1. Written by Robert Bryce Presented by Matt Hicks POWER HUNGRY CHAPTER 2

2. HAPPY TALK Happy talk – the “information” used to fill up time in newscasts that spreads guilty feelings or fear of the future of energy costs and impact on the environment Uses the ignorance of the average person to spread half truths about energy Examples include “America’s addiction to oil” and switching to 100% green energy America is largest importer of oil (non-refined) but is also largest exporter (refined) in the world 77% of a polled population felt that their country should “emphasize more” use of solar and wind energy

3. THE USE OF GUILT, FEAR, AND ANGER Many campaigns, such as Chevron’s “Will You Join Us?” use guilt trips to reduce carbon footprints People feel bad when they buy gas guzzling SUVs Hybrids like the Prius now have a cultural “eco-bling” giving their drivers a certain amount of smugness James Kunstler wrote The Long Emergency that predicted once the world reaches the peak of oil production, rapid declines in production will follow, and “famine, disease, and faltering agriculture will combine with energy scarcity to send nations reeling” Michael Moore wrote “Goodbye, GM” which states that the “oil barons” are waging a war on us by not telling the public the “truth”, that there are only a few more decades of oil left on the planet. The scarcity of fuel will cause a societal collapse into a “Mad Max” type of world, where people are willing to kill for a gallon of gasoline.

4. In 2008, The US Dept of Education’s Nat. Mathematics Adv. Panel released 78% of adults could not compute the interest paid on a loan 71% could not calculate miles per gallon 58% didn’t know how to calculate a 10% tip A study in 2009 by the California Academy of Sciences found 53% of adults knew how long it takes for the earth to revolve around the sun 59% knew that the earliest humans did NOT live with dinosaurs 47% could provide a rough estimate of the percentage of earth’s surface covered by water (answer: 65- 75%) Only 21% could answer all three correctly TOO COOL FOR SCHOOL, AMERICA’S IGNORANCE Science is dumbSo is math

5. UNITS OF ENERGY Oil uses barrels, tons, gallons, and liters Natural Gas uses cubic meters, millions of Btu, therms, dekatherms, and cubic feet Coal uses long and short tons, and pricing depends on heat content, ash content, sulfur content, and transportation costs Different entities use different measuring systems International Energy Agency and many countries use joules BP Statistical Review of World Energy uses millions of tons of oil equivalent Energy Information Administration uses quadrillion Btu, “quads” which is approx. equal to 172 million barrels of oil equivalent, or one exajoule

6. QUESTIONS What is Happy Talk? What are the four basic elements that Happy Talk uses to spur people to the cause? Name one person that used Happy Talk.

7. ANSWERS 1) see slide 2 2) Guilt, Fear, Anger, and Ignorance 3) Michael Moore, James Kunstler, Chevron, etc.