It's definitely getting hard to sit there and say climate change doesn't exist. The last couple years have had the most unpredictable and unusual weather in recorded history for the majority of the world. We've finally hit that tipping point where we're really SEEING the effects all compounding at once, flooding everywhere, hurricanes and tornadoes raging, earthquakes up, volcanic activity suddenly after decades of quiet, fires everywhere, colder and harsher winters, hotter and harsher summers, drought, wild weather changes, you name it and it's been happening very visibly lately. I think, like you said, that's gotten a few more people to care. They're starting to see that it is, in fact, real, and that it's going to severely effect them personally in an almost entirely negative way.
I did not expect this video, but I'm so happy you made it, Hank. This breaks down the bill into very digestible chunks. As an Environmental Studies student graduating this year, I take major inspiration from your model of communication for work and studies in my field. I appreciate everyone's hard work around this bill, and I appreciate you for presenting it here in a way that allows Americans to understand what this Congress and President accomplished here. Thank you.
I'm SO excited about help electrifying my house, but also one thing that actually made me really excited was realizing that apparently my electric co-op is one of the cleaner places in the US, almost all of our power comes from solar and wind and the rest is hydro. I had NO idea! I mean I knew there were wind turbines and solar farms, but I didn't realize that we basically don't have anything else. Highly recommend looking up where your electricity actually comes from.
As a foreigner I'm glad that the first time I heard about this bill was when it was approved. It's a huge positive surprise that I feel will have a material impact. Now, on to the next climate bill! :)
This is a message I've been trying to make happen for a while now. The truth is that America and Europe peaked in our emission nearly 20 years ago. We can do this. We are doing this. The doomers are just wrong. We are doing good. We need to do more good faster.
You are 100% correct, they say "it's too expensive" and then they'll say "it's too late". And people on your own side, often not maliciously, will say "we can't change this, they're too greedy, they're too powerful, we just have to lose and be cynical". That cynicism is just as toxic. We have to take the ball and run with it.
@@winwinnie4905 No we don't. We can do nothing and we will be fine. The sort of climate change that will result from burning ALL fossil fuels is not an existential threat. All life will still prosper, probably even flourish as we unlock new continents and have warmer weather across the globe. The earth will be closer to the temperature it's been during the VAST majority of its existence.
Hank, I really appreciate both your undisguised enthusiasm and your thoughtfulness in discussing this complex issue. Thank you for all the videos today! I'm learning so much!
@@vlogbrothers Having made it to the end of the video, now I too feel more optimistic than I ever have before. And a bit teary. So one more thank you: thank you for helping us hope again.
@@_maxgray I still have no optimism about this corporate lobbyist pocket-lining bill that's masquerading as inflation reduction and environmentalism. If half these funds went to direct carbon capture and sequestration the problem would be solved in half a decade. PLEASE, don't believe this has anything to do with what they say it does.
@@vlogbrothers it seems a lot of discussions you have about climate change are incredibly biased, anti-scientific, based on collective consensus rather than objective falsifiable evidence and are undoubtedly most likely "paid for". This is very sad because it's hard to take your content seriously when your political views overshadow your claims about being scientific and objective.
This was such a delight to stumble across. I'm watching all their videos in order and there had been a big pause since around 2015 on climate related videos. For obvious reasons, yes, and I respect and am grateful for their videos on international conflict or other topics, but what a delight to see this flavor of science journalism come back around in their repertoire. They both seem a lot happier, perhaps more optimistic in this season of their videos. As you said, that does so much more for engagement than mainstream media can offer.
I always look up who owns the news company, or who owns the company that owns the news company. What I've found is most mainstream news companies are owned by older evangelicals, or their family.
"And luckily, I have prepared for you: MORE SQUARES!" Thank you for preparing these squares. Behind this video is many hours of research and interviews that I get to absorb and benefit from in a matter of minutes, and it's all presented in an engaging way from a delightful individual. What a treat!
I happened upon this comment EXACTLY AS THE WORDS CAME OUT OF HANK'S FACE and it was magical. Also, yes. @vlogbrothers Hank, the squares were very, very, very appreciated by my very visual brain. Thank you!
This video was 1000% more informative than anything on current news outlets. Thank you so much hank for the amazing breakdown of this bill. Your enthusiasm is really contagious.
Comments like this always tell me one thing: Not enough people watch PBS, BBC, or Al Jazeera. CNN, MSNBC, FOX, and all the other privately owned news networks share various levels of suck. Stop watching them lol
@redxpen lol this tired line. The net gain in agents will be about 20-30k, when you account for retirements in the next 5 years. Also, that +20-30k only restored the agency to full staffing prior to budget cuts. Finally, the very rich are the ones pushing this 87k narrative. Perhaps ask yourself why the ultra rich are trying to convince you to be afraid of your own government being well staffed
Amen! I've been struggling to figure out what's going on here, and didn't have the time to do the level of work Hank did for this, which was apparently the only way to figure it out. Don't know how Hank found the time, but incredibly grateful!
Hank I want you to know this video is extremely encouraging. I shared some of what the bill does with my environmentally-conscious teen and their instinctively cynical reaction gave way to genuine (albeit restrained) excitement. It’s vital that we see that while there is long, slow work to do, progress is possible! Every bit better is still better.
Make sure you have a plan to vote this midterm and take as many people with you as you can. If democrats hold the house and senate that will be able to pass another reconciliation bill next year. This is important because we wont get a single republican vote
This video was really uplifting. In talks about climate change, I’m often left feeling like nothing will change and nothing can be done. It’s important to find out about things we are actively doing and projects that have been successful, even if they aren’t the super progressive projects we want, because it reminds us of what’s possible and gives us momentum to build on. Thank you for this video, Hank.
It's worth noting that since 2005 US carbon emissions have already decreased by 1 billion tons annually WITHOUT significant legislative action. This bill will help a lot but there was always progress being made!
I'm 32. I learned a lot of what I know about climate change from my high school biology teacher in 2005-6. That was the era of An Inconvenient Truth and the Bush climate change denials. It was a bleak time for environmental policy. She was so passionate, but it was obvious that she found it hard to hold on to hope. Despite that she always encouraged my classmates and I to believe that better was possible. She passed away three months ago. I'm filled with excitement, but also the inevitable twinge of sadness that she didn't get to see this happen. Here's to everyone who had a Mrs. Hattie in their life, and is feeling all the feelings about this news.
I didn't go to high school so I got a GED and joined the Marines 2001 and then the Army, after eight years I got out and started taking college classes. I had NEVER studied anything about science, and I took an Environmental Biology class at City College of San Francisco taught by Peggy Lopipero-Langmo, at first I was distracted because I thought she was beautiful, lol, but she was so passionate about her subject it was contagious and I really got into it, and since then I've been obsessed with ecology, geology, paleontology and all aspects of biology and science. A good teacher that is in love with their subject and field goes a long long way.
"So let's start at the beginning.......Around 4 billion years ago something started to be alive on Earth" I was thinking the beginning for this bill, not for life on Earth 😅
@@vlogbrothers In the words of Julie Andrews, "let's start at the very beginning, a very good place to start" 😊 Thank you for this video and all the work you do!
Ya, I enjoyed the deeeeeep cut. “Oh wow, so we’re going back THAT FAR with this.” And it all tied in beautifully at the end. He’s an excellent storyteller.
