The Daily Show: Ears Edition - If You Don't Know, Now You Know - Environmental Round-Up

Episode Date: March 14, 2021

Trevor takes a close look at toxic "forever chemicals," devastating wildfires in Australia and California, and America's outdated and vulnerable electricity grid. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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You're rolling. But that's all about to change. Like none of this stuff gets looked at. That's what's incredible. I'm Seth Done of CBS News. Listen to 60 Minutes, a second look on Apple podcasts starting the coronavirus. And yes, it is scary, but you know what helps me sleep at night? Is remembering that there are a million other things that could kill me first. Yeah, there's car accidents or fires or that suicide pact I made with my best friend in high school if we weren't married by now.

But luckily, the US government recently took action to cross one potential killer off the list. The US Environmental Protection Agency is targeting PIFAs chemicals in its new proposal for a national drinking water standard. PFS are toxic chemicals linked to serious diseases like, oh, cancer, liver damage and thyroid disease. And guess what? They never, ever, ever degrade. In fact, they're known as forever chemicals. They're so prevalent, CDC scientists believe PFAS chemicals are in the blood streams of nearly all Americans. Yeah, apparently there's a group of chemicals called Hathas that are in all of our blood and it might cause cancer. And because they're impossible to break down, they're known as forever chemicals,

which sounds really dangerous, but also kind of romantic. Yeah, it does. It sounds like something from an old-school R&B song. You know, it's just like, girl, I want to be your forever chemical. There's nothing toxic about our love. But what are these forever chemicals? And how did they get into us? Because if it's not sexually transmitted, I don't know how I got it.

Now, forever chemicals might be with us until the end of time, but they were only engineered by scientists about 80 years ago. And for a while, it seemed like they would only change the world for the better. PFAS chemicals were first discovered in 1938, accidentally by scientists. They were used a few years later in the Manhattan Project. What make PFAS so useful in manufacturing is how the chemicals fit together. The fluorine atoms just so happened to fit perfectly around the carbon atoms

to create a bond that resists things like heat, oil, and water. It's in most products that are water, theeeeeeeeate, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, the like heat, oil, and water. It's in most products that are water, heat, and grease resistant. They're used to repel water grease and oil in all sorts of things, from carpets to clothing to non-stick cookware. That's right, forever chemicals are used to keep things like food, oil and moisture from sticking to surfaces, which you can't deny is really useful. I mean, like I don't want to get to get to get to get to get to get to get to get to get to get to get to get to get to get to get to get to get the to get to get to get to get the the to get the to to the to the the to the th. th. thi. the the thi. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the thi. thi. thi. thea. theananananananananan. tipea. tip. tea. tea. tea. tea. tea. thea. the't want to get cancer. But at the same time, have you ever tried scraping eggs off a non- like, like a sticky pan? Have you tried that? It's a nightmare. Like, they've definitely been times when I was just like, I'd rather be dead!

And this technology, this technology was discovered by scientists entirely by accident, which always amazes me that they can do this. Like scientists are always making one thing, but then they discover something totally different. I mean, like I've done the same thing in my life. Like one time I was trying to create dinner for my girlfriend, but instead I discovered that she didn't love me. I guess in a way, me and Forever chemicals have tons of uses. They were even used in the Manhattan Project to help build the first atomic bomb, which means at some point in the 1940s, a general was like, did you discover a way to defeat the Germans?

And the scientists were like, we're still working on it? But before I get to that, has this ever happened to you? Now forever chemicals would be incredible if they remained in all those products like they were supposed to. Unfortunately, they just can't seem to stay put. So once they're made, they just accumulate in the environment, they end up in our water supply, they end up in our food, and they end up in us. The environmental watchdog group found forever chemicals or PFA's in drinking water in some 31 states.

You'll find them in the lining of typical takout containers and pizza boxes. But the toxins in the packaging can transfer into food. The Food and Drug Administration just found substantial levels in some grocery store meats and seafood. And they found even higher levels in chocolate cake that can be bought off the shelf. Damn, chocolate cake takes no prisoners. If it doesn't get you with the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the ti tii ti bought off the shelf. Damn, chocolate cake takes no prisoners. If it doesn't get you with the diabetes, it's got a backup plan to take you down with secret chemicals. Yeah, it's like if Walter White teamed up with Betty Crocker.

