August 9 is National Book Lovers’ Day. It should come as no surprise that our team of public policy nerds loves to read, especially when it comes to our favorite subject: energy!
If you care about fighting poverty, protecting the environment, and improving lives around the world, we recommend these titles to fill your shelves. (Pro tip: You’ll want to read with a highlighter in hand!)
1. Fueling Freedom: Exposing the Mad War on Energy
Fueling Freedom is a first-of-its-kind, data-driven treatise on the critical role of fossil fuels in propelling humanity from poverty to prosperity since the Industrial Revolution. Nationally renowned economist Stephen Moore and Life:Powered’s own Kathleen Hartnett White joined forces to tell the powerful story of how discovering these energy sources created the modern world — and how they can continue transforming our future for the better.
2. Apocalypse Never: Why Environmental Alarmism Hurts Us All
Ever since his 16th birthday party raising money for rainforest conservation, Michael Shellenberger spent his life devoted to environmental activism…until he realized that the doomsday narrative promoted by eye-popping headlines and over-simplified statistical studies don’t reflect reality. With his new bestseller Apocalypse Never, Shellenberger is shaking up the environmental community by sharing the real truth about the state of our planet: that nature is better protected than ever before, and things are looking up.
3. False Alarm: How Climate Change Panic Costs Us Trillions, Hurts the Poor, and Fails to Fix the Planet
The climate is changing…but do we really only have twelve years to avert catastrophe? Bjørn Lomborg combats alarmism with realism in False Alarm, a call for scientists, the media, and the public to reject the climate hysteria driving children and adults alike to crippling anxiety. Lomborg argues that measures should be taken to address climate change, but that spending trillions upon trillions on the unrealistic dream of getting rid of fossil fuels isn’t the path forward. Instead, we should focus on fighting poverty and solving the problems facing humanity here and now — making us more resilient to any challenges that come our way in the future.
4. The Moral Case for Fossil Fuels
Turn on the news or open up your Facebook feed, and it won’t be long before you run across a story arguing that oil, gas, and coal are just plain wrong. But are they really? The Moral Case for Fossil Fuels by Alex Epstein lays out a compelling defense of the fuels we rely on to get through each and every day. The moral case for fossil fuels boils down to this: we should not just begrudgingly accept fossil fuels, but embrace them enthusiastically as the key to ending poverty around the world and promoting human flourishing.
5. Green Tyranny: Exposing the Totalitarian Roots of the Climate Industrial Complex
Is climate change really an environmental issue? Or is it a “camel’s nose under the tent” for progressive big government? In Green Tyranny, British energy and finance expert Rupert Darwall dives deep into the global history of energy and environmental policies, from the first acid rain scare of the 1960s to mainstreaming of radical environmentalism today. (You can also watch Rupert discuss the book with Life:Powered!)
6. The Rational Optimist: How Prosperity Evolves
You’re probably noticing a common theme here: combating apocalyptic headlines with a healthy dose of data and an optimistic worldview. (We call ourselves “happy warriors” for a reason!) That’s why we also enjoyed The Rational Optimist by biologist and writer Matt Ridley, who shares the little-known story of how much better life has gotten thanks to the free market, innovation, and energy. By every metric from education and nutrition to war and life expectancy, this book will enlighten you on just how well the human race is faring.