📘 Part 3: Electricity, energy use, and transportation

This episode's vocabulary

In absolute terms (phrase) – measured by actual numbers rather than comparison or proportion. → In absolute terms, the company's profits increased, though market share declined.

Drawing power (verb phrase) – consuming electricity from a source. → Modern appliances are designed to avoid drawing power when in standby mode.

The grid (noun) – the electrical power distribution network. → Solar panels can feed excess energy back into the grid.

EVs (abbreviation) – electric vehicles. → Many cities are installing charging stations to support the growth of EVs.

Time frame (noun) – a specified period during which something must happen. → The project must be completed within a six-month time frame.

Never mind (phrase) – used to emphasize that if one thing is impossible, another is even more so. → I can't afford a new phone, never mind a new laptop.

On the scale (phrase) – to the extent or degree expected. → The festival wasn't quite on the scale we had anticipated.

State of nature (noun phrase) – the original or primitive condition of humanity. → Philosophers debate what life in a state of nature would have been like.

Not a picnic (idiom) – difficult or unpleasant. → Finding accommodation in the city center is not a picnic.

Not too dissimilar (phrase) – quite similar or comparable. → The two education systems are not too dissimilar in structure.

Emissions (noun) – gases or substances discharged into the atmosphere. → The government aims to reduce carbon emissions by 50% by 2030.

Ecosystems (noun) – biological communities of interacting organisms and their environment. → Pollution threatens marine ecosystems worldwide.

Pushbikes (noun) – ordinary bicycles powered by pedaling. → I prefer pushbikes because they require no maintenance beyond basic repairs.

Overnight (adverb) – very quickly or suddenly. → Success rarely happens overnight; it takes years of hard work.

Gut tells me (idiom) – instinct or intuition suggests. → My gut tells me this investment opportunity is too good to be true.

Carbon footprint (noun) – the total greenhouse gas emissions caused by an individual or organization. → I'm trying to reduce my carbon footprint by using public transport more often.

Phase out (phrasal verb) – to gradually eliminate or discontinue something. → The government plans to phase out single-use plastics by 2030.

Trade-off (noun) – a balance between two desirable but incompatible things. → There's always a trade-off between cost and quality.

Long-term (adjective) – extending over a considerable period. → We need to consider the long-term environmental impact of our decisions.

Shift towards (verb phrase) – to move gradually in a particular direction. → There's been a noticeable shift towards remote working in recent years.

Questions and Answers

Maria: Do people use more electricity now than before?

Rory: I mean, in absolute terms, probably yes, we have more people now than at any other time in history, or at least more people alive, which usually means more devices that are drawing power from the grid. At the same time, things are more efficient than they used to be, so it's possible, although not very likely in my opinion.

Maria: Is it difficult for the government to replace all the petrol cars with electric cars?

Rory: I mean, I think that will depend on the particular country, although given how poorly governments handle everything else, it's likely they would struggle to make a switch from normal vehicles to EVs in a long time frame, never mind a short one.

Maria: But do you think that people will use electric cars in the future?

Rory: Well, yes, because they do now, so they will in the future, but I don't think it will be quite on the scale that people are expecting.

Maria: How did people manage to live without electricity in the ancient world?

Rory: Well, you'd have to ask them; I certainly wouldn't be able to. Actually, I read a book about how people lived thousands of years ago, and while it certainly wasn't a picnic, the picture of some sort of hostile state of nature that has been painted doesn't actually seem to be true. People lived in complex communities all over the world and built cities and monuments not too dissimilar to our own. While it might not have been as easy as it is today, it wasn't a total nightmare for people.

Maria: Which is better, electric cars or petrol cars?

Rory: Well, better for whom? Petrol car use is probably amazing for the manufacturers who make their fortunes from them, but it's a disaster for the environment to have so many of them sending emissions into the atmosphere. Of course, EVs aren't exactly environmentally friendly either. The cobalt mining process alone has ruined countless ecosystems that lie over the deposits that need to be mined. So the honest answer is I have no idea. You'd need to ask an economist or someone like that.

Maria: Do you think electric bicycles will replace ordinary bicycles in the future?

Rory: I have absolutely no idea, really. I mean, I can certainly see the appeal of having an electric bike, but they're not without great financial and environmental costs. By contrast, pushbikes are pretty reliable and cheap to manufacture and repair. So I don't see the switch happening overnight if there is one.

Maria: And which is better, electric or ordinary bicycles?

