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How Energy and Time Change Everything

2016-02-23 · explainer · John · 3:50 · watch on YouTube

Topic: Global development · mode: News analysis · tags: timely hook, heavy topic

Drawing on the 2016 Gates annual letter, John argues that energy drove the collapse of child mortality, that bringing energy to 1.3 billion people while cutting carbon emissions is the century's big question, and that women's unpaid work limits growth and must be recognized, reduced and redistributed.

What is said

The parts of the video and what is said in each (★ — how much it matters to the video).

00:00:00 — Shaving-cut gag and greeting

00:00:05 — Child mortality from 50% to 3.4%; Bill Gates's letter argues energy was the key

  • ★★★ John says about 2,000 years ago roughly half of people died before age five, and by 1800 the global under-five mortality rate had fallen only to around 43%. — 00:00:05 · child mortality
  • ★★★ John says child mortality then fell dramatically: by 2013 the global rate was 3.4%, and in wealthy countries it is under 1%. — 00:00:19 · child mortality
  • ★★★ John says that in the new annual letter from Melinda and Bill Gates, Bill argues persuasively that energy was and is the key to these gains in health and development. — 00:00:29

00:00:40 — 1.3 billion people without energy: study, food, health care, climate injustice, the century's big question

  • ★★ John calls the whole Gates letter fascinating and tells viewers to read it, linked in the description. — 00:00:40
  • ★★★ John says about 1.3 billion people lack regular access to energy: without it kids can't study after dark or reach Wikipedia, farms grow less food, and clinics can't be sterilized. — 00:00:44 · Wikipedia
  • ★★ John says the 18% of humans living without regular electricity are more likely to die of preventable diseases and malnutrition and much less likely to have good schools. — 00:01:06 · global health
  • ★★★ John says people without energy are disproportionately hurt by climate change, which is especially unfair since they have gained little from the fossil fuel use that drives it. — 00:01:15 · climate change
  • ★★ John says the average person in Bangladesh uses 98.8% less oil than the average American. — 00:01:27 · United States
  • ★★★ John thinks the biggest question of this century is how to get energy to the 1.3 billion people without it while also dramatically reducing carbon emissions. (hedged) — 00:01:33 · climate change
  • ★★★ John's answer: lots of people trying lots of solutions, most of which will fail but a few of which will hopefully succeed spectacularly; otherwise we are in big trouble. (hedged) — 00:01:44 · climate change

00:01:53 — Hank would likely have died in 1800; the world needs more Hanks and innovators

  • ★★ John tells Hank that in 1800 he would probably have died before age five, given his serious childhood infections, a loss for everyone: his companies employ many, he teaches science, he invented 2D Glasses. (playful, hedged) — 00:01:53 · Hank Green
  • ★★★ John says advances in health and development have let the world contain more Hanks, but we need even more, because history shows many innovators working on big problems find big solutions. — 00:02:18 · Hank Green

00:02:32 — Melinda Gates on time: women's unpaid work, opportunity cost, gender bias and growth, recognize-reduce-redistribute

  • ★★★ Citing Melinda Gates, John says women globally spend twice as much time on unpaid work as men, a gap largest in poor countries where women mostly fetch water, chop wood, cook and clean. — 00:02:36
  • ★★★ Following Melinda Gates, John says assigning most unpaid work to women harms everyone through opportunity cost: hours girls spend walking for water are hours lost to school. — 00:02:52
  • ★★★ John says that since men and women are equally able to innovate, gender bias by definition limits economic growth; beyond being ethically wrong, it means less innovation, fewer jobs and less inclusive governance. — 00:03:03
  • ★★ John relays Melinda Gates's remedy: recognize that unpaid work is work, reduce the time it takes, and redistribute it more evenly between women and men. — 00:03:17

00:03:24 — Energy and gender equity as the 21st century's biggest challenges; sign-off

  • ★★★ John thinks we will look back on energy and gender equity as two of the biggest challenges of the 21st century. (hedged) — 00:03:31
  • ★★★ John says that too often we refuse even to acknowledge these problems, and that must change now if the next 200 years are to continue the successes of the previous 200. — 00:03:36 · progress

In the description and comments

  • ★★ The description says John is live with Bill and Melinda Gates on a YouTube livestream at 1:30 pm Eastern. — video description

Threads in this video

Where the stories that moved here went next

Mentioned

Central: child mortality · energy poverty · Gates Foundation annual letter · gender inequality · unpaid work

Also: People: Bill Gates · Melinda French Gates

Works: 2D Glasses

Organizations: Wikipedia

Concepts: climate change · economic growth · fertilizer · fossil fuel · global health · opportunity cost · progress

Places: Bangladesh · United States

Also centred on Gates Foundation annual letter: Are Poor Countries Doomed? · Will Life Get Better for the Poor? · Human Life Is Getting Better. Faster Than Ever Before. · I Predicted the Pandemic (over and over and over again)

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