For a video suggestion: could we get a post-mortem for previous bills, comparing the intention of parts of the bill to it's actual outcome? I'd love to see how these policy effects tracked over time.
@@marklapar4804 What makes this a sheep comment? And what are the best resources to stop laziness? It can be easy to call a name out of thin air, but if you give more detailed feedback, there can be a discussion.
@@corynanni1461 i think what he's trying to get at is you could do your own research, or maybe he's trying to say if you think its a good idea you should make the video? either way, who cares? You're right about it being easy to call names instead of giving feedback so who's really the "lazy sheep"?
I gotta say i'm a little dissapointed that there's so much focus on electric cars instead of public transportation, but overall this is a big step forward and every step counts
Yes!! I thought the same thing!! And then we could increase the price of gas to make it a better incentive to use public transport and finance it from the profits!
Agreed, I wish we'd take a better look at more public transit infrastructure, but America really is car-centric (thanks Ford!) and that won't change likely in our lifetime.
While I agree that public transportation would be more effective, one of the big aims for this bill is to make people feel that they are benefiting from it and I believe to, consequently, keep people from being caught up in change. For Americans who pride themselves in *owning* their own forms of transportation and are used to having it as a piece of property, it may be harder to convince them to use public transportation more frequently than to have an electric car. It may have also been harder to pass a bill that heavily focused on public transportation with "traditional values" focused individuals in power.
One of the issues with public transpotation in america is how local policies, topographies, and infrustructor make that a unwiedly and probably unrealstic task. Not to mention incredibly freakinng expensive and logictisal nightmare. Oh and it would super easy to derail if some ass has chooses to do so and there will be plenty. Electic cars and electric vehicles however are proven effective modes of transportation that should be seen as optional and thus more likely to be widely adopted. You can go from one end to the country to the other with an elctiric vehicle. Next step is to make them widely available and to put up more charging ports. What will you see happen is because it take longer to fill up you may even see small industires pop up around them as a result. Might as well watch a movie while your car is charging. Your more likely to choose a hotel with a charging station than one that doesn't have one. Alternative energy and electic cars need to be sold as alternatives and a smart way to diversfy our way of life. Microsoft isn't just windows for example- they are also a subcrption company, a cloud company, they make devices, they make games etc. Good investors don't invest in just one thing but have a wide ranging portfolio. America needs this mindset. Instead of being compatitve I think we should be encouraging. You don't want to buy an electric car cool whatever. But as you notice more and more electric cars out performing traditional cars you will eventually feel like a relic and make the choice yourself on your own terms.
Public transport is in almost every scenario cheaper than owning a car, while i don't think that all people will give up their cars, people tend to lean towards the cheaper option. Let me tell you from personal experience, with all the fuel price spikes in recent months, the cost of public transport in my country hasnt changed a dime. Rail and busses are better not only for the enviroment, but also the consumer. If america would just invest in it americans would come around to it.
As a power systems PhD who's been working on integration of renewables into the grid for more than a decade, I appreciate you educating people on the complexities of decarbonizing the grid. I share the optimism. As someone who's been "in the trenches" of greening the grid for so long, I've seen a lot of change that really makes me hopeful, this bill makes me extra hopeful. (edit spelling)
Wow!! That’s awesome! I’ve been doing some extremely light research into the field and came across something called SEAMS that looked really cool, do you know anything about it?
@@eos_aurora I don't work with SEAMS, I work with DERMS (Distributed Energy Resource Management Systems), the idea is giving electric utilities the ability to manage all of the rooftop solar, electric cars, small and large batteries, distributed wind, etc in ways that not only lets the grid bring in more of them, but makes the grid work more reliably then ever before. It's just one piece in the large puzzle but it's important and we're seeing real results. With this bill, it will enable more research into better management and make more of these distributed systems available.
Tell us why the sky is blue again since the late 60's early 70's, there has been at least 3 ice ages and democrat politicians like Obummer buying beachfront property!!!
How do you reconcile the fact that renewable clean energy sources lack the grid inertia to keep steady power flowing during a sudden increase in demand? Solar and Wind can't simply be dialed up during increased demand. I guess some of you may have to suffer or die, but as a sacrifice I'm willing to make lol
@@Anonymous______________ Just how much are we using fossil fuels for this clean energy? we don't have enough electricity to power more than about 2 electric cars per block so far! the sky is the same color as before Biden stole office.
Hank, I'm 28. Ever since I was a kid I've been hearing about climate change and it's always seemed like a problem that just got worse and worse and the people with the power to change things weren't. Thanks for the first good news about the climate I've ever heard.
Make sure to VOTE this November for a democrat. Republicans have pledged to shut down the government to force the repeal of the IRA if they win in November. This is on all of us to keep the House and Senate.
@@redactedredacted2621 lol it's literally a recent study around how the pandemic lockdowns effected the climate. I'm grateful for you platitudes though ❤️
@@Avner123 where is that from? Does that have any real effect? There are other bad effects of pollution, so I seriously doubt whatever article you read said it was a net positive to pollute.
I’m a sustainability analyst for a major agribusiness company, and the past couple years have been some of the biggest strides for carbon reduction. Companies are using sustainability as a key performance indicator and the reduction of carbon has become a priceable commodity. The fact that the USA has finally joined the EU and even China with carbon reduction efforts is so encouraging, and it is some of the most exciting climate news I’ve heard in my life time.
Major agribusiness? So a big company that has destroyed many, many small family farms, and is probably doing things like planting patented seeds and suing neighbors, pushing for expensive regulations that smaller competitors cannot afford to comply with. There's probably little your company does that isn't truly evil.
@@stuffbenlikes Ironically that is indeed one of the positive points: They see that they need to get proactive about things and make their own decisions before they are made for them. This is not about good or bad, it is about opportunism.
It may be worth noticing that this was a perfectly partisan bill, in both house and senate. Every single Democrat voted for it. Every single Republican voted against it. No exceptions.
almost every single bill that doesnt involve drone striking more brown children or giving more money to israel is split across these lines it's just a show lmao
@A B I've come to a conclusion that the Republicans don't care about the environment for future generations very sad and they don't believe in cutting edge science.
Kinda creepy our country has no middle ground anymore in politics. Just 2 radical sides that constantly switch between who is slightly less bad than the other.
Hank, I must also say something from the bottom of my heart. I lived most of my life in the state of West Virginia, surrounded by the most hard working and poor people I have ever met. I worked as a coal miner for a few years and I have always enjoyed most of what Complexly has to offer. You and I have differed politically the entire time I have enjoyed your content. It took me moving out of WV to another locale to open my mind and eyes enough to realize how little we differ when it comes to reality and how much we can share as fellow humans. Thank you for this video as it has continued to sway me more towards the fact that climate change does exist (I have believed it does exist for about 10 years now) and it has also convinced me that with enough belief and talent and hard work, positive things can actually be accomplished in government for the betterment of our humanity.
Should have thanked them by following through on that promise for 2k stimulus. That failure is going to come back to bite dems in the ass. When Republicans win back those seats they'll just blame voters instead of taking any responsibility.
Hank, ten years ago in my High School speech class I had to give a "persuasive speech" and I chose to do it by spouting off all the climate denier talking points. Specifically you on this channel and on SciShow have been a key factor in changing my mind on that, and getting me to continually force that issue with my family until in the last few years they started to come around. They vote republican, and they have begun to agree that climate is important to them and will effect their voting. All this to say, please don't forget to acknowledge the impact that you personally have had, I would bet many of the people fighting to get critical legislation passed learned about it from you just the same as I did. Thanks for being the EcoGeek.
