[Script Info]
Title: 
[Events]
Format: Layer, Start, End, Style, Name, MarginL, MarginR, MarginV, Effect, Text
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Thank you very much
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,When I was a boy, My parents sometimes
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,would take me camping in California.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,We would camp in the beaches,
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,in the forests, in the deserts.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,some people think that deserts are
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,empty of life.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But my parents taught me to see
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the wild life all around us,
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The hawks, the eagles, the tortoises.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,One time when we were staying up at camp,
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,We found a baby scorpion with its sting around,
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And I remember thinking how cool it was
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that something could be both so cute
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and also so dangerous.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,After college, I moved to California,
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And I started working on a number of
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,environmental campaigns.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I got involved in hoping to save
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the state's last ancient redwood forest.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And blocking a proposed radioactive waste
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,repository set for the desert.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And surely after I turned 30,
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I decided that I wanted to dedicate
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,a significant amount of life to solving
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,climate change.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I was worried that global warming would
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,end up destroying many of the natural
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,environments that people had worked
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,so hard to protect.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I thought the technical solution were
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,pretty straight forward,
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,solar panels on every roof,
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,electric cars in the drive way,
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that the main obstacles were political.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And so I hoped to organize a coalition
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,of the countries biggest labor unions
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and biggest environmental groups.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Our proposal was for a 300 billion dollar
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,in renewables.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And the idea was not only we would prevent
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,climate change but, we would also create
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,millions of new jobs in a very fast
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,growing high tech sector.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Our efforts really paid off in 2007,
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,when then presidential candidate
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Barack Obama embraced our vision.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And between 2009 and 2015,
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the US invested a 150 billion dollars
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,in renewables and other kinds of clean tac.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But right away, we started to encounter
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,some problems.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So first of all, the electricity from
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,solar roof tops in some costs about twice
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,as much as the electricity from solar farms.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And both solar farms and wind farms
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,require a cover of pretty significant
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,amount of land with
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,solar panels and wind turbines,
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And also building very big transmission lines
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to bring all that electricity from the
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,country side into the city.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Both of those things were often very
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,strongly resisted by local communities,
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,as well as by conservation biologists who
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,were concerned about the impacts on
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,wild birds species and other animals.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Now, there was a lot of other people
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,working on technical solutions at the time
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,One of the big challenges of course is
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,just the intermediacy of solar and wind.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,They only generate electricity about
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,10 - 30 % of the time during most of the year
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But, Some of the solutions that were
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,being proposed were to convert hydroelectric
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,dams into gigantic batteries.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The idea was that when the sun was shining
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and the wind was blowing, you would pump
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the water uphill, stored for later and
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,then when you needed electricity you run
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,it over the turbines.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,In terms of wild life, some of these
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,problems just didn't seem like
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,a significant concern.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So, when I learned that house cats
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,killed billions of birds every year.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,it put into perspective that hundreds of
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,thousands of birds that are rather killed
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,by wind turbines.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Basically seemed to me at the time that
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,most if not all of the problems of
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,scaling up solar and wind could be solved
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,through more technological innovation.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But as the years went by, these problems
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,persisted, and in many cases grew worse.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So, California is a state that is really
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,committed to renewable energy.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But we still haven't converted many of our
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,hydroelectric dams into big batteries.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Some of the problems are just geographic,
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It is just, you have to have a very
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,particular kind of formation to build
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and do that.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And even in those cases, it's quite
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,expensive to make those conversions.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Other challenges are just that, there is
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,other uses for water like irrigation,
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And maybe this is the most significant
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,problem is just that, In California,
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The water in our rivers and reservoirs
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,is growing increasingly scarce and
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,unreliable due to climate change.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,In term of the situation of reliability,
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,As a consequence of it, we have actually
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,had to stop the electricity coming from
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the solar farms into the cities because
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,there are just have been too much of it
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,at times, or, We have been starting to
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,pay out neighboring states as Arizona to
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,take that solar electricity, The
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,alternative is to suffer from blowouts of
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the grid.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And in turns out that,
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,when it comes to birds and cats,
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Cats don't kill eagles, Eagles kill cats.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,What cats kill are the small common
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,sparrows and jays and robins,
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Birds that are not endangered and not at
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,risk of going to extinct.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,What do kill eagles and another big birds
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,like the skite, as well as owls, and condors.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And other threatened endangered species
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,are wind turbines.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,In fact, they are one of the most
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,significant threats to those big birds
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,species that we have.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,We just haven't been introducing the air
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,space with many other objects like we have
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,wind turbines over the last several years.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And in terms of solar, you know,
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,building a solar farm is not like building
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,any other kind of farm, you have to clear
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the whole area of wild life.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,so, this is a picture of one third of
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,one of the biggest solar farms in
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,California called ivanpah.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,In order to build this, they had to clear
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the whole area of desert tortoises.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,literally, pulling desert tortoises and
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,their babies out of borrows,
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,putting them on the back of pickup trucks
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and transporting them to captivity where
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,many of them ended up dying.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And currently, the current estimates are
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that about 6 thousand birds are
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,killed every year.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Actually, catching on fire above the
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,solar farms and bulging to their death.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Over time, it gradually struck me that,
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,there was really no amount of technological
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,innovation that was gonna make the sun
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,shine more regularly or wind blow more
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,reliably.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,In fact, you could make solar panel
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,cheaper, you can make wind turbines bigger
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But, sunlight and wind are just really
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,dilute fuels, and in order to produce
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,significant amount of electricity,
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,you just have to cover a very large land
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,mass with them.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,In other words, all of the major problems
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,with renewables aren't technical,
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,They are natural.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Well, dealing with all of this unreliability
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and the big environmental impacts obviously
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,comes that a pretty high economic cost.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,You know, we have been hearing a lot
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,about how solar panels and wind turbines
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,have come down in cost in recent years.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But that cost has been significantly
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,out wade by just the challenges of