THERE'S SOME GOOD NEWS WHEN IT COMES TO
RENEWABLE ENERGY.
IT'S TURNS OUT THAT LAS VEGAS IS NOW THE LARGEST CITY THAT
RUNS ON RENEWABLE ENERGY, ENCODING SOLAR AND HYDROPOWER.
LAS VEGAS BEGAN ITS RENEWABLE ENERGY PROJECT BACK IN 2008,
REDUCING ELECTRICITY USAGE THROUGH SUSTAINABILITY
PROGRAMS, AND INSTALLING SOLAR PANELS ON CITY BUILDINGS.
LAS VEGAS WILL ALSO RECEIVE POWER FROM THE HOOVER DAM FOR
THE FIRST TIME IN ITS HISTORY, STARTING AT THE END OF 2017.
SO, THEY CAN'T RUN ON SOLAR POWER, AND ONLY SOLAR POWER, SO,
SO FAR THEY HAVE ACTUALLY DECREASED TO THEIR USAGE OF THE
ENERGY THAT WE'VE BEEN USING ñ OR, ENERGY CONSUMPTION BY 30%.
AND AS SOON AS THEY GET THE HYDROPOWER THING GOING.
HYDROPOWER THING.
NO NO, THIS IS INCREDIBLE, BECAUSE EVERY TIME I GO TO
VEGAS, YOU KNOW, COURSE VEGAS SYMBOLIZES A LOT OF WASTE,
AND THERE'S LIGHTS ON ALL THE TIME.
AND RIGHT NOW THEY HAVE SOLAR PANELS ON 140
DWELLINGS, AND IT'S AMAZING BECAUSE I DIDN'T THINK THEY
WOULD BE ABLE TO DO IT TO THIS EXTENT.
I THOUGHT THEY WOULD BE ABLE TO CURB THEIR ENERGY USAGE,
AND CONSUME A LOT LESS, BUT THEY'VE DONE SOMETHING THAT
PEOPLE THOUGHT WOULD BE DONE.
IN THIS CASE, WHAT HAPPENED IN VEGAS SHOULD NOT STAY IN VEGAS,
IT SHOULD SPREAD ALL ACROSS THE COUNTRY.
I KNOW WHAT YOU MIGHT BE THINKING, TO BE FAIR, LAS VEGAS
HAS A LOT OF SON, SO NOT SURE IF THEY CAN DO THAT IN MINNESOTA.
YOU ARE PROBABLY WRONG ABOUT THAT, I DON'T KNOW THE DETAILS.
OF COURSE LAS VEGAS HAS MORE HEAT THAN MINNESOTA, BUT
HOW THAT AFFECTS SOLAR PANELS, I'M NOT SURE.
BUT LAS VEGAS PRODUCES A MASSIVE AMOUNT OF ELECTRICITY.
MINNESOTA IS NOT LIT UP 100%, COMPLETELY, AT ALL TIMES.
SO THINK ABOUT HOW MUCH ELECTRICITY LAS VEGAS USES.
IF THEY COULD DO IT, OF COURSE WE ALL CAN.
THEY ARE SAVING A LOT OF MONEY BY DOING THIS, BECAUSE IT'S
A RENEWABLE FORM OF ENERGY.
THEY DON'T HAVE TO RESORT TO THE USUAL FORMS OF ENERGY, AND
I LOVE THIS.
I THINK THIS SERVES AS AN EXAMPLE OF WHAT WE CAN LOOK
FORWARD TO IN THE FUTURE.
HOPEFULLY, IF OUR POLITICIANS PUSH FOR IT.
BUT KEEP IN MIND, NEVADA IS NOT A LIBERAL STATE, YOU KNOW
WHAT I'M SAYING?
SO THE FACT THAT YOU HAVE SOME CONSERVATIVES ON BOARD FOR THESE
PROGRAMS MAKES ME FEEL GOOD.
