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What Happens to Gas Stations When the World Goes Electric? | Emily Grubert | TED

When the world goes fully electric, what happens to the cars, tools and livelihoods that rely on fossil fuels? Civil engineer and environmental sociologist Emily Grubert visualizes what a clean energy future will look like, outlining the considerations everyone needs to undertake now as the critical, decades-long transition begins. Countdown is TED’s global initiative to…

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When the world goes fully electric, what happens to the cars, tools and livelihoods that rely on fossil fuels? Civil engineer and environmental sociologist Emily Grubert visualizes what a clean energy future will look like, outlining the considerations everyone needs to undertake now as the critical, decades-long transition begins.

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41 Comments

41 Comments

  1. The Jack Diamond Acting Studio

    March 23, 2023 at 11:14 am

    Wouldn’t it make practical sense for gas stations to add electric charging to their business in order to stay profitable?Raising to price of gas as the demand drops until ultimately maintaining only one gas pump for the rare user of antique cars.

    • C5483

      March 23, 2023 at 2:12 pm

      Wawa does this already at least

    • Jh5578

      March 23, 2023 at 6:08 pm

      That’s what they’re doing in France

    • Jh5578

      March 23, 2023 at 6:09 pm

      In the UK we’re just jacking EV chargers into lamp posts.

  2. Barbara Lindhjem

    March 23, 2023 at 11:25 am

    I’m not going electric. I’m waiting for hydrogen. Electric has big end pollution problems

    • Jh5578

      March 23, 2023 at 5:59 pm

      😂 Hydrogen fuels efficency is 30% at best 40%. You can fuel a Hydrogen car with grey hydrogen or green hydrogen. Most hydrogen comes from grey hydrogen which is made by burning fossil fuels, which obviously emits carbon. So you may as well make a methane fuel cell rather than a hydrogen one, it would be better for the environment and twice as efficient. If you make it from green hydrogen, you use renewable energy to undergo electrolysis by splitting water, then compression and transportation, then the loss of energy by the cars fuels cell you ultimately lose 70% of the energy you put into it.

      The hydrogen sits in a fuel sell and that feul sells powers a *lithium ion battery.*

      You may as well plug your EV in and get 90% of the energy.

  3. A raccoon

    March 23, 2023 at 11:27 am

    I’ve heard a dozen Ted talks identical to this video:

    “We have a climate problem, we don’t have a plan, but we need one. I don’t have the answers, but something needs to be done. I’m here to tell you it’s going to be ok, because we will make a plan. This is my Ted talk, thank you”

    • havoc1zero

      March 23, 2023 at 6:09 pm

      That’s basically the formula for Ted talks. I swear, most of these people either just love to hear themselves talk or this is their audition monologue and they hope maybe they’ll be discovered. Kind of useless. Talk less.

  4. fwmh01

    March 23, 2023 at 12:12 pm

    Never mind Gas Stations, what happens to the TAR that binds the pavement together when we no longer get this as s byproduct of oil! Electric cars still need roads! Potholes here we come!!

  5. scotte10x

    March 23, 2023 at 12:13 pm

    Fossil fuels are never going away.

    • scotte10x

      March 23, 2023 at 12:43 pm

      @Dynasty2201 how soon?

    • mkhud50n

      March 23, 2023 at 1:02 pm

      @Dynasty2201 they keep finding more oil. Most things like plastics are made out of oil. It is a natural resource.

    • Dynasty2201

      March 23, 2023 at 2:29 pm

      @mkhud50n Oil is a limited resource, like taking water from a bathtub over and over. Eventually it’ll run out. WHICH IS WHY we’re shifting to green sources for energy, which is why cars are going electric. Not just because of emissions, but oil is disappearing. Why are Shell and BP etc making so much money right now? Because they’re holding back oil supply to keep prices high, so they make maximum profit. Why? Because oil is a dying industry, they’re not re-investing their own money any more to expand new oil fields and equipment like they’ve done the last few decades as oil isn’t a safe investment any more. BP and Shell have technically always made this much money, they just spent their revenue on reinvestments in oil and that brought their profits down. They don’t do that any more, so make billions more in profits. Maximum profits to the shareholders and CEO etc because the curtain on oil is falling. It’s not some “consipracy” and greed, it’s maximizing profits before your own industry dies.

