsburg's popular book The Armchair Economist came about. - Why Landsburg regards "people respond to incentives" as the foundation of economics. - How understanding incentives makes sense of seemingly counterintuitive outcomes, such as recycling programs leading to fewer trees. - How understanding economics could have vastly improved vaccine distribution in the US. - The science of ecology vs. the religion of ecology. - How human beings ability to adapt to climate changes is largely ignored in today's discussions--and why economists don't speak up about it. - How "environmentalists" treat their personal preferences as morally superior to others' preferences. - Landsburg's economics-based approach to species extinction.
7 Apr 202151min
The Roots of the Green New Deal
On this week's Power Hour, Alex Epstein discusses the policy platform known as the Green New Deal with Marc Morano, author of the new book "Green Fraud: Why The Green New Deal is Worse Than You Think." They focus on the roots of the Green New Deal--Marc, its historical and political roots, Alex, it's philosophical roots--which both believe are key to successfully opposing it and advocating a positive alternative. Some of the topics they cover are: - How Marc became skeptical of the modern environmental movement. - What UN climate conferences are really like--lavish parties, exotic locations, impressive carbon footprints. - How Marc was once kicked out of a climate conference and literally thrown in the middle of the desert. - Why Marc features EnergyTalkingPoints.com so prominently in his new book. - What we can learn from the great economics teacher Walter Williams. - Alex's views on the three levels of reframing the energy and climate conversation. - Where the Green New Deal came from. - How the Green New Deal is part of the current administration's plans. - The wide-ranging, totalitarian scope of the Green New Deal. - How Covid lockdowns are encouraging advocates of a totalitarian Green New Deal.
1 Apr 20211h 2min
How Defunding Reliable Energy Caused the Texas Blackouts
On this week’s Power Hour Alex Epstein joins philosopher Gregory Salmieri and statistician Carlos Carvalho to discuss what caused Texas electricity to be so unreliable when it was desperately needed during a recent winter storm. In this wide-ranging discussion Alex emphasizes the point that by giving undeserved money and preferences to unreliable wind and solar electricity, Texas defunded the reliable and resilient electricity it needed. Some specific topics include: - How the grid needs to match supply and demand. - What we know about what actually happened before the mass blackouts. - How Texas policy gives preference to wind and solar. - Why a “Red State” like Texas is so pro-wind. - How Texas’s “Energy Only” market works. - How Texas’s fundamental problems exist nationwide.
25 Mar 20211h 17min
Fake Invisible Catastrophes--and why we fall for them--with Patrick Moore
On this week's Power Hour Alex Epstein interviews ecologist Patrick Moore, cofounder of Greenpeace and author of "Fake Invisible Catastrophes and Threats of Doom." In his book Moore thoroughly debunks 11 alleged current or imminent catastrophes, from mass species extinction to ocean "acidification" to the near death of the Great Barrier Reef. In this interview Alex asks Moore about the false assumptions that drive our propensity to believe in "fake invisible catastrophes," including the assumption that human impact is inevitably destructive because it disrupts an alleged perfect, delicate balance of nature. More debunks this "delicate balance" idea thoroughly with numerous examples, above all with CO2 levels--which, he argues, were on a natural and deadly downward trajectory toward mass plant death until human beings restored some of it to the atmosphere.
18 Mar 20211h 13min
"Steps toward decriminalizing nuclear" with Robert Hargraves
On this week's Power Hour, Alex Epstein interviews Robert Hargraves on the topic of how to decriminalize nuclear energy so it can provide low-cost, reliable, ultra-clean energy for billions of people. Hargraves is cofounder of ThorCon and author of "Thorium: Energy Cheaper Than Coal." They cover topics including: - Why since the creation of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) over 45 years ago not one nuclear power plant has been designed and built to completion. - Why the Linear no Threshold (LNT) approach guiding the NRC should be abolished. - What ALARA is, and how it increases nuclear costs. - Why South Korea builds nuclear plants at 1/3 US costs. - Should the NRC exist at all?
12 Mar 202152min
