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What is Distributed Renewable Energy? | Our Climate Our Future SHORTS - YouTube
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[6]
Oh, high wind warning.
[9]
Oh, I guess it's getting
pretty bad out there.
[14]
No, I was in the middle of that show.
[17]
I'm more concerned about the animals.
[19]
I may need to go hold
power with the generator,
[21]
you know and this wouldn't happen so often
[23]
if we just made our own energy here
[25]
What do you mean, make our own energy?
[28]
I'm talking about
distributed, renewable energy
[30]
but hold on.
[32]
Before we get into that,
[33]
do you understand where our
electricity comes from now?
[37]
Kind of
[41]
actually, maybe not.
[43]
That's okay,
[44]
for a long time I didn't either.
[46]
Right now, most Americans depend on
[48]
large scale centralized energy generation.
[51]
Big power plants are located
far away from consumers.
[53]
So, the electricity generated there
[56]
has to travel through a network
of high voltage power lines.
[59]
Then go through a substation
before it reaches our farm.
[62]
But there are some real problems
with this type of system.
[65]
For one, centralized generation means
[67]
a small number of utility companies
[68]
hold a lot of power,
[70]
literally
[71]
but also economically and politically.
[73]
These utilities control
every aspect of production.
[76]
From how our electricity is generated,
[78]
to how it's distributed and sold.
[80]
Often these companies
prioritize profits over people
[83]
and they spend a lot of those profits
[85]
lobbying our government.
[87]
Last year, electric utility spent
[89]
over $100 million on lobbying alone.
[93]
They water down clean energy initiatives,
[96]
create loopholes to protect
their profit margins
[99]
and push legislation
that limits our ability
[101]
to achieve energy independence.
[103]
The result is soaring utility costs,
[105]
not to mention an electric grid
[107]
that relies heavily on fossil fuels.
[109]
In fact, in 2020,
[111]
a majority of our electricity
was generated by gas and coal.
[115]
Oh yeah.
[116]
Like that fracking project,
the next town over.
[119]
Exactly.
[121]
But that's not the only problem.
[122]
Severe weather is the leading
cause of major power outages
[125]
across the United States.
[127]
Thanks to climate change,
[128]
we're seeing stronger,
more frequent storms
[130]
and more extreme weather
across the country.
[133]
The baseline for normal
weather patterns is changing.
[136]
But it's not just impacting
the energy sector,
[139]
as farmers unpredictable weather patterns
[141]
like extreme heat, drought
[143]
and flooding make our jobs even harder.
[145]
Remember when our farm flooded.
[147]
So climate change's where our
crops keep getting ruined.
[151]
I hope that doesn't happen tonight
[153]
And it's not just us.
[154]
The whole industry is struggling.
[156]
Farm and ranch families are facing a
[158]
mass extinction in the US.
[160]
More than half of all
farmers have lost money
[162]
every year since 2013
[165]
and farm debt is higher than ever.
[167]
But I've been doing some research,
[169]
and I think what I found can
solve a lot of our problems.
[172]
Remember how I said we
could make our own energy?
[174]
Go on.
[175]
I was talking about
distributed, renewable energy
[178]
like wind and solar.
[180]
If we transition some of our farm
[182]
to producing our own energy,
[183]
we can sell that energy as a cash crop,
[185]
just like we sell our corn and soybeans.
[187]
These resources can be harvested forever,
[190]
providing us with a long term
reliable source of income.
[193]
Plus we can provide clean local power
[195]
for our whole community.
[197]
So do all farmers need to
start harvesting energy.
[201]
We should at least consider it.
[203]
Farmers are perfectly positioned to
[204]
transform the energy sector.
[206]
But we're not the only
ones who can get involved.
[208]
Community centers, places of worship
[211]
and residential rooftops
are also great locations
[213]
to install solar panels or wind turbines.
[215]
If we join together as a community,
[217]
we can invest and distribute energy
[219]
that compliments our business
[220]
and generates clean power for everyone.
[223]
No more relying on the big power plant
[225]
we can generate and
store our energy locally,
[228]
and we're on the right track.
[230]
To date, 16 states have
implemented policies
[232]
that encourage growth of
distributed, renewable energy.
[235]
We can ask our representatives to
[237]
implement those policies here too.
[240]
So how do we get started?
[242]
Well, first we need to convince ma and pa.
[245]
In the meantime,
[246]
I need to go help pa prep
the farm for this storm.
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