    • mkhud50n

      March 23, 2023 at 2:53 pm

      @Dynasty2201 it’s debatable that oil is a limited resource. It’s part of the earth. It’s not like you’re taking it off the planet. The earth recirculates all of its materials and there is evidence that oil is constantly being naturally produced.
      The oil companies said there was a limited amount of oil. To keep their prices up. They also just found what might be the largest oil reserve yet.
      We need oil to produce most modern products.
      The push to electric is a political move that gives more power to China. They control most of the worlds mineral supply that makes batteries. Which are not environmentally safe and also pose a huge fire hazards and aren’t as reliable in colder weather. The green energy push is a power grab by China. Batteries are not as efficient as oil. Oil is a natural resource. Trees breathe carbon dioxide. Life was most abundant when carbon dioxide levels were at their highest. That was way before humans existed and there were no man made pollutants.
      Just saying there’s way more oil than they say. Oil is a natural resource.

    • Jh5578

      March 23, 2023 at 5:35 pm

      We’ve hit peak oil already

  6. Jozsef M Kovacs

    March 23, 2023 at 12:26 pm

    Need to plan? Do you realize that central planning was the Achilles heel of the Communist system? No, madam, we do not need central planning, what we need is to realize that ecology today has become a political tool, very much like the Proletar Dictatorship of the Marxist Communist regimes of yesteryear, were.

  7. Top Notch

    March 23, 2023 at 12:38 pm

    Transhumanism

  8. cjxgraphics

    March 23, 2023 at 1:03 pm

    A lot of the complaints I hear about EV’s mimic very closely to the transition from horses to automobiles.
    But what about the infrastructure? Are we seriously going to build gas stations everywhere?
    Cars run out of fuel, horses don’t. (Well I mean they can, but it’s much more rare.) And then someone finds a picture of a gas powered car towing an electric, like gas powered cars were never towed by horses in the olden days.
    What I don’t think we heard much about at the time was, what are the environmental impacts of drilling for oil everywhere. That does concern me as we transition to using more and more lithium ion batteries. Hopefully we an find a better battery technology soon, after all only recently were lead batteries the most common.

  9. mkhud50n

    March 23, 2023 at 1:06 pm

    It’s amazing how little the environmental experts know about the environment.

  10. Puz

    March 23, 2023 at 1:09 pm

    I am quite fine with humans being inconvenienced by the transition to electric vehicles

  11. Drew M

    March 23, 2023 at 1:11 pm

    If Trump gets elected in 2024 all this BS will be gone. 😂

  12. Patch

    March 23, 2023 at 1:15 pm

    The world will never go full electric vehicles

  13. Justice we need

    March 23, 2023 at 3:54 pm

    Hi TED, please voice about pakistan, innocent youtubers, journalists and opposition political member are being kidnapped and brutally tourchered by curroupt govet of pakistan which is backed by curroupt Army Gernals. They are brutally crushing on Ex Prime minister Name Imran khan and his political party name PTI. They damaged his residence, raded unlawfully and badley beaten to political workers in pakistan City name lahore. Innocent people are beaten, expired tears shells are fired and arrested by police to crack down on most followed and liked political party in pakistan. Even they cancled parliament election so PTI doesn’t win and come in power to wipe our curroupt Army gernals currouption. Please voice for that.

  14. Justice we need

    March 23, 2023 at 3:58 pm

    Party name PTI. Chairman Name Imran khan, who I also famous cricketer and ex prime minister of pakistan, his govt was toppled illegally by ex curroupt Army Gernals. Those curroupt Gernals are using intelligence agencies of pakistan to kidnap civilians members of PTI by make illegally cases against them.

  15. Justice we need

    March 23, 2023 at 4:00 pm

    Please arrange on video programe with Mr imran khan Ex PM of pakistan to create awareness about human rights of Pakistani people please.

  16. Tony Pelliccio

    March 23, 2023 at 4:23 pm

    The way i see it is gas stations will transition to charging stations. Not all at first but they’ll be ice engines for decades. But as manufacturers move toward all electric like Volkswagen and GM that’s still going to require gasoline, tires and suspension components.