Honestly this is also my story. I was convinced climate change was not real or at least not the fault of humans and it was through scishow and hank (as well as some very understanding teachers) that I learned how wrong I was and became a climate advocate
Don't call Hank an "Ecogeek", he's a fucking hack who's pumping people full of hopium about an insanely watered-down piece of legislation. Why is anyone's guess, but overall this video is a joke
10 years ago, I was a firm climate change denier. I began to realize how flawed that worldview was during my mission to India, and today I'm all in on fixing this problem. I know there are more stories like mine, and we *will* solve this problem!
@@TheCliffjoseph The most obvious factor was life in cities without strong environmental protection. After living for 4 months in Visakhapatnam and Rajahmundry, I had honestly forgotten the sky was blue. I didn't fear sunburns because the smog was thick enough to block UV rays. The streets were covered in trash and other types of waste. While a lot of it wasn't a direct result of climate change, it forever made the connection in my mind that we humans have an extremely powerful effect on the environment. The other factor was a change in perspective. I had grown up in semi-rural, conservative Idaho. My whole life I was surrounded by people with my same worldviews, and indeed, I was shaped by those views. Going to somewhere so distinctly different changed all of that. I saw what life in a varied, multicultural, and much less wealthy setting was like, and although it was extremely difficult at first, I grew to love both the land and the people there. I learned that so many things I had taken for granted were incorrect, and eventually that led to me questioning my views on the climate. The people of South India are some of the greatest I've associated with, and I don't want to participate in a lifestyle that will directly harm them. Millions of lives ride on our actions, from the local (Fight for walkable cities!) to the national level.
For me it was 13 years ago, but I was also a climate change denier. Luckily I had a chemistry professor who was kind and patient enough to show me the science behind it and challenged me to more critically examine the evidence I had believed up to that point. I realized that I had been duped by people who were using motivated reasoning and questionable data to come to the conclusion they wanted.
But if we stay in the framework of our current economic system of endless growth and global production and don't think outside of the box it's just never going to be enough? Like from what I understand this bill aims at keeping the status quo by replacing the energy source, it's never questioning our civilization model.... which is driving us right into a wall (Also this focus on innovation and technology is definitely ideological. What we need is to step back, and realize that those things are what put us in this situation in the first place. We need to slow down, not speed up)
Thank you guys for putting so much effort in making these and finding accurate information to put into these videos. Sometimes trying to find information on these topics really overwhelms me, and this really helps me at least find a place to start when I research.
I work at the largest utility company in my state and they’ve made it very clear that their investments in clean energy aren’t just a publicity stunt or a science fair project. Over the last decade the company has invested HEAVILY in wind/solar, implemented “leak detection” teams who identify and repair leaks in gas lines, started a statewide program to replace old corroded gas lines, closed down several coal plants, and began reinvesting in nuclear plants. Their forecasted spend on clean energy over the next 10 years is substantial, too. Like Hank said in the video; it’s becoming impossible to ignore the effects of climate change. Seeing a massive utility company also acknowledge this gave me some hope.
Same again for the utility i'm at. They want to be around for a while, and regardless of the politics, the stakeholders are demanding sustainability, certified emissions, and a plan for the future.
This feels nice to hear. One of the things I’ve been most worried about is that most companies and corporations were just using this legislature/the concept of sustainability to get by without having to make any actual shifts or commit to any actual change, but to know that there’s real action behind this is great.
"impossible to ignore" = corporations can not make as much profit from ignoring it anymore. It's almost like the rules and restrictions are completely made up and we have the power to change them as we see fit. But instead we continue to act like this distribution of power and wealth is not only justified but a requirement.
Ya know, I really needed to hear this. I admit, I am absolutely guilty of dooming and being one of those skeptical lefties that wants to remind you constantly on Twitter of the terrible stuff corporations and the powerful people that own them are doing in spite of your optimism... but today, ya got me. I'm feeling hopeful, and no less resolute in fighting for further climate policy into the future. This was a win, and I will celebrate it unironically. Thank you Hank, and to everyone who helps to advocate for a better future.
I have to respond to you, because I'm feeling really grateful to you for showing me that a doom-and-gloomer can be flexible. Being open to optimism (when it's called for) is crucial. Otherwise, a person would always be pessimistic no matter what, and then what's the point?If there's no action that a person would accept as an improvement, what could we possibly gain from seeking that person's input? So, thank you!
"No one in congress would keep their jobs if they made fuel costs go up." Every single Republican in Congress voted against lowering gas prices to protect the profits of their oil company masters. Let's make sure Hank's statement comes true in November.
@@1DwtEaUn everything would go up in price if that happened. the fossil fuel industry is and always will be vital. almost nothing is made without fossil fuels in some manner.
also what bill are you talking about that's going to lower gas prices that's come up? cause they weren't a huge problem until the new year then when Russia shot at Ukraine it spiralled out of control.
They're also protecting the entire nation from skyrocketing costs for literally EVERYTHING. Absolutely EVERYTHING relies on Fossil Fuels, and basically NONE of it has any sort of electric alternative.
As a climate researcher and part-time activist, I often feel hopeless. Some things - coral reefs, ancient forests, countless species - they are already lost. It will never go back to how it was. Climate change is full of those hard facts, hard truths. But I too feel the window of transformational change that Hank describes. It has been pried open through decades of work. We can't forget that it was never the end goal: we still need to get through that window in a truly just transition. But we also must remember to celebrate our wins. Bask in the hard-won light. Because otherwise, all there is, is hopelessness. And I'm so tired of feeling like that. So thank you, Hank. And thank you to all those who have worked on this, even if it felt small or insignificant. It wasn't. The movement is moving still.
Yeah it sucks that we caused the dinosaurs, and countless other forms of life ove the past billion years to go extinct. It was us. It was always us, and it will always be us. The great alien gods say so.
@@roadkillavenger1325 what are you talking about, they didn’t say anything about that? They’re talking about all the species which have become extinct in recent history due to climate change.
Coral is one of the most destructive lifeless systems on earth. Figures you beauty worshippers love coral when coral should be removed and wiped out. It’s terrible for the eco system but please you’re a genius obviously. You think all nature is pro nature when you don’t know anything about how coral is destroying fish life and creating toxic seas. But sure. You seem to love ignoring how coral reefs kill fish life. Go on clown.
I think it’s great that the bill helps electric vehicles, but what it should do is change the infrastructure to be less car-reliant and to emphasize public transportation such as commuter-rails, subways, and electric trolleys/ buses.
Sad part is it helps hybrids just as much. And that will probably slow down true electric vehicle development and sales, because old manufacturers can still just put small and cheap batteries in their combustion engine cars and get the full reward.
THIS. I used to say I really wanted a self-driving car, but what I really want (and most everyone I've spoken to about it) is a clean, safe, reliable, and accessible public transit system. What little public transit this country has is usually under-funded and overcapacity, which means it isn't particularly clean or safe, who knows how much longer it will work, and it tends to be either inconvenient to use or straight up inaccessible to disabled people. Cheonggyecheon in Seoul turned a major highway into a public park and overhauled their transit system, and it's resulted in a cooler city with cleaner air, fewer cars and so LESS traffic, and brought it millions in tourism dollars. We need to rethink everything about our country.
