Alex Epstein (American writer)
Alexander Joseph Epstein () is a libertarian American author and industrial and energy policy commentator. He is the founder and president of the Center for Industrial Progress, a for-profit organization in San Diego, California. Epstein is the author of "The Moral Case for Fossil Fuels" (2014), a bestseller, in which he advocates the use of fossil fuels like coal, oil and natural gas. Epstein is a former adjunct scholar at Cato Institute, a libertarian think tank, and a former fellow at the Ayn Rand Institute. Epstein has cast doubt on the degree of scientific consensus for  climate change and the degree of human impact on the phenomenon. Early life and education. Epstein grew up in Chevy Chase, Maryland, and attended Montgomery County Public Schools, where his favorite subjects were mathematics and science. He has said he was influenced by Ayn Rand, especially her novel "Atlas Shrugged", and also Thomas Sowell. He is Jewish but not religious. He attended Duke University, where for two years he was editor and publisher of "The Duke Review." He studied philosophy and computer science, graduating with a Bachelor of Arts. Career. Ayn Rand Institute. From 2004 to 2011, Epstein was a  writer and fellow at the Ayn Rand Institute, a non-profit organization in Irvine, California, that promotes Ayn Rand's novels and Objectivism. Center for Industrial Progress. In 2011 Epstein founded the Center for Industrial Progress (CIP), which he calls a "for-profit think tank". In 2012, Epstein debated American environmentalist Bill McKibben while representing CIP at an event held at Duke University. In 2013, "Rolling Stone" placed Epstein and the Center for Industrial Progress on their list of top Global Warming Deniers. Epstein wrote a rebuttal to the piece in "Forbes". 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. In 2014, Epstein and CIP publicly supported the Keystone Pipeline. 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 prides itself on being able to train corporate leaders to 'successfully outmessage "environmentalists"'." He also criticizes Epstein for being an "ideologue" funded by petrochemical billionaires, the Koch brothers. In 2016 , Epstein testified before the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee at the invitation of the committee's chairman, James Inhofe (R-Okla.), 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 (D-Calif.) as to why Epstein, whose academic training is in philosophy, was even there, Epstein responded, "to teach you how to think clearly." Boxer replied "... you are a philosopher, not a scientist, and I don’t appreciate getting lectured by a philosopher about science." Epstein has contributed opinion pieces to several media  outlets on climate and energy issues, including "USA Today", "The Wall Street Journal", and Fox News. Controversies. Lack of formal scientific education. After being invited to speak to the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee by Chairman Jim Inhofe (R-OK) in 2016, Committee Ranking Member Barbara Boxer (D-CA) questioned Epstein's experience and education, saying how Epstein is "a philosopher and not a scientist." Claims about Western culture superiority. "The Washington Post" has previously criticised Epstein for a lack of academic rigour and for comments he has made about African countries being 'inferior to the Western world'. In  a video response posted to YouTube, entitled "WaPo tries to "cancel" Alex Epstein and his book Fossil Future with 100%-false "racism" smear," Epstein refutes that he has any racial biases but has reaffirmed that he believes "Western culture is overall superior." He has also called for Maxime Joselow, a Washington Post journalist, to be fired for publishing criticism of Epstein.