Rory: I'm not exactly an expert on this, but my gut tells me to side with the normal ones since they're... Well, unless there are some sort of mitigating circumstances that justify using something as expensive as an e-bike. The costs just seem too high, but maybe I'm being a bit of a technopope.

Discussion

Maria: Right, people, we are talking about electric cars, electric bicycles. So if this topic is just crazy for you, if you are scared of this topic, please read something about it to remove this fear. So read about electric cars in your country, electric bicycles, and steal Rory's answers.

Rory: Or maybe you have a different opinion.

Maria: Today, people use significantly more electricity than in the past, dear listener. For example, in the US, the consumption of electricity. So we consume electricity, we use electricity. So the consumption of electricity in the United States in 2022 was 14 times higher than in 1950.

Rory: That's crazy.

Maria: That's absolutely insane. So we use far more power, power or electricity than before. Or you can say that compared to the past, we use far more electricity everywhere around the world. And Rory's favourite strategy for these questions goes like this. In absolute terms, yes, we have more people, so more electricity is used.

Rory: I think that's fair to say. More people will need more devices and so more electricity, generally speaking.

Maria: So cars, vehicles, and devices draw power from the grid. Rory, what does the grid mean in this context?

Rory: The grid is just like the energy or the electricity grid. It's the thing that provides you with access to electricity. And if you draw power, then you take the power from there. But the collocation is draw, not like with a pen, but take.

Maria: Draw power from the grid. Petrol cars use petrol fuel and electric cars, right? Electric cars use what? Electricity.

Rory: Depends on where they get it from, because electric cars could also use petrol if they're using electricity provided by oil supplies. So it's just like using oil with extra steps. Of course, it could be from green power sources.

Maria: And electric cars are sometimes called EVs. E V. Why EV? Electric vehicle.

Rory: Electric vehicles.

Maria: Are they popular in Scotland or in the UK?

Rory: I mean, they're maybe not like popular, but you see them, people use them. And from Google, I've just learned that in 2024, last year, 17 million electric cars were sold globally. So the market for electric cars is on the rise. And people are more environmentally aware.

Maria: So some people prefer to drive electric vehicles. But yeah, as you said, some vehicles use both petrol and electricity. So they're kind of like double electric and petrol in the same car.

Rory: Yeah, that seems reasonable.

Maria: Another website says that more than 20% of new cars sold worldwide were electric in 2025. And one of the best electric cars is what, Tesla?

Rory: I suppose so. I can't think of any other brands or anything like that.

Maria: So the government could replace petrol cars with electric cars, but it depends on the particular country. So not everywhere, right? And some countries could struggle. So it could be difficult to make a switch to EVs. To make a switch - to change cars into EVs in a short time frame. So some countries could struggle to make a switch to EVs in a short time frame. This means that it would be difficult to change all vehicles to electric cars in a short period of time. People lived without electricity in the ancient world. Ancient, very old. And Rory uses another strategy. Haha, I've read a book about that.

Rory: I have. I did. Yeah, not in preparation for this. I wasn't expecting to talk about this, but I did. I have read about it.

Maria: And he said that life ages ago wasn't a picnic. So it was difficult. People had a hostile environment, hostile conditions, like severe, difficult, not pleasant conditions, like weather, climate, and also lack of comfort. And people lived in complex communities all over the world. So people lived in groups. And they built cities, monuments. Life wasn't as easy as it is today. For example, like you go to the kitchen and you have water, right? But people had to… They had to find water. So it wasn't as easy with our modern plumbing system. But it wasn't a total nightmare, according to Rory.

Rory: Well, apparently not, according to what I read. I mean, other opinions will be available.

Maria: Yeah, so no electricity, no plumbing, so just nature and people. Beautiful. Fresh food, you know, fresh meat and water and everything.

Rory: Well, I think that there will still have been problems.

Maria: So, without electricity, they pretty much use the word fire. That's all, right?

Rory: Well, fire, animal power, people power. I mean, obviously, ancient monuments were not built with modern technology. They were built by hand. So there will be other alternatives which exist.

Maria: Transport, horses, donkeys, dragons, if you needed to fly. Of course, dragons existed, dear listener. Come on. Didn't you watch Game of Thrones?

Rory: Yes, that great depiction of how people used to live.

