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A Faster Way to Get to a Clean Energy Future | Ramez Naam | TED

When it comes to cost, clean energy is bound to beat out fossil fuels, says technologist Ramez Naam. But the hesitancy to build amid the prevalence of “not in my backyard” campaigns is preventing the creation of our sustainable future. Naam outlines the changes we need to make to get out of our own way…

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When it comes to cost, clean energy is bound to beat out fossil fuels, says technologist Ramez Naam. But the hesitancy to build amid the prevalence of “not in my backyard” campaigns is preventing the creation of our sustainable future. Naam outlines the changes we need to make to get out of our own way and create a stronger, more reliable renewable energy grid. “It is time for us to build,” he says.

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56 Comments

56 Comments

  1. Edmon Lupen

    April 10, 2023 at 8:21 am

    Why war ON Ukraune? Can somone explaine? Why ON and no IN?

    • Jh5578

      April 10, 2023 at 9:07 am

      🤔 IMO, The use of ON suggests that the war is an attack by Russia and insinuates blame. Whereas IN is just generically stating there’s a war in that country.

    • John Seth

      April 10, 2023 at 9:59 am

      @Jh5578 CORRECTLY DENOTES RESPONSIBILITY WHERE IT LAYS, WITH RUSSIA!

    • Jh5578

      April 10, 2023 at 10:05 am

      @John Seth  Calm down all caps. Me writing “insulates blame” was not a factual claim for or against. It’s just a description of what ON suggests.

      Of course, it is Russias fault.

    • Austin Denotter

      April 10, 2023 at 11:25 am

      @John Seth not NATO expansion of course?

    • John Seth

      April 10, 2023 at 2:27 pm

      @Austin Denotter LOL Nato expansion by Russia invading and murdering Ukrainian civilians, soldiers, and destroying non-military infrastructure. Shaking my head at the absurdity.

  2. innerlocus

    April 10, 2023 at 8:30 am

    No more oil wars? Good.

    • level Joe

      April 10, 2023 at 9:55 am

      Nope, just slavery.

    • Morten Dam

      April 10, 2023 at 10:27 am

      here come the lithium wars

    • Austin Denotter

      April 10, 2023 at 11:24 am

      @Morten Dam that is the exact point that everyone believes cannot exist because we are all doing good

    • John BEE

      April 10, 2023 at 1:11 pm

      Oil will not be eliminated as a commodity or the focus of a war. Demand will be greatly reduced, yet there will always be some level of demand and some level of need.

    • level Joe

      April 10, 2023 at 6:42 pm

      @John BEE …and here comes the cobalt wars.

  3. Jh5578

    April 10, 2023 at 8:43 am

    Tony Seba from RethinkX was not surprised

  4. SS007

    April 10, 2023 at 9:02 am

    This guy looks and sounds like Gus Fring

  5. Anders Fagerström

    April 10, 2023 at 9:11 am

    Giant wind turbines as your neighbour. Dead eagles all around. No problem. CO2 is killing you. Yeah right. You are just in the way. Just obey. What if I dont agree? What if I vote for another agenda? CO2 is plant food.

  6. Benedikt Kaufer

    April 10, 2023 at 9:12 am

    Awesome talk. Thanks.
    I just installed solar and I’m saving a lot of money now 💰😊
    Go solar (wind and battery)!

  7. level Joe

    April 10, 2023 at 9:42 am

    Nuclear is the closest we can get to “clean” energy.

    • Don Givani

      April 10, 2023 at 11:45 am

      That’s BS, wave/ gulf energy is the best

  8. Bart Cox

    April 10, 2023 at 9:55 am

    in Nederland the 2023 challenge is season storage of this cheap clean energy.

  9. Ligia Sommers

    April 10, 2023 at 10:35 am

    🙏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻🎉🙏🏻

  10. José Rui Faustino de Sousa

    April 10, 2023 at 11:40 am

    We have to destroy the natural environment in order to save it… 😀

  11. Grumpy Seabee

    April 10, 2023 at 12:26 pm

    What are the factories that manufacture these products going to run on? How are these products going to get distributed ? Solar is not scalable enough to meet the demands needed to provide the necessary infrastructure and power levels required to run huge manufacturing plants.

  12. Bill Price

    April 10, 2023 at 12:41 pm

    While the “permitting reform” would have helped clean energy deployment, it’s main purpose was to ease the way for the Mountain Valley Pipeline which has already destroyed much land in Appalachia and whose costs has ballooned. While I support a fast way to a clean energy future, we must not do that on the backs of communities in Appalachia and the Gulf South.

