📘 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.