Karel Rogers, PhD – Problems Solutions

Video Transcript:

The key problem that I see dealing with energy is that we have billions and billions of dollars invested in fuel inefficient vehicles, in coal fired power plants, in nuclear power plants, in Rub Goldberg grid system, which has been jerry-rigged time and time again to get us through one change or another change.  We have our homes set up in very inefficient, ineffective ways.  We’re building many, many more new structures that are energy inefficient.  That paradigm and that investment that’s been made in old outdated technology is literally tying us to decisions that we otherwise wouldn’t make if we were starting from scratch.

For example, some people say nuclear power is the solution to the problem.  You should know that a nuclear power plant can only work in conjunction with a coal fired plant, because a nuclear power plant is going to run full board, generating electricity into the grid, no matter what’s happening.  It has to have an external source of electricity to keep running.  A coal fired power plant, on the other hand, is kind of like a rheostat on the grid and the amount of electricity that’s in the grid so that if you need a little more power in the grid when everyone turns on their air conditioner on a hot day, then all you have to do is throw a little more coal on the fire and whamo, you’ve got more energy into the grid.  Nuclear power plants can’t do that.

So, the solutions to this whole thing, I definitely agree with Al Gore’s challenge to the US, that within a 10 year period we have a modern, updated energy grid system which isn’t losing 70% of its energy from where the energy is produced to where we use it.  An updated grid system that allows individual homeowners to have their own wind power, little windmill, generating electricity so that their meter can run both forward and back.  In other words, we distribute throughout out activities where power is generated and where power is used and, you know, more of a give and take sort of a system.  Our old grid system can’t function like that, and that’s part of the hesitancy, partly why people are so upset and having trouble dealing with the idea of alternative energy.  To be real frank, alternative energy does not work well with this old grid system.  It was designed and built for coal fired plants and nuclear powered plants.