  13. Jh5578

    April 10, 2023 at 12:46 pm

    I don’t know why some people in the comments have a hard on for nuclear. Its a good technology that can account for a smaller percentage of energy. But solar, wind and batteries are the bulk of the solution when you consider price and installation speed.

    • Filip

      April 10, 2023 at 2:59 pm

      Nuclear power supplemented with renewable energy sources is the way. Because nuclear power plants provide stable constant energy and are mostly environmental friendly. Renewable sources provide the grid while they can (sun,wind), and battery storage that supplements a grid is just too expensive. We lack the raw materials that we need for batteries, to expand and to sophisticate the electrical grid (look up the main site for cobalt in the republic of congo and how people work there).
      He has good points on planning and allocation of relevant renewables.
      On the other hand look what happened on the sun between 13-14 of march, the most massive solar flare since they started to record that stuff. If just a piece of that hits us ALL of EVERYTHING related to electricity becomes unusuable, it just too much a power shift as well and politics for it to go smoothly.
      Don’t get me wrong, i love that we are even talking about these ideas and changes and we should work harder towards renewables.

    • GIMMEMAHCHEZBURGER

      April 10, 2023 at 5:47 pm

      lol u don’t understand the grid bro 😂😂😂 nuclears objectively better

    • John Seth

      April 10, 2023 at 5:58 pm

      @GIMMEMAHCHEZBURGER Thank you for being informed!

    • John Seth

      April 10, 2023 at 6:08 pm

      NUCLEAR is the cleanest, safest, most energy dense, and most reliable form of energy generation. It is the ONLY form of energy that we could build out and power the planet in the time frame climate change requires. A coke can worth of uranium will power AN ENTIRE LIFETIME worth of energy use. It is 3 Million times as energy dense as fossil fuels. It is 25 TIMES more abundant than oil and coal combined. At the current rate of Earth’s energy usage mankind has a 25 Billion year supply of uranium, add in Thorium and it DOUBLES at least. In the 60s and 70s the U.S. built 100 reactors and was on schedule to meat 100% of American power needs by 1990. 4500 Vogtle reactors are quite doable and would meet the planet’s energy needs TODAY. NO OTHER form of energy can make that statement. If mankind built them in that volume they would be CHEAP relative to other forms of power generation.

  14. Baptiste Broyer

    April 10, 2023 at 1:12 pm

    But all these cost are going down because we have fossil fuels to build solar and wind power but what will happen to their cost when fossil fuels become scarse?

  15. Reiner Hoffmann

    April 10, 2023 at 1:20 pm

    Central Climate Bank in the EU

    The economy would be very pleased with predictable conditions for fossil energy prices. To do this, we urgently need a strong, independent institution that will implement climate change in Europe. It would be reasonable to set up a climate central bank that has the mandate and the power to maintain climate stability (similar to the ECB’s mandate to ensure the stability of the euro). Their most important instrument are steadily increasing taxes on greenhouse gases or their sources such as fossil fuels. The money they take from the fossils and other climate relevant gases is payed for transitioning and paying for the already high cost of globle warming such as burning forrests, drying out farmland and rising costs for drinking water.

  16. Terry Wilson

    April 10, 2023 at 2:12 pm

    I’ve been quite unsure about investing in this current market and at the same time I feel it’s the best time to get started on the market. i was at a seminar and the host spoke about making over $972,000 within 3 Months with a capital of $200,000. i need to know how to go about it.

    • Terry Wilson

      April 10, 2023 at 2:14 pm

      @Jane Foster there’s a lot of money to be made in crypto. I feel this new interest rates hikes could crash this economy. I’m looking out for a better investing strategy, I have a lump sum that inflation is steady eating up. Please do you mind sharing any means of reaching out to him easily? I’m really interested.

    • Jane Foster

      April 10, 2023 at 2:14 pm

      @Terry Wilson check the web and you will find him, drop a msg

    • Jane Foster

      April 10, 2023 at 2:14 pm

      @Terry Wilson I was able to grow my account close to a million, withdraw my profit right before the correction and now I’m buying again

    • Gold Barry

      April 10, 2023 at 2:15 pm

      So delighted seeing my broker talked about, This was exactly how I got recommendation about Nick Dranchak , At First I was a bit skeptical but eventually I gave him a trail with my little investment and I got huge profit

    • Terry Wilson

      April 10, 2023 at 2:15 pm

      @Jane Foster Ok, just found his website, impressive, Thank you

  17. Kevin VanGelder

    April 10, 2023 at 3:07 pm

    His entire premise is wrong. “Clean” energy isn’t even necessary and it is extremely expensive.

