Power Hour

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Power Hour Episode 7—Speculation Demystified with Eric Dennis

Tuesday, August 2, 2011 by

We hear all the time about evil “speculators” driving up the price of oil and other forms of energy. But there is little explanation of what ”speculation” actually is. Yet understanding speculation is not only crucial to understanding these accusations and whether they hold water, but to understand the whole world of energy today. Therefore, the goal of this month’s Power Hour is to demystify speculation and debunk some popular myths about the practice.

To give us clarity on speculation, I brought in an expert on financial markets and speculation, Dr. Eric Dennis. Dr. Dennis was actually trained as a theoretical physicist at CalTech, Princeton, and Santa Barbara—but now works as a high-level executive at a major financial institution, using his mathematical skills to build complex models of financial markets. I have been fortunate enough to know Dr. Dennis for several years now, and he is my go-to person whenever I have a question about speculation or financial markets, since he knows them inside out and can break down the issues in plain English.

Listen to the episode and learn:

  • What exactly is speculation?
  • Is it a problem that speculation is growing in oil markets—or a good thing?
  • Does speculation really drive up prices?
  • Do speculators have undue influence over prices?
  • What is hedging, and how do speculators make it possible?

And much more!

(By the way, if you want an easy way to fit Power Hour into your schedule, download it to your MP3 player and listen to it during your commute.)

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Power Episode 6: The Truth About “Alternative Energy” with Tom Tanton

Friday, July 1, 2011 by

On the latest episode of Power Hour–the monthly Internet Radio Show where I interview today’s top energy experts to discuss today’s top energy issues–I talked to energy consultant Tom Tanton, an expert on the technology and the politics of “alternative energy.”

We hear all the time about the exciting promise of “alternative energy”–and the variations of it: “green energy,” “clean energy,” “renewable energy.” “Alternative energy,” roughly speaking, refer to sources of energy that are not successful on the market now but that proponents claim will be superior to market sources of energy, if only the government gets involved.

For instance, Al Gore, in arguing for the abolition of all CO2-emitting electricity, and much of CO2-emitting transportation by 2018, said that he knows of ”renewable sources that can give us the equivalent of $1 per-gallon gasoline.”

On past shows we’ve looked at some of these so-called alternative energies on a technical level, understanding why it’s so hard for, say, solar panels to be affordable and reliable as a major source of energy. On this show we take a different angle. We are going to look at some of the history of how government-led alternative energy works in practice. How does it actually work when the government promotes wind turbines or electric cars?

To talk about this issue, I brought on Tom Tanton, a man who knows as much about the reality of alternative energy as anyone–because he worked for three decades at the California Energy Commission, which has spearheaded numerous alternative energy programs over the decades, including programs for just about every “new” technology we hear about today. I think you’ll learn a lot from this episode.

(By the way, if you want an easy way to fit Power Hour into your schedule, download it to your MP3 player and listen to it during your commute.)

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Power Hour Episode 5: Climate Change with Richard Lindzen

Wednesday, June 1, 2011 by

On the latest episode of Power Hour—the monthly Internet Radio Show where I interview today’s top energy experts to discuss today’s top energy issues–I talk to leading climate scientist Dr. Richard Lindzen.

Today’s discussion of energy policy is dominated by the claim that CO2 emissions from fossil fuels are warming up the planet, with catastrophic results on the climate. We’re told that this is a matter of consensus among all the top scientists, and that the time for debate is over–it’s time for action.

Power Hour is a show based on the idea that to draw the right conclusions for action, you first need to be informed. And in my opinion the time for debate is certainly not over because the vast, vast majority of us don’t even know what the debate is about, let alone what has been proven and what hasn’t, let alone what the action implications are.

That’s why I decided to do this episode on climate science and climate change. One reason I brought on Dr. Lindzen in particular is that even though he is an extremely prestigious scientist, he doesn’t count on that prestige when he explains issues—in fact, he is very critical of the phenomenon of people taking the pronouncements of climate scientists on faith.

The purpose of this episode is not to definitively establish how much CO2 is impacting the climate. Rather, it’s to get a more objective idea of where the field of climate science actually is in answering that question. Is it really known that man-made CO2 is leading to catastrophic consequences, as many prominent figures claim? Is it really known that man-made CO2 is having only benign consequences, as other prominent figures claim? Listen to the show to hear Dr. Lindzen’s intriguing views on these and many other issues.

For more on this episode of Power Hour, and to be notified of future episodes, sign up for my free monthly newsletter (“Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Energy”) here.