And why does this always happen with food we love, huh? It's always the food we love that's coming to kill us. You never hear the news say, This just end, fermented horse meat is bad for you. It's always like, do you enjoy chocolate cake and water? Well, you're dead now. Because chocolate cake would have been bad enough, but forever chemicals are also in our water. Our water, people. That means it's in the sink, it's in the shower,

which means it's seen me naked naked me naked me naked me naked me naked me naked me naked me naked me naked naked naked naked naked naked naked naked naked naked naked naked naked naked naked naked naked naked naked naked naked naked naked naked naked naked naked naked naked naked naked naked naked naked naked naked naked naked naked naked naked naked naked naked naked naked naked naked naked's seen me naked, so it could give me cancer and blackmail me? I swear to God forever chemicals, you tell anyone about that thing hanging off my back and I'll kill you! So anyway, thanks to forever chemicals, everything from your food to your drinking water is contaminated. And yes, the EPA is finally starting to take action now, but people have been raising concerns about these for Forever chemicals for decades. And for decades, companies like DuPont were brushing off those concerns like they were food on a Teflon pan. Even DuPont says it cannot rule out that Teflon connected products such as its stain master

carpet treatment give off the chemical. Umma Chaudry, a vice president of research, is the DuPont executive chosen to publicly defend Teflah. She says Teflot is completely safe even if the key chemical is in everyone's blood. Everyone has it. Everyone has it. It's in my blood? Your blood? Possibly? We do not believe there are any adverse health effects. Is it a good thing to have it in your blood? There are lots of chemicals that are present in our blood. There are lots of chemicals in our blood. Yeah, but right now we're talking about the chemicals your company put there. What kind of defense is this? Can you imagine if you caught someone breaking into your home and you're like, hey, what are you doing here? They're like, there are many people in houses right now. I mean who's that guy? You're like, that's my husband, my

point exactly. So at this point, at this point, no matter what the government does to fight forever chemicals, there's a good chance a lot of the damage is already done. If you've got blood, these forever chemicals are in it. So all companies like DuPont can do now is just put their best spin on things which isn't easy. I won't life. I ran DuPont. I would try, I'm trying to like figure out a way to make it look good. You know I wouldn't hide the fact that they may have poisoned almost every human on the face of the planet. No, I would make ads to own it with pride. What do banks, real estate, and the Oscars have in common? Discrimination.

But at DuPont, we're all about inclusivity. That's right, no matter who you are or where you're from, DuPont will poison you. I grew up in Texas, and I've got DuPont chemicals in my blood. Look at me. I am from Uganda, and I am poisoned. Because of all these chemicals in my blood, the doctors say I've got cancer.

And so does my husband. DuPont, forever chemicals, for everyone. Like many places around the world, Australia has an annual fire season. But thanks to climate change, this year it's gone from being a season to a never-ending nightmare. Halfway across the world, a catastrophic situation is playing out in Australia, where massive wildfires are forcing thousands of people from their homes. We knew the wildfires in California were huge in 2018.

And last year, the fires in the Amazon were even bigger. But since September, the fires here in Australia have already burned more than three times both those events combined. Firefighters facing a relentless battle. Skies, thick with smoke and glaring orange. The fires generating so much heat. Authorities say they're creating their own weather system,

including several fire tornadoes. Holy shit, fire tornadoes? You know climate change has gotten bad when we're getting disaster mashups. Like, you realize if we don't do something about climate change, this could become the norm, like super disasters. And like tsunami volcanoes or blizzard earthquakes. The most disastrous combination of all, the emoji cats tornes tornes tornes tornes tornes tornes tornes tornes tornes tornes tornes to to to to to to to to to to torn-cots to to to to to torn-torn-t earthquakes. The most disastrous combination of all, the Emoji Cats movie. And these fires, these wildfires have been catastrophic on many fronts.

