Federalist Society Hosts Fossil Fuel Debate

Alex Epstein, president and founder of the for-profit think-tank Center for Industrial Progress and author of “The Moral Case for Fossil Fuels,” argued for the use of fossil fuels on Monday in Harvard Law School’s Wasserstein Hall.

Aladdine Joroff, a clinical instructor and staff attorney in the Emmett Environmental Law and Policy Clinic at the Law School, spoke after Epstein and gave a rebuttal. The event was hosted by the Harvard Federalist Society, a student-run organization for conservatives, moderates, and libertarians.

During his speech, Epstein critiqued the “methodology” of the prevailing energy discussion.

According to Epstein, the fossil fuel debate today places too much trust in “experts.” In addition, Epstein said much of the debate focuses on fossil fuels’ negative effects on the environment, leaving out their positive effects on human beings.

“If we were not free to use fossil fuels...billions of people suffer and die unnecessarily,” Epstein said. “This really calls into question what is the methodology of the people who oppose [fossil fuels]. My contention is, whether implicitly or explicitly, their focus is not human life.”

Epstein also differentiated his arguments in favor of fossil fuels from mainstream political discourse.

“I want to distinguish myself both from the view that you hear from what we can call the left and the right,” he said. “So I don’t think fossil fuels are an unnecessary evil or a necessary evil, I think they are a superior good.”

In her rebuttal, Joroff asserted that opponents of fossil fuel usage want to transition to a cleaner energy supply, not remove the existing energy supply.

“From a moral perspective, I’d argue that we have an obligation to pursue feasible alternatives now,” she said.

Trenton Van Oss, vice president of speakers for the Federalist Society and one of the hosts of the event, said he was pleased with the proceedings.

“[T]hat’s part of our mission at the school, to provide students with points of view that they might not get in the classroom or at other events,” he said. “Alex did that, and Professor Joroff offered a great response.”

Aqil Sajjad, a graduate student in high energy theory physics, said that he thought Epstein was not “nuanced” enough and made strong assertions in a field that “can’t be totally precise.”

“I think that, in the climate debate, demanding precision is not how we should [proceed],” Sajjad said. “If you want precision you should go into physics or chemistry.”