I can't stop thinking about this, and about how Musk's Hyperloop ploy (which is stalling and going nowhere) was designed to halt California's highspeed rail development. It's no mistake that efficient (and therefore more ecologically and energy friendly) public transportation is seen as threat to the auto industry, both traditional petrol and electronic, a very much private for-profit system integrated with our decaying road infrastructure (all the new and good roads are tolled). This country is overrun by corporate interest and the climate bill isn't escaping that.
I've been a climate activist since I was 15, way back in 2004. I'm tearing up with hope this week for the first time since our cap and trade bill failed under Obama. And that's not to mention this bill is the biggest step in lowering drug prices probably ever. Thanks, Hank for breaking this down for us. So much love. We are h unstoppable. Another world is possible.
I love that you're celebrating this! This is a win regardless of its imperfect bits! Also it's not like all environmental advocates are giving up after this. This is just the beginning of a green revolution and climate consciousness in our country!
Celebration? Dude oil companies are going to the bank laughing. They literally gave provisions to build more oil pipelines. Nuclear plants are not sustainable.
Too little, too late. There is no "solution" except the complete collapse of industrial civilization, and the return to a world population that is south of a billion.
I went back to watch that part again and laugh at it, and Hank actually says "we are smarter than them" without qualifiers. It's "passing broad-based industrial policy with a focus on clean energy" where we're only **barely** better than cyanobacteria. (2:18) Which. Yeah. That significant increase in intelligence is only weakly correlated to effective long-term decision making in our governments. (but there **is** a positive correllation! we are intelligent and we can use that to make the world more awesome. it's just a matter of putting in the work)
@@polyanima Given that the cyanobacteria never passed a bill like this, and we just barely managed to do so, yeah, I'd say that holds up. But to any Congress-people thinking of running on a slogan of "more effective at legislating than a bacterium", well, you might want to workshop that a bit more.
@@Tim3.14 - "Given that the cyanobacteria never passed a bill like this" Counterpoint - the cyanobacteria didn't _need_ to pass a bill like this, and still managed to make it through just fine. If we _are_ past the tipping point and this is too-little-too-late, we may still actually fail because we're dumber than cyanobacteria. Would we truly be "smarter" just because we've developed the mental capacity to realize we're screwing ourselves over, but then do it anyway?
I've always believed that optimism is a far greater motivator than fear, in the long run. It's been true in my personal life, but also in politics. Because once the status quo settles and people stop being afraid, they stop acting. Optimism, though... that doesn't go away. It's just reinforced at every step we take. So thank you for your optimism. This is what gets people pumped up to do more. Let's do this shit!
I used this exact argument in class once!! Everyone else in the class stood on the side of 'our actions are most motivated by fear' and I was the only one who agreed with 'our actions are most motivated by hope.' Said pretty much the same thing that you said, when the teacher asked me to explain my opinion: that fear only pushes us away from things, but hope is the only thing that makes you go forwards towards a goal. We can say we fear climate change, but it is hope that we can do something about it that pushes us to work against it. Got a couple of classmates to change their position :) I think it's pretty sad that the almost entire class decided to stand on the other side though.
@@NormandyFoxtrot That has not happened anywhere. Far from it. The opposite it true. We are not afraid enough, people are still talking about how the scientists are lying or how it isn't as bad as we're saying. This bill isn't amazing because hope or optimism or some shit, its good because its practical. Its good because it works. Fear or hope means nothing, folks have survived and thrived on both.
<a href="#" class="seekto" data-time="1240">20:40</a> "Nothing gets done if you don't believe it can be done" Hank I'm crying. Huge thanks to everyone who worked hard for this to happen and people like you who educate us on this matter to keep us engaged. We've landed a big W!
As someone who has very recently decided to take drastic measures to prevent pregnancy because of a complete loss of hope-and that decision followed years of actively fighting against the impulse to unalive myself because of (again) a loss of hope, thank you for this summary. Thank you for building this community. I’m still very much in denial stages (denial that the tide is turning), and I still struggle a lot with thoughts of suicide because of *gesturing around* but it’s nice to at least scroll through the comments and see there are other people who are still fighting.
L Y, please do not listen to this person. There is hope and you are worthy and should not k1ll yourself. Whoever wrote this reply to you clearly is in deep pain and struggle and please do not let their outlook affect how you see life. I'm so sorry that as soon as you saw a glismpe of hope this disgusting person tried to downplay it, but please know there is another person who validates your hope and shares this feeling with you.
I feel that, terrified to bring a child into a dying world. Let's all try to go recover our lost hopes about the future and make this a victorious battle to save our planet. what a time to be alive, when it feels like its up to us to do it, and we all get the chance to try to save planet Earth.
That is very unfortunate, but a lot of our woes with transit can be solved by making our society less car-dependent. Electric cars are better yes, but they are not the best. There are much more articulate videos on this but.
@@AlRoderick Seriously this. In my state parking protected bike lanes are illegal, the city wants them but the state gov says no. Just one of the ways going green is made hard. We desperately need more focus on non-car infrastructure.
God, this is... really good. I'm genuinely crying. There are things missing. Carbon tax, reducing car-dependent infrastructure, and increases in public transit and active transport are conspicuously absent. But my god this is so good and so much better than I ever expected and this is the first time I've felt hope in a very long time.
The thing about reducing car dependent infrastructure is that it's a decision that has to be made at the local level. There's really only one bit of city planning that Congress can do directly and DC already has a metro (and an extra private subway just for Congress). There's also a lot of stuff related to that that isn't really a thing that's done by the legislature, it's administrative. Secretary Buttigieg and the department of transportation can review a lot of freeway construction projects right now without asking Congress for anything. Walkability and active transit are really questions of land use. Converting a traffic lane into a bike path doesn't actually cost very much money it just takes the will to do so, and no bill passed by Congress is going to make city councilman Ford F. Treefitty (R-Trucksburg) suddenly decide that reducing parking minimums and adding protected cycling infrastructure is a good idea even though it's going to end up improving the city's finances and make it easier for him to drive. (And don't get me wrong, cities run by councils full of rich suburbanite Democrats pull the same crap, ignorance about good city planning and its consequences is a shining example of bipartisanship.)
A key change will be zoning rules. Medium density residential is basically banned in most of the US. There needs to be less suburban and more urban. As you say these are local decisions, but at the moment there are federal subsidies for new suburban development. At the very least this needs to stop. Maybe a federal law could require a certain percentage of residential zoning to medium density or something like that?
Realistically, I don’t think expecting people to take the bus or ride a bike over driving is very important to this bill. Maybe you missed the part where he said they’re making buses and garbage trucks run clean energy too. Those are more local things. People will always drive cars here. While I love Northern Europes bike and public transit stuff, that will never happen here nor should we expect it to. What it looks like they ARE doing though, is funding for electric vehicles and that’s wayyy more important given how America works. Yeah, asking Americans to take the bus, ride a bike or carpool is like ancient problem solving compared to what this bill is offering, plus like I said, that stuff is done locally through the towns or states and they usually include it in their budget anyways.
I almost cried watching this, HUGE hugs and thanks to the people who've been working to get this bill realised, and those working everyday to enact the initiatives detailed in it. Time to get my own country to do something similar!