They cause dozens of deaths. They've destroyed thousands of homes. And they have been especially devastating to Australian wildlife. Firefighters are racing to save the wildlife amid those wildfires still raging. The staggering toll we've been reporting on here now an estimated billion animals lost. Experts say 80% of Australia's wildlife can only be found on this continent, many are now threatened. And as temperature soared, koalas face dehydration. This firefighter lent a helping hand and this

cyclist gave water to a koala who just couldn't drink enough. Oh man, that is just heartbreaking. And not just because so many animals are being wiped out, but because Australia has the coolest animals you can't find anywhere else. Like no one else has animals with a built-in fanny pack. Huh? Which other country has an animal that looks like a beaver banged duck? And of course Australia is home to the rarest species of all. The Hemsworth brother. We need them. We need them. I also have to say it's heartwarming to see people coming to the rescue of animals.

Quick heads up though, and this is completely true. The koala co koala koala koala ko ko ko ko ko ko ko ko ko ko ko ko ko ko ko ko ko ko ko ko ko ko ko ko ko ko ko ko ko ko ko ko ko ko ko ko ko ko ko ko ko ko ko koala population population population population population population population population is the po po po po koala population is the po koala population is the po the po the po the po to to th tho tho-a po to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to th is th is th is th is th th th th th th th th th th th th th th th th completely true. The koala population is riddled with clemidia. So I'm just saying you may want to scrub that water bottle before you, you know, have sex with it. Yeah, you don't want to get your own personal bushfire. Now, Australians, Australians aren't just hurt and scared because of these fires right now. There's also a lot of anger in the country. And a lot of it is aimed at the Australian prime prime prime prime prime, who many Australians feel hasn't handled this situation like a leader should.

This nationwide crisis started back in September. The Prime Minister continues to face backlash over the response. Morrison has been heavily criticized for insisting that the responsibility belonged to state rather than federal government and for vacationing in Hawaii during the fires. I get it that people would have been upset to know that I was holidying with my family while their families were under great stress. Scott Morrison set out for a prime minister on the fire's front lines. Instead, rejection, a firefighter refusing the prime minister's handshake.

Other residents heckled the Prime Minister. Hey, come back! You're not fucking welcome. Until he drove away. You from the media, tell the Prime Minister to go and get f-feeh from Nelligan. We really enjoy doing this shit. Wow. That is an angry Australian man.

And usually it's hard to tell when Australians are angry, mostly because their accent always sounds upbeat. And I was just like, hey, mate, I'm going to stuff a bloody dingo up your ass. You're like, oh, thank you. So Australians are angry at the prime minister because he was on vacation during a crisis and he didn't want volunteer firefighters to get paid even though they're risking their lives. And while Australians are accusing their Prime Minister of not stepping up, the rest of the world luckily is trying to help in a major way.

Apocalyptic destruction and a global reaction. The largest Facebook campaign ever has raised more than 30 million US dollars for firefighters. Music star Lizzo took a break from her tour in Australia to help pack meals for fire victims. On Monday, a crew of 20 veteran firefighters from California who fought some of the state's most devastating wildfires, suited up and shipped out to Melbourne. Kaylan Ward, she's a model and she's now known as the naked philanthropist. The 20-year-old was offering to send nude photos to people who made a donation to relief efforts.

She posted on Twitter that if they made a donation and they sent her proof, she would send back a nude photo of herself. She says the idea has helped raise $1 million in donations. Wow! This woman raised $1 million in donations with nude photos. Really shows you we can solve all the world's problems if we can just harness the power of horniness. Yeah. I mean, imagine if people got a nude picture every time they recycled properly. People would get very diligent about sorting their trash.

Be like, what the hell is wrong with you, man? Put the plastic in the blue bin! I want to see that ass! When you think of recycling, you probably think of a magical process where you throw your plastic in the blue bin and a unicorn takes it away, and then nine months later you get a beautiful new baby water bottle. But the truth is, much like making an actual baby.

The recycling process is much messier than what you may believe. When most of us put out our recycling on trash day, recyclers sort through it, bundle it up and ship it overseas to be recycled. For decades, much of that waste was sold to China. America's main export to China by volume was trash, recycled metal, cardboard and plastic. For decades, China's been a global dustbin, taking huge quantities of our rubbish and recycling it.

