-Farm News photo by Darcy Dougherty Maulsby
Alex Epstein, energy expert and author of the book “Fossil Future: Why Global Human Flourishing Requires More Oil, Coal and Natural Gas — Not Less," was a keynote speaker during the Iowa Association of Electric Cooperatives’ annual meeting in West Des Moines on Dec. 5.

WEST DES MOINES — As world leaders and activists push for a fast phase-out of fossil fuels in the next five years and beyond to mitigate climate change, how practical — or desirable — is this?

“The mainstream global view is that fossil fuels are making the world a worse place to live, because fossil fuels are destroying the planet,” said Alex Epstein, speaker, energy expert and author of the book “Fossil Future: Why Global Human Flourishing Requires More Oil, Coal and Natural Gas — Not Less.” “Yet most people are looking at fossil fuels all wrong.”

It’s no wonder, considering the news coverage, said Epstein, a keynote speaker at the December 2024 Iowa Association of Electric Cooperatives’ annual meeting in West Des Moines. In 2024 alone, many major news outlets, universities and other organizations ran headlines like “Climate Change is Deadly” and “Climate Report Warns of Escalating Crisis, Urges Immediate Action.” The World Economic Forum chimed in, issuing a press release stating “Climate Crisis May Cause 14.5 Million Deaths by 2050.”

“We’ve been told the climate is unlivable, yet some little-reported data reveal that climate-related deaths have dropped 98% in the last 100 years,” said Epstein, referring to numbers from the International Disaster Database. “We’re safer than ever from climate.”

Consider deaths related to hurricanes and floods. When the great Galveston Hurricane made landfall in Texas on Sept. 9, 1900, the storm killed 8,000 to 12,000 people. When Hurricane Katrina hit the southern U.S. in 2005, it caused nearly 1,400 deaths. When Hurricane Helene devastated the southeastern U.S. in October 2024, the death toll topped 300.

-Farm News photo by Darcy Dougherty Maulsby
Managers and directors of Iowa's rural electric cooperatives gathered in West Des Moines recently for the Iowa Association of Electric Cooperatives’ annual meeting. Those who attended keynote speaker Alex Epstein's presentation were encouraged to take a balanced approach to the fossil fuel debate and consider these fuels’ benefits, as well as their drawbacks.

While any deaths are tragic, there continue to be dramatic declines in the loss of human life from climate-related disasters.

“Will there continue to be dangerous weather and climate-related deaths? Yes, but we must put these catastrophes into context,” said Professor Gale Pooley, who teaches U.S. economic history at Utah Tech University. “Over the last 100 years, humanity has shown that we can adapt and thrive under varying climate conditions. Let facts inform your thinking.”

Challenging “anti-human” views

Challenging people to think clearly about the future of energy resonates with Epstein, a philosopher and New York Times bestselling author. For more than a decade, Epstein has predicted that any negative impacts of fossil fuel use on the climate will be outweighed by fossil fuels’ ability to provide low-cost, reliable energy to billions of people around the globe.

So why have fossil fuels created such alarm, and why do people think the climate is more unlivable than ever for humans? It’s a moral issue, said Epstein, who has spoken about fossil fuels at dozens of Fortune 500 companies, rural electric cooperatives and university campuses, including Harvard, Stanford and Duke.

“What’s your yardstick to determine what’s good or bad?” Epstein asked. For those who embrace the idea that climate change is destroying the planet, the logic goes something like this. Humans’ impact on the planet is evil. Fossil fuels have a lot of impact. So fossil fuels are evil.

“This mindset believes that human impact on the planet is bad, and we should do all we can to minimize and eliminate this impact,” Epstein said. “The idea that impact is bad is an anti-human attitude.”

Human impact is a good thing when it’s done wisely, stressed Epstein, who encourages his audiences to measure impact in terms of human flourishing. That means taking a balanced approach to the fossil fuel debate and considering these fuels’ benefits, as well as their drawbacks.

“Fossil fuels are like nature giving you a ‘battery,'” Epstein said. “They have amazing attributes that are hard to beat.”

What is human flourishing?

Epstein became interested in energy sources, fossil fuels and climate a number of years ago when he was researching John D. Rockefeller, founder of the Standard Oil Company. As Epstein learned more about Rockefeller and the history of the petroleum industry, he kept coming back to one key question: why are we still using oil today?

“After all, it’s old technology,” said Epstein, who noted that petroleum-based fuel began replacing whale oil in the mid-1800s. “The reason we still use oil is because it’s still uniquely cost effective.”

That’s true of a variety of fossil fuels, he added. Fossil fuels are also reliable, meaning they are readily available in the quantity needed, when people need them.

“Fossil fuels are scalable, too, meaning they are available to billions of people in thousands of places,” Epstein added.

In addition, fossil fuels are versatile and can power a wide range of machines, including cars, trucks, buses, ships, airplanes, tractors, military vehicles and other machines that are vital to human productivity, prosperity and national security. Versatility and reliability are not attributes of renewable energy sources like wind and solar. Those are dependent supplements, not independent substitutes, for fossil fuels, Epstein said.

He highlighted the example of Winter Storm Uri, which dumped record amounts of snow on Texas in February 2021. The storm unleashed days of below-freezing temperatures and knocked out power for millions of Texans, leading to nearly 250 deaths.

Why did the power grid fail? There are various reasons, but renewable energy is part of the equation. Texas has led the U.S. in wind energy over the past 17 years, according to the Texas Comptroller. Texas is also a national leader in solar energy. These renewables can fall short, however, when they are needed most, Epstein said.

In the colder months, demand for electricity spikes when people get up in the morning and return home in the evening. Less solar and wind power are available during these higher-risk periods, which can cause challenges for the electrical grid.

“I call this ‘reliability chicken,'” Epstein said. “We hope there will be enough wind and solar energy in the right amounts at the right time. But there’s no greater threat to human health than an inadequate, unreliable power grid.”

Epstein, a new father, took this idea to heart when his child was born last summer. While he and his wife were blessed with a healthy baby, Epstein thought about parents whose babies’ lives have been saved by incubators.

“What about countries like The Gambia in West Africa that don’t have reliable sources of electricity to power incredible machines like this?” he asked. “The babies who need that medical care die, sadly.”

Fossil fuels promote human flourishing, Epstein noted. The demand for fossil fuels continues to grow worldwide, driven in part by the need to power high-tech data centers and artificial intelligence technology.

“Even though people say they hate fossil fuels, humans continue to use more of them,” Epstein said.

The fate of fossil fuels is the fate of the world, Epstein concluded.

“We need to think about fossil fuels in a balanced, pro-human way,” he said. “When you look at things from this perspective, it becomes obvious that the world needs more fossil fuels.”