  18. Kevin VanGelder

    April 10, 2023 at 3:08 pm

    If costs are continually going down there’s a massive cost benefit in WAITING

    • Celebrity Nurse

      April 10, 2023 at 3:34 pm

      Aah😂

  19. William P

    April 10, 2023 at 5:47 pm

    I have to disagree with the speaker. In no way should anybody replicate the horrible TX electricity policies. He just made the rest of his arguments moot by making such an argument. How many Texans died when their grid failed when harsh weather hit? I totally agree with the need to improve the transmission grid in this country.

    • John Seth

      April 10, 2023 at 6:15 pm

      246 is the official estimate of weather-related deaths during that event. In the United States, ingesting the fine particulate matter produced by burning fossil fuels kills an estimated 350,000 people a year, including more than 7,600 people in Massachusetts, according to the study by researchers at Harvard and other universities. Texas’ approach to competitive energy WOULD SAVE LIVES.

  20. Benoit-Pierre DEMAINE

    April 10, 2023 at 6:28 pm

    over simplified, plus several bias …

  21. Sam Bnc

    April 10, 2023 at 7:11 pm

    The real and only problems is the raw materials to build renewable energies

  22. Torbjörn Sjödin

    April 10, 2023 at 7:52 pm

    Problem is lifespan is short that has to be replaced and dig alot out the crust of the earth together with low energydensity. Recycling ???

  23. Sandrae99

    April 10, 2023 at 9:09 pm

    0:23
    *Let’s just appreciate how much a lot of time he puts in these awesome videos to make our day, huge respect!* 👍

  24. VJ FK Gaming and Mash Ups

    April 11, 2023 at 4:44 am

    Too much “Pay to Watch” on the channel now.

  25. Andrew iC

    April 11, 2023 at 9:19 am

    ❤🧡💛💚💙💜❤🧡💛💚💙💜❤🧡💛💚💙💜❤🧡💛💚💙💜❤🧡💛💚💙💜❤🧡💛💚💙💜❤🧡💛💚💙💜❤🧡💛💚💙💜❤🧡💛💚💙💜❤🧡💛💚💙💜❤🧡💛💚💙💜❤🧡💛💚💙💜❤🧡💛💚💙💜❤🧡💛💚💙💜❤🧡💛💚💙💜❤🧡💛💚💙💜❤🧡💛💚💙💜❤🧡💛💚💙💜❤🧡💛💚💙💜❤🧡💛💚💙💜❤🧡💛💚💙💜❤🧡💛💚💙💜❤🧡💛💚💙💜❤🧡💛💚💙💜❤🧡💛💚💙💜❤🧡💛💚💙💜❤🧡💛💚💙💜❤🧡💛💚💙💜❤🧡💛💚💙💜❤🧡💛💚💙💜❤🧡💛💚💙💜❤🧡💛💚💙💜❤🧡💛💚💙💜❤🧡💛💚💙💜❤🧡💛💚💙💜❤🧡💛💚💙💜❤🧡💛💚💙💜❤🧡💛💚💙💜❤🧡💛💚💙💜❤🧡💛💚💙💜❤🧡💛💚💙💜❤🧡💛💚💙💜❤🧡💛💚💙💜❤🧡💛💚💙💜❤🧡💛💚💙💜❤🧡💛💚💙💜❤🧡💛💚💙💜❤🧡💛💚💙💜❤🧡💛💚💙💜❤🧡💛💚💙💜❤🧡💛💚💙💜❤🧡💛💚💙💜

  26. Rubén Carretero

    April 11, 2023 at 10:50 am

    Gus Fring

  27. Shakhawat001

    April 11, 2023 at 11:11 am

    why no one talks about geothermal for clean energy!!!!

    • Michyboi

      April 12, 2023 at 9:32 am

      Volcanoes aren’t every where

    • Shakhawat001

      April 12, 2023 at 9:55 am

      @Michyboi Sure but there are many counties that can apply this instead of coal plants.

  28. Michael Alvarez

    April 11, 2023 at 1:00 pm

    Energy will be FREE in the future, we will only pay for the devices. A ZPE suitcase plugged into your home will take your home off the grid for about 27 years. Product will begin to be delivered this year. 100% green, no grid required. ‘We’ have reverse engineered a lightening strike down to the quantum physics mechanics level. Learn how to participate.

  29. prilep5

    April 11, 2023 at 1:02 pm

    Finally somebody who talks about solutions not just pointing about gloomy doomy future

  30. Brian McInnis

    April 12, 2023 at 3:15 pm

    One hyphen can make the difference between a future with clean energy and an energy future that’s clean.

  31. Ralf Gustav

    April 12, 2023 at 4:15 pm

    great presentation. Let’s do this.

  32. iniquitous1982

    April 12, 2023 at 4:51 pm

    Woah woah woah, please link me to where i can buy 1kw solar panels for anything CLOSE to $200…

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