The relationship was symbiotic. China would ship goods to the US. The US would use the empty ships to send China recycling. China would then use the recycling to make new goods to ship to the US, and the cycle continued. Yep, from China to America and then back to America, and the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the thiiiiii. the thi. the the thi. thi. thi. thi. to thi. thi. to to to to to to to to to thiwi. to to to to to to to tucing tucing tuce. tuce. tuce, tuce. tuce. tuce. tuce. tuce. tuce. tuce. tuce. tuce. tie. tieuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu. tieu. tieu. tieu. tieu. tuce. too. too. too. too. too too too too too tooe. tooe. tooe tooe., from China to America and then back to China and then to America again. Basically, it's the circle of trash. Paper, plastic into paper. A paper, plastic into paper. Our paper, plastic into paper.

Yeah, believe it or not, America creates so much trash that it's had to send it over to China to be recycled, which isn't really surprising when you think about it. Like nobody is better at creating unnecessary trash than America. I mean, this is the same country where you can buy orange slices in a plastic container. Yeah, as if there wasn't already a container for orange slices called an orange. It's in the container. And for a very long time the relationship worked, right?

America sent China's recycling, China turned it into fake Louis Vuitton bags, but then, just like your ex, after a while, China decided it was sick of taking trash. By 2012, China was receiving nearly half of all the recycling that Americans shipped out of the country. A lot of those materials could not be recycled. They were ending up in landfills, the environment, or worse, taking a human toll. Now the country is trying to clean up its image. In January, China stop taking most of the dirty recycling, it called foreign garbage.

Which means some 7 million tons of plastic needs to be recycled elsewhere. Yep. You see, back when China was a poorer country, they were fine with sorting through America's recycling. But now that they're more rich and more powerful, they've decided that that's beneath them, which is understandable, right? You start making some money, you upgrade your life. It's like when you get a big promotion, you know, so you start buying the super soft toilet paper toy, to to to to to to to to to to to toilet toilet toilet their their their toilet, their, their, their, their, their, th. th. th. th. th. th. th. thi, thi, thi. th. th. th. th. th. th. the, the, the the the the the the the the the the their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, th. And, th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. thi. thi. thi. thi. thin, thin, thin, throoooooooooooooooooooooooooooo. And, th. And, thi. And, thi. And, thi get a big promotion, you know, so you start buying the super soft toilet paper, yeah? Instead of using napkins you stole from Burger King? You know what I mean? You know when you lay them together and you make sure the corners overlap? We've all done that, come on. So with China no longer taking America's plastic, all the recycling has had to find somewhere else to go. And for a while, there were a lot of countries in Asia that were willing to take it. In fact, they were happy to take it.

This used to be mostly paddy fields. But rubbish, which has been dumped here for almost 40 years, dominates the landscape. Villagers here don't mind. In fact, they welcome it. Like many others, Gimann makes a living from sorting from the the the used to be a poor area. I can even afford to go to school. But with this trash, I could put my three children through school. My oldest is getting a PhD.

That's insane, right? That is one of the craziest things ever. This guy managed to get his kids a degree from trash, which is ironic because that trash probably contained a few actual degrees. And his story wasn't the only one. Many people around Asia were making money by sorting through America's recycling, which isn't a great job, but for many people it changed their lives.

But as we said earlier, America uses a lot of plastic. And after China closed its stores, many of these smaller countries couldn't handle the volume of plastic recycling that was coming into their countries. You turn from a blessing into a curse, which is always the case with plastic. Let's be honest, right? With this plastic recycling or plastic surgery, a little bit is okay? Yeah, but if you do too much, you look like you're always watching the end of an M-night Shamiland movie. Just like, what? They're allergic to water?

So just like China, all these other countries have decided that they've had enough of Western trash. We don't want your recyclable trash. That is the message from Cambodia. That country just sent back 83 shipping containers filled with 1,600 tons of plastic waste back to the U.S. in Canada, saying, quote, Cambodia is not a dust bin where foreign countries can dispose of waste. Countries like the Philippines say it's western waste littering their shores, sent to poorer

countries instead of being recycled. The President of the Philippines, Rodrigo de Terte even made it very clear to Canada that the trash was not welcome to send it to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to the Philippines, Rodrigo Duterte even made it very clear to Canada that the trash was not welcome to send it back to Canada. Your garbage is on the way. Prepare a grand reception. Eat it if you want to. Oh, wow. Wow.

