The Big Misconception About Clean Energy

If you're seeing this video as "private" or if something happens and it stops playing, please try refreshing! There seems to be a publishing problem this morning, and I'm trying to fix it. Sorry, friends

The last line kinda cleared it up for me, "the goal isn't less energy, it's more, and we can only have more by going clean"

While i totally agree with clean energy, Javon's paradox always seems to pop up. We no doubt lead excellent lives because of energy. But there is a point where it becomes cheaper, easier, less polluting and we just end up using it more and more. Conservation is important. Living with an energy budget isn't a bad thing considering human nature.

No matter what the subject is, I’ll watch you discuss it because you’re so passionate about it that it’s quite interesting! You go girl!

I agree with the idea of promoting a positive vision of what could be, but i strongly disagree with the fact that we have to aim to consume more energy. The "renewable" energy is also based in non-renewable materials, which required a much more complex energy network to be stable, has a strong impact in the environment and increases other problems such as land use conflicts. We need good positive stories, but we also need to acknowledge the necessity of finde an socio-political alternative to the neoliberal centralized government that rule the majority of the nations in the world. That is for me the best way of finding positive stories which do not foster tecnooptimistic thinking about solutions that might lead us to a state of extreme fragility in the face of climate change an material depletion. Search for those stories, because there is a lot of people working on them. :)

For me, the genre of Solarpunk has given me a huge chunk of this mind shift and positivity (the carrot) to see a much better future, if we fight for it. Besides, doomerism doesn't lead us anywhere and only supports the forces interested in maintaining the status quo, which are mainly fossil fuel companies of course. So yes, we all should be looking forward to a future that we want to see, one that is bright, just and sustainable.

Our house is an example of this in a small way. We used to do everything we could to save energy for the climate, but this year to avoid being ripped off (which I hate) by UK energy prices, I've fitted lots of solar panels. Now on a bright day we run around looking for things to turn on, washing to do, it's all dried in the tumble dryer- and we export the maximum that the grid will allow us to. Will probably have to get a bit more careful in the autumn though.

Your passion and ability to explain things throughly in an entertaining manner is amazing. What a welcome relief from the 24/hr news cycle.

“The goal isn’t to use less energy, or even to just replace fossil fuels. The goal is vastly more energy…” STANDING OVATION TIME.

So, as a south African I have a slightly different perspective. It's a bit of both. We do need more energy to bring up more people to a comfortable middle class lifestyle with ovens, fridges, microwaves etc. But, in America you have these huge refrigerators that you honestly don't need that are a waste of energy and waste of food as just one example. It's making things more efficient where possible and changing people's mindsets around wasteful usage as well as redirecting that same energy to awesome projects like urban farming or salt water desalination. There are still so many areas where we can improve and reduce before we even get to using even more energy. For example if you have better laid out cities and towns then you can walk to work/shops instead of drive. Those are efficiencies that have to be taken into consideration as well.

You are a very insightful young lady. I am old. I won't be around to see people like yourself accomplish the things that will save the planet. You WILL solve that problem. Thanks

Bravo, We ( the actual environmental engineers and scientists) have been saying that since the seventies, when the options were made apparent. using more energy pointlessly is just stupid! The problem comes from those who have vested interests in when, how and who make the changes. This is because those choices are who makes and keeps the money.

Love seeing you do your own thing and thrive!!!

We’ve had the answer for a long time, nuclear energy. We need to re access how sustainable it actually is

this is exactly right... we have been brainwashed to think of environmental solutions as giving up things when developing sustainable energy is actually an idea of abundance.

I totally agree, I'm a SF fan. I remember telling someone 50 years ago: "if you want to get rich, find a way to use natural energy." Our problem is not a lack , but most of the time, we try to survive the PLENTY of energy around us: lightning, wind, volcanoes...we don't have to "make" energy,, just find a way to steal it from Nature. I love your "positive" thinking I hear in the younger generations, "lets go crazy", even the sky is not a limit anymore.BTW thank you!

This video literally changed my perspective about thinking of clean energy in a more positive sense. I do hope more people can see what clean energy means.

This is an excellent episode! It’s critical that we understand that energy itself is hugely abundant relative to our needs, but we only need to know how to access it. As we unlock this, we will realize via economies of scale that this form of energy(solar, wind etc.) is far cheaper to access than the expensive fossil fuels that we currently use, with GHG reduction almost a by-product of transition to a huge amount of new energy that we need to power a much more positive future. Looking forward to seeing more episodes on this topic.

My confirmation bias is tingling! This is the positive lookout on life that I always preach. Not being too scared to have children because "look how shitty the world is" while having the best life anyone ever had in their family history. Get more energy. Get energy costs down. I'm full on with that.

What if the big misconception is that we must continue with this increasingly rapid technological innovation at a pace we cannot control as a society ??? Slowing down might be the key to having a better life without using more and more and more...