Hank, there's one large hangup that has been keeping me skeptical about this bill that I was hoping you could address. I am aware that a good chunk of the carbon reduction we've seen in this country has been due to outsourcing some of our manufacturing to other countries. These countries are often still using fossil fuels to power those manufacturing industries, and the goods they produce are made for us US-based consumers. So I guess my concerns around this hangup come down to a) are we really as far as we think we are in combatting this; b) if we're over-attributing our success to alternative energy, can we be sure this bill will get us as far as we are hoping it will; c) are we doing anything to ensure that we are not simply outsourcing a majority of our carbon emissions to meet our 2050 goals; d) are we implementing any other measures that encourage us to consume products that are carbon-friendly upstream, especially when they're imported; and e) are there any efforts at reducing our consumption overall, considering we are driving so much of the carbon produced overseas. If you see this, thank you so much for all your efforts in fighting this crisis and for taking the time to read my comment.
Yes, the bill will actually drive down US emissions by a good amount. It’s not only going to produce a lot of cheaper green energy, but it involves investments in clean manufacturing. It’s also about making electric vehicles, solar panels, and heat pumps more affordable.
You are raining on the self congratulatory parade - I think you won’t get an answer because there isn’t one. Nothing we are going to do is going to stop China and India from developing and polluting further.
There's what's called the learning curve, where the cost of producing something goes down at a steady rate as you double production of it. With solar power it's like 21%. It's why Germany requiring (then expensive) solar power in 2009 caused a lot of solar to get built and deployed, which made new solar now cheaper, for everyone globally. And this bill is going to just push that trend even further, by A LOT. So solar will be more cost competitive in India, and Indonesia, and China, and Vietnam, and Mexico, etc. And the same, at different learning curves, goes for wind and batteries. Which means those places will also speed up decarbonization of their power sectors because it'll just make economic sense for them whether they make their own policies or not.
This is only an opinion, but I must ask it still. Wouldn't it be more effective to incentivise public transport instead of electric cars? I mean in terms of energy and resource efficiency. It is time for the car manufacturing lobbyists to stop.
It would be more energy efficient but with the majority of US city and interstate transportation changed to focus around cars it is easier to change one thing about the current system, the type of cars, then revert the system back to trains and other public transport
Thank you, Hank, for conveying to people in a very genuine way how big of a win this is. With so much going wrong in the world and all the cynicism out there, it's important to really stop and appreciate what was accomplished here. Thank you to everyone who made this happen!
It's easy to shit on Joe. He deserves it. But we still need to talk about the elephant in the room because none of them voted for it. None of those people who constantly fight against this should ever hold office ever again.
This is really nice and relieving to hear. My last year of high school right before the pandemic me and my classmates were advocating for our school to change there use of Styrofoam and wasting food. Now when we brought this up we did months of research and probably was one of the best classes I ever did. But, after the pandemic happened I had no idea if the school was going to actually use the plan that we provided them and I found out two years later in college that they have been doing it ever since I graduated. Please everyone continue to push for better options and improving your communities and Thank you Hank for using your platform to bring attention the great milestone that will happen from this bill.
Just in case it doesn't get said enough, very proud of you and your classmates for doing this. Stuff like this is how we make the world better from the ground up, so big thank you from this random internet stranger ♥
Thank you for making a difference!! When people say that every little bit doesn't count, then everyone stops trying and those "little bits" stop adding up to big change.
Thats really cool:) in high school i collected the school's recycling when they weren't doing it and put it all in the trash, and after i left they started doing it. Not to discredit them but that was to comply with ca state though
Good for y'all. I wish we had a non destructive government here in India that also cared about the environment. I hope countries like India soon get our act straight. It's definitely difficult for me to watch all this and feel optimistic because I see zero action, even negative action, happening around me with rampant deforestation and excessive mining. Can't wait for legislative action in India but things look lowkey bleak ngl
Here, add my hopes to yours. I really feel like India is in such a good position to actually go sustainable if only people could be convinced it is possible and matters-- and I really hope that they see it. Maybe you can join/support one of the groups working to create artificial water resivoirs and restore natrual ones which had existed there, I wish I remembered the name of an organization but I read the article about one last year.
@@purpleghost106 interesting. I have a very different pov on this from yours. I don't think it's the people who need to be convinced, I think people are actually pretty on board with pro environment policies in India and it's these giant corporations and politicians that have vested interests in passing legislation that is not pro-people. I also think it is wrong to put the onus of change on individuals when most of the problem comes from systemic institutions and corporations.
I never thought I would see anything like this for years. I have been active in climate issues for 4 years. I think this bill is VERY GOOD. Of course there are things I would take out, but the basic approach is correct as a starting point in my view. The big challenge now is to find the companies that have the best capacities to use the available funding. It will be crucial that selection of contractors be totally transparent and that the public engage heavily in the process. This includes the participation of the climate skeptics, some of whom have deep knowledge into the dynamics of energy systems.
“Nothing will get done if you don’t believe it can be done” Thank you to all those who believed it can be done because I sure didn’t, I gotta stop giving up so quickly. And thank you Hank for doing what our incompetent media wouldn’t
Believing isn't going to cut it without big strides in cost-efficient energy technology. Get that first, then even I'll believe. "Believing" got us the education morass we're in, the failed War on Poverty, and countless other massive government programs riddled with unintended consequences and unfathomable inefficiency and corruption. You all are "believing" in our elected officials' competency and ethics. Think about that for a moment.
@@spidgeb3292 But if you don't believe that the problem is solvable, why even try? Belief is not the only step, but it is the first step. Because only people who believe it can be done and don't take no for an answer actually get things done. People who don't believe it can be done just get depressed and nothing changes. At a minimum, believing that it's not all hopeless and that something can be done is miles better for your mental health than giving into the fatalism.
@@spidgeb3292 and it's not about believing in elected officials necessarily. It's just about believing that there are good people in the world, period. That there are people out there fighting the good fight - that there's something you can do to be a part of that fight, and not giving up your own power. That's all.
I had plans for renovating two old houses (purchased November 2019) incorporating green energy systems - plans that were immediately derailed by the pandemic. Then, the Texas freeze left me without power and very nearly killed me, which not only angered me, but strengthened my resolve to capture/harness wind and solar energy that I can access when my useless state government declares (again) my neighborhood is not worthy of life sustaining utilities. It looks like the delay in renovations may be the best silver lining I’ve never expected! I’m struggling to find details on homeowner rebates and incentives - like what is exactly covered and when/how they’ll be accessible. I welcome any links for this info and I truly appreciate this explainer episode! Thank you!
That is fantastic, I really hope it all goes well for you! I am a high school student and see a huge future in green energy installation/production, and so, plan to go into the green energy workforce when I graduate from high school. This is the first time in a while I have been actually motivated and hopeful for the future.
Those wind and solar energy will do you absolutely no good during a situation like what Texas experienced. The windmills froze solid and the solar panels were covered by snow Plus there is no sunlight. So how exactly is when and solar going to save you from that? I love my solar panels but your statement is oxymoron.
@@bryanshoemaker6120 "plus there is no sunlight" This shows your absolute ignorance on the situation, you moron. Does the sun just go away during the winter? No. They absorb the light and convert it to energy just the same.