Wow. Rodriguez Duterte, Rodrigo Duterte does not mess around. Prepare a grand reception for your trash and eat it if you want to? It's a slam, but it's such a weirdly formal way to tell someone to shove it up their ass. No, like I'd love to hear Duterte deliver a yo mama joke.

It's just like, your mother has overindulged so much that the government recently bestowed upon her her own area code. Slam! So, Cambodia, Malaysia, Philippines, China, all of trash is headed back here to the U.S. And you might be saying, well, fine, Trevor. We'll just have to recycle it ourselves. Well, unfortunately, it's not that easy.

So what happens now to the plastic we used to ship to China? Not much. A lot of it's just piling up here in the states. A lot of plastic comes to recyclers like Bagaria all mixed together. Impossible to separate cost effectively. Cities across the country are now reexamining whether they're recycling programs are going to waste. Is it better for people to recycle at all? It's better for people not to recycle at all. It sounds crazy, but you have to put it in context.

Okay, when it comes to like tin, cans, like all of that stuff, you can still recycle it. But when it comes to plastic, incorrect recycling is worse than no recycling at all. And even though you might think, no, I recycle correctly, the chances are that you're not. Like, we all think we're weak we we we we we we we we we we think think think we're think think thin, we're thin, we're thin, we're thin' thin' thin' thin' thin' thin' thin' thin' to to thin' to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to thi, thi, thi, thi, thi. thi. thin, thin, thin, thin, thin, thin, thin, the the thin. thin. thin. thin. the thin, thin, thi. thi. blue plastic bin. But what we're actually supposed to be doing is taking the lid off the bottle and then you're supposed to take that little ring off that's under the lid of

every single bottle. Yeah, yeah. Oh and if you get takeout, you can't just throw that in the bin and call it a day. Even just rinsing it off isn't isn't good enough. Like, make it clean, like cleaner than Mike Pence's browser history. Just everything. Yeah, his shit is, you kidding. He's like, I won't even type Google because it sounds like a sex thing. And now, I know, when I say these things, you might be thinking, dude, I love this planet, but those plastic rings, that's too much. Well, then there's one other thing we could be doing, and that, and we've all gotten used to it. Like I'm obsessed with it, we all use it, it's convenient, but we're gonna need to try. I've actually thought of a few solutions for all of us. You know, yeah, no, instead of plastic plates, I was thinking we can just use our iPads, okay?

Think about it. It's flat, it's big, and as an added bonus be like, oh no, they killed 11! Oh, no, that's just Bolognaise. Mmm, oh yeah, she's five. We can do it for everything. Yeah, as for all those delivery containers that you get from like postmates, no, that's something you don't need. Just have the delivery guy put all your food in his friend. Yeah, so the next time, the next time you plan on tossing out a piece of plastic that you used for like a total of three seconds, just remember that pretty soon that plastic may be headed back your way. So if you

don't know, now you know. Finding great candidates to hire can be like trying to find a needle in a haystack. You might get a lot of resumes, but not enough candidates with the right skills or experience. But not with Zip Recruiter. Zip Recruiter's smart technology identifies top talent for your roles quickly. the true recruiter's amazing candidates for your roles quickly. Zip recruiter's powerful matching technology starts showing you qualified people for it, and you can use Zip Recruiter's pre-written invite to apply message to personally reach out

to your favorite candidates and encourage them to apply sooner. Ditch the other hiring sites and let Zip Recruiter find what you're looking for, the needle in the haystack. Four out of five employers who post on zip recruiter get a quality candidate within the first day. Try it for free at this exclusive web address. Zip Recruiter.com slash zip. Again that's zip recruiter.com slash zip. Zip recruiter the smartest way to hire. When 60 Minutes premiered in September 1968, there was nothing like it. This is 60 Minutes. It's a kind of a magazine for television.

Very few have been given access to the treasures in our archives. You're rolling? But that's all about to change. Like, none of this stuff gets looked at. That's what's incredible. I'm Seth Done of CBS News. Listen to 60 minutesutes, a second look, starting September 17th, wherever you get your podcasts. Why have wildfires been so bad in recent years?

