The Moral Case for Fossil Fuels

Epstein, philosopher and founder of the Center for Industrial Progress, covers several themes in his book. Decisions, he says, should be based on a "human standard of value," meaning that the earth supports humans and only animals and plants that support us are important. According to the author, we have the moral imperative to burn fossil fuels (coal, oil, natural gas) to create power. He further asserts that supply is unlimited and we will easily and cheaply find more; all progress since the Industrial Revolution is owing to fossil fuels; solar and wind are dangerous and expensive; dams should be built anywhere; and nuclear energy is fine because radiation is everywhere anyway. Lastly, Epstein maintains that we control climate by building, heating, cooling, and travel. While he faults scientists for using "false attribution" by "claiming that one event causes another," his work demonstrates this repeatedly. For example, he aligns tables entitled "more fossil fuel use" with "fewer flood-related deaths," as though one causes the other, and he matches fossil-fuel use with longer life spans in another pairing. Tables are used without source captions or legends, so the reader can't decide what the original really said.