How Many Fossils to Go an Inch? (ft. Robert Krulwich)

A beautiful guest video by Robert Krulwich and Nate Milton


MinutePhysics is on twitter - @minutephysics

Minute Physics provides an energetic and entertaining view of old and new problems in physics -- all in a minute!

Created by Henry Reich

[boggybolt]

Also useful knowing why these trees piled up and buried underground instead of rotting and decaying like they would today. The trees, just like modern ones, were made out of lignin, which was unfamiliar to microorganisms and therefore could not be 'digested' and broken down into more useful stuff like they are today. This caused them to pile up instead of breaking down, and once microorganisms figured out how to break down lignin, this piling up stopped. In essence, all of the coal on earth comes from a single time period, between the first creation of lignin and when it finally was able to be broken down.

It's a somewhat similar situation to what we have right now with plastic.

[technetium]

I was expecting an explanation of the possibility of burning newly dead bodies for electricity

[menseph]

I never realized until now how much I missed Robert's voice on radio lab. This is both a testament to Robert's narrations and the current crew there that are still as captivating while giving the show a new feeling.

[tomdom_]

I’m a marine biologist. I know this stuff like the back of my hand. But I have never seen a YouTube video that will stick with me as much as this one. Never seen one that is so captivating and interesting. Never seen one so intriguing. I will have to go and look for more Robert Krulwich.

[KuruGDI]

The message behind this video is really good. It's not judgmental, but tells you straight up front how much energy we are using and what this equates to.

[kayj]

This was beautiful. That last model about “using 100 earths every year” should be used a lot more in public campaigns.

[PKConnolly]

I love the term "old sunshine" for fossil fuels, never though of it that way

[ananya.a]

The animation is off the charts once again, and the information provided is great too! 👍🏻

[wojciechwilimowski]

You just dethroned Kurzgesagt in the "most existential crises per minute of video" competition

[peterschmid]

Robert is such a talented presenter. This video is phenomenal

[leoncana]

I was expecting a creepy modern solution, instead I got a rather beautiful, mind blowing, explanation of fossil fuels.

[lundylow]

I've missed Robert on Radiolab. His voice is so calming and his laugh infectious.

[JohnKolendaHOU]

This was incredible. Just beautiful, scientific storytelling. Thank you all for sharing it!

[adamreynolds]

4:08 grandma smokin a cig😂😂😂😂 so accurate

[akselskjevdal]

This really put into perspective how long the earth have been around to produce all the fossil fuels we use today. Great video

[agate_jcg]

The start of this video is great, but I think the numbers toward the end are wrong, unless there's a factor I'm missing. At 5:24, the claim is that 55 *trillion* tons of fossil fuel were consumed in 2018: according to the IPCC, this figure is 10 *billion* tons. In comparison, the total amount of carbon in living things on Earth today is estimated by the IPCC at 450 *billion* tons, mostly in the form of land plants.

Thus, we are burning about 1/50th of an Earth's worth of ancient life per year in fossil fuels, not 100 Earths' worth.

It's possible that the video's calculation is intended to account for the fact that only a fraction of the living carbon on the ancient Earth got fossilized, but the video specifically says "55 trillion tons of fossil fuels" rather than "55 trillion tons of ancient life", and in any case it doesn't cite a source for the conversion factor, and I'm not aware of scientific literature that pins it down.

Anyway, the caption "2018: 55 trillion tons of fossil fuels" at 5:24 is highly misleading or wrong, but I'm not sure whether it's a calculation error on the video authors' part, an unstated assumption, or a misunderstanding by me.

[oneworldonehome]

"The world must be restored, not only to provide for the fundamental needs of people today and in the future, but also to secure humanity's freedom in a universe where freedom is rare. For you must be self-sufficient in this universe, or you will become dependent upon others and they more than you will determine the terms of engagement and your ability to create and to determine your own future."

To learn more about humanity's destiny within a universe full of intelligent life, read Marshall Vian Summers' work which is completely free online.

[elijahberegovsky]

Wooow! This voice, this nostalgic voice of Radiolab! Robert once again catalyzing the creation of a masterpiece

[northbaseuk]

This is one of the first videos I've ever watched that truly made me want to change.

[troyclayton]

More Robert Krulwich, please! This was like a little bonus Radiolab with animation, very cool. Thanks!