Episode notes
In this episode Saifedean invites back philosopher and energy expert Alex Epstein to talk about climate hysteria and the energy issues facing the world today. They discuss the ongoing COP26 talks in Glasgow and why those setting its agenda are driven by an anti-human philosophy. They also talk about emerging power shortages around the world and why these are caused by a government-led push towards unreliable energy. Alex explains why being opposed to human impact on the environment is equivalent to being anti-development, and why restricting the use of coal hits the world’s poorest the hardest. In the Q&A, Alex answers questions on the gas shortages in Europe, scientific consensus on climate change and how to stay calm in the face of irrationality.
0:00 Welcoming Alex Epstein
3:00 The problem with COP26
7:00 Reducing CO2 emissions is genocidal
10:00 Eliminating human impact
16:07 Looking at the importance of fossil fuels
20:30 Replacing fossil fuels
23:00 Fossil fuels are store of energies
25:30 Renewable energies are not reliable
29:00 Power vs. Energy
33:00 Can you scale on net zero emission?
38:00 Virtue Signalling of Oil Companies
45:00 Discussing ESG
50:00 Side Effects are emerging
52:50 How ESG is misallocating capital - is YouTube highlight
57:30 Government intervention
1:00:00 24 hour electricity and generators
1:08:00 Innovating in energy
1:12:00 Bitcoin Mining needs reliable energy
1:14:30 Why energy markets are fraudulent
1:17:15 Marginal costs of energy
1:19:20 The Energy Crisis in China
1:23:00 Renewables in developing countries
1:29:00 The goals of climate conferences
1:35:50 Hiding inflation in energy markets
1:44:00 Recognising Human Freedom
1:49:00 Seminar Attendees Questions
Alex’s first book:
https://www.amazon.com/Moral-Case-Fos...
A Question of Power: Electricity and the Wealth of Nations by Robert Bryce:
https://www.amazon.com/Question-Power...
Three billion people use less electricity than the average American fridge:
https://twitter.com/AlexEpstein/statu...
18 spectacularly wrong climate predictions from the 1970s, including several made by Paul Ehrlich:
https://www.aei.org/carpe-diem/18-spe...
Alex’s Power Hour discussion with Richard Tol:
https://podbay.fm/p/power-hour-with-a...
Subscribe to Alex’s Substack “Energy Talking Points”:
https://alexepstein.substack.com/
Saifedean’s first book, The Bitcoin Standard:
http://saifedean.com/thebitcoinstandard
Saifedean’s second book, The Fiat Standard:
http://saifedean.com/thefiatstandard
Enjoyed this episode? You can take part in podcast seminars, access Saifedean’s courses and read chapters of his forthcoming books by becoming a Saifedean.com member. Find out more here:
https://saifedean.com/membership/
0:00 Welcoming Alex Epstein
3:00 The problem with COP26
7:00 Reducing CO2 emissions is genocidal
10:00 Eliminating human impact
16:07 Looking at the importance of fossil fuels
20:30 Replacing fossil fuels
23:00 Fossil fuels are store of energies
25:30 Renewable energies are not reliable
29:00 Power vs. Energy
33:00 Can you scale on net zero emission?
38:00 Virtue Signalling of Oil Companies
45:00 Discussing ESG
50:00 Side Effects are emerging
52:50 How ESG is misallocating capital - is YouTube highlight
57:30 Government intervention
1:00:00 24 hour electricity and generators
1:08:00 Innovating in energy
1:12:00 Bitcoin Mining needs reliable energy
1:14:30 Why energy markets are fraudulent
1:17:15 Marginal costs of energy
1:19:20 The Energy Crisis in China
1:23:00 Renewables in developing countries
1:29:00 The goals of climate conferences
1:35:50 Hiding inflation in energy markets
1:44:00 Recognising Human Freedom
1:49:00 Seminar Attendees Questions
Alex’s first book:
https://www.amazon.com/Moral-Case-Fos...
A Question of Power: Electricity and the Wealth of Nations by Robert Bryce:
https://www.amazon.com/Question-Power...
Three billion people use less electricity than the average American fridge:
https://twitter.com/AlexEpstein/statu...
18 spectacularly wrong climate predictions from the 1970s, including several made by Paul Ehrlich:
https://www.aei.org/carpe-diem/18-spe...
Alex’s Power Hour discussion with Richard Tol:
https://podbay.fm/p/power-hour-with-a...
Subscribe to Alex’s Substack “Energy Talking Points”:
https://alexepstein.substack.com/
Saifedean’s first book, The Bitcoin Standard:
http://saifedean.com/thebitcoinstandard
Saifedean’s second book, The Fiat Standard:
http://saifedean.com/thefiatstandard
Enjoyed this episode? You can take part in podcast seminars, access Saifedean’s courses and read chapters of his forthcoming books by becoming a Saifedean.com member. Find out more here:
https://saifedean.com/membership/
