53 episodes
The Last Optimist The Manhattan Institute
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4.9 • 124 Ratings
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The Last Optimist is hosted by Mark P. Mills—author, businessman, physicist, contributing editor to the City Journal, and distinguished senior fellow at the Texas Public Policy Foundation—and features discussions about inventing our future. Mark's latest book is “The Cloud Revolution: How The Convergence of Emerging Technologies Will Unleash the Next Economic Boom and a Roaring 2020s.
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Information About Energy is More Critical Than Ever: Time to Reboot the IEA
The International Energy Agency (IEA) is 50 years old this year, created because of the 1973/4 “oil shock” that triggered a global recession. Today’s energy markets and geopolitics are just as vulnerable to similar disruptions, but the IEA has since shifted its mission to advocate for abandoning hydrocarbons, erasing its ability to serve as a credible, unbiased source of the kind of energy information vital for risk analysis and planning. It’s time to reform the IEA.
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The Imminent Prospect of a Very Bad Idea: A Carbon Tax
At the end of 2023, Congress had four different pieces of proposed legislation directed at creating a carbon tax; three had bipartisan support. Thus, bookmakers see a rising prospect for some form of carbon tax. We return to unbundling why that’s such a bad idea, and the flaws in claiming that it would unleash “market forces” to create alternatives.
For a summary of the state of the bad idea see The Carbon Tax Cliff, City Journal, Mark P. Mills, January 3, 2024. -
Chemicals, Climate, Carbon, and a Cri de Coeur for Rational Dialogue
Joining this episode, Peter Huntsman - CEO of a multi-billion-dollar US-based multinational with operations in 30 countries - for a far ranging-conversation about the role and nature of chemicals (used in everything from batteries to Boeings), workplace culture, regulations, energy issues, and the challenges of global competition.
Biography of Peter Huntsman, Chairman, CEO, Huntsman CorporationThe Wall Street Journal interview with Peter Huntsman. -
Will Climate Policies Throttle the A.I. Era?
We revisit, with new research, the astonishing energy appetite of artificial intelligence (A.I.), a reality completely absent from the just-released 18,000 word Executive Order on A.I. Yet the Administration's “whole-of-government” pursuit of climate policies is seen everywhere else. Meanwhile, fueling A.I. will propel the world beyond today’s zettabyte of digital traffic into the yottabyte era.
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A coalition of digital and cloud experts comes together at the newly announced Yotta organization.The White House Executive Order on Artificial Intelligence. -
Hybrid-electric Cars: Faster, Cheaper, Better and Fairer Way to Cut Oil Use
If one feels compelled, and by that, I mean if Congress and state policymakers feel compelled to subsidize ways to reduce the amount of oil used by vehicles on the roads, the facts point to hybrids making far more sense. Sales figures in recent months suggest that consumers think so too.
Related to this episode’s topic, to watch or listen to the October 2023 “great debate” over EVs between Mark Mills and Rosario Fortugno, click here for that SOHO Forum Debate recording. -
Artificial Intelligence and its Energy Appetite
The invention of useful artificial intelligence (AI), epitomized by the hype over ChatGPT, is the latest example of a basic truth about technology: There have always been many more inventions that use energy than those that can produce it. Only a few inventions over history are as energy-hungry as AI; it ranks up there with the invention of the automobile and aircraft.
Customer Reviews
Carbon Tax and AI
I wish the leaders in the world would listen to these podcasts. Finally someone is speaking up about the nonsense Western Politicians and so called environmental groups (do more damage that good) are pushing on their people.
Data and insights into the future
Data and facts come to life, helping listeners gain insights into the trends shaping the future.
Tom Behlmer
I found the episode about carbon tax intellectually dishonest at best or outright misleading. For example, the author states that fossil fuel use has increased since the year 2000 despite a push for renewables. Of course it has grown in absolute terms because economies have grown particularly in China plus there are more people in the world. Don’t conflate a bigger world economy with a perceived futility of deploying renewables.
Another point was that the price of oil doubled since 2000. His point is it would take a huge increase in oil price via a carbon tax to reduce demand and the size of the tax needed would wreck the economy. He is leaving out inflation. Adjusted for inflation oil has not doubled in price.
I wonder if the Manhattan Institute, which the author belongs to, received money from Exxon or other oil companies to peddle their propaganda.