  17. kj22601

    March 23, 2023 at 4:31 pm

    I can not disagree with the facts you have laid out but… You have failed to consider a lot which has left your conclusions a bit off.
    China is building the equivalent of 2 coal fire plants a week while we are shutting them down.
    Russia is becoming a huge energy producer.
    You fail to see the political ramifications of cutting back production.
    Russia and the CCP are creating the climate problem to destabilize the US and take global power to themselves.
    Not to mention the metals needed to make the US independent, energy wise, without fossil fuel wouldn’t make any difference. because China is polluting at a pace faster than we are shutting it down.
    If we don’t ramp up energy production very soon.
    If we don’t start trying to save ourselves from the climate doomsdayers.
    We can not stop climate change.
    If we don’t stop believing the people who keep saying we’re all going to die and start just living.
    The United States of America will stop being the place of freedom
    Won’t that suck
    The bottom line is we need to remain strong while we transition.

  18. Fu'n Videos

    March 23, 2023 at 5:59 pm

    Uh, oh. You tricked me.
    Have a great week!

  19. Jh5578

    March 23, 2023 at 6:08 pm

    All the dopes in the comments saying EVs will never happen don’t realise that it’s already over. EVs are about at price parity with engine cars, they are cheaper to fuel, cheaper to maintain and the battery tech and renewable energy are getting cheaper and more efficient year over year. It’s not like the model T was made and then engine cars didn’t get more efficient. You’ve seen nothing yet.

    Meanwhile as Europe, America and Japan drag their heels on EVs (bar Tesla) China are making compelling, cheap, mass produced EVs. Recall the “The Japanese invasion”, “The Chinese Invasion” is looming. When it happens don’t act like I didn’t inform you.

    • Will

      March 23, 2023 at 7:29 pm

      I think the biggest problem is the supply chain for the batteries. There is not enough minable (or at least, known minable) sources of lithium, cobalt, and the various rare earth metals required for battery production to completely replace carbon based fuels. Until more advanced battery technologies are developed that can be scaled up without these bottlenecks, I don’t see electric as being able to completely replace traditional gasoline engines entirely.

  20. havoc1zero

    March 23, 2023 at 6:12 pm

    This is such a nonissue. We’ve upgraded our lives and changed power sources before.

  21. VonGrav

    March 23, 2023 at 6:29 pm

    gas stations stay. Just gonna be longer queues unfortunately. as the charging times are abysmal.

  22. Kay Stainbrook

    March 23, 2023 at 7:00 pm

    Amazing video and thank you for breaking it down!! Despite the economic downturn, I’m so happy have been earning $ 21,000 returns from my $7,000 investment every 12days..

    • Kimberly roger

      March 23, 2023 at 7:10 pm

      Her trading strategy is also working for me at the moment. I’m pushing it already up $33,000 in profits so far…

    • Lisbeth Coiman

      March 23, 2023 at 7:10 pm

      I have broken through 10k, 20k and got my eyes on 30k! Champagne stays popping. She is too awesome.

    • Víncent Estebañ

      March 23, 2023 at 7:11 pm

      Good to see how you guys came up here to show keen appreciation to Mrs Karen Gaye Gray.. This was exactly how I got recommendation about Mrs Karen., At first I was a bit skeptical but eventually I gave her A trail with my little investment I got huge profit

    • Oddy Briggs

      March 23, 2023 at 7:11 pm

      Wonderful! It’s great to see others who also benefits from the service of Mrs Karen Gaye Gray, I’m currently on my 6th trade with her and it has been a nice experience.

    • Nathan Sandoval

      March 23, 2023 at 7:12 pm

      This is the kind of information that We don’t get from most Youtubers will get in Touch with her right now.

  23. krux02

    March 23, 2023 at 7:24 pm

    Who cares?

  24. Dom M

    March 23, 2023 at 7:26 pm

    There is not enough lithium in the world to accomplish this.

  25. Alexis Despland

    March 23, 2023 at 8:57 pm

    as stations o not realy create vert many jobs . les car repare beeded for eectric cars will make tons ,ore mevanics loose there jobs.

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