"Nothing gets done if you don't believe it [can] be done, and I, for the first time... in DECADES of this, have started to believe that it can be done". Actual chills
No matter what legislation. We need to massively reduce our animal product consumption. The only way to be sustainable is by being vegan. It's the minimum we gotta do. The base line. Ethically and ecologically. It's free, everybody can do it, it makes a huge difference. For the animal its his or her life, for you it is surviving on this planet.
Actually, the main thing animals eat is scraps and stuff like corn husk that humans can’t use or eat. Also they don’t take a lot of water to raise. Some people have misinterpreted studies that say one cow takes like 20 tons of water to raise, when about 91% of that water is water they get from eating grass and rain. So really animals aren’t that costly to produce and they eat a lot of waste that would’ve otherwise gone to landfills or waste that could’ve potentially been littered. So the only downside really, or the argument you can make is that the conditions are cruel.
@@kuchuyobenai9461 80% of all plants are produced solely for animal feed. the water consumption in intensive farming is off the charts. The direct environmental pollution of livestock farms is massive. I assume you might mean grass fed cows. We need to look at animal agriculture with all it's periphery as a whole. It basically is the biggest polluter. Bigger than transportation if one takes into account all it's impacts. But yes the cruelty to animals alone is reason enough to end that industry. Sadly it actually is a huge climate killer. And no we can not feed a population on these products sustainably. It's completely backwards. We are feeding animals, to feed those animals to other animals (us). We need to cut that middleman. Besides that animal products are not healthy as they are associated with increased mortality rate and contribute to the number one killer which is heart disease and stroke. There is no way around it. A sane world is a vegan world.
@@abrahambickle7202 you probably got this info from kurzgesagt’s video called “Is meat really that bad” and many videos have come out debunking the facts in that video and misinterpretations of studies used in the video. Even if you aren’t getting your facts from that vid directly, the facts you are stating are disproved by the videos debunking kurzgesagt. One of those videos debunking is called “eating less meat won’t save the planet. Here’s why.” The other video is called “kurzgesagt and the art of greenwashing” it’s a video debunking multiple of their videos and how they are supported by big corporations to peddle out videos giving people poor solutions that don’t change much, like saying eating less meat will help, which it doesn’t really.
@@abrahambickle7202 like I’ve stated before, an overwhelming percentage of the food animals are eating comes from things we cannot use or consume, like corn husks, almond hulls, and soybean skins and beet pulp and oat straws and wholes that come from producing oatmeal, etc. Every 100 pounds of food we make from farming, we make 37 pounds of human inedible byproducts. Livestock take 43.2 billion kilograms of stuff that we cannot eat, that would’ve been put in landfills, if not for the livestock eating it. Honestly I’m too tired to right out all the points from the video “eating less meat won’t save the planet. Here’s why” The video addresses every single point you have made.
@@kuchuyobenai9461 ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-aWE_IZ0W7xw.html Those videos you stated have been debunked. they are using animal industry funded BS. Watch that. ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-G44CDBdC8CA.html Response to the What I Learned Video ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-DkMOQ9X76UU.html This one is good too. Even if they just eat "waste products". we still need to produce those waste products for them. That's the whole point. You are being played by a big lobby my friend. Most of the crops are for animals not for humans. We can free up those fields and let nature have space again mitigating a lot of climate change. This is not an opinion this is a measured fact. Only a vegan world is sustainable there is enough research collaborating that. Meat is a huge problem. For your health and for the planet. And so is dairy. An Animals lives are also worth more that your right to enjoy a meal that is unhealthy for you.
The nuclear investment has me shocked and happy. I think that Nuclear has a critical role to play in the decarbonization of our civillization and seeing so much invested into it from this bill is just so encouraging.
Yeah, at that part where he was describing stable power generation I was mockingly saying "nuclear" at the screen because as an advocate for it, I've gotten jaded by all the ignorant opposition and attempts to kill nuclear programs (and inevitably replace their _massive_ contributions to the grid with coal) - and then he actually said nuclear. What a pleasant surprise, I hope they push against further decommissioning and go for upgrades instead, as well as building new plants. They've been saying "nuclear is too slow, it takes like 10 years to build a plant" for some 30 years now, we'd be in a much better position if we'd ignored them, so we might as well start now.
When it said wind and solar, I was saying “yeah but what about nuclear, what about nuclear” glad that was in there. Nuclear should be primary, wind and solar secondary.
You're teaching these children garbage. There's no evidence that climate change is caused primarily by CO2 and there's no evidence that slight warming of the planet is all that bad. I dare you to take a look at the ACRIM2 controversy, investigate the real cause of forest fires, and actually read the IPCC confidence level on the broad claims that warmer climates causing bad climate events
@@dannyarcher6370 This RU-vidr should tell the EPA-Boss: "UpisNotJump made a Schoolfriendly Version of his Climate-VIdeo; WHY NOT show this on Schools, spread it around??'
While I do appreciate the optimism and the fact that this is our first hope in getting something done, I'm still worried about a lot. There's already so much carbon in the atmosphere that this won't "stop" climate change and there will still be many many more issues to face as we transition. Achieving "net-zero" might not be enough.
@@stephaniec3022 Emissions and C02 and how we know what we know and why some of us dont know is explained by the extremly-basic videos of UpisnotJump and Hbomberguy.
As a 24 year old climate activist, often the voices in my head that talk about the doom scenarious are too loud and it’s hard to stay a ‘stubborn optimist’. Thank you for explaining this complex thing so eloquently. Your hope gave me some hope today. 💚🙏
Great Video but WHAT A MISSED OPPORTUNITY to make a Pinned Comment to direct curious People to more high-quality Climate-Coverage. I mean, its the natural Reaction to finish such a video and want more, so why doesnt he help his Fans by endorsing the Climate-Coverage of Hbomberguy, UpisNotJump, Some More News, Second Thought, Climate-Town and OCC? Why dont we, old or young, inside Schools or wherever we are, not show people these videos when people put so much effort into even making them fun and accesable?
Hope is the Ultimate Form of Resistance - Annie Leonard People who are profiting off of killing our planet want us to feel hopeless, powerless, and like nothing can be done to improve things. They want us to give up and crawl into a cave of despair so that we give up fighting and advocating for change. The only way we lose, is if we lose hope. Hope is a protest.
The naysayers of the greedy often institutionalized corporate entities do not get to drive people into the ground just yet! Keep going we’re with you 💗 and right behind you
This video makes me feel weirdly proud, even though I didnt accomplish anything. Proud of humanity for really trying and proud of those people putting in all the work, proud of society for functioning, proud of hank for being enthusiastic about a good thing he doesnt fully agree with and proud of this community for valuing all of it.
That's great, you should be proud because speaking for myself I am totally ashamed of things that become law when they're massive steps backwards, even when they happen in a different country. Some things transcend national boundaries and its OK I think to celebrate success and be ashamed of bad things that one didn't do contribute to.
Now that I have a child more so than ever before I have been feeling a growing sense of helplessness and despair about climate change. The fact that something meaningful and effective has finally come out of a country that not only is the worst polluter per capita in the world but also has one of the most dysfunctional democracies in the world is giving me some much needed hope. Thank you so much, Hank, for this detailed explanation.
Haha you are raising a weak loser. Have fun having late night convos about bullies and his sexuality. HahahahahHahahahah man you people are the problem.
