The False Promise of Green Energy (Prof. Andrew Morriss - Acton Institute)

Acton Institute
Acton Institute
729,923
568
Published 2012-05-01
Acton Lecture Series (April 26, 2012) - Green energy advocates claim that transforming America to an economy based on wind, solar, and biofuels will produce jobs for Americans, benefits for the environment, and restore American industry. Prof. Andrew Morriss, co-author of The False Promise of Green Energy, shows that these claims are based on unrealistic assumptions, poorly thought out models, and bad data. Rather than leading us to an eco-utopia, he argues that current green energy programs are crony capitalism that impoverishes American consumers and destroys American jobs.

Andrew Morriss is the author or coauthor of more than 60 book chapters, scholarly articles, and books. He is affiliated with a number of think tanks doing public policy work, including the Property & Environment Research Center, the Regulatory Studies Center at George Washington University, the Institute for Energy Research, and the Mercatus Center at George Mason University. Morriss earned an A.B. from Princeton University and a J.D., as well as an M.A. in Public Affairs, from the University of Texas at Austin. He received a Ph.D. in economics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. After law school, Morriss clerked for U.S. District Judge Barefoot Sanders in the Northern District of Texas.
All Comments (21)
  • @katherineolmstead8137
    This video should be required for every politician, every high school child, and hopefully every parent and single adult.
  • @bobjones8864
    After 10 years this presentation is more relevant now than when delivered.
  • @marcinszewczyk2083
    This voice is so much needed today. Astonishing, how clearly predicted, that by following the environmentalism we will be paying for the energy as we do in 2022
  • @chriskurtner9977
    That was a brilliant presentation. If only we could get Washington DC to adopt these principles.
  • @greggallego3111
    I’m surprised youtube hasn’t censored this yet. Excellent presentation sir.
  • @troyhonda71
    10 years later and this is still correct. No new improvements in green energy.
  • @englishforjapanesepeople
    Enjoyed listening to this very bright and eloquent man. Also interesting where he was coming from re stewardship. That the green movement is anti-nuclear shows how little they really care about CO2 emissions..
  • @TruSciencePro
    I swear you get a better education reading books and watching lectures on your own than a four year college.
  • @dougsherman1562
    Makes one wonder how the "algorithm" decided 10 years later that this video should be offered up? It's the first I've seen this in my Youtube list and I've been researching and consuming the CAGW content for more than 10 years. Could this have anything to do with Elon Musk getting set to take charge?
  • @patriley9449
    Very interesting video. In the past ten years EVS have become an important, but statistically insignificant part of our vehicle mix. This has occurred because advertisers, media and government have pushed for these vehicles which are " zero emissions. " The government has done a great job of convincing the public that they produce no emissions at all while ignoring the fact that most of the electricity used to charge the batteries comes from fossil fuels. They have also heavily subsidized both the manufacturers and buyers in order to get more EVS on the road. These efforts, however, were not enough so various governments have begun to mandate only EV sales at some future date, thus forcing EVS to be the vehicles of the future. I smell a rat! Whenever the government mandates anything, there are ulterior motives. I don't think that saving the planet from global warming or human-caused climate change is the primary reason. There is big money to be made from selling CO2 offset credits, leases and licensing for minerals used in EV batteries and more. Follow the money.
  • @purpleivory2
    "The Climate Fix" by Roger Pielke and "Power Hungry" by Robert Bryce are 2 other good books on the topic.
  • @GDMan-fb1jx
    Excellent presentation of the facts, thank you for sharing 🙏
  • @Cherubini88
    It is good to hear the voice of reason among so many leftist lunacies. What people hate and are afraid of most is freedom and truth.
  • @marebarreiro2627
    Still relevant today. What I don’t hear today though is what and where will all the clothing, shoe, medical, sport, etc industries do without petroleum based products. So much is made from plastic and synthetic materials. Can you imagine going back to just cotton or linen clothing? Glasses being made with only metal and real glass? How heavy some objects will become if not made of plastic? Cars made of all metal again? Most people don’t realize how much our lives would change or regress.
  • @davidtuer5825
    The last 10 years have shown that his projections were spot on.