The Big Misconception About Clean Energy

… I’ve been thinking about energy use all wrong.
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As long as most of our energy still comes from fossil fuels, we’re in kind of a trap. Using less energy is our only real option to slow climate change. So most of us have heard only one message throughout our lives: “Conserve energy. Because terrible things will happen if we don’t.”

That’s true. But I now think of it as “the stick” of climate communication - the way to get people to care about climate change based on fear and desperation.

I think it’s time to talk about “the carrot” - the way to get people to work toward clean energy based on hope and audacious ambition.

This video explains why, with help from my former colleague at Vox, Matt Yglesias. As renewable energy continues to get cheaper, as more and more clean energy technologies become more viable, we have an opportunity to look ahead toward a better future. What would you do with abundant clean energy?

Chapters:
00:00 We’re thinking about energy wrong
01:17 The stick: climate change
02:25 Why you’re taught to conserve energy
03:23 Why we should use more clean energy
04:36 The carrot: energy abundance
05:38 Why poor countries need more energy
06:39 Why everyone needs more energy

I tell different stories in different places:

Bio:
Cleo Abram is an Emmy-nominated video producer and journalist. Cleo produces detailed explainer stories about technology and economics. She wrote the Coding and Diamonds episodes of Vox’s Netflix show, Explained, was the host and a senior producer of Vox’s first ever daily show, Answered, as well as a host and producer of Vox’s YouTube Originals show, Glad You Asked. She now makes her own independent show, Huge If True. Each episode takes on one big technology innovation or idea, explains what it is, and helps people imagine the ways it could improve the world we live in by answering one simple question: If this works, what could go right?

Sources and additional reading:

Gear I use:
Camera: Sony A7SIII
Lens: Sony 16–35 mm F2.8 GM
Audio: Sennheiser SK AVX and Zoom H4N Pro

Music: Musicbed

—
Welcome to the joke down low (an idea 100% in reference to Answer In Progress’ awesome “joke below the fold” - I always scroll down to see them and always wanted to do this myself too):

What do wind turbines think of renewable energy?
They’re big fans.

Find a way to use the word “fan” in a comment to let me know you’re a real one ;)

[CleoAbram]

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

[starredjelly]

Throughout this nine minute video I didn't hear the magic word: NUCLEAR.

[barrycarter]

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.

[Tony-ydfw]

@8 min, cost is mentioned. He didn't mention nuclear. We have and have had the ability to use nuclear waste for a long time. The process just costs too much.

[ahmadbinqasim]

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"

[brokkoliomg]

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.

[LVBRIP]

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.

[MrSlapmonkey]

I think this is a really smart take, but I think this ignores some of the amazing things hidden within the “energy diet” half of this.

Sure, having a clean energy economy means that we done NEED to conserve, but if we apply the same level of innovation to passive methods of conservation that don’t reduce quality of life, we can actually improve things from both ends.

Think of the shift from incandescent bulbs to LEDs. This is part of the energy diet that is not just saving energy, but improving rather than decreasing the quality of life.

An absurd amount of energy goes into building heating and cooling, especially housing that older and less efficient. Sure we can keep using more clean energy to heat it, but we can also throw up some insulation and use less clean energy as well.

And while clean energy abundance means we don’t HAVE to focus on improvements from the energy diet end of things, we have the capacity to do so without actually making any real sacrifices.

[BackyardMaine]

Unless we're talking about nuclear power then the argument is lost without a new technology. Wind and solar cannot power our country. I was an electrical engineer (retired) for a multibillion dollar corporation that manufacturers semiconductors or computer chips. The one site where I worked consumed about 4 megawatts per month (electric bill of 1 million a month) and we were considered a small plant. I'm not saying wind and solar are bad in any way but they are not the solution but rather a feel good idea. Most people have no idea about the actual numbers. Nobody wants a nuclear power plant in their backyard but nuclear power is the only current technology that can move us away from fossil fuels.

[happykelli]

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

[davestagner]

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

[dave-jw]

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!

[dkrishna]

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.

[cyansunshine]

Thank you so much! As someone who works in tech, I've been so down about how much energy we waste from things like running massive clusters of servers on machine learning tasks that barely solve any relevant problems. This is the perspective shift and practical optimism I've been searching for. So excited for your upcoming videos!

[GrahamRead]

You are so right. Take my own country, the UK. Far from fixed, but in 2003 5% of annual electricity production came from renewables. Today ? (2023) - 46%.

[sepposuhonen]

This has been true for a lot of people here in Finland for years.
But one of the difficult changes in state of mind and way to think is, that there isn't one solution to replace fossilefuel based energysourses. The answer is to use simultanously three or four different sustainable energysourses: Sun, wind, water, hydrogen, etc.
I just love these videos of yours, 'keep them coming' 😎

[Akkothen]

I think it would be useful to also show nuclear power plants when talking about clean energy. I know it's quite a sensible topic, but looking at the data nuclear energy could be incredibly useful. Lowest CO2-eq. emissions, lowest material requirements, lowest land use, lowest death rate, the data is clear that this source as clean as traditional renewables, if not more.
Moreover, if countries such as the US and those in the EU restarted building reactors in series, both construction costs and time would go down, and even now, countries that kept alive their nuclear program like South Korea are building reactors in other countries in decent time frames, like in the UAE, 7-8 years for 1.4 GW reactors that will live at least 60 years. That's quite a lot of reliable, baseload power, and the unused heat could be used for several things, such as hydrogen production, water desalinization and district heating, all things that we will need in the future.

Maybe an entire video on nuclear might be too much, but a general video on low-carbon sources would definitely be very educational! Most people see solar and wind energy as utopic energy sources, when they also have downside and cons, whereas for nuclear it seems only these are mentioned, but never the pros, which are quite a lot, especially considering we have to fight climate change and maintain energy security, all while significantly increasing such consumption.

[jimoliver]

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

[amitojchalia]

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.

[rcomid]

the problem with this story is 'zero carbon' energy sometimes was mistaken as 'free energy'