@@iananderson5972 The world will be different but its those differences which really matter for human habitability. In particular the changes in ambient humidity are quite concerning as that will continue to push the wet bulb temperatures further into the danger zone for longer period of time rendering parts of the world unsurvivable to humans. As humans our thermoregulatory solution of sweating is a pretty rare innovation and that appears to be partly because in a hot house Earth climate it doesn't work as hot air often contains to much water vapor for evaporative cooling to work as a scalable solution for an organism with our high metabolic rates. Another really concerning aspect has to do with the consequences of increased availability of carbon dioxide on plants as while this can lead to "increased plant growth" in a naive sense research has shown that vital mineral nutrients don't respond in the same way meaning the plants ability to structurally support themselves and produce essential vitamins and sequestered minerals remains more or less the same. Ultimately the alarming observation is that this results in plants becoming increasingly less nutrient dense and thus less able to sustain us and other complex life without proportionally scaling the amount of food we need to be able to consume. Its also been warned by scientists that much of the hoped reduction of greenhouse gas emissions depend son technology that doesn't yet exist and which there are no guarantees said technologies will ever be able to work as advertised on scale. Its because of these and other impacts that we can't afford to settle for just dealing with the changes we will need to take action to dismantle the systems which stifle our ability to respond and adapt due to the short term financial interests of the top less than 1%. Research does seem to show that most people are at least somewhat concerned the problem stifling our ability to respond is institutional as the political economic systems we have today are built around the fossil fuel industry.
I’m crying like a baby watching this. Hank, you’ve been my greatest role model for my entire adult life. You are honest to god, single-handedly responsible for my hope and optimism towards the climate crisis. I will never be able to thank you enough. For helping to educate people, for giving them something to believe in, and for being my role model. Thank you, thank you, thank you.
Yeah... sorry dude, this is not for climate, AT ALL, still the transition is gonna fome one way or another, well run out of fossils eventually: "For instance, fossil fuel companies that are already posting record profits could benefit massively from the part of the legislation that requires drilling in the Gulf of Mexico and off the coast of Alaska. Another potential boon is the bill's mandate that oil and gas lease sales be held before the federal government can greenlight new solar and wind development Such provisions have drawn the ire of climate organizations that argue the bill's sizable renewable energy spending could be undermined by its promotion of new fossil fuel production and reliance on industry-backed faux solutions." But hey, now you'll definitely vote democrat, no matter Hunter Biden, FBI used as political weapon or Biden Provoked war in you know where.
@Juan Pablo Sanchez Aveleyra How can you possibly think that after watching this? Go watch Hank's interviews with Jesse Jenkins. This bill went through a lot of transformations and was cut down, but it's absolutely 100% a climate bill. And as was said repeatedly, the point of the bill is not to de-incentivize oil & gas, but to incentivize clean energy. Yes it's not perfect, but it's also totally short-minded to think we can just stop fossil fuel production, and it has been well explained why it isn't happening in this bill either. It BARELY passed as is, do you really think it would have passed if it was trying to reduce fossil fuel production as well? (I cannot tell you how relieved I am that we're finally putting money back into nuclear energy.) Also, I'm not voting either, I'm Canadian. I just have to painfully watch on as the USA makes stupid decision after stupid decision. Like it or not, your global footprint is huge and if this type of legislation does not pass I kind of do think the world is doomed. This isn't about Republican or Democrat, except for the obvious fact that a climate bill simply would never pass under a Republican government.
@@hawkmore Oh yes, but it's not reducing Fossil fuels production, it is increasing it, and giving it priority over the renewables. More like restricting them over the condition of producing more fossil fuels. And that was exactly the point of this legislation, to appeal to liberals and environmentalists when Bidens popularity was so low. But this was not a political or partisan bill, it benefits both sides and it benefits oil industry. This bill would have passes with Republican or Democrat president, that's why it's not even called environmental or renewable bill, it's inflation reduction bill.
I get really overwhelmed and sad/angry trying to research climate action, even if it's seemingly 'good news'. I've been putting off doing proper research into this bill since it passed. Thank you for the approachable video, this helps a lot.
Well done USA. I work for the energy efficiency and conservation authority in Aotearoa, New Zealand and we are doing many of these things, but we are a small country. It's an intense relief to see such progress in the states.
Hank along the lines of this being so difficult to pass, you should really look into voting methods. Choose one FPTP is basically the source of everything horrible thing about our political system and ultimately the country. Fixing that is the single most important thing we could do. STAR and Approval are my methods of choice for their combination of quality and tractability. You could reach out to the guys at the Equal Vote Coalition and/or Center for Election Science if you want to discuss it in depth.
Eventually you'll grow out of this belief, like we all do (you're clearly already on the path of morality and progressivism). If only "voting better and harder" was a viable solution to capitalism. Alas, the issue is capital itself, and the socioeconomic structure of power distribution built around it. After all, the point of capitalism is the redistribution of power from the working class to the monied class, and no amount of voting one way or the other dislodges that power hierarchy; it simply provides a once-every-four-years distraction for the proles to invest all their energy into, instead of genuinely disruptive acts like forming unions, advocating for workplace democracy, general strikes, etc which advance class consciousness and provide direct, democratic power and influence over the workplace to the working class (disintermediating the ruling class from their tools of power: dictatorial control of the workplace, and the conditions in which everybody strives to survive paycheque to paycheque). Voting in centralized legislatures (as opposed to workplace and municipal democracy) is a cruel fantasy, rabble politics by popularity contest, and by no means a threat to the ruling structure, unfortunately, when it is conducted under a system of imperial capital devoid of workplace democracy and any semblance of direct democracy.
Wasn't expecting to cry but when you started listing the sheer amount of different ways this bill is tackling the problem - that got me. Nothing gets done till we do it.
A very informative video about this Climate Bill: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-1VDLRwfYKIU.html (The WORST Climate Bill That Has Ever Passed? (w/ David Sirota))
It is very exciting in many ways. As someone who also works in the climate world, I have definitely more of a mixed reaction to the legislation from all that I know about it but overall it is a very positive step forward. Would say there are a few negative aspects of the bill Hank didn't touch on that I think are important for people to know about because we will see them more and more in the coming years. #1 is that the bill expands incentives for carbon capture and storage, which is a technology that has never yet been shown to work at scale. Many of the early models analyzing emissions reductions from this bill are dependent on these technologies that are impractical at scale. The bill even gives fossil fuel companies incentives for using captured CO2 for "enhanced oil recovery." #2 is that the bill also incentivizes blue hydrogen as a possible "clean energy of the future." Long story short, there are multiple types of hydrogren energy but blue hydrogen is dependent on fossil fuels and also relies on carbon capture. I mention these not to be overly negative but because more and more, fossil fuel companies are going to be relying on false solutions like these to try to maintain their hold on society.
While there is a lot of good things about this bill, mainly that is focuses on carrots instead of sticks, I really don’t understand the stunning lack of interest in increasing our nuclear power supply. If we all agree that fossil fuels are extremely harmful for the global climate where as nuclear power plants are not, then what are we waiting for? We are still putting most of our effort and government funding into renewable energy at this point despite the fact that it still cannot reliable power half of our power grid? Nobody has solved the battery issues? What are we waiting for?
Taboos mostly ... And the monetary aspect, a gas powered plant is operational and earns itself back much faster (if gas prices don't go up) even if the nuclear was much more profitable in the long run. So short term profits over long term views combined with taboos keep nuclear from growing/running.
