Alex Epstein (American writer)

Alex Epstein
Born August 1, 1980
Language English
Nationality American
Alma mater Duke University (BA)
Subject Philosophy, ethics, energy, environment, industry, fossil fuels
Notable works The Moral Case for Fossil Fuels

Alexander Joseph Epstein (/ˈɛpstaɪn/; born August 1, 1980)[1] is an American author, energy theorist, and industrial policy pundit.[2] He is the founder and president of the Center for Industrial Progress, a for-profit think tank located in San Diego, California.[3][4] Epstein is also the New York Times bestselling author[5] of The Moral Case for Fossil Fuels (2014), in which he advocates the use of fossil fuels like coal, oil and natural gas, for which he has been criticized.[6] Epstein is an adjunct scholar at the Cato Institute and a former fellow at the Ayn Rand Institute.[7][8]

Early life and education

Epstein grew up in Chevy Chase, Maryland and attended Montgomery County Public Schools. In childhood his favorite subjects were mathematics and science, and in high school he became interested in politics and humanities. He cites Ayn Rand as his greatest influence, having been especially impressed by her novel Atlas Shrugged. Among his other favorite writers is Thomas Sowell.[9]

From 1998 to 2002, Epstein earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in philosophy from Duke University, where he was the editor and publisher of The Duke Review for two years[10] and where he also studied computer science.[9]

Career

Ayn Rand Institute

After college, Epstein knew that he wanted to be a professional intellectual but also that he did not want to go to graduate school or to work at a university. He became a freelance writer, and two years later joined the Ayn Rand Institute, a non-profit organization in Irvine, California that promotes Ayn Rand's novels and her philosophy of Objectivism. Epstein was a writer and fellow at the Ayn Rand Institute between 2004 and 2011, where he specialized in business issues.[11]

Center for Industrial Progress

Center for Industrial Progress
Center for Industrial Progress logo
Formation 2011
Focus Energy, industry, fossil fuels
Headquarters San Diego, California
President
 Alex Epstein
Website IndustrialProgress.com

In 2011, Epstein founded the Center for Industrial Progress (CIP), an advocacy group and think tank whose mission is "to bring about a new industrial revolution."[12]

In 2012, Epstein debated American environmentalist Bill McKibben while representing CIP at an event held at Duke University.[13]

In 2013, Rolling Stone placed Epstein and the Center for Industrial Progress on their list of top Global Warming Deniers.[14] Epstein wrote a rebuttal to the piece in Forbes, in which he refutes Rolling Stone's characterization of his views and mocks the piece for including scientifically inaccurate information.[15] In his rebuttal, Epstein also criticizes the term global warming denier, which he claims is a smear tactic intended to liken critics of environmentalism to Holocaust deniers.[15]

In 2014, Epstein and CIP publicly supported the Keystone Pipeline.[16]

In 2015, The Guardian published an opinion piece by Jason Wilson critical of Epstein and CIP, stating, "Epstein's work has been popular and influential on the right because it is a particularly fluent, elaborate form of climate denialism. The CIP [sic] prides itself on being able to train corporate leaders to 'successfully outmessage "environmentalists"'."[6] He also criticizes Epstein for being an "ideologue" funded by petrochemical billionaires, the Koch brothers, though CIP is for-profit and thus does not receive funds from anyone, including the Kochs.[6]

In 2016, Epstein testified before the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee at the invitation of the committee's chairman, James Inhofe (R-OK), who has called climate change a "hoax." Epstein suggested that rising carbon dioxide levels "benefit plants and Americans." When questioned by committee member Barbara Boxer as to why Epstein, who self-identifies as a philosopher, was even there, Epstein responded, "to teach you how to think clearly." Boxer replied that she doesn't "appreciate being lectured by a philosopher and not a scientist."[17][18]

Epstein has contributed to several media outlets regarding climate and energy issues, including USA Today, The Wall Street Journal, and Fox News.[19][20][21] Epstein and CIP challenge the belief that the consumption of fossil fuels harms human life, arguing that recent gains in public health and safety were achieved not in spite of mankind's reliance on carbon energy but, in large measure, because of it.[22]

Bibliography

References

  1. ↑ https://twitter.com/AlexEpstein/status/892405777003978753
  2. ↑ "Making the Case for the Benefits of Fossil Fuels". Bloomberg.
  3. ↑ Richardson, Valerie. "Pro-fossil fuel advocate roughed up by climate change activists". Washington Times.
  4. ↑ Armstrong, Arl Alex Epstein on the Moral Case for Fossil Fuels. "The Objective Standard". January 14, 2015
  5. ↑ Best Selling Science Books. "The New York Times". December 15, 2014
  6. 1 2 3 "There is no moral case for coal in Australia, just an imported PR line". Retrieved 12 October 2017.
  7. ↑ http://www.cato.org/people/alex-epstein Retrieved February 4, 2016
  8. ↑ Alex Epstein “The Ayn Rand Institute” January 13, 2015
  9. 1 2 Lipana, Joshua (November 17, 2011). "Interview with Alex Epstein, Founder of Center for Industrial Progress". The Objective Standard. Retrieved January 9, 2015.
  10. ↑ "Energy". Ayn Rand Institute. September 23, 2008. Archived from the original on January 9, 2015. Retrieved January 9, 2015.
  11. ↑ "Alex Epstein". Ayn Rand Institute. Archived from the original on January 9, 2015. Retrieved January 9, 2015.
  12. ↑ About Us “Center for Industrial Progress” January 1, 2015
  13. ↑ "DEBATE: McKibben vs. Epstein—Are Fossil Fuels a Risk to the Planet?". EcoWatch.
  14. ↑ Rolling Stone. "Global Warming's Denier Elite". RollingStone.com. Retrieved July 1, 2017.
  15. 1 2 Epstein, Alex. "Rolling Stone Attacks Global Warming 'Deniers' As Anti-Science, Then Commits Big Scientific Blunder". Forbes.com. Retrieved July 1, 2017.
  16. ↑ Hassan, Sara House passes bill on Keystone XL pipeline “Al Jazeera America”. January 13, 2015
  17. ↑ "CLIMATE: 'Moral Case for Fossil Fuels' sparks angry Senate debate". www.eenews.net. Retrieved 2016-04-19.
  18. ↑ "Examining the Role of Environmental Policies on Access to Energy and Economic Opportunity". U.S. Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works. Retrieved 2016-04-19.
  19. ↑ Epstein, Alex. "Warming is mild and manageable: Opposing view". USAToday.com. Retrieved July 8, 2017.
  20. ↑ Epstein, Alex. "Obama Follows Nixon on Oil Spills". WSJ.com. Retrieved July 8, 2017.
  21. ↑ Epstein, Alex. "Fossil fuels: The moral choice". FoxNews.com. Retrieved July 8, 2017.
  22. ↑ Lewis, Marlo Some Free Market Talking Points on the Keystone XL Pipeline Amendments. "GlobalWarming.org". January 13, 2015.
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