Geothermal Power and Building Earth’s Methane ‘Smoke Detector’ | A Brief History of the Future

Official Website: to.pbs.org/3V7BRLk | #TheFutureOnPBS
Ari travels to Iceland, a country powered entirely by renewable energy. He explores a large-scale geothermal power plant that contributes 30% of the country’s electricity and powers a local greenhouse to grow large quantities of food throughout all seasons. Ari reflects on how these serve as sustainable solutions in this particular area that can inspire us to rethink our energy sources. Now streaming: to.pbs.org/3V7BRLk
Examining the ways we often see the future as a rigid and singular concept rather than the multiple possible futures before us, the crucial need to think much, much bigger about what could come next, and how we all have more personal agency than we realize. Now streaming: to.pbs.org/3V7BRLk
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#renewableenergy #geothermal #electricity
A BRIEF HISTORY OF THE FUTURE
Combining history, science, and unexpected storytelling to expand our understanding about the impact that the choices we make today will have on our tomorrows. Each episode follows those who are working to solve our greatest challenges. The series also features valuable insights from a wide range of thinkers, scientists, developers and storytellers including French President Emmanuel Macron, U.S. Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg, U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy, sailor Dame Ellen MacArthur, musician Grimes, architect Bjarke Ingels, climate scientist Katharine Hayhoe, legendary soccer player Kylian Mbappé, and more.

[@user-hi4vo1cn7r]

These people are geniuses. This is a game changer of massive proportion! Im so glad i tripped on this video!

[@tmoore2010]

What happens when corporate greed doesn't hinder human development.

[@user-hi4vo1cn7r]

@@tmoore2010 We all can be happy 😊

[@matthew-jy5jp]

PBS is our national treasure

[@williamlloyd3769]

Served at Naval Air Station (NAS) Keflavik in 1979-80. The entire NATO base was heated by the hot water heating loop from the local geothermal power plant. Wastewater from the power plant formed the Blue Lagoon.

[@matthewbaynham6286]

For a fuller picture of the problem you should be comparing Iceland (or Greenland) with Hawaii. Because Hawaii has all the geothermal opportunities that both Iceland and Greenland have however whilst both Iceland and Greenland take advantage of those opportunities Hawaii just prefers to pollute the planet. Hawaii not only has all those geothermal opportunities but also plenty of solar, wind, wave, and hydroelectric potential but the problem is political will, the US just wants to keep polluting the planet.

[@urbanstrencan]

Awesome video, had chance to witness Geothermal energy in Iceland few years ago

[@jaymacpherson8167]

How very heartening, and simultaneously disappointing, to see an NGO invest and do work that NASA/NOAA has had the technology to do for decades, but that has gone underfunded because of climate deniers in Congress and some administrations.

[@MariaMartinez-researcher]

Please notice that NASA is about space exploration, NOAA about meteorology, both of them have been talking for a long while about climate change, but none of them have the technology to deal with geothermal energy. NASA does have methane detection. climate . nasa . gov / vital-signs / methane / ?intent = 121 And NOAA has too. gml . noaa . gov / ccgg / trends_ch4 /

[@jaymacpherson8167]

@@MariaMartinez-researcher I do not understand why you wrote a reply to my comment. You confirm what I said…that they have the capability to detect (and I should have explicitly stated methane?). My point is that the agencies have had insufficient funds to do the kind of job this NGO is setting out to do. As for geothermal, my comment regarding their technology is not about geothermal siting, though I am confident they could, if that were their responsibility.

[@catchableorphan5465]

When is the next main episode installment coming out?

[@dominicdmello7531]

How much renewal energy is generated in Iceland? Obviously Iceland has a low population density and the power generated is sufficient for them plus some to export.

[@MariaMartinez-researcher]

The USA and the world have more density - but also have way larger territories than Iceland. Also, every country is sitting on the same crust, right above the same hot mantle; many, like the USA, have already made many holes. And, geothermal is not the only possibility. There are solar, wind, hydroelectric, etc. Don't you think that a larger population increases the possibilities of having smart people to solve problems? Aren't Americans smart enough?

[@mattperrin1208]

if we can start trapping methane emissions, theres a strong chance we can get out of this. we could feel the positive effects in as little as 10 yrs.