I just don't have the ability to be convinced we can corporate capitalism our way out of this, but our country can do some stuff to make some folks a lot of money and have cleaner energy. sounds nice.
I tend to keep as far from politics and the news as I can these days because every time I find myself near them they make me incredibly sad and discouraged. This, though, is news I am so happy to hear. Thank you for telling me about this, and I am so, SO thankful that something is finally being done. DFTBA
Whenever I see comments like this it makes me sad. Because it shows me that political apathy is acceptable even among very smart individuals, and that's why these big fixes are so hard to get passed. Get involved, politics doesn't have to be toxic just because that's what you regularly see on the news. local politics is more important anyway.
@@TheDoomWizard It's somewhat good news. This bill still benefits big oil to a certain degree but at least the US has some sort of plan to reduce emissions instead of just ignoring the problem altogether. Edit: Also, just to clarify I'm aware that this action is 20 years too late but in a system rigged against the people this is a positive outcome.
Sooooo.. to be honest this will not help one poor person. Not one poor person will be able to get an electric car. Public transportation will raise it's prices for the transition, oh, and never go back down. We're giving more tax breaks to corps. Who cares if someone making $25,000 a year gets a tax break on new appliances, solar, wind or air transition at their house, because they cannot even afford to change one thing. Even if they could afford one the IRS is being beefed up to go after them if they actually mess something up on their taxes. So now they'll have to pay someone else to mess it up, or do the exact same thing they would have done to avoid federal government hassle. Are the intentions good? Yes, but it just screws the little guy and puts more money in rich people's pockets. Then they'll just virtue signal and say how much poor people suck.
Exactly! Not only can the poor not afford to change things, chances are, they don't own the house they live in! Even if they did own their own house and could afford new appliances, who do they get them from? The massive corporations that make them and sell them so that money doesn't end up in poor pockets, it ends up in rich pockets? And, you can guarantee prices on appliances that are in the program will skyrocket. The part about apprenticing and "over minimum wage" jobs is a joke. Minimum wage plus 1 is more than minimum wage. Those "sticks" on oil companies will mean higher prices on fuels which hurt the poor the most. This is all bad news for the poor.
Hank - since a lot of these are projections for green energy increase and co2 decrease, did you happen to come across anything in the bill talking about how we're going to be measuring if the bill is working as intended, with any sort of provision for how to pivot as needed? It would suck if 5 years from now we're not where we thought we'd be with this bill and then be at the mercy of legislators to reallocate or adjust as we go. Thoughts?
I think that work is already being done by other institutions other than the federal government, but the federal government uses the analysis and expertise from those bills to make policy decisions (see Hank's interview with Jesse Jenkins)
Last Week Tonight has put fear in me with his pieces on government programs like PACE (ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-zv8ZPFOxJEc.html) where environmentally-friendly home renovations are pushed onto people who can't afford the renovations. Additionally, I anecdotally feel that are many fluff green tech companies that have no technical improvements, but still get huge investments; I hope these fluff companies don't receive money due from this bill. I still share the general optimism, but the work to control unintentional side effects and avoid people intentionally looking to exploit the bill has just begun.
@@jas7256 also adding to this-if there is a pivot and or more funding is needed for such projects, I really don’t think America would put in billions and billions of dollars into this infrastructure and not see it through. Like in theory, in a way, if this whole thing was a building, I just can’t imagine America only half completing it and abandoning the rest without any support. Sure, I imagine there will be many many stops and pivots, but the good news that the engine is already built-the train is moving. Millions of ppl concerned with this are the ones building it, they just need the funding to keep it going and finish it, even if (god forbid) we have republicans making the funding choices. So, I feel that even if there is pivots, the foundations are there. Also, I’m kind of thinking that once these oil and gas companies get on board, they may even figure out eventually that they CAN slowly move toward it and figure out to modify their current systems. It seems like Manchins whole discrepancy w this bill was just that-that O&G guys need more time to figure out their monster of a machine and not go bankrupt in the process. (Although admittedly I think they’re just greedy). Just my thoughts anyway.
This is honestly the first video in a while that has been positive about how we are dealing with CO2, while still being grounded in reality, and not falling into the "this one new invention will solve the energy crisis!" trap that so many videos fall into. Even when discussing the setbacks that Manchin added to the bill, the fact that you quantified how little of a setback that is, compared to the enormous progress the bill as a whole is making, makes me have hope that change can happen. Thank you, Mr. Hank, I really needed some hope. It's hard to get hopeful these days.
I'm sure all of the content is great but at <a href="#" class="seekto" data-time="112">1:52</a> that camo green 2003 Pontiac Vibe is my car! Not sure how it found its way into your video but thanks for solidifying it in youtube History! Not my TYPE of car but literally my car. The odds of me sitting here and seeing my one of a kind car captured on one of your videos ... I am genuinely amused. (The rest of the video was fine too.)
I'm a welder making 26 an hour I'm wondering if I should become a turbine technician. I see they make a little less than me average. Do you think this bill will raise the average pay for technicians?
maybe. Though if i were you, and if possible, id accept the odd job here and there if youre able too, so you have first hand experience under your belt. If demand increases, pay for experienced laborers will too.
One of the best big bills that has been passed in ages. Usually there's so much unrelated stuff thrown in or almost contradictory rules to appease voters and businesses. This one appeases businesses in a way, but not in a way that also preys on the rest of the country and harms the bill. And there are just so many positives in this bill it's astounding.
It’s definitely not all good news in this bill. Hundreds of billions go to things that are just massive wastes of money. And as an “inflation reduction” bill it is estimated to ever so slightly INCREASE inflation overall. So yay clean energy incentives, but boo EV tax credits and doubling the size of the IRS for 6 times its current budget.
@@mynameismatt2010 climate change infrastructure is not a waste of money, and even if it increases inflation in the short term, in the long term the millions of jobs it will create will reduce it. That’s exactly how the Great Depression was solved, and we are in no Great Depression.
@@Natibe_ Right, but there is literally no benefit short or long term to the tax credits from an EV transition standpoint. The fundamental bottleneck on EVs short term is getting enough supply period, putting limits on where the supply comes from only raises costs for the manufacturer as they try to qualify their products for the credit. Beyond just that, there is not enough global supply to provide the battery minerals to meet EV demand in the next 7-10 years, so to mitigate long lead times manufacturers will have to raise prices, so the consumer price for EV's ends up getting artificially inflated over the next 10 years, without accelerating consumer adoption one bit. That may be worthwhile if it leads more car manufacturers to invest more in EV technologies, but the structure of the bill actually incentives continuing to invest in hybrids, which are just slightly more efficient gas cars. Not only that but it provides a massive barrier to entry for new car companies to try to come out with their own EV's. If the point of the tax credit was to hinder the transition the EVs while looking like a good thing, it's structured perfectly, but if it was to actually help advance EVs it fails on every count. This bill basically cements Tesla as the only American car manufacturer that will still be in business in a decade, while the rest will all be Chinese.
As a undergrad in climate science, I enjoyed this video so much. You really moved me to tears near the end… this is amazing and what you’ve done is amazing. Thank you
Big strides like this always feel great. They remind us that we shouldn’t overlook what we’ve achieved, and that we shouldn’t relent in pushing for what still needs to be done.