Well, if you immediately said, duh, climate change, then okay, you're mostly right. It's a disastrous new normal. It's a disastrous new normal. Catastrophic fires, once contained a one season, now a heroine year-round battle. Gotta go. A major factor, climate change. In the last 40 years, fall temperatures in California have increased about 2 degrees, while precipitation has dropped about 30 percent. Longer dry seasons and extreme events like heat waves

that synchronize the risk of fire across enormous landscapes. Climate change is increasing the area burned by the average wildfire, more than doubling it since the 1980s. Since 1930. Five of the biggest fires so far out of the top 10 have been this year. California is America fast forward. In other words, a postcard from the future. Oh man, are you serious?

California is basically a postcard from the future? That means the future is also on fire? I mean, it also means that the post office is still functioning in the future, so I guess, woo, we did it. And that really is mind-blowing. Five of the biggest fires have been this year? That's insane. Although this is 2020, so I'm kind of shocked that all of the biggest fires haven't been from this year. Wildfires might be here to stay, which is awful for humans, but especially bad for trees.

Because they can't move. Humans can just run away from a wildfire, but trees. Because they can't move. Humans can just run away from a wildfire, but trees, they're just stuck there. Can you imagine how terrifying them must be for them? Ah! Ah! Ah! Now, there are a number of ways that climate change makes wildfires

and more frequent. For instance, not only does dryer wood and leaves make better fuel for fires, but hot weather is also associated with increasing lightning strikes that ignite them. In fact, even small things about climate change can have a huge ripple effect that leads to fires, and I mean really small things. Millions of drought-stressed trees in California forests were low-on-s sap, which is their natural defense against the bark beetle. These are these little tiny bugs about the size of a grain of rice.

Bark beetle infestation is linked to global warming as the weather gets warmer. They burrow into the bark of pine trees, they kill the pine trees, then essentially become sticks of kindling ready to burn. The beetles took down more than 160 million trees and that's where some of the largest fires are burning today. Yeah, believe it or not, people, the spread of the tiny bark beetle is yet another way that climate change is making wildfires worse. It's also a great reminder that even though climate change is really bad for us humans, for some other creatures, it's the best thing that ever happened. It's like how the Trump administration has been a disaster for most people, but great for various reptiles.

And I gotta be honest, I never thought the apocalypse would be caused by such a lame villain. I mean, really, guys, Beatles are gonna be the reason everything's on fire. Come on, man. The last season of Game of thoom. tho-upupupupupupupupupup. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. thi. thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, tho, tho, thr-n, thi, thr-a, tho, it's, it's, it's, it's, it's, it's, it's, it's, it's, it's, the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. thr. thr. thr-a. thr-n. thru. tru. thru. thro. thro. thro. thr. thr. thr. th. Beatles are going to be the reason everything's on fire? Come on, man! The last season of Game of Thrones was bad enough when Dinarius was burning everything down with dragons. Now imagine if she had Beatles instead. That shit would make the brand storyline seem exciting. Look, let's get back to the kid who's like a bird or something. I don't watch these beetles. So yes, we have to address climate change. But the truth is, climate change isn't the only reason

that these fires have been getting worse. There's also at least a century of government stupidity. Controlled fire or prescribed fire is the method of burning certain land to reduce wildfire hazards. This method was developed by Native Americans thousands of years ago. These low-intensity fires called cultural burnings have built much of California's forests. Without controlled burns, forests would have become overgrown and unmanageable. Overgrown forests create a lot of fuel in the form of dry or dead plants. As European colonization grew in California, native tribes were banned from engaging in cultural

burning, and over time, state and federal authorities focused on quickly extinguishing any wildfires. For example, the U.S. Forest Service's infamous 10 a.m. policy said that any fires that occurred must be put out by 10 a.m. the next day. This limit on fires did little to reduce the fuel that was growing on the forest floor. And even with these policies, California still has fuel loads waiting to be burned from centuries ago, making prescribed burning far more tedious and expensive than previously thought. Yeah, you heard that right. One thing that would help out a lot is if California had been doing more controlled burns, which is basically when you burn a little to prevent a lot from burning later.

It's the same way you meet your college friend for coffee so that you don't have to have a three-hour dinner with them. And you know, you have to admit, it's pretty unbelievable that California is now doing what they outlaw the native people from doing. I guess it's kind of hard, though, to kick somebody off their land and take their advice at the same time. This is my property now, you savage.

