Edward Teller’s “Energy Patterns of the Future” (1959) Presentation

In 1959, the American Petroleum Institute (API) organized a symposium called “Energy and Man” at the Columbia Graduate School of Business to commemorate the centennial of the oil industry in the United states. Over 300 government officials, economists, historians, scientists, and industry executives were present for Dr. Teller’s talk, which you can read in full below.

If you’d like to hear more context about this, check out our latest podcast episode all about oil lies called “Gaslighting” here:

Other speakers at the symposium included:

Robert G Dunlop: president/chairman of Sun Oil.

Herbert Hoover Jr,: Son of President Herbert Hoover, an engineer who founded a firm for oil exploration and made his reputation as a global oil-deal maker in the 1940s and 1950s in countries like Venezuela (where he helped craft their oil laws) and Iran (he helped negotiate international agreements about oil). He became Under Secretary of State under Eisenhower.

Courtney Brown hosted the symposium. He was then dean of Columbia Business School. He was a leading statistical economist as head of the economic research section of the Standard Oil Company of New Jersey (now Exxon).

From Courtney Brown’s introduction in the book: “So, when in early 1959 the American Petroleum Institute asked the Graduate School of Business if it would collaborate in the preparation and presentation of a comprehensive symposium worthy to serve as part of the commemoration of the centennial of the oil business in the United States, we were happy to accept.”

This was the API and Big Oil all the way. Big Oil knew about the risk of burning fossil fuels in 1959. Teller told them.