Robert Bryce

In this talk, based on his forthcoming book of the same title, Robert Bryce will explain why electricity has transformed humanity like no other form of energy. Despite its transformative power, some 3 billion people are still living in places where per-capita electricity use is less than what’s used by an average American refrigerator. Closing the enormous gap between the electricity rich and the electricity poor will affect everything from womens’ rights and health care to warfare and climate change. Bryce will discuss the fastest-growing sources of new electricity demand – Big Tech and Big Cannabis – and explain the factors that are needed to supply reliable and affordable electricity. He will also spotlight the fuels that will power the electric grids of the future and explain why, in the 21^st century, power equals power. (A Question of Power: Electricity and the Wealth of Nations will be published in March 2020 by PublicAffairs).

Whether it’s the Green New Deal or the dozens of cities that have pledged to get all of their electricity from renewables, there’s no doubt that solar and wind energy are enormously popular. In this talk, Robert Bryce will explain why renewables alone cannot meet burgeoning global energy demand. He will provide a clear-eyed look at the vast scale of our energy and power systems and explain why, despite concerns about climate change, the fuels we’ve been relying on for decades – oil, coal, and natural gas – are likely to continue dominating global energy markets for years to come. In addition, Bryce will examine the macro trends in the energy sector, including the surge in solar, the booming global trade in LNG, electric vehicles, the relentless growth in electricity demand, and explain why we should be optimistic about our energy future.

The world’s insatiable demand for energy is complicating efforts to address climate change. In this talk, Robert Bryce will discuss the technologies and fuels – including nuclear energy – that will be needed to meet soaring global demand for electricity and motor fuel. Bryce will explain how ongoing innovation in every aspect of the energy and power sectors – from batteries and solar panels to internal combustion engines and fission reactors – will help us reduce the risks of climate change while also improving the lives and living standards of billions of people around the world.

For decades, even centuries, we have been repeatedly warned that we are headed for disaster. Indeed, since the days of Thomas Malthus, we’ve been told that we are using too much of everything and that catastrophe looms.  But the prophets of doom continually overlook an obvious fact: More people are now living longer, freer, healthier lives than at any time in human history. In this talk, Robert Bryce will show how ongoing innovation in everything from energy extraction and mobile phones to agriculture and engines is raising living standards all over the world. No one told inventors or entrepreneurs to make things smaller, faster, lighter, denser, and cheaper. Instead, they have been doing that on their own. The result of this continuing innovation: poverty and disease are on the run all over the world. If you need a dose of optimism, one that will inoculate you against the endless doom and pessimism that dominates the daily news, this talk is the one for you.