Oh, also, before you go, do you have any landscaping tipip like any mulching techniques or things that I have to learn? Now obviously it's bad enough that wildfires are burning millions and millions of trees. But what makes it an especially big problem for people is that we've been giving the fires a lot more of our stuff to burn. Since 1990, 60% of all the homes in the United States have been built in the wildland urban interface. We've got houses in places we didn't th. thoes th. thoes thoes th. th. thoes thoes tho tho th. th. tho tho tho tho tho tho tho tho tho tho tho tho tho tho tho- tho-o-o thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi. thi thi thi thi thi thi thi. thi thi thi thi thi thi. thi thi thi. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. to to to to to to to to to to have to have to have to have to have to have to have to have to have to have to have to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to the thea thea tha the thi. the United States have been built in the wildland urban interface. We've got houses in places we didn't used to have houses and that puts people and property at risk. As more houses are built near wildlands, more of them burn. 50 years ago wild fires destroyed a few hundred structures per year across the United States. Now it's more than 3,000.

In California alone, more than 6 million houses are in wild areas. Because urban housing is so expensive, instead of avoiding thiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii th people people people people people people people the thiii. And thens people thi. And thens people thens people thi. And thum people thum people thum people thum people thum people thum people thous thous and people thous and thous and thousa000. In California alone, more than 6 million houses are in wild areas. Because urban housing is so expensive, instead of avoiding these high-risk zones, Californians continue to build in a tinder box of grass and trees boxed by Windy Canyon. Instead of Smoky Bear in the middle of the woods, we need a smoky bear in the middle of suburbia. Uh-uh. You do yourself a favor, Smokey Band. You stay out of the suburbs. We don't want Karen calling the cops on you. Hello, 911?

There's a bear in my neighborhood, and he's, um, he's brown. But yes, one big problem is that more and more people are building homes in the middle of the forest. And let's place the blame where it belongs here, with the Keebler Alps. Yeah, these guys made living in the forest

look so cool that everyone started doing it. You get to be in a tree making cookies all day. Sounds great, but guess what? Those cookies are covered with beetles. And if we're honest here, guys, one of the bigger issues is human arrogance. We just think we can build wherever we go. You know, wherever we build a house, that's our land now. It's the same way people in Florida are always surprised when alligators show up. Oh, there's an alligator in my backyard. No, there's a person in that alligator's house.

But the good news is we can fix these problems. Yeah, believe it or not, the wildfires don't have to happen the way they have they they they they they they they they th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. to to thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi-a' thi-thae. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. the th. thi. the the the thi. the thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. togeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeea. thi. thi. the thii. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. th problems. Yeah. Believe it or not, the wildfires don't have to happen the way they have been. We can stop them if we take action to reduce climate change. We can stop them if we maintain the forests. And we can stop them if we build in environmentally sensitive ways. And as for those Beatles, You leave them to me. We all know how the electric system works, right? You plug your phone in, you unplug it, you plug it back in because it's only at 11% and then you just stand by the wall all day scrolling through Instagram.

But what's going on behind that wall might surprise you. In 1882, on Pearl Street in New York City, Thomas Edison opened the world's first commercial electric grid, lighting up local homes and businesses, with cables connected to his power station. The modern electric grid connects to 7,300 major power plants through nearly 160,000 miles of high voltage transmission lines and millions of miles of low voltage lines to bring power to over 150 million customers.

There are only four distinct electrical grids that service essentially all of North America. You have the two big ones, Western and Eastern, and the two electrical separatists, Quebec and Texas. The electrical grid is the most massive machine that humans have ever built. Here in the United States, we use something like five or six times more energy per person than anywhere else in the world.

Of course, Americans consumed that much energy. Americans invented a bike that you have to plug in, doesn't even go anywhere, and cost more than 10 regular bicycles. But yes, the electrical grid is the most massive machine that man has ever built. And it's amazing how it connects the entire continent. I mean, just think. While you're blending a smoothie in your kitchen, Donald Trump is using the same electricity to shred his tax returns.

It's actually beautiful when you think about it. Wow. So there's