Energy, Energy, Everywhere: Tapping into Earth’s Natural Energy Systems

Around 80% of our global energy (including transport and industry as well as electricity) currently comes from fossil fuels. This energy was collected by plants over millions of years and stored underground, away from the rest of the Earth system. But there is a huge cascade of energy flowing through the Earth system all the time and it’s continually replenished by the Sun.

Renewable energy sources tap into that cascade. This lecture examines how much of Earth’s energy is available and useful to us, and how tapping into it affects Earth’s natural systems. What is the potential, and are there any unwanted side effects? What would the world look like if we tapped into this resource on a much larger scale?