Part 1 Keynote: International SustainAbility Conference, Robert F.

[00:00:00] The End [00:00:30] Welcome to the keynote address of Villanova University's [00:00:59] Sustainability Conference. [00:01:02] This conference is the culmination of Villanova's [00:01:05] Year of Sustainability, which began in September [00:01:08] with the 80th anniversary of the Mendel Medal celebration. [00:01:13] The Mendel Medal recognizes Gregor Mendel's [00:01:16] lasting impact on scientific discovery and exploration [00:01:19] and outstanding scientists, scholars, and scientists, [00:01:24] theologians who have bridged religion and science [00:01:26] in their lives and in their work. [00:01:29] Villanova's exploration of sustainability began last evening [00:01:33] with a student-led discussion on community activism [00:01:37] in the face of global climate change. [00:01:39] And this afternoon, Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. met with students [00:01:42] from various programs on campus, including Peace and Justice, [00:01:45] the Environmental Leadership Learning Community, [00:01:48] Environmental Studies, as well as the Villanova Law School, [00:01:51] to continue that discussion about community activism. [00:01:56] Before we begin this evening, let me make just a few announcements. [00:01:59] First, please be sure to turn off all of your cell phones and electronic devices. [00:02:04] Thank you. [00:02:05] And second, please hold your questions and photographs [00:02:07] for the question and answer period that will close the evening. [00:02:12] You will note in your program that earlier today, scientists, scholars, activists, philosophers, [00:02:18] and educators addressed the multiple dimensions of sustainability [00:02:22] in a series of panels and poster sessions. [00:02:27] Tomorrow, those important conversations continue, as well as on Saturday, [00:02:31] and I invite you all to attend those sessions, as well as to join us for two hikes, [00:02:36] one to Chanticleer Gardens tomorrow and Saturday to the Wissahickon watershed. [00:02:43] Finally, I want to take a moment to thank Father Peter Donahue, [00:02:46] the university president, for his commitment to sustainability. [00:02:53] And I want to thank Father Cale Ellis for his tremendous support for environmental education, [00:03:00] for this year of sustainability, and for this conference and its keynote address. [00:03:07] Father Ellis. [00:03:07] Thank you very much, Paul. [00:03:22] Good evening, everyone, and certainly a very warm welcome to Villanova University. [00:03:27] It is a great honor to welcome Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. as the keynote speaker [00:03:32] for this International Sustainability Conference, From the Local to the Global. [00:03:40] By way of background for this conference, my colleague Paul Rozier alluded to this, [00:03:46] but I'm going to repeat it anyway since we didn't coordinate our talks. [00:03:51] Villanova, this past year, inaugurated the year of Mendel [00:03:56] to celebrate the 80th anniversary of the establishment of the Mendel Medal, [00:04:01] which honors Gregor Mendel, the Augustinian abbot of the monastery in Brun, [00:04:07] in what is now the Czech Republic. [00:04:10] And, of course, Mendel discovered the laws of heredity which bear his name. [00:04:15] And the year of Mendel was marked by symposia, a major exhibit on Mendel [00:04:22] at the Academy of Natural Sciences here in Philadelphia, [00:04:25] and other lectures, as well as featuring well-known scientists and scholars. [00:04:31] So this conference, which on sustainability, was envisioned as the culmination of that celebration. [00:04:41] And we are pleased that Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., a staunch defender of the environment, is part of it. [00:04:49] When Villanova University's Board of Trustees established the Mendel Medal 80 years ago, [00:04:55] stipulated that, quote, [00:04:57] it was awarded to outstanding scientists who have done much by their painstaking work as scientists [00:05:03] to advance the cause of science, and by their lives and their standing before the world [00:05:09] as scientists have demonstrated that between true science and true religion, [00:05:14] there is no intrinsic conflict. [00:05:18] Recipients of the award, again, as mentioned, have included outstanding medical researchers, [00:05:24] Nobel laureates who have been pioneers in physics, astrophysics, and chemistry, [00:05:29] environmentalists, and noted scientists and theologians. [00:05:32] Indeed, the criteria established for the award can certainly be applied to the work of Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., [00:05:40] whose life standing before the world and religious commitment have been dedicated to safeguarding the environment. [00:05:49] You will note Robert Kennedy's impressive biography in the program, which you were given this evening. [00:05:56] You see his undergraduate degree from Harvard, his law degree from the University of Virginia, [00:06:02] that he has studied at the London School of Economics. [00:06:05] You also see that he is president of the Waterkeeper Alliance, [00:06:10] a coalition of more than 100 environmental groups working to perfect waterways in North America. [00:06:18] And he's also a clinical professor and supervising attorney [00:06:22] at the Environmental Litigation Clinic at Pace University's School of Law. [00:06:28] He is also a national spokesman for the Natural Resources Defense Council, [00:06:34] an organization that claims to have one client and one client only, the earth. [00:06:41] Moreover, he is an author. [00:06:45] The author of the New York Times bestseller, Crimes Against Nature, [00:06:50] as well as other books such as The River Keepers, [00:06:53] Judge Frank M. Johnson, Jr., a biography, [00:06:56] and his American Heroes books on Joshua Chamberlain and the American Civil War, [00:07:01] and more recently, Robert Smalls' The Boat Thief, [00:07:04] as well as several other articles. [00:07:08] There is one important book, however, that is missing from the list that is in your program. [00:07:15] His book for children entitled St. Francis of Assisi, [00:07:19] A Life of Joy, which was published in 2005. [00:07:23] In an interview that same year in the Boston Globe, [00:07:26] he said that he wrote this book because he wanted to show his kids, [00:07:30] quote, positive role models that stress what's important about life, [00:07:35] that we're not just materialistic beings, [00:07:38] we're not just biological beings, [00:07:40] we are spiritual beings as well. [00:07:44] And he went on to say, [00:07:45] it's tough living with one foot in the spiritual world [00:07:49] and another foot in the material world. [00:07:53] And the saints were people who showed us how to do that. [00:07:57] When asked why he wrote specifically about St. Francis, [00:08:00] he said, [00:08:01] Francis of Assisi is my hero because he understood the connection between spirituality and the environment. [00:08:10] He understood the way that God communicates to us most forcefully [00:08:14] is through the fishes and the birds and the trees [00:08:18] and that it is a sin to destroy those things. [00:08:22] But, he went on to say, [00:08:25] what we are fighting for is not just the fishes and the birds. [00:08:31] We protect nature not for nature's sake, [00:08:35] but for our own sake, [00:08:37] because it's the infrastructure of our communities. [00:08:42] St. Francis' love for animals and wildlife, [00:08:46] devotion to social justice, [00:08:48] and ability to see the connection [00:08:51] between spirituality and the environment [00:08:53] resonated with Robert Kennedy, Jr. [00:08:57] He said it continues to motivate his work. [00:09:01] And so, may his work [00:09:03] and the spirituality of his hero, St. Francis, [00:09:07] continue to motivate us as well. [00:09:10] So, please join me in welcoming Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. [00:09:13] Thank you. [00:09:18] Thank you, Father Ellis. [00:09:34] And, excuse my voice, which will get better as I talk. [00:09:40] And, I spent a really wonderful session this afternoon [00:09:43] with a bunch of the students talking about water, [00:09:46] about activism, [00:09:48] and about the issue of the waterkeeper movement. [00:09:50] And, I want to recognize that we have a Delaware Bay Keeper, [00:09:54] or a Delaware River Keeper, [00:09:56] on this watershed. [00:09:59] Mya Von Rawson. [00:10:01] And, I know she wanted to make it tonight, [00:10:04] but couldn't. [00:10:06] And, I love what Father Ellis said [00:10:08] about Mendel, Greg Mendel. [00:10:13] I was at, a week ago, [00:10:15] I was at a Midwestern college, [00:10:17] and the director of the environment there [00:10:20] was from some kind of, [00:10:22] I don't know, [00:10:24] she was from some kind of right-wing thinking. [00:10:27] And, she said today, [00:10:32] she wanted me to address, [00:10:34] I forgot what it was, [00:10:36] but she was saying, [00:10:37] and, you know, [00:10:38] and to show that, [00:10:41] I, a great commandment was wrong [00:10:43] about everything he said. [00:10:45] And, I was like, what? [00:10:47] And, uh, [00:10:48] it woke me up. [00:10:51] And, she, [00:10:52] and, but this is a right, [00:10:53] this is part of the kind of, [00:10:55] the right-wing think-tank theology, [00:10:58] because, um, [00:10:59] it was a paper that was published [00:11:00] a few years ago [00:11:01] that showed that, [00:11:03] that commodity prices [00:11:04] had dropped [00:11:06] as population increased. [00:11:08] And, so, [00:11:09] that commodities [00:11:09] from things like gold and oil, [00:11:11] et cetera, [00:11:12] had dropped. [00:11:13] And, there was a famous bet [00:11:14] between an environmentalist, [00:11:15] I think it was Paul Hawkins, [00:11:17] and, and, [00:11:18] you know who it was? [00:11:20] I see it nodding your head. [00:11:21] It was between two, [00:11:22] an environmentalist [00:11:23] and one of these right-wing guys. [00:11:25] And, they were abetting [00:11:26] that the price of commodities [00:11:28] would increase [00:11:30] over the next decade. [00:11:32] Um, but instead, [00:11:33] they decreased. [00:11:34] As population increased, [00:11:36] the, the price of commodities [00:11:37] came down. [00:11:38] But, the commodities [00:11:39] that they used [00:11:40] as benchmarks [00:11:40] were things like gold and oil. [00:11:43] And, they were economic commodities. [00:11:45] And, the, [00:11:46] the wisdom that the right-wing [00:11:47] took out, [00:11:48] away from this, [00:11:49] was that, [00:11:51] the human injury, [00:11:52] excuse me, [00:11:53] I drank three coax [00:11:54] because I'm operating [00:11:55] on a sleep deficit. [00:11:57] Um, [00:11:58] that the, [00:11:59] that human ingenuity [00:12:01] will overcome [00:12:03] any of the deficits [00:12:04] that result [00:12:05] from population increase [00:12:06] and the, [00:12:08] and the need for, [00:12:09] um, [00:12:09] for, [00:12:10] uh, [00:12:10] for more resources. [00:12:12] But, [00:12:13] um, [00:12:13] if instead, [00:12:14] they had measured, [00:12:16] they had bet [00:12:17] on the commodities [00:12:18] of air, [00:12:19] of, [00:12:20] of, [00:12:20] of arable land, [00:12:22] um, [00:12:22] of water, [00:12:24] available water [00:12:24] to the population, [00:12:26] all those things [00:12:27] have dramatically decreased. [00:12:29] The fisheries in the ocean, [00:12:30] 75% of the fisheries [00:12:32] are now in danger. [00:12:33] Um, [00:12:34] and, [00:12:34] you know, [00:12:35] all of these commodities [00:12:36] that really, [00:12:37] life splits us [00:12:37] from our planet [00:12:38] are at stake today [00:12:40] and they're all [00:12:41] on the chopping block. [00:12:42] And Mendel was right [00:12:43] about those things [00:12:45] and it's clearly right [00:12:45] but it's still part [00:12:46] of the theology [00:12:47] that's keeping it, [00:12:49] that's kind of, [00:12:49] um, [00:12:50] keeping this idea alive [00:12:51] that we can just [00:12:52] increase our population. [00:12:54] We don't have to care [00:12:54] what will happen [00:12:55] because our kids [00:12:56] will have the engineer [00:12:57] to figure out [00:12:58] a way out of the mess [00:13:00] that we've created [00:13:00] for them. [00:13:02] And environmental injury [00:13:03] is deficit spending [00:13:04] ultimately. [00:13:05] And, [00:13:05] you know, [00:13:06] um, [00:13:06] as Father Ellis said, [00:13:07] we're not protecting [00:13:09] the environment [00:13:10] for the sake of the fish [00:13:12] isn't the birds. [00:13:13] We're protecting it [00:13:14] because we recognize [00:13:16] that nature [00:13:16] is the infrastructure [00:13:17] of our communities. [00:13:18] If we want to meet [00:13:19] our obligation [00:13:20] as a nation, [00:13:21] as a civilization, [00:13:22] as a generation, [00:13:23] which is to provide [00:13:25] our children [00:13:25] with the same opportunities [00:13:27] for dignity [00:13:28] and enrichment [00:13:29] and prosperity [00:13:30] and good health [00:13:31] as the communities [00:13:32] that our parents gave us, [00:13:34] we've got to start [00:13:34] by protecting [00:13:35] our environmental infrastructure. [00:13:37] Yeah, [00:13:37] we breathe, [00:13:38] what do we drink, [00:13:39] the wildlife, [00:13:40] the fisheries, [00:13:41] the public lands, [00:13:41] the comets, [00:13:42] the commonwealth, [00:13:43] the public trust assets, [00:13:45] those assets [00:13:46] that are not susceptible [00:13:47] to private ownership [00:13:48] but by their nature [00:13:49] are the property [00:13:51] of the whole community. [00:13:53] And, [00:13:53] you know, [00:13:54] the public lands [00:13:55] and the waterways [00:13:56] that connect us [00:13:56] to our past, [00:13:57] to our history, [00:13:58] that provide context [00:13:59] to our communities [00:14:00] and that are the source [00:14:02] ultimately [00:14:02] of our values [00:14:04] and our virtues [00:14:05] and our characters [00:14:06] as a people. [00:14:08] and the biggest challenge [00:14:10] that we face, [00:14:11] one of the students [00:14:11] asked me, [00:14:12] what's the biggest challenge? [00:14:13] Is it global warming [00:14:15] and the political instability [00:14:17] and the threat [00:14:19] to civilization [00:14:20] and the threat [00:14:23] to human life, [00:14:24] the hundreds [00:14:24] of millions of humans [00:14:25] whose lives [00:14:26] are already at stake [00:14:28] because of the desertification, [00:14:29] because of the flooding. [00:14:30] Entire nations now [00:14:32] in the Pacific [00:14:32] are devising ways [00:14:35] to abandon [00:14:36] their countries [00:14:36] already. [00:14:38] We already have [00:14:39] 250 million [00:14:41] environmental refugees [00:14:42] on the planet [00:14:42] and we could have [00:14:44] a billion [00:14:44] depending on the rate [00:14:46] of sea level rising. [00:14:48] So this is the greatest [00:14:49] challenge that we face [00:14:51] and the way [00:14:52] that we use energy [00:14:53] really is the [00:14:55] individual challenge [00:15:00] that we face. [00:15:02] We have to use energy. [00:15:03] It's critical [00:15:04] for our prosperity. [00:15:05] It's critical [00:15:06] for the survival [00:15:07] of our communities. [00:15:08] But how can we use it [00:15:10] in a way [00:15:10] that doesn't compromise [00:15:11] the aspirations [00:15:14] of our children [00:15:15] and the aspirations [00:15:17] of the rest of the world, [00:15:19] the rest of humanity [00:15:20] to whom we also [00:15:21] have a responsibility? [00:15:23] And I'll just refer [00:15:26] to a speech [00:15:27] that was given [00:15:28] by Lord David Putnam [00:15:29] before Parliament [00:15:31] in November [00:15:31] at a time [00:15:33] when Parliament [00:15:33] was debating [00:15:34] a cap-and-trade system [00:15:35] designed to avert [00:15:36] the most catastrophic [00:15:37] impacts of global warming. [00:15:39] And Lord Putnam [00:15:40] is one of the leading [00:15:41] lights in Parliament [00:15:42] today. [00:15:42] He's one of the great [00:15:43] visionary figures [00:15:45] in England. [00:15:46] He's also a great [00:15:47] filmmaker [00:15:47] who did Chariots of Fire [00:15:49] and a number [00:15:50] of other films. [00:15:51] and to its credit [00:15:53] Parliament did pass [00:15:55] this bill. [00:15:56] But Lord Putnam [00:15:58] was addressing [00:15:58] the concerns [00:15:59] of those individuals [00:16:02] who in England [00:16:04] virtually everybody [00:16:06] accepts the science [00:16:07] behind global warming. [00:16:09] In our country [00:16:09] that's not true. [00:16:11] All these polls [00:16:11] show about half [00:16:12] the American public [00:16:13] still has doubts [00:16:14] about the science [00:16:15] behind global warming. [00:16:17] And the reason [00:16:17] for that [00:16:18] is because [00:16:18] propaganda works. [00:16:20] We have been deluged [00:16:21] by a $200 million [00:16:23] propaganda campaign [00:16:24] over the past [00:16:26] 15 years [00:16:26] mainly paid for [00:16:28] by Exxon Corporation, [00:16:29] by Chevron Corporation, [00:16:31] the Ford Motor Company, [00:16:32] and by many [00:16:33] of the coal companies, [00:16:34] Massey Coal, [00:16:35] the Carbon Cronies, [00:16:38] who have funded [00:16:38] all of these [00:16:39] slick PR firms [00:16:42] like Burst and Marcel [00:16:43] and Hilton [00:16:43] and these phony [00:16:46] think tanks [00:16:46] on Capitol Hill [00:16:47] like the Heritage Foundation, [00:16:50] the American Enterprise Institute, [00:16:52] the Competitive Enterprise Institute, [00:16:54] the Tato Institute. [00:16:55] There's about [00:16:56] a hundred of them now [00:16:57] and they're mainly funded [00:16:58] by pollution money. [00:17:00] And they stock them [00:17:02] with the, [00:17:03] you know, [00:17:03] and then they've got [00:17:03] their corporate toadies [00:17:05] on talk radio. [00:17:07] And in these think tanks, [00:17:08] they stock these think tanks [00:17:10] with these phony scientists. [00:17:12] these tobacco scientists [00:17:13] who, you know, [00:17:15] we call them biostitutes. [00:17:17] And they say anything [00:17:18] that industry pays them to say. [00:17:22] You know, [00:17:23] the whales like being harpooned [00:17:24] and seatbelts are terrible [00:17:26] for your safety [00:17:27] and, you know, [00:17:28] that cholesterol is good for you [00:17:31] or whatever. [00:17:33] That, you know, [00:17:33] there's nothing wrong [00:17:34] with tobacco [00:17:34] and that there's no such thing [00:17:35] as global warming. [00:17:37] And they, [00:17:37] and the media [00:17:38] then puts them on. [00:17:41] These are not [00:17:41] real scientists. [00:17:42] They're, [00:17:43] they have credentials [00:17:43] but they don't publish [00:17:45] in peer-reviewed publications. [00:17:46] They don't, [00:17:47] they don't show up [00:17:48] at the conferences. [00:17:49] They are not, [00:17:50] you know, [00:17:50] people of respect [00:17:51] in the scientific community. [00:17:52] But they'll put them [00:17:53] on the TV [00:17:54] against a great scientist [00:17:56] like Robert Watson. [00:17:58] And the public [00:17:58] is nowhere in distinguishing. [00:17:59] They say, [00:18:00] here's two scientists. [00:18:01] One says yes, [00:18:01] one says no. [00:18:03] And, [00:18:03] you know, [00:18:04] it's, [00:18:04] it's helped [00:18:05] the irresponsibility [00:18:07] of a negligent [00:18:09] and indolent press [00:18:10] in our country [00:18:11] has really helped [00:18:12] foster, [00:18:13] has helped let them [00:18:14] get away [00:18:14] with this propaganda campaign. [00:18:16] The National Academy [00:18:18] of Sciences [00:18:18] did a study, [00:18:21] an inventory [00:18:21] of all the, [00:18:22] the peer-reviewed [00:18:24] publications [00:18:24] about global warming [00:18:25] that had been published [00:18:27] between 1996 [00:18:28] and 2006 [00:18:29] around the world. [00:18:30] And, [00:18:31] every one of them, [00:18:33] without any exception, [00:18:35] agreed on the fundamentals [00:18:36] that global warming exists, [00:18:37] human beings are causing it, [00:18:39] it's already upon us, [00:18:40] its impacts are going to be [00:18:41] catastrophic. [00:18:42] There were many disagreements [00:18:43] about the nuances, [00:18:44] but all agreed [00:18:46] to those four precepts. [00:18:48] At the same time, [00:18:50] 60% [00:18:51] of American news articles [00:18:54] and electronic news reports [00:18:55] about global warming [00:18:57] raised outs [00:18:58] of the science. [00:18:59] So there was this huge gap [00:19:00] between public perception [00:19:01] and real science [00:19:02] and what these guys [00:19:03] from the Heritage Foundation [00:19:04] do is they don't publish science. [00:19:06] Science is hard work. [00:19:07] You go, [00:19:08] you know, [00:19:08] to Sydney University [00:19:09] and you pump out [00:19:11] these tomes [00:19:12] of maybe 500 pages [00:19:13] and, [00:19:14] you