YOU SHOULD ALL BE ON BOARD FOR THIS.
IF YOU ARE A CONSERVATIVE TAXPAYER, WHY WOULDN'T YOU
WANT TO SAVE MILLIONS OF DOLLARS?
THAT'S MONEY WE GET TO KEEP.
SO THERE'S NO DOWNSIDE TO THIS.
THE ONLY WAY YOU'D BE AGAINST THIS IS THAT YOU WERE
RANDOMLY BETTER AGAINST LIBERALS, AND YOU'RE LIKE,
I DON'T BELIEVE IN CLIMATE CHANGE.
BUT EITHER WAY YOU SAVE MONEY.
I WANT TO WASTE MONEY, BECAUSE I HATE LIBERALS.
IT MAKES NO SENSE, JUST DO THIS.
AND IF A GUEST CAN DO IT, WE CAN ALL DO IT.
IT ONLY TOOK THEM 10 YEARS, IN FACT A LITTLE LESS THAN 10
YEARS.
IMAGINE IF WE ALL SAVE MONEY, AND WE WERE ON SUSTAINABLE
ENERGY.
I DO WANT TO PRESENT A DIFFERENT PERSPECTIVE.
I THINK THERE ARE PEOPLE WHO ARE AGAINST THIS FOR LEGITIMATE
REASONS.
I THINK OVERALL THEY ARE STILL WRONG, BUT I UNDERSTAND
THEIR PERSPECTIVE.
SO FOR INSTANCE, OBVIOUSLY THESE TYPES OF PROGRAMS SIGNIFICANTLY
DECREASE OUR RELIANCE ON THINGS LIKE COAL, RIGHT?
SO, IF YOU ARE A COALMINER, YOU ARE GOING TO LOSE YOUR JOB IF WE
MOVE TOWARDS RENEWABLE ENERGY ñ IN THE FORM OF SOLAR ENERGY,
SPECIFICALLY.
YOU DON'T GO MINING FOR SOLAR ENERGY, IT DOESN'T
WORK THAT WAY.
IN THE SHORT TERM, A LOT OF PEOPLE ARE GOING TO SUFFER
AS A RESULT.
THAT'S CAPITALISM BABY.
WE DON'T DRIVE HORSE AND BUGGY ANYMORE BECAUSE WE HAVE CARS.
ISN'T THAT THE CONSERVATIVE ARGUMENT?
SO NOW YOU ARE GOING TO DO CRONY CAPITALISM TO PROTECT A
DYING INDUSTRY, EVEN THOUGH IT'S LESS EFFICIENT AND COSTS
TAXPAYERS MORE MONEY?
IF COAL CAN COMPETE WITH SOLAR, I GUESS LET THEM.
I AGREE WITH YOU, BUT AT THE SAME TIME IF PEOPLE FEEL
LIKE THEIR LIVELIHOOD IS IN JEOPARDY, I CAN SEE WHY
THEY WOULD BE AGAINST IT.
OVERALL THEY ARE WRONG, AND HOPEFULLY WE CAN SHIFT THEM
INTO OTHER JOBS INVOLVING DOABLE ENERGY, BUT I UNDERSTAND
THE PERSPECTIVE.
BY THE WAY, WE ARE CREATING A TON OF JOBS IN THE
RENEWABLE ENERGY INDUSTRY.
CERTAINLY CREATING MORE JOBS THERE THAN THE JOBS WE ARE
LOSING IN THE FOSSIL FUEL INDUSTRY.
SO AGAIN, ALL AMERICANS SHOULD BE HAPPY.
IT'S NOT LIKE, JUST BECAUSE SOME JOBS ARE BEING LOST, DOESN'T
MEAN WE HAVE A NET LOSS IN JOBS.
NO, BECAUSE OF SUSTAINABLE ENERGY WE HAVE A NET GAIN
IN JOBS.
IT'S ADDING TO THE ECONOMY.