[@doctordrae]

The technology, innovation, and eventual infrastructure that is going to save us is only held back by the political will to fund it. Much of the science is there, and like a lot of things, economies of scale will bring costs down. So, of course we are going to wait too long to do anything of substance.

[@MariaMartinez-researcher]

Vote to make it happen faster.

[@SA-bq1us]

Please don't leave in human hands

[@MariaMartinez-researcher]

So... what do you propose? Having dogs in charge? Chimpanzees?

[@liberty-matrix]

"There are huge non climate effects of carbon dioxide which are overwhelmingly favorable which are not taken into account. To me that's the main issue that the earth is actually growing greener. This has been actually measured from satellites the whole earth is growing greener as a result of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. So it's increasing agricultural yields, it's increasing the forests, it's increasing all kinds of growth in the biological world and that's more important and more certain than the effects on climate." ~Freeman Dyson, Institute of Advanced Study in Princeton, New Jersey.

[@sssbznzn]

She is cute❤

[@MrMash-mh9dy]

See, the real problem that coming is from overconsumption and even in your greenest modern country, you will still be part of the problem because you have a high standard of living compared to the rest. And seriously, did this guy miss the boat to Iceland 15 years ago when everyone else was doing stories on it and asking would this work for us? The answer is NOOOOO. Geothermal is extremely linked to location to achieve real efficiency and it does have a high cost to build. Iceland is the only place in the world this can work for with their low population and living over a volcanic hotspot. We could close off Yellowstone, pump every ounce of steam we could, and it still wouldn't even be enough to power California alone. It's not viable and once again PBS let's this guy take a vacation on the donors and public's money under the preface of "journalism". This was journalism...15 years ago.

[@SDGreg]

"We could close off Yellowstone, pump every ounce of steam we could, and it still wouldn't even be enough to power California alone." What is the math on that for potential geo-thermal energy from Yellowstone?

[@briangandee8149]

​@@SDGreg He doesn't know.. he's blowing more steam than Old Faithful.. making up stats as he goes.. new technology has made it possible to develop geothermal energy and do away with fossil fuels..

[@jimthain8777]

Actually you are wrong. You will witness that as we move forward around the world.

[@jehiahmaduro6827]

"Geothermal is extremely linked to location" Nope that was the case many years ago. NOT anymore. New Technologies made in the 90's are opening up the geothermal industry in exiting ways. The new geothermal is called ENHANCED GEOTHERMAL kzbin.info/www/bejne/sJLdeIZpiN2nr5Y

[@MrMash-mh9dy]

@@jehiahmaduro6827 Mhmm...I've heard that since the 80's. Cost is still an issue and solar is a much better option when it comes to cost and ease of access for most. And if I was going to be for large amounts of money spent of my tax dollars on green energy, I would much rather see it go into next gen nuclear reactors so we can get rid of the stockpile of nuclear waste we have sitting around doing nothing but being dangerous.

[@DarkPesco]

This is a terribly bad idea! First...we already are facing water crises globally. Where are these billions of barrels of water, to fill the empty cavities, going to come from? We can't afford the loss of water...period. Second...this isn't part of the geology of our planet. These oil fields will not stay empty forever if left alone. The earth is constantly renewing itself and one of the ways is seeping long cooked organic material up towards the surface. Fill those cavities up with water...you cut off the Earth's natural process! Third...Salt water? It will degrade equipment fast and for inland locations...what do you think it would do to the soil and ground water? Bad idea. Likely it's a ploy by big oil. The remaining petroleum will float to the surface of the fill making it much cheaper to recover. Saudi Arabia has been doing this environmentally destructive act for decades...to maximize profits.

[@TheDanEdwards]

"This is a terribly bad idea! First...we already are facing water crises globally." - There is no shortage of fresh water in Iceland. Many places do not have a water shortage. Because some places have a water shortage does not mean everywhere does.

[@adon8672]

​@@TheDanEdwardsI'm sure he's worried about reusing the abandoned oil wells referenced in the video for geothermal energy.

[@JustinMShaw]

@@adon8672 And ignoring the fact that it doesn't need to be fresh water for the energy task.

[@Paradoxisthefingerprintofgod]

Sounds dumb.

[@MariaMartinez-researcher]

Anything smart to say to effectively disprove something that's actually working?