know, [00:19:15] and very few journalists [00:19:17] take the time [00:19:18] to read them. [00:19:19] But the guys [00:19:19] in the Heritage Foundation, [00:19:21] they cranked out [00:19:21] these slick PR pronouncements [00:19:23] on a single page of paper [00:19:24] that can fit in a briefcase [00:19:25] and be read. [00:19:26] It's designed [00:19:27] to be read [00:19:27] in the seven-minute cab ride [00:19:29] between Capitol Hill [00:19:30] and Washington National Airport. [00:19:34] And, [00:19:34] you know, [00:19:35] the journalist says, [00:19:37] well, [00:19:37] should I read [00:19:37] this big, thick thing, [00:19:38] this little thing [00:19:39] that seems [00:19:40] like easy to read? [00:19:42] And, [00:19:42] you know, [00:19:44] and that's why [00:19:45] Americans still, [00:19:46] you know, [00:19:47] they aren't sure [00:19:48] about global warming. [00:19:49] But anyway, [00:19:50] in England, [00:19:52] you know, [00:19:52] in other countries, [00:19:53] they haven't been deludaged [00:19:54] by this propaganda campaign. [00:19:56] And people accept the science. [00:19:57] But still, [00:19:58] there are people [00:19:59] who say, [00:20:00] best interest in others, [00:20:01] we have to move incrementally, [00:20:03] we have to move slowly, [00:20:03] because if we move precipitously, [00:20:06] it could cause dislocations [00:20:08] in our economy [00:20:09] with great consequences [00:20:10] to our nation, [00:20:11] for our quality of life. [00:20:13] and Lloyd Putnam [00:20:13] was addressing [00:20:14] the concerns [00:20:16] of that cohort. [00:20:18] And he [00:20:19] reminded Parliament [00:20:21] that exactly [00:20:22] 200 years before, [00:20:24] the same body [00:20:25] had debated [00:20:25] the abolition [00:20:26] of the slave trade. [00:20:27] And at that time [00:20:29] in England, [00:20:29] virtually everybody [00:20:31] regarded the slave, [00:20:34] slavery as an abomination, [00:20:36] as a moral catastrophe [00:20:37] for the British Empire. [00:20:39] And everybody agreed [00:20:40] that it had to be abolished. [00:20:42] But the only question was, [00:20:43] how fast? [00:20:44] And they were. [00:20:45] And at that time, [00:20:46] there were people again, [00:20:47] best interest in others, [00:20:49] who said we have to move [00:20:49] slowly and incrementally, [00:20:51] because slavery represented [00:20:52] 25% of the GNP [00:20:54] of Great Britain. [00:20:56] It was the principal source [00:20:57] of energy [00:20:58] for the entire British Empire. [00:21:00] Free human labor. [00:21:01] And they said, [00:21:02] if we abolish it outright, [00:21:05] it will create our economy. [00:21:07] But after a year of debate, [00:21:10] Parliament made the moral choice [00:21:11] and abolished slavery overnight. [00:21:14] And instead of collapsing, [00:21:16] the British economy exploded [00:21:18] as thousands of entrepreneurs [00:21:20] rushed into that space [00:21:21] to create new forms of energy, [00:21:23] mainly mechanical ones, [00:21:25] in an era that we now know [00:21:26] as the Industrial Revolution, [00:21:27] which was the greatest epic [00:21:29] in wealth creation [00:21:30] in the history of mankind. [00:21:32] And as it turned out, [00:21:33] the abolition of the slave trade [00:21:36] had exposed all of these [00:21:37] hidden inefficiencies [00:21:38] that were associated [00:21:40] with free human bondage. [00:21:42] Well, today, [00:21:43] we don't need to abolish carbon [00:21:44] to understand [00:21:45] that our deadly addiction to it [00:21:47] is the principal drag [00:21:48] on American capitalism. [00:21:50] We are borrowing [00:21:51] a billion dollars a day, [00:21:52] mainly from nations [00:21:54] that don't share our values, [00:21:55] in order to buy [00:21:56] a billion dollars of oil [00:21:57] a day [00:21:58] from nations, again, [00:21:59] largely, [00:22:00] that don't share our values. [00:22:02] And this $700 billion export [00:22:04] in American wealth [00:22:05] has beggared a nation, [00:22:08] three quarters of a trillion dollars [00:22:09] a year, [00:22:10] has beggared a nation [00:22:11] that when I was a little boy [00:22:12] owned half the wealth [00:22:13] on the face of the planet. [00:22:15] We give every year [00:22:16] in subsidies [00:22:17] $1.3 trillion [00:22:20] to the oil industry. [00:22:22] And if you have doubts [00:22:23] about that, [00:22:24] look at Terry Tannen [00:22:25] and Snowball, [00:22:26] lives per gallon. [00:22:27] Terry Tannen [00:22:28] and just stepped down [00:22:29] as head of California EPA [00:22:31] and he's done [00:22:31] this wonderful book [00:22:32] that meticulously inventoried [00:22:34] the vast subsidies [00:22:36] that we give [00:22:36] to the oil industry. [00:22:38] Not just, you know, [00:22:39] the tax, direct tax subsidies [00:22:40] and grants [00:22:41] like the oil depletion allowance, [00:22:43] but also the indirect subsidies [00:22:45] like the $100 million [00:22:46] we spend every year [00:22:47] protecting [00:22:48] the oil lines [00:22:50] in the Gulf. [00:22:52] and, you know, [00:22:54] and he does not include [00:22:56] the impacts of carbon [00:22:58] from burning fuel [00:22:59] on the people of the planet, [00:23:01] which is one of the costs of oil, [00:23:03] which really should be included [00:23:04] in that figure, [00:23:05] this monumental cost. [00:23:07] And he does not include [00:23:08] the cost of the Iraq war, [00:23:10] which the only just estimated [00:23:13] is going to be $4.3 trillion [00:23:15] over the next 20 years [00:23:17] on the total cost of that war, [00:23:20] which should, [00:23:20] in all fairness, [00:23:21] be billed to their account. [00:23:23] That's part of the cost [00:23:24] of burning oil [00:23:26] in our country [00:23:26] that we wouldn't have [00:23:28] if we were using [00:23:28] some other form of energy. [00:23:30] So these are the hidden costs, [00:23:32] the externalized costs [00:23:35] or the incidental costs [00:23:36] that you're not paying [00:23:37] at your pump, [00:23:38] but you're paying [00:23:38] through your taxes [00:23:39] and you're paying [00:23:40] through your health care system [00:23:41] and you're paying, [00:23:42] you know, [00:23:42] through military costs. [00:23:44] So that's $1.3 trillion [00:23:46] a year. [00:23:48] We give about [00:23:48] almost a trillion dollars [00:23:50] a year in subsidies [00:23:51] to the coal industry [00:23:52] and about a half a trillion [00:23:53] to the nuke industry. [00:23:56] And these huge, [00:23:57] massive rafts [00:23:59] of subsidies [00:23:59] to the incumbents [00:24:01] to form the principal impediment [00:24:03] to much more efficient [00:24:05] forms of energy [00:24:07] and abundant forms [00:24:08] and local forms of energy [00:24:09] from entering in [00:24:10] and competing [00:24:11] in the marketplace. [00:24:12] Now, [00:24:13] what we do know [00:24:14] is that every country [00:24:15] that has decarbonized society [00:24:18] has experienced [00:24:19] instantaneous prosperity. [00:24:21] Iceland in 1970 [00:24:23] was the poorest country [00:24:24] in Europe. [00:24:24] It was 100% dependent [00:24:25] on imported coal and oil. [00:24:27] And the government of Iceland [00:24:28] decided to decarbonize [00:24:30] mainly because [00:24:31] it was concerned [00:24:32] about global warming [00:24:33] which impacts [00:24:34] the northern latitudes [00:24:35] disproportionately. [00:24:37] And again, [00:24:38] there were people [00:24:38] in Iceland [00:24:38] who said [00:24:39] we have to move [00:24:40] incrementally or slowly. [00:24:42] But the government [00:24:42] of Iceland [00:24:43] moved very determinedly, [00:24:44] resolutely, [00:24:45] and decarbonized Iceland [00:24:46] within 15 years [00:24:48] so that Iceland [00:24:49] was 100% [00:24:50] energy independent. [00:24:52] You got 90% [00:24:53] of its energy [00:24:53] from its electric grid [00:24:55] from geothermal. [00:24:57] And Iceland [00:24:58] went, [00:24:58] during that 15-year period, [00:25:00] from being the poorest country [00:25:01] in Europe [00:25:02] to the fourth richest country [00:25:03] by GDP [00:25:04] on Earth. [00:25:06] Now, [00:25:06] Iceland has terrible economic problems, [00:25:08] the worst catastrophic economic problems now [00:25:11] because it used [00:25:13] its newfound wealth [00:25:14] to buy the same [00:25:15] bundled derivatives [00:25:16] that we bought [00:25:17] but they leveraged them [00:25:18] at 120 to 1 [00:25:20] and, you know, [00:25:21] now 30 people [00:25:22] in Iceland [00:25:22] now want to leave [00:25:23] because they all owe [00:25:25] $337,000. [00:25:28] and it's the worst [00:25:29] economic catastrophe [00:25:30] probably in human history [00:25:31] what's happened to Iceland. [00:25:33] Well, Iceland's economy [00:25:34] will return [00:25:34] because the fundamentals [00:25:35] are very strong. [00:25:37] Iceland today [00:25:38] is one of the larger [00:25:39] energy exporters [00:25:40] on Earth. [00:25:42] It can't run lines [00:25:43] across the Atlantic. [00:25:45] So it uses, [00:25:46] it imports bauxite [00:25:47] from Jamaica [00:25:48] and uses the huge [00:25:49] surpluses of energy [00:25:50] that it has [00:25:51] from its geothermal [00:25:52] to smelt the bauxite [00:25:53] into aluminum [00:25:54] and then it sells [00:25:55] the ingredients [00:25:56] on the world market [00:25:57] and that's its way [00:25:57] of exporting energy [00:25:58] and Iceland, [00:26:02] you know, [00:26:04] in 1970 [00:26:05] no corporation [00:26:07] on Earth [00:26:07] would dream [00:26:08] of relocating to Iceland [00:26:09] but even six months ago [00:26:11] corporations were lined up [00:26:13] by the hundreds [00:26:13] to relocate Iceland [00:26:15] to take advantage [00:26:16] of its cheap, [00:26:17] clean, abundant energy [00:26:18] and the high quality [00:26:19] of life [00:26:20] that goes along with it. [00:26:21] Sweden in 1996 [00:26:22] decided to decarbonize [00:26:24] the society [00:26:25] and incidentally [00:26:26] to shut down [00:26:26] a similar power plant [00:26:27] power plants [00:26:28] it closed the two biggest [00:26:29] new plants in the country [00:26:30] it slapped $150 [00:26:32] a ton tax on carbon [00:26:34] and Sweden today [00:26:36] is the sixth richest country [00:26:38] by GDP in the world [00:26:39] and you had the same thing happen [00:26:41] thousands of entrepreneurs [00:26:43] rushed into that space [00:26:44] to create new forms of energy [00:26:46] from wind [00:26:46] from tidal [00:26:47] from solar [00:26:48] from geothermal [00:26:48] from putrid garbage [00:26:50] from sawmill waste [00:26:51] I was in Sweden [00:26:52] I was in Sweden [00:26:52] last week [00:26:53] and speaking to the [00:26:55] all the [00:26:57] officers of all the corporation [00:26:58] and Sweden [00:27:00] and they are adopting [00:27:01] their entire fleet [00:27:03] in Sweden [00:27:03] to run on black liquor [00:27:05] which is biodiesel [00:27:07] that's created [00:27:08] from sawmill waste [00:27:09] and Brazil decarbonized [00:27:14] 18 years ago [00:27:16] its transportation system [00:27:18] and as a result of that [00:27:19] Brazil [00:27:20] while the whole world economy [00:27:21] is collapsing [00:27:22] is still enjoying [00:27:23] the longest [00:27:24] most robust economic expansion [00:27:26] in the history [00:27:26] of Latin America [00:27:27] Costa Rica decarbonized [00:27:29] its electric grid [00:27:30] 15 years ago [00:27:32] and today [00:27:33] again [00:27:33] largely as a result [00:27:34] of that decision [00:27:35] Costa Rica [00:27:36] is by far [00:27:37] the wealthiest country [00:27:38] in Central America [00:27:39] you can go on and on [00:27:40] with these examples [00:27:41] but we have much better [00:27:42] geothermal in this country [00:27:45] than they have in Iceland [00:27:46] my home [00:27:48] at home [00:27:48] is heated [00:27:49] and powered [00:27:49] by geothermal energy [00:27:51] and it's available [00:27:52] to virtually any home [00:27:54] in this country [00:27:55] and it's practically [00:27:56] untapped [00:27:56] we have [00:27:58] the best [00:27:59] solar energy [00:28:00] we're in the top three [00:28:03] on earth [00:28:03] for solar energy [00:28:04] the Scientific American [00:28:05] just did a study [00:28:06] that showed [00:28:07] we have enough [00:28:08] solar [00:28:08] harnessable solar power [00:28:10] in 19% [00:28:11] of the most barren [00:28:12] desert land [00:28:13] in the desert southwest [00:28:13] an area [00:28:14] 85 miles [00:28:15] by 85 miles [00:28:16] which is a fraction [00:28:17] of the area [00:28:18] that we're tearing up [00:28:19] in the Appalachians [00:28:20] to get into coal [00:28:20] to power the entire [00:28:22] energy grid [00:28:23] in our country [00:28:23] we have the greatest [00:28:25] wind resources [00:28:26] in the world [00:28:27] North Dakota [00:28:29] is the windiest [00:28:30] place on earth [00:28:31] we have enough [00:28:32] wind [00:28:32] in North Dakota [00:28:34] Montana [00:28:34] and Texas [00:28:35] to provide [00:28:36] 100% of the energy [00:28:37] gains of our country [00:28:38] even if every American [00:28:39] owned electric car [00:28:41] and we have an administration [00:28:43] now [00:28:44] that is intent [00:28:45] on doing this [00:28:46] and I did a [00:28:47] I had a breakfast meeting [00:28:49] about three weeks ago [00:28:51] with this [00:28:52] with this [00:28:53] really an extraordinary [00:28:54] group of people [00:28:55] with Harry Reid [00:28:55] who runs the Senate [00:28:56] Nancy Pelosi [00:28:57] who runs Congress [00:28:58] Jeff Bigman [00:28:59] as chair of the environment [00:29:00] of the Senate [00:29:01] Brian Dorman [00:29:02] as chair of appropriations [00:29:04] Stephen Chu [00:29:05] Secretary of Energy [00:29:06] Lisa Jackson [00:29:08] from EPA [00:29:09] Ken Salazar [00:29:10] from Interior [00:29:11] Carol Browner [00:29:15] who's the energy [00:29:15] environments are [00:29:16] and as well as [00:29:18] T. Boone Pickens [00:29:19] President Clinton [00:29:21] Vice President Gore [00:29:24] and the leaders [00:29:27] of about 10 [00:29:28] Fortune 20 companies [00:29:30] including Lee Scott [00:29:31] from Walmart [00:29:32] the heads [00:29:33] of the biggest utilities [00:29:35] in our country [00:29:36] the biggest utility groups [00:29:37] trade associations [00:29:38] in our country [00:29:38] and they had a first [00:29:39] and afterwards [00:29:43] we had about [00:29:43] a two and a half hour [00:29:44] breakfast [00:29:45] talking about [00:29:45] how we redesigned [00:29:47] the electric grid [00:29:48] in this country [00:29:49] to accommodate [00:29:50] all these new forms [00:29:51] of power [00:29:52] and afterwards [00:29:54] we went out [00:29:55] and we did a panel [00:29:56] we sat on a panel [00:29:57] and talked to a group [00:29:59] of about 600 people [00:30:00] to explain [00:30:01] the president's plan [00:30:02] to the American public [00:30:03] and they had 600 [00:30:04] opinion leaders [00:30:06] as well as [00:30:07] hundreds of members [00:30:07] of the press [00:30:08] in that audience [00:30:09] and afterwards [00:30:10] there was a guy [00:30:13] in the audience [00:30:13] Carl Pope [00:30:14] who's been running [00:30:16] Sierra Club [00:30:16] for 20 years at least [00:30:18] and he came up to me [00:30:20] and he said [00:30:20] you know the last time [00:30:21] that I heard people [00:30:22] talk like that [00:30:23] was at the free speech [00:30:25] at the Republican convention [00:30:27] just before the police [00:30:28] arrested us [00:30:28] and now [00:30:32] and this is true [00:30:33] this is stuff [00:30:34] you know [00:30:34] words that were only [00:30:37] spoken by kind of hippies [00:30:39] with tie dye [00:30:39] and smelling and patchouli [00:30:40] and today [00:30:42] it's the top [00:30:43] you know [00:30:44] people in our country [00:30:45] who have embraced [00:30:47] and adopted this [00:30:48] and this is the plan [00:30:49] that the Obama administration [00:30:51] has adopted [00:30:51] for our country [00:30:52] they're funding it [00:30:53] with the stimulus package [00:30:54] the energy bill [00:30:55] a lot of which [00:30:56] provisions were announced today [00:30:58] is designed to do [00:31:00] exactly this [00:31:00] which is [00:31:01] to harness these forms [00:31:02] of energy [00:31:02] now here are the impediments [00:31:04] that the Obama administration [00:31:05] faced [00:31:06] number one [00:31:07] huge subsidies [00:31:08] to the [00:31:09] carbon cronies [00:31:11] to the incumbents [00:31:12] particularly [00:31:12] the carbon cronies [00:31:13] and we have to deal [00:31:16] with those subsidies [00:31:17] either through a carbon tax [00:31:20] or through a cap-and-trade system [00:31:22] and that [00:31:23] the administration [00:31:26] has settled [00:31:27] on the cap-and-trade system [00:31:28] as the most politically [00:31:30] palatable way [00:31:31] to dampen those subsidies [00:31:32] and the most targeted [00:31:34] and the quickest way [00:31:35] there's a very political fight [00:31:36] about that [00:31:37] but within the administration [00:31:38] that's basically [00:31:39] what they've settled on [00:31:40] the other impediments [00:31:43] are number one [00:31:45] we don't have an electric grid [00:31:47] that is capable [00:31:48] of carrying this power [00:31:49] our electric grid [00:31:51] in this country [00:31:52] is antiquated [00:31:53] it's already overpowered [00:31:55] and it can't [00:31:55] it simply cannot carry [00:31:57] these new sources of power [00:31:58] and it can't do [00:31:59] the electric grid [00:32:00] that we have today [00:32:01] cannot do [00:32:02] effectively do [00:32:03] or efficiently do [00:32:04] long haul [00:32:05] transmission [00:32:06] of electrons [00:32:07] so that a North Dakota [00:32:08] wind farm owner [00:32:09] who wants to sell [00:32:10] his electricity [00:32:11] in New Orleans [00:32:13] or New York [00:32:14] the big markets [00:32:14] I can't do it [00:32:16] because the electrons [00:32:18] were diffused [00:32:19] before they even [00:32:20] crossed the North Dakota border [00:32:21] so they just can't reach it [00:32:23] we can't do [00:32:23] the technology exists [00:32:25] we're doing long haul [00:32:26] transport electrons [00:32:27] but we need [00:32:29] to create [00:32:30] that grid [00:32:31] in our country today [00:32:32] the other problem is [00:32:34] the grid is misaligned [00:32:35] it doesn't reach [00:32:36] the big wind centers [00:32:38] in North Dakota [00:32:38] but it doesn't reach [00:32:40] the sun belt [00:32:41] in Arizona [00:32:42] so that [00:32:43] North Dakota farmers [00:32:45] virtually every farmer [00:32:46] in North Dakota [00:32:47] wants to put wind turbines [00:32:48] on their property [00:32:49] and generate income [00:32:51] so they can save [00:32:51] the family farms [00:32:52] and regenerate [00:32:53] the economy [00:32:53] of these rural areas [00:32:54] that are otherwise [00:32:55] emptying [00:32:56] and going bankrupt [00:32:57] and you've got [00:32:58] huge [00:32:59] sources of capital [00:33:02] that want to back [00:33:04] and want to capitalize [00:33:05] those improvements [00:33:06] because they build [00:33:07] the turbines [00:33:08] you have companies [00:33:09] like the General Electric Company [00:33:10] you have T. Boone Pickens [00:33:12] you have Warren Buffett [00:33:14] we have a whole [00:33:15] venture capital [00:33:16] community [00:33:18] that is desperate [00:33:19] to put wind farms [00:33:20] on every farm [00:33:21] in North Dakota [00:33:22] the problem is [00:33:23] we can't do it [00:33:24] because we don't have [00:33:26] a grid that can carry [00:33:27] that power [00:33:27] so the grid [00:33:28] is misaligned [00:33:28] we need to realign [00:33:30] it [00:33:30] we need a program [00:33:31] like the highway program [00:33:32] that we had [00:33:33] back in the 1980s [00:33:35] it will cost about [00:33:36] 150 billion dollars [00:33:38] to build a smart grid [00:33:39] in this country [00:33:39] that will reach [00:33:40] every American home [00:33:41] and have the power [00:33:42] to carry all these [00:33:43] new sources of energy [00:33:44] this money [00:33:46] is going to come [00:33:46] from government [00:33:47] and it's going to come [00:33:48] from the private utilities [00:33:49] and public utilities [00:33:50] who already [00:33:52] are budgeted [00:33:53] to spend about [00:33:53] 2 trillion dollars [00:33:54] over the next [00:33:56] 15 years [00:33:56] so [00:33:57] and what the government [00:33:59] has to do [00:33:59] in the energy bill [00:34:00] is to make sure [00:34:02] that the [00:34:02] to give a blueprint [00:34:04] that gets those utilities [00:34:06] to spend the money [00:34:06] on the right things [00:34:07] the same thing [00:34:08] that we did [00:34:08] with the highway bill [00:34:09] back in the 1950s [00:34:10] where the Eisenhower [00:34:12] administration [00:34:13] made sure [00:34:13] that there was money [00:34:15] available [00:34:16] and that local monies [00:34:17] were spent [00:34:17] building highways [00:34:18] but if you were [00:34:19] going to build a highway [00:34:20] in Mississippi [00:34:21] that it had to connect [00:34:22] with the one [00:34:23] in Alabama [00:34:23] and Louisiana [00:34:24] so that [00:34:25] we need to do that [00:34:26] in this country [00:34:27] the other problem [00:34:28] is we have [00:34:29] 50 different [00:34:31] public utilities [00:34:31] commissions [00:34:32] one in each state [00:34:33] 150 control areas [00:34:35] and they all [00:34:36] have their own [00:34:36] arcane [00:34:37] and Byzantine [00:34:38] set of rules [00:34:38] that restrict access [00:34:40] to the grid [00:34:40] so that [00:34:42] it's very difficult [00:34:44] for anybody [00:34:44] to sell energy [00:34:45] for a new [00:34:46] source of power [00:34:46] to sell energy [00:34:47] in the grid [00:34:47] Teblood Pickens [00:34:48] who I spent [00:34:49] two days [00:34:50] with this month [00:34:51] he has to wait [00:34:54] two years [00:34:55] to hook up [00:34:56] wind power [00:34:56] one of those [00:34:57] wind farms [00:34:58] to the grid [00:34:58] even if he's [00:34:59] right next to it [00:34:59] it takes him [00:35:00] two years [00:35:01] to get permission [00:35:01] to hook in [00:35:02] so [00:35:03] and you know [00:35:04] we ought to be able [00:35:06] in this country [00:35:07] if you have a [00:35:08] solar panel [00:35:09] on your roof [00:35:10] and your home [00:35:11] is producing [00:35:11] more power [00:35:12] during some part [00:35:13] of the day [00:35:13] than you're using [00:35:14] you ought to be [00:35:15] able to sell [00:35:15] that energy [00:35:16] back to the grid [00:35:16] and get market [00:35:17] rates for it [00:35:18] there's no state [00:35:19] where you can do [00:35:20] that today [00:35:20] there's many states [00:35:21] that will buy [00:35:22] some of that energy [00:35:23] back from you [00:35:24] none of them [00:35:25] will buy all of it [00:35:25] back from you [00:35:26] and none of them [00:35:27] will give you [00:35:28] market rates [00:35:29] and we need to [00:35:29] change that [00:35:30] we need to [00:35:31] create a marketplace [00:35:34] a national marketplace [00:35:35] that reaches [00:35:37] every home [00:35:37] and that does [00:35:39] what a market [00:35:41] is supposed to do [00:35:42] which is [00:35:45] to reward [00:35:46] good behavior [00:35:47] which is efficiency [00:35:48] and to punish [00:35:50] bad behavior [00:35:51] which is inefficiency [00:35:52] in waste [00:35:52] right now [00:35:54] we have a marketplace [00:35:55] that is governed [00:35:56] by rules [00:35:56] that are rigged [00:35:57] to reward [00:35:58] the least efficient [00:36:01] most wasteful [00:36:03] most dangerous [00:36:04] most poisonous [00:36:05] most destructive [00:36:06] fuels from hell [00:36:07] instead of the cheap [00:36:09] clean indigenous [00:36:10] and abundant [00:36:12] fuels from hell [00:36:13] and we need [00:36:14] we need to change [00:36:16] that [00:36:16] that relationship [00:36:17] we need to realign [00:36:18] the rules [00:36:19] that govern the marketplace [00:36:21] so that they are aligned [00:36:23] with our national interests [00:36:24] and with the interests [00:36:25] of humanity [00:36:25] so that utilities [00:36:26] and individuals [00:36:27] can make money [00:36:28] by doing good things [00:36:30] and if we do that [00:36:33] and one of the things [00:36:35] we've got to do [00:36:35] is right now [00:36:36] if you [00:36:37] the rules are [00:36:39] the rules [00:36:40] reward people [00:36:42] who sell energy [00:36:42] so if you're a utility [00:36:43] in this country [00:36:44] and you want to make money [00:36:47] the way that you do that [00:36:48] is by selling [00:36:49] as much energy [00:36:50] as possible [00:36:50] and so even if you're [00:36:52] a socially conscious person [00:36:54] and you are the CEO [00:36:55] of a utility [00:36:56] and you want to do [00:36:57] the right thing [00:36:58] and adopt green power [00:36:59] your shareholders [00:37:01] are telling you [00:37:02] to get your customers [00:37:03] to leave their lights [00:37:04] on all night [00:37:05] leave the refrigerator [00:37:06] door open [00:37:06] right [00:37:07] and so [00:37:08] the good of our country [00:37:10] is misaligned [00:37:11] it is conflicting [00:37:12] they have to choose [00:37:13] between their patriotism [00:37:14] and their love of humanity [00:37:16] and their duty [00:37:17] to their shareholders [00:37:17] and that's an unfair [00:37:18] disposition [00:37:19] to put the CEO in [00:37:21] and what we need to do [00:37:22] is what they've done [00:37:23] in California [00:37:24] which is to re-abind [00:37:25] the rules [00:37:26] rewrite the rules [00:37:26] so that they reward people [00:37:28] who get [00:37:29] reward utilities [00:37:30] that get their consumers [00:37:33] to conserve [00:37:34] and it's a very easy thing [00:37:36] to do [00:37:36] they've done it in California [00:37:37] and what happened [00:37:38] in California [00:37:38] today in California [00:37:40] you don't make money [00:37:41] by selling energy [00:37:42] but by showing [00:37:43] the your consumers [00:37:45] the most efficient consumers [00:37:46] in California [00:37:47] and what's happened [00:37:48] because of that [00:37:49] without any drop [00:37:50] and quality of life [00:37:51] in California [00:37:51] Californians now use [00:37:53] half the energy [00:37:54] that the rest of us use [00:37:55] here in Pennsylvania [00:37:56] you use between [00:37:57] 12 and 14 [00:37:58] 1,000 megawatts [00:38:00] per individual [00:38:01] I mean kilowatts [00:38:02] per individual [00:38:03] per year [00:38:04] in California [00:38:05] they use 6,000 [00:38:06] and it's just because [00:38:07] the utilities [00:38:08] incentives [00:38:09] were realigned [00:38:10] to reflect [00:38:10] to align them [00:38:12] with the good [00:38:13] of our country [00:38:13] and we should be [00:38:15] doing that [00:38:15] in every state [00:38:16] and if we do that [00:38:18] we create [00:38:18] a national marketplace [00:38:19] that turns [00:38:21] immediately [00:38:23] turns every American [00:38:24] into an energy entrepreneur [00:38:26] and every home [00:38:27] into a power plant [00:38:28] and we power this country [00:38:30] on American entrepreneurship [00:38:31] and initiative [00:38:32] and energy [00:38:33] rather than Saudi oil [00:38:34] now I'm on the floor [00:38:36] of the biggest [00:38:36] green tech [00:38:37] venture capital firm [00:38:38] in our country [00:38:39] it's called BrightSource [00:38:40] and we just [00:38:42] I just got off the phone [00:38:43] with the CEO [00:38:45] we just signed contracts [00:38:47] with the state of California [00:38:48] to build a power plant [00:38:50] that will provide [00:38:51] 2.3 gigawatts of power [00:38:53] a year [00:38:54] to California [00:38:55] a solar thermal [00:38:57] a solar thermal plant [00:38:58] is not [00:38:59] football tanks [00:39:00] it's a mirror farm [00:39:01] in the desert [00:39:01] there's a [00:39:03] there's a scaffolding [00:39:04] a turbine [00:39:06] just like a turbine [00:39:07] from a coal plant [00:39:08] that's suspended [00:39:09] at the top [00:39:09] of the scaffolding [00:39:10] and surrounded [00:39:11] by concentric rings [00:39:13] of mirrors [00:39:13] that are manipulated [00:39:15] by computers [00:39:16] to reflect light [00:39:17] onto the sunlight [00:39:18] onto that turbine [00:39:20] and 5 minutes [00:39:21] after the sunrise [00:39:22] in the morning [00:39:22] that turbine [00:39:23] is 750 degrees [00:39:24] Fahrenheit [00:39:25] so it's a very [00:39:26] very effective technology [00:39:27] what we're building [00:39:30] is 2.3 gigawatts [00:39:31] bigger than any [00:39:32] new plant in this country [00:39:33] it's bigger than [00:39:34] any coal plant [00:39:35] but guess what [00:39:36] we're building it cheaper [00:39:37] than you can build [00:39:38] a new plant [00:39:38] and cheaper [00:39:39] than you can build [00:39:40] a coal plant [00:39:40] and once we build it [00:39:41] the energy [00:39:43] is free [00:39:43] forever [00:39:44] we don't have to [00:39:46] go to Saudi Arabia [00:39:46] and punch holes [00:39:48] in the ground [00:39:48] and bring up the oil [00:39:49] and refine it [00:39:51] extensively [00:39:51] and you know [00:39:52] that's loaded on ships [00:39:54] and have military escorts [00:39:55] and bring it across [00:39:55] the Atlantic [00:39:56] and get in periodic wars [00:39:57] over there [00:39:58] that affect any oil lines [00:39:59] and you know [00:40:00] and load it onto trucks [00:40:01] and you know [00:40:02] the trucks spill it [00:40:03] and you know [00:40:04] just pollute our [00:40:05] our waters [00:40:06] and our air [00:40:07] and burn it [00:40:07] and pollute our kids [00:40:08] and ship it [00:40:09] across the country [00:40:10] all those costs [00:40:10] disappear [00:40:11] the electrons [00:40:12] are hitting the planet [00:40:13] for free [00:40:14] every day [00:40:15] all you have to do [00:40:16] is pick them up [00:40:17] and put them [00:40:17] into the lines [00:40:18] once you build [00:40:19] the infrastructure [00:40:20] you never have to [00:40:21] dig another hole [00:40:22] in Appalachian [00:40:23] you know [00:40:23] all of those [00:40:24] other costs [00:40:26] you don't have to [00:40:27] thicken the roads [00:40:28] to 18 inches [00:40:29] and do all these things [00:40:30] to support the coal [00:40:31] and ship the coal [00:40:32] across the country [00:40:33] you know [00:40:34] and poison the lakes [00:40:35] and mercury [00:40:36] et cetera [00:40:36] all that goes away [00:40:38] you just build it [00:40:40] and the energy [00:40:41] is free [00:40:42] forever [00:40:43] okay [00:40:44] if we were to build out [00:40:46] all of the wind [00:40:48] and solar [00:40:49] enough wind and solar [00:40:50] to provide [00:40:52] 100% of the energy needs [00:40:53] let's say [00:41:05] to decarbonize [00:41:06] to get rid of all the coal [00:41:07] and all the [00:41:09] other carbon sources [00:41:11] to our electric grid [00:41:12] it would cost [00:41:13] about [00:41:14] 750 billion dollars [00:41:16] so that's in addition [00:41:20] to the 150 billion [00:41:21] that we have to [00:41:22] spend to build [00:41:24] the grid [00:41:24] the smart grid [00:41:26] so [00:41:27] for 750 billion dollars [00:41:29] we can be off [00:41:32] of coal [00:41:32] and oil [00:41:33] forever [00:41:34] now we spend [00:41:36] 700 billion dollars [00:41:37] every year [00:41:38] buying oil [00:41:38] the Obama administration [00:41:41] has said [00:41:42] we are going to [00:41:42] stop importing oil [00:41:43] by the end [00:41:45] of his second term [00:41:45] which is eight years [00:41:47] that's going to save us [00:41:48] 700 billion dollars a year [00:41:50] that's a familiar number [00:41:51] right [00:41:51] that's the number [00:41:52] we gave the crooks [00:41:53] on Wall Street [00:41:54] to bail them out [00:41:55] you know [00:41:56] from the crisis [00:41:57] that they got us [00:41:57] the mess they got us up to [00:41:59] and people are saying [00:42:00] well [00:42:00] they all forget the push [00:42:03] the one who signed it [00:42:04] they say [00:42:04] Obama's a socialist [00:42:05] and he's going to [00:42:06] destroy [00:42:07] he's going to [00:42:08] indebt us for generations [00:42:09] and we'll never be able [00:42:10] to pay this back [00:42:11] it will take us decades [00:42:12] at least to pay [00:42:13] the 700 billion [00:42:14] I'm forgetting [00:42:15] number one [00:42:16] the bank's supposed to [00:42:17] pay it back [00:42:17] but number two [00:42:18] that even if they don't [00:42:19] even if they don't [00:42:21] and we have to pay it back [00:42:23] we just do it in one year [00:42:24] all we have to do [00:42:25] is get off the foreign oil [00:42:26] and then we have 700 billion dollars [00:42:28] for free every year [00:42:29] to stimulate our economy [00:42:30] that we keep here [00:42:31] in this country [00:42:32] and for one [00:42:34] a single investment [00:42:35] between 700 billion [00:42:37] and a trillion [00:42:38] we can be off the oil [00:42:40] forever [00:42:41] and we can have free energy [00:42:42] in this country forever [00:42:43] now we've done this before [00:42:45] in our country [00:42:46] we've done it with [00:42:48] for example [00:42:49] in 1979 [00:42:51] we built an ARPANET [00:42:52] in this country [00:42:53] an internet [00:42:54] national internet grid [00:42:55] that hooked every home [00:42:57] to the internet [00:42:58] and made national markets [00:42:59] the internet [00:43:00] in 1980 [00:43:02] a year later [00:43:03] there were fewer [00:43:04] than 500 PCs [00:43:05] in this country [00:43:06] and IBM said [00:43:08] it was a dead end technology [00:43:09] well [00:43:10] you know [00:43:11] now most Americans [00:43:12] have PCs [00:43:12] and guess what happened [00:43:14] to the cost of information [00:43:15] of bits and bytes [00:43:16] it plummeted [00:43:17] to almost zero [00:43:19] and that's exactly [00:43:21] what will happen [00:43:21] to electrons [00:43:22] as soon as we build [00:43:23] a national grid [00:43:24] for electricity [00:43:25] in 1996 [00:43:27] President Clinton [00:43:28] signed the Telecommunications Act [00:43:29] in this country [00:43:30] which made a national [00:43:32] backbone [00:43:33] national spine [00:43:34] for telecommunications [00:43:35] he essentially told [00:43:36] all the baby bells [00:43:37] you have to open up [00:43:38] your lines [00:43:39] anybody who wants [00:43:40] to get on them [00:43:41] and sell a product [00:43:41] and the lowest cost [00:43:43] producer is going to [00:43:43] dominate in the marketplace [00:43:44] and that's what happened [00:43:47] and it worked [00:43:48] and this is [00:43:48] right [00:43:48] this is [00:43:49] that was 96 [00:43:50] so that's like 13 years ago [00:43:51] well [00:43:52] two weeks ago [00:43:54] I saw an ad [00:43:55] on television [00:43:56] for [00:43:57] from a telecommunications provider [00:43:59] that will give [00:44:01] that will provide [00:44:02] 100% of long distance [00:44:04] and local call service [00:44:06] for an entire year [00:44:07] for $28 [00:44:08] well I've paid [00:44:10] in the probably [00:44:12] the last six months [00:44:12] you know [00:44:13] at least one phone call [00:44:14] $28 [00:44:15] so this [00:44:16] but this is what [00:44:17] the future is [00:44:18] because [00:44:19] the cost [00:44:21] of telecommunications [00:44:23] is plummeting to nothing [00:44:24] virtually zero [00:44:26] and that's exactly [00:44:27] what will happen [00:44:28] to electrons [00:44:29] in this country [00:44:29] if we build [00:44:31] an electronic grid [00:44:31] and that's the biggest [00:44:32] economic stimulus package [00:44:34] that we all have [00:44:34] we can possibly have [00:44:36] is much better [00:44:37] than the tax cuts [00:44:37] it's the cost of energy [00:44:39] a couple of years ago [00:44:41] a couple of years ago [00:44:41] I was driving a minivan [00:44:42] and getting [00:44:43] and getting [00:44:44] you know [00:44:45] 22 miles [00:44:46] 24 miles a gallon [00:44:47] paying $2,800 a year [00:44:48] for my gasoline [00:44:49] now I'm driving a Prius [00:44:51] and I pay $1,200 a year [00:44:53] so I have my pockets [00:44:54] $1,600 every year [00:44:56] okay [00:44:56] what if every American [00:44:58] from [00:44:58] you know [00:44:59] from energy savings [00:45:00] after building this grid [00:45:02] has $200, $300, $400, $500, $1,000 [00:45:06] in their pocket every year [00:45:07] you remember when President Bush [00:45:08] sent us a $300 check [00:45:10] everybody [00:45:10] and he said [00:45:11] this is a national [00:45:12] economic stimulus package [00:45:13] and well [00:45:15] and now it's just one year [00:45:16] what if we all got that every year [00:45:19] just from energy savings [00:45:20] what would that do [00:45:22] to stimulate the economy [00:45:23] and we [00:45:23] you know [00:45:24] for every year [00:45:25] and we wouldn't have to [00:45:26] get the social security trust fund [00:45:27] in order to do it [00:45:28] we'd just be [00:45:30] spent [00:45:30] we'd just be [00:45:31] and we'd have to lower [00:45:32] our quality of life [00:45:33] we're just living [00:45:34] more intelligently [00:45:35] and that's right [00:45:36] in front of us today [00:45:36] I was at [00:45:37] this week [00:45:38] I was at the [00:45:39] or last week [00:45:40] I went to the [00:45:41] to look at the [00:45:42] National Grid Laboratory [00:45:44] that they have [00:45:44] in Denver, Colorado [00:45:45] and it's extraordinary [00:45:47] the things that they have [00:45:48] that they can do [00:45:50] with the National Grid [00:45:51] they can go into [00:45:52] a people's house [00:45:53] for example [00:45:54] most of [00:45:55] we were talking about [00:45:56] this at dinner [00:45:56] that most of [00:45:57] the gas [00:46:00] the largest [00:46:00] single [00:46:01] burner of gas [00:46:03] in this country today [00:46:04] natural gas [00:46:05] is [00:46:06] are peaker plants [00:46:07] these are plants [00:46:08] that the utilities [00:46:09] have to turn on [00:46:11] to meet peak demand [00:46:13] when base demand [00:46:14] the usual demand [00:46:15] from burning [00:46:16] the regular [00:46:16] power plants [00:46:17] when that's exceeded [00:46:19] a couple of times a year [00:46:20] it happens [00:46:20] on a really hot day [00:46:21] when everybody [00:46:22] turns on their air conditioning [00:46:23] and the peaks [00:46:24] usually only last [00:46:25] for 15 minutes [00:46:26] but [00:46:26] if they ever have [00:46:27] a supplemental source [00:46:29] of power [00:46:29] it'll black out [00:46:30] the entire grid [00:46:31] so they have to have [00:46:33] they have to turn [00:46:34] on these plants [00:46:35] sometimes days [00:46:36] even weeks in advance [00:46:37] in anticipation [00:46:38] that a heat wave [00:46:40] is coming [00:46:40] and they may exceed [00:46:41] base demand [00:46:43] of a peak [00:46:43] well [00:46:44] and you know [00:46:46] you're burning gas [00:46:47] in these very wasteful [00:46:48] turbines [00:46:48] because they're old [00:46:49] and antiquated [00:46:50] and burning gas [00:46:52] for those [00:46:53] for that reason [00:46:54] it's like washing [00:46:55] your dishes [00:46:55] it's like [00:46:57] and it's extremely [00:46:58] wasteful [00:46:59] it's an extremely [00:47:00] valuable commodity [00:47:01] and if we were able [00:47:04] to save the gas [00:47:05] that we burn [00:47:06] on those heater plants [00:47:07] and to eliminate [00:47:09] the use [00:47:10] of those heater plants [00:47:11] we could save [00:47:12] enough natural gas [00:47:12] in this country [00:47:13] to power [00:47:14] our entire automobile [00:47:15] fleet in America [00:47:17] from North American [00:47:18] natural gas [00:47:19] we have enough gas [00:47:21] in this country [00:47:21] natural gas [00:47:22] that lasts 120 years [00:47:23] and of course [00:47:25] that would do [00:47:26] a lot of good things [00:47:27] for our country [00:47:27] well [00:47:28] we can do that [00:47:28] and the national grid [00:47:30] what it allows [00:47:31] them to do [00:47:32] is to go [00:47:33] it allows the utility [00:47:35] to go to every [00:47:36] consumer [00:47:37] in its distribution base [00:47:39] and say to the consumer [00:47:40] you're a homeowner [00:47:41] tell me [00:47:42] tell us the things [00:47:43] in your house [00:47:44] the appliances [00:47:45] in your house [00:47:45] that you don't mind [00:47:47] us turning off [00:47:47] for 15 minutes [00:47:48] on your [00:47:49] hot water boiler [00:47:50] if somebody turns off [00:47:52] your hot water boiler [00:47:53] for 15 minutes [00:47:54] you'll never know [00:47:55] it won't drop [00:47:56] the heat of water [00:47:57] in your home [00:47:58] even one degree [00:47:59] or your [00:48:01] let's say [00:48:02] pro-electric toothbrush [00:48:03] recharge [00:48:03] you're swimming pool [00:48:05] recirculating [00:48:06] we all have [00:48:06] hundreds of these [00:48:07] fan charges [00:48:08] in our homes [00:48:09] that are just [00:48:09] sucking energy [00:48:10] all day [00:48:10] and you don't need them [00:48:11] you don't care [00:48:12] if they shut them off [00:48:12] for 15 minutes [00:48:13] so now [00:48:14] when the utility [00:48:16] hits peak [00:48:16] and there's a dozen [00:48:17] companies [00:48:17] that have made [00:48:18] this software [00:48:19] and it's out there [00:48:20] on the shelf [00:48:21] when the utility [00:48:22] hits peak [00:48:22] instead of turning [00:48:23] on that peaker plan [00:48:24] five days [00:48:25] ten days in advance [00:48:26] they send a signal [00:48:27] through the line [00:48:28] that turns off [00:48:29] the hot water boilers [00:48:30] in a million homes [00:48:31] and they never [00:48:33] have to go to peak [00:48:34] and we save enough [00:48:36] gas in this country [00:48:36] to power our entire [00:48:37] autumn fuel