How to fuel the future

America, under President Donald Trump, is securing its “energy independence” with oil and gas. But unlike fossil fuels, renewables will not increase global warming —and China is moving fast.

Oil moves the world around and creates powerful countries. Oil is such a vital commodity that it provoked wars throughout the 20th century. The few countries that produce it, try to keep control of it to ensure its riches stay at home. Those who do not have it, strive to get it.

In the 1930s Saudi Arabia was one of the poorest countries in the world but the discovery of oil transformed it and Saudi Arabia has amassed $515.6 billion in sovereign wealth funds. It has become the linchpin of a powerful cartel that sometimes rations oil to push up prices.

The United States is now the biggest producer of oil and gas owing to its shale revolution. It has tapped abundant reserves through fracking - a technology that uses high-pressure water and sand to fracture rock deep below the ground to extract hydrocarbons. This shale revolution has helped the United States become less dependent on oil imported from Saudi Arabia, Venezuela, Iraq, and other OPEC countries.

More oil and gas on global markets has also benefited the world's energy consumers by pushing down costs. Oil still remains the primary fuel, supplying almost 1/3 of the world's energy but its heyday may soon be over, despite growing demand.

By 2040 the world's global energy use is set to increase by 30 percent. That energy must be much cleaner if the world wants to prevent catastrophic global warming. In the past coal and gas were less expensive than renewable technology but their costs have come down dramatically. There is now a race among some nations to create more efficient renewable technologies to reduce pollution and be more energy self-sufficient.

China is the world's largest consumer of coal and the second largest of oil but it also now leads the world in clean energy. one third of the world's new wind power and solar panels is installed in China, and it sells more electric cars than any other country. The quest for energy self-sufficiency is a big motivation for many countries. China is moving fast, and America under President Donald Trump, is securing its energy independence with oil and gas. But unlike oil and gas renewables will not increase global warming.

The long term transition to clean energy will throw up new global challenges. It will create tensions in unstable parts of the Middle East as oil revenue starts to dry up. Another challenge is that wind and sun are intermittent. renewables may require vast shared electricity grids spanning boarders to make them more efficient. To stop global warming the world needs a huge collaboration over our shared energy future. If we fail, wars over scarce resources could be even worse in the 21st century than in the 20th.

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[tgchan]

The video was used for my English lesson and I had to come here and leave a comment on it. What a high quality video... I loved every bit of it. From the voice to the beautiful animation and voice. The UK subtitles were the icing on this super-delicious cake of a video.

[markhemsworth]

Feels like the story is incomplete without mention of the importance of batteries and energy storage.

[thezebraherd]

Natural gas, nuclear, and renewable will all help phase out coal and bring down carbon emissions

[jarvis]

This video did nothing to actually explain how to fuel the future...

[josesousa]

Let the fight begin... I'm at the renewable side and as an engineer I fight daily to a much cleaner and sustainable future.

[Brett-kgje]

The video totally skipped over battery-storage of renewable energy.

[cryptobuzz]

Solar and wind does not provide enough power as compared to gas, oil and coal

[dysphesialex]

If we do fail, the future might become like the game Fallout.

[sydgvkx]

India is Great Strong Secular And Largest Democracy in the Global World because INDIANS are Specially Blessed Talented Smart Hardworking Honest And Humble 🙏

[stacyhackney]

We don't want to change or adapt, not only because change and adaptation is usually difficult, but because powerful countries and leaders and individuals became powerful using coal and oil and their derivatives. If at the top of your game you're told the source of your power must be abandoned, you get what we presently have - foot dragging on a near global scale. Our hesitation and resistance seals our fate, whereas had we been more adaptable, we might have survived this test. We're presently performing a long, slow goodbye, failing our test of stewardship.

[CAPHENIA]

We like the visuals and graphic! Well done!

[programandoConFelipe]

I came back from the future 2022, the gas and oil are really expensive and green energy is a really bad joke.

[jonasark]

Nuclear power is the future. It is in the past but more importantly it is the future. Cheap and reliable with controlled waste is the future. Say yes to nuclear power.

[ep]

Charlet Duboc has an instantly recognizable voice.

[sydgvkx]

SAB SE AAGEY HONGE INDIA WALE YEH BAAT MAAN GAYE SAB DUNIYA WALE 💞🙏

[marlonmoncrieffe]

Hopefully, algae biofuel is perfected and room temperature superconductors are invented in the next 10-15 years.

[luisj.serrano]

All these renewable energies are basically to produce electricity, which is 20% of the energy consumed... where do we get the other 80%? also, how are all these systems produced? how is sand melted? and steel? oil... a lot of oil...

[aidenw]

China uses 4 times as much Coal as USA. Coal produces twice the level of green house gases than other more expensive forms of energy like natural gas.

[ardentgarden]

This story feels incomplete without mentioning nuclear power, which puts out immense amounts of energy without emitting any greenhouse gases.

[reginaldokeke]

I think nuclear energy is the way to go, it releases no emissions and is stable and reliable. I know there are challenges in processing and waste but those are solvable compared to the challenges in renewable energy.