(By the way, if you want an easy way to fit Power Hour into your schedule, download it to your MP3 player and listen to it during your commute.)

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Power Hour Episode 4: Nuclear Power with Jay Lehr

Monday, May 2, 2011 by

The subject of this month’s Power Hour–my monthly podcast/Internet-radio-show–is nuclear power and nuclear safety. This is the most prominent energy issue in the news these days, following the damage to nuclear power plants in Japan following the country’s once-in-a-century earthquake and tsunami. We have heard ominous media report after ominous media report about releases of radiation, radiation above government-approved levels, radioactivity, radioactive waste, meltdowns, and on and on. The net effect of all this has been to make many Americans very worried about the safety of nuclear plants in this country, and even worried about radiation coming from Japan, thousands of miles away.

What is urgently needed in this situation, I believe, is education—education in what nuclear power really is, how it really works, what its dangers really are and aren’t. So on today’s Power Hour, we’ll give you a step-by-step breakdown of all things nuclear and then break down the situation in Japan. Joining the program to explain all this will be Dr. Jay Lehr, Science Director of the Heartland Institute and a scientist with 50 years of experience in the nuclear industry

For more information on Power Hour, as well as other commentary on energy issues subscribe to my newsletter “Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Energy” by sending an email.

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Power Hour Episode 3: Earth Day with Onkar Ghate

Friday, April 1, 2011 by

On Earth Day, we’re told that we should take stock of our impact on our environment. The assumption, of course, is that it’s bad—that we are, to use the common phrase “destroying the planet.”

On this month’s Power Hour—my podcast/Internet-radio-show on energy issues—I bring in philosopher Dr. Onkar Ghate, a senior colleague of mine at the Ayn Rand Center, to question this assumption, and many other assumptions about the relationship between human beings in our environment. Dr. Ghate discusses everything from the political, philosophical, and religious origins of modern environmentalists (the leaders of Earth Day) to the Japanese nuclear situation to how industrialization has positively impacted our environment to the danger of “moderate” environmentalist policies.

I’ve read a lot about environmentalism over the years, and I sincerely believe that Dr. Ghate’s explanations in this podcast are some of the best, clearest explanations of environmental issues available anywhere. Make sure you listen to this interview at least once before Earth Day.

For more information on Power Hour, as well as other commentary on energy issues subscribe to my newsletter “Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Energy” by sending an email.

Download “Power Hour with Alex Epstein,” Episode 3: Onkar Ghate

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Power Hour Episode 2: Peak Oil with Michael Lynch

Friday, February 18, 2011 by

On the latest episode of Power Hour—the monthly Internet radio show where I interview today’s top energy experts to discuss today’s top energy issues—I talk to Michael Lynch, President of Strategic Energy & Economic Research, about the widespread theory of Peak Oil: the idea that the world faces an inevitable, imminent, and disastrous decline in oil production.

Here are a few of the many topics we covered:

  • The most popular arguments for Peak Oil—do they add up?
  • What is the future of oil production around the world?
  • Why people keep confidently predicting “peak oil,” even though such predictions have been failing for decades.
  • The overlooked role of politics and economics in determining rises and falls in oil production.

Download “Power Hour with Alex Epstein,” Episode 2: Michael Lynch

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Introducing “Power Hour” — first episode featuring Robert Bryce

Friday, January 21, 2011 by

I am thrilled to announce the debut of my new monthly Internet-radio-show/podcast, “Power Hour”—an interview show that brings in today’s top energy experts to break down today’s top energy issues. With in-depth interviews of experts on controversies such as “green energy,” offshore drilling, “energy independence,” fossil fuels, etc, “Power Hour” seeks to help listeners get clear on these complex but vital issues.

One of the themes of the show will be the crucial, life-and-death importance of understanding energy and energy policy. The amount of energy human beings can harness from nature is directly correlated to standard of living; where energy production abounds, life abounds–where energy production is stifled or absent, life is shorter and suffering is rampant. It is therefore imperative that our government pursue the proper policies with regard to energy, and that we know what those are; as one of the refrains in the show goes: “Power Hour: Because what you don’t know about energy can kill you.”

The first episode of Power Hour features an extended discussion with Robert Bryce, author of the popular energy books Gusher of Lies: The Dangerous Delusions of Energy Independence and Power Hungry: The Myths of “Green” Energy and the Real Fuels of the Future. The interview focuses on the crucial importance of power in human life, and the inability of “green” energy and “energy independence” to supply that power. Check it out! Comments welcome.

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Download “Power Hour with Alex Epstein,” Episode 1: Robert Bryce

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