Maria: Which is better, electric or petrol cars? Like, well, better for who? You know, it depends on the person. And then Rory explains, like, petrol car use is this. But electric cars is a different story. Petrol cars could be a disaster for the environment. So petrol cars could damage the environment because of emissions. Emissions are these, you know, gases that are released into the atmosphere. So petrol cars send emissions into the atmosphere. Harmful gases, CO2. EVs are not exactly environmentally friendly. Yeah, because they're not like super organic EVs. It's still a car, right? With all the parts that are made using, you know, all the resources. And here Rory mentions the... What's the material?

Rory: Cobalt. Yeah, at least I think it's cobalt that's used in batteries and other kinds of electrical equipment. However, even if it's not cobalt, the idea is that mining for these materials is not great for the environment.

Maria: So, extracting these materials from the earth. And if you just Google the cobalt mining process. To mine means to get it out of the ground. So, cobalt is extracted from the earth. And you can imagine, right, to take this mineral out of the earth, you need equipment, you need to grind the earth. So all this, you know, chemical stuff and factories and all the noise. So people do disrupt the ecosystem. And many ecosystems could be damaged. Countless ecosystems, like many. And a very good strategy, number three, is you'd need to ask an economist. Not me.

Rory: You would. I don't know the ins and outs of all of these things. That's crazy.

Maria: Yeah, exactly. So you would need to ask an economist. And then questions could be about electric bicycles and ordinary bicycles. Seriously, I have no idea. I don't know what to say about electric bicycles. Do they exist? What is an electric bike?

Rory: An e-bike, well, an e-bike would have, it could be powered just like a normal bike would be by hand or by foot, in this case. Or it could have a backup supply where you're not using your feet to power the motion.

Maria: Yeah, electric bicycles or e-bikes. So they have an electric motor. So you don't need to do anything. You just sit there and it goes.

Rory: Yeah, kind of like a motorbike.

Maria: But what's the point?

Rory: I suppose it means that people can travel over a longer distance.

Maria: Yeah, and Google says that e-bikes are booming. So people are using e-bikes these days, electric bikes, bicycles, like e-bike technology. Okay. And there are electric mountain bikes as well. Oh, do you listen? Everything is getting electric. So what about our bodies? I wonder. So here you can read about it. Some articles, you know, electric bicycles, ordinary bicycles, what's going on. Or use the fourth Rory's strategy. I've no idea.

Rory: Just say, I don't know.

Maria: Seriously. If you don't know anything about it, you just say like, to be honest, I have no idea ,really. But then you say something. Okay. I can see the appeal of an electric bike. So I can see the beauty of it. I can see why it is attractive to other people. By contrast, push bikes or ordinary bikes. When you push, you know, you work it, work the pedals. They are pretty reliable and cheap to manufacture. Are they really? Because there are some expensive bicycles.

Rory: Maybe.

Maria: Again, Rory doesn't know, right? Rory, do you have a bicycle?

Rory: I know. I haven't ridden a bike in about three years. So I have no idea how any of this works. Okay.

Maria: Because ordinary bicycles could be pretty expensive. Yeah. And now we have designer bicycles, like beautiful bicycles. So you can say that ordinary bicycles are cheaper to repair. Because electric bicycles, yeah, they have this electric motor. And you can say that I don't see the switch happening overnight. So I don't think that electric bicycles will replace ordinary bicycles overnight, meaning, like, fast. Now people are using e-bikes, but lots of people use ordinary bikes as well. And which is better, an e-bike or an ordinary bike? Like seriously. The fifth strategy. I'm not exactly an expert on this, but... Okay? I'm not exactly an expert on this, but my gut tells me. If your gut tells you something, like your intuition, your gut feeling. My gut. Guts, you have like a stomach where food is digested. And also, you feel you have guts in your body where food is also digested.

Rory: Fantastic.

Maria: But guts, that is just a long, long tube in your body. So my gut tells me that ordinary bicycles are much better. Because, well, they're more reliable, right? More eco-friendly sometimes. And e-bikes could be super expensive. Or e-bikes could cost a fortune, like they could cost a lot.

Rory: Well, they could be costly for more than your wallet. They might result in the destruction of the environment as well.

Maria: Yeah. And these days we have e-scooters. And you can say that I'm a bit of a technophobe. A technophobe is a person who dislikes new technology. So Rory is a bit of a technophobe.

Rory: Well, sometimes.

Maria: Right, you listen. Thank you very much for listening. Hopefully, your electricity is always on.

Rory: And we'll see you next time. As long as the lights stay on. Bye!

Maria: Bye!

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