fleet [00:48:38] the new grid [00:48:40] can also go into [00:48:41] your home [00:48:41] and take energy [00:48:43] out of your plug-in [00:48:44] hybrid [00:48:44] or your electric car [00:48:45] and buy it from you [00:48:46] so that all of a sudden [00:48:48] as we move to electric [00:48:49] cars [00:48:50] which we're all going to do [00:48:51] from ten years from now [00:48:52] that's where we're going [00:48:53] it's not going to be [00:48:54] biofuels [00:48:54] it's not going to be [00:48:55] fuel cells [00:48:56] it's going to be [00:48:57] electric cars [00:48:58] because it's so cheap [00:48:59] the economics [00:49:00] are so [00:49:01] so [00:49:02] so compelling [00:49:03] and [00:49:05] so the [00:49:06] utility can go [00:49:08] into your hybrid [00:49:09] electric car [00:49:09] let's say [00:49:10] you save the utility [00:49:13] I will sell you [00:49:14] I will store [00:49:16] energy for you [00:49:17] in my car [00:49:18] and you can come [00:49:20] into my home [00:49:20] and I [00:49:21] take that energy out [00:49:23] between nine o'clock [00:49:24] at night [00:49:24] and six o'clock [00:49:25] in the morning [00:49:25] just leave 20% [00:49:27] of the battery [00:49:27] in case one of my kids [00:49:28] has to go to the hospital [00:49:29] and I know [00:49:31] I have to make a [00:49:33] run somewhere [00:49:34] so the utility [00:49:35] then goes [00:49:36] and then the next day [00:49:37] when you're working [00:49:38] and it's plugged in [00:49:39] between nine o'clock [00:49:40] in the morning [00:49:41] and you know [00:49:42] two o'clock [00:49:42] in the afternoon [00:49:43] you can buy energy [00:49:44] from it [00:49:45] the utility [00:49:45] then goes [00:49:47] and buys that energy [00:49:48] from hundreds of thousands [00:49:50] of automobiles [00:49:51] goes into your car [00:49:54] buys it from you [00:49:54] for 40 cents [00:49:55] a kilowatt [00:49:56] and 15 minutes later [00:49:58] refills it [00:49:59] and sells it back to you [00:50:00] for 11 cents a kilowatt [00:50:01] and you make money [00:50:03] on the transaction [00:50:03] the money is deducted [00:50:05] from your bill [00:50:05] right [00:50:06] and it's a marketplace [00:50:07] so you can actually [00:50:08] make money [00:50:09] at the end of the month [00:50:10] and you know [00:50:11] this is [00:50:12] this again [00:50:13] is [00:50:14] available today [00:50:17] these are [00:50:18] these are off-the-shelf [00:50:19] technologies [00:50:19] and there's lots [00:50:20] of people making it [00:50:21] I'll tell you [00:50:21] just about one other [00:50:22] company [00:50:23] that I'm involved [00:50:24] with [00:50:25] and I said [00:50:26] I was on that [00:50:26] board of the [00:50:27] biggest green tech [00:50:29] venture capital firm [00:50:29] in the country [00:50:30] it's called [00:50:30] Vantage Point [00:50:31] it has [00:50:32] even in this [00:50:33] marketplace [00:50:34] it has enormous returns [00:50:35] 53% returns [00:50:37] they have 35 [00:50:38] portfolio companies [00:50:39] that they've selected [00:50:40] that they believe [00:50:43] will be the Googles [00:50:43] of the future [00:50:44] of the new energy economy [00:50:45] one of those companies [00:50:47] is a company [00:50:47] called Better Place [00:50:48] and Better Place [00:50:49] right now [00:50:50] is rewiring Israel [00:50:51] we are at this moment [00:50:52] installing electric plugs [00:50:54] next to every parking [00:50:55] place in Israel [00:50:55] at every gas station [00:50:57] in Israel [00:50:58] we're building a structure [00:50:59] called a swap station [00:51:00] where you pull in your car [00:51:02] a computer lifts you up [00:51:03] on hoist [00:51:04] slides out [00:51:05] your exhaust [00:51:05] battery [00:51:05] slides in [00:51:06] and you drive off [00:51:07] 120 miles [00:51:08] on the charge [00:51:09] it takes [00:51:10] less than a minute [00:51:11] less time [00:51:12] than it takes [00:51:12] to fill up your car [00:51:13] at the pump [00:51:14] the utility [00:51:16] the utility [00:51:18] which is our partner [00:51:20] owns the battery [00:51:21] which is the most [00:51:22] expensive part of the car [00:51:23] it costs $20,000 [00:51:25] in the battery [00:51:26] but you don't have to buy it [00:51:27] because it's owned [00:51:28] by the Israeli [00:51:29] electric utility [00:51:30] the cars themselves [00:51:32] are being constructed [00:51:33] right now [00:51:33] the Renault [00:51:34] and Nissan [00:51:34] there's eight different [00:51:36] models [00:51:37] going from sports car [00:51:38] to minivan [00:51:38] and they cost [00:51:40] $10,000 a piece [00:51:42] to manufacture [00:51:44] they go from [00:51:47] they're very good cars [00:51:48] they go from [00:51:48] zero to 60 [00:51:49] in less than five seconds [00:51:51] which is as fast [00:51:52] as anything [00:51:52] you see on the road [00:51:54] here [00:51:54] and they get [00:51:56] and they [00:51:58] and they'll never [00:52:00] break down [00:52:00] because there's no [00:52:01] moving cars [00:52:02] they last forever [00:52:03] except for the wheel [00:52:04] and the axle [00:52:05] there's nothing [00:52:06] in the car to break [00:52:07] so the car [00:52:08] will last forever [00:52:08] it costs [00:52:09] I said $10,000 [00:52:10] to manufacture [00:52:11] but we are giving [00:52:12] them away [00:52:12] for free [00:52:13] to every driver [00:52:14] in Israel [00:52:15] and the reason [00:52:16] we're able [00:52:17] to do that [00:52:17] is because [00:52:19] electric cars [00:52:20] are so efficient [00:52:22] compared to [00:52:23] internal combustion [00:52:23] engines [00:52:24] an internal combustion [00:52:25] engine [00:52:26] costs [00:52:27] well [00:52:28] an electric car [00:52:29] in Israel [00:52:29] costs [00:52:30] over the life [00:52:30] of a car [00:52:31] 6 cents a mile [00:52:32] to drive [00:52:32] including the gas [00:52:33] and everything else [00:52:34] I mean [00:52:35] including the power [00:52:36] everything else [00:52:36] an internal combustion [00:52:38] engine costs [00:52:39] 60 cents a mile [00:52:40] in Israel [00:52:41] to drive [00:52:41] in our country [00:52:42] it costs [00:52:43] between 40 [00:52:44] to 45 cents [00:52:45] to drive [00:52:45] an internal combustion [00:52:46] engine [00:52:46] because of the [00:52:47] subsidized gas [00:52:48] but [00:52:49] the delta [00:52:51] between that [00:52:52] 6 cents [00:52:52] and the 60 cents [00:52:53] allows us [00:52:55] to give the car [00:52:55] away for free [00:52:56] the same way [00:52:56] that your cell phone [00:52:57] provider [00:52:57] will give you [00:52:58] a telephone [00:52:59] for free [00:52:59] and then [00:53:00] make his money [00:53:01] back [00:53:01] by charging [00:53:02] you a premium [00:53:03] on your calls [00:53:04] depending on your [00:53:05] contract [00:53:05] for 3 years [00:53:06] 5 years [00:53:06] or 7 years [00:53:07] that's what we do [00:53:08] we charge them [00:53:09] a premium [00:53:09] on the power [00:53:10] that they buy [00:53:11] for 3 years [00:53:12] 5 years [00:53:12] or 7 years [00:53:13] the reason [00:53:13] internal combustion [00:53:14] engines are so [00:53:15] inefficient [00:53:16] is because [00:53:18] you've got to [00:53:20] push a 500 pound [00:53:21] power plant [00:53:22] with you [00:53:24] everywhere you go [00:53:25] so if you want [00:53:26] to go buy [00:53:26] a 10 pound bag [00:53:27] of groceries [00:53:28] you've got to [00:53:29] take your 500 pound [00:53:30] power plant [00:53:30] with you [00:53:31] and putting that [00:53:32] in a car [00:53:33] you've got to [00:53:34] fortify [00:53:34] and make heavier [00:53:35] everything else [00:53:36] in the car [00:53:37] you know [00:53:38] the springs [00:53:38] the axles [00:53:39] everything [00:53:39] has to be [00:53:40] made heavier [00:53:41] and it makes [00:53:42] the car [00:53:42] far far [00:53:43] more inefficient [00:53:43] so it's actually [00:53:45] less energy [00:53:46] in terms of [00:53:47] carbon production [00:53:47] to the environment [00:53:48] in this country [00:53:50] if you are [00:53:51] powdering your [00:53:52] electric car [00:53:53] from the dirtiest [00:53:54] filthiest coal burning [00:53:55] power plant in America [00:53:56] you're still putting [00:53:57] less carbon [00:53:58] into the atmosphere [00:53:59] than if you're driving [00:54:00] an internal combustion engine [00:54:01] and you're spending [00:54:02] a lot more money [00:54:03] so we're able [00:54:04] to [00:54:05] you know [00:54:05] we're able [00:54:06] to [00:54:06] still give them [00:54:07] we're giving free cars [00:54:09] they still drive cheaper [00:54:10] and [00:54:11] you know [00:54:12] Israel [00:54:13] which is our other [00:54:14] joint venture partner [00:54:15] the government of Israel [00:54:16] when we complete [00:54:18] construction of our [00:54:19] of the infrastructure [00:54:20] three years from now [00:54:21] they're going to [00:54:22] slap a 78% tax [00:54:24] on all new [00:54:24] internal combustion engines [00:54:25] and then they're going to [00:54:26] raise that every year [00:54:27] until they're taxed out [00:54:28] of existence [00:54:28] which is not going to [00:54:29] take long [00:54:30] because who's going to [00:54:31] buy a car [00:54:32] when we can get [00:54:33] one for free [00:54:34] that's a bad one [00:54:35] and [00:54:36] and [00:54:37] Israel government [00:54:38] and also now [00:54:40] the Israel utility [00:54:42] has this big [00:54:43] um [00:54:44] reservoir [00:54:45] of storage [00:54:46] that it can use [00:54:47] to store [00:54:48] variable power [00:54:49] so it's building [00:54:50] uh [00:54:50] wind turbines [00:54:52] and [00:54:53] and solar thermal plants [00:54:54] in the Negev Desert [00:54:55] simultaneously [00:54:56] and Israel said [00:54:57] you know [00:54:58] we're doing this [00:54:59] because [00:54:59] we get our [00:55:00] our oil [00:55:01] from Egypt [00:55:02] they get [00:55:03] Saudi Arabia [00:55:04] so it's a national [00:55:05] security issue [00:55:05] for them [00:55:06] well guess what [00:55:07] it's a national [00:55:08] security issue [00:55:08] for us as well [00:55:09] and you know [00:55:10] um [00:55:11] we had [00:55:12] in this country [00:55:12] we can do the same [00:55:13] thing here [00:55:14] in our country [00:55:14] we had [00:55:15] in this country [00:55:16] in 1941 [00:55:17] Franklin Roosevelt [00:55:19] gave his famous [00:55:20] speech to America [00:55:21] where [00:55:22] beginning [00:55:22] World War II [00:55:23] where he said [00:55:24] we're going to build [00:55:25] 50,000 airplanes [00:55:27] a month [00:55:27] 25,000 tanks [00:55:28] we're going to be [00:55:29] able to ship [00:55:30] a day [00:55:30] and on and on [00:55:31] and on [00:55:31] and people said [00:55:33] this is absurd [00:55:33] no industrial mobilization [00:55:35] has ever occurred [00:55:36] of anything [00:55:37] of the scale [00:55:37] or magnitude [00:55:38] but [00:55:39] he went to Detroit [00:55:40] and he said [00:55:41] to Detroit [00:55:41] you're not making [00:55:42] automobiles anymore [00:55:43] you're making planes [00:55:44] and you're making [00:55:45] tanks [00:55:46] and within nine weeks [00:55:47] they retooled [00:55:48] their plans [00:55:49] and within six months [00:55:51] we reached those goals [00:55:52] and within 12 months [00:55:53] we surpassed them [00:55:53] and that's because [00:55:55] we had leadership [00:55:55] in Washington [00:55:56] who understood [00:55:57] you know [00:55:58] the urgency [00:55:58] of this national security issue [00:56:00] was able to mobilize [00:56:01] the technological [00:56:02] scientific [00:56:03] and entrepreneurial [00:56:03] energies [00:56:04] of our country [00:56:05] and able to [00:56:06] to inspire [00:56:07] the American people [00:56:08] to you know [00:56:09] to a new course [00:56:10] of action [00:56:11] that would preserve [00:56:12] our freedom [00:56:12] our independence [00:56:13] and you know [00:56:14] our values [00:56:16] and you know [00:56:18] that's the kind [00:56:18] of leadership [00:56:19] that I'm [00:56:20] you know [00:56:20] that we're all hoping [00:56:21] that we can get [00:56:22] of that magnitude today [00:56:24] you know [00:56:24] so far [00:56:25] so good [00:56:26] let me talk about [00:56:27] just about the cost of goals [00:56:29] because I said [00:56:30] you know [00:56:31] nobody's actually [00:56:31] assessed [00:56:32] done an evaluation [00:56:34] and if anybody [00:56:35] wants a [00:56:36] really good research project [00:56:38] this is one [00:56:39] that really needs [00:56:39] to be done [00:56:40] for somebody [00:56:41] to assess [00:56:42] the true cost [00:56:43] of coal [00:56:44] the way [00:56:44] Terry Taminen [00:56:45] has done [00:56:45] with oil [00:56:46] but nobody's ever [00:56:49] done this with coal [00:56:49] but let me talk [00:56:50] about some of it [00:56:51] because I was in [00:56:52] West Virginia [00:56:53] two weeks ago [00:56:55] arguing [00:56:55] a case [00:56:57] in front of [00:56:57] the Supreme Court [00:56:59] of the state [00:56:59] I was there [00:57:00] for six and a half weeks [00:57:02] last year [00:57:02] doing a jury trial [00:57:04] where I won [00:57:05] the biggest [00:57:06] judgment [00:57:07] in the history [00:57:07] of the state [00:57:08] 500 million dollars [00:57:09] I guess [00:57:10] and I've been fighting [00:57:12] on top mining [00:57:13] in that state [00:57:13] for many many years [00:57:14] I argued the appeal [00:57:15] last week [00:57:16] in front of the [00:57:17] Supreme Court [00:57:17] but on my way back [00:57:20] I flew over the [00:57:20] cumberland [00:57:21] and I saw something [00:57:22] that if the [00:57:22] American people [00:57:23] first of all [00:57:23] I drove [00:57:24] on a road [00:57:25] in West Virginia [00:57:25] that I was told [00:57:27] had 18 inches [00:57:28] of asphalt [00:57:29] on it [00:57:29] right [00:57:30] now [00:57:31] the roads [00:57:32] that you have [00:57:32] out here [00:57:33] have probably [00:57:34] almost four inches [00:57:35] of asphalt [00:57:36] and that asphalt [00:57:37] is really [00:57:38] every inch [00:57:39] costs millions [00:57:40] per mile [00:57:42] so [00:57:43] we're paying [00:57:46] for that asphalt [00:57:47] the American people [00:57:49] through the [00:57:49] highway department [00:57:50] built that road [00:57:51] and they're paying [00:57:52] for that 18 inch [00:57:52] of asphalt [00:57:53] that 18 inch [00:57:54] of asphalt [00:57:54] is there [00:57:55] for one reason [00:57:56] because the coal [00:57:57] trucks are so heavy [00:57:58] they need a lot [00:57:59] of asphalt [00:58:00] but they're not [00:58:01] paying for it [00:58:01] you and I are [00:58:02] that's one of the [00:58:03] hidden costs [00:58:04] of coal [00:58:04] when they sell [00:58:05] their coal [00:58:06] power for 11 cents [00:58:07] a kilowatt [00:58:08] you're paying [00:58:10] for that power [00:58:11] through your [00:58:12] highway funds [00:58:13] and [00:58:14] I flew over the [00:58:16] Cumberland [00:58:16] on my way home [00:58:17] and well [00:58:18] let me say this [00:58:19] I have three sons [00:58:21] who have asthma [00:58:21] one out of every [00:58:23] four black children [00:58:24] in American cities [00:58:25] now has asthma [00:58:26] one out of every [00:58:27] eight children [00:58:28] born in this country [00:58:29] have asthma [00:58:29] we have a pediatric [00:58:31] asthma epidemic [00:58:31] in America [00:58:32] and we know [00:58:33] that asthma attacks [00:58:34] are triggered [00:58:35] by bad air [00:58:35] by ozone particulates [00:58:37] and the primary [00:58:38] source of those [00:58:38] materials in our [00:58:39] atmosphere [00:58:40] are 400 coal [00:58:41] burning power plants [00:58:42] that are burning coal [00:58:43] illegally [00:58:44] it's been illegal [00:58:44] for 18 years [00:58:45] and a lot of them [00:58:47] cleaned up [00:58:48] in Massachusetts [00:58:48] they all cleaned up [00:58:50] many of them [00:58:50] what you find [00:58:51] is in the blue states [00:58:52] they cleaned up [00:58:53] and in the red states [00:58:55] where corporations [00:58:55] can easily dominate [00:58:57] the state [00:58:57] political landscape [00:58:58] they weren't required [00:58:59] to the agencies [00:59:00] were captured [00:59:01] by the corporations [00:59:02] and they didn't [00:59:02] require them [00:59:03] to comply [00:59:03] with the federal laws [00:59:04] and so 400 of them [00:59:06] operating illegally [00:59:07] discharging this [00:59:09] according to EPA's [00:59:11] own website [00:59:11] even through [00:59:13] the Bush administration [00:59:14] the illegal [00:59:15] discharges [00:59:16] from those plants [00:59:17] killed 60,000 [00:59:19] Americans every year [00:59:21] 20 times the number [00:59:23] of people [00:59:23] who were killed [00:59:23] in the World Trade [00:59:24] Center attacks [00:59:25] but not just once [00:59:26] year after year [00:59:27] after year [00:59:27] after year [00:59:28] they caused [00:59:28] a million [00:59:29] hazmat tax [00:59:29] a year [00:59:30] a million [00:59:31] lost worth [00:59:31] things [00:59:32] that's one of the [00:59:33] costs of coal [00:59:34] about 10 years ago [00:59:36] the federal [00:59:36] EPA announced [00:59:38] that in 19 states [00:59:39] it's now unsafe [00:59:40] to eat any [00:59:41] freshwater fish [00:59:42] in the state [00:59:42] because of mercury [00:59:43] contamination [00:59:44] that includes [00:59:45] this state [00:59:45] of Pennsylvania [00:59:46] mercury is coming [00:59:48] from those [00:59:48] same coal [00:59:48] burning power plants [00:59:49] in 49 states [00:59:51] at least some [00:59:52] of the fish [00:59:52] are unsafe [00:59:53] to eat [00:59:53] from mercury [00:59:54] in fact [00:59:55] the only state [00:59:56] all the fish [00:59:57] are still [00:59:57] safe to eat [00:59:58] is Dick [00:59:59] Jane's home [00:59:59] state of Wyoming [01:00:00] where the [01:00:01] Republican [01:00:01] controlled legislature [01:00:02] has refused [01:00:03] to appropriate [01:00:04] the mining [01:00:04] test of fish [01:00:05] in every other state [01:00:09] either some [01:00:10] or most [01:00:11] or all the fish [01:00:11] are unsafe to eat [01:00:12] in my state [01:00:13] in New York [01:00:14] almost all the fish [01:00:17] are unsafe to eat [01:00:18] I have fishing license [01:00:19] for 30 bucks [01:00:20] every year [01:00:21] and it comes [01:00:21] with a book [01:00:23] that gives the [01:00:25] advisers [01:00:26] on all of those [01:00:26] bodies [01:00:27] and in my tummy [01:00:27] there's no place [01:00:28] I can fish safely [01:00:29] you know [01:00:30] I can eat the fish [01:00:30] and we know [01:00:34] a lot about mercury [01:00:34] we didn't know [01:00:35] a few years ago [01:00:36] we know for example [01:00:36] that according to CDC [01:00:38] one out of every [01:00:39] six American women [01:00:40] now has so much [01:00:41] mercury in her womb [01:00:42] that her children [01:00:43] are at risk [01:00:44] for a grim inventory [01:00:45] of diseases [01:00:45] autism [01:00:46] blindness [01:00:47] mental retardation [01:00:48] heart liver [01:00:49] and kidney disease [01:00:50] the University of Texas [01:00:53] just did a study [01:00:55] that showed [01:00:56] that people [01:00:57] who live downwind [01:00:58] of coal burning [01:00:59] car plants [01:00:59] have dramatically [01:01:01] high autism rates [01:01:02] and that the schools [01:01:03] downwind of those [01:01:05] plants [01:01:05] have special education [01:01:06] rates that are [01:01:07] much higher than [01:01:08] schools [01:01:08] that are upwind [01:01:09] of those plants [01:01:10] and you know [01:01:12] and this is part [01:01:13] of the focus [01:01:13] of coal [01:01:14] I have so much [01:01:15] more during my blood [01:01:16] I got my levels [01:01:17] tested recently [01:01:18] and you know [01:01:19] everybody [01:01:20] every woman [01:01:21] childbearing hair [01:01:22] should get a levels [01:01:22] tested [01:01:23] everybody should [01:01:23] because [01:01:24] mercury is a really [01:01:25] potent neurotoxin [01:01:26] brain poison [01:01:27] associated with [01:01:28] early onset Alzheimer's [01:01:30] dementia [01:01:30] and memory loss [01:01:31] a lot of other [01:01:32] bad stuff [01:01:32] you can get [01:01:34] your levels tested [01:01:35] by going to our [01:01:36] website [01:01:36] waterkeeper [01:01:37] lines [01:01:38] and send us a little [01:01:38] lock in your hair [01:01:39] but there's more [01:01:42] there's better ways [01:01:44] to get a test [01:01:45] incidentally [01:01:45] than doing that [01:01:46] because mercury [01:01:49] really people [01:01:51] who have a lot [01:01:51] of mercury [01:01:52] in their hair [01:01:53] have to be people [01:01:54] who have [01:01:54] biological mechanisms [01:01:57] to expel mercury [01:01:59] and some of the [01:02:00] people who have [01:02:00] no mercury [01:02:01] in their hair [01:02:01] it's because [01:02:03] mercury is stored [01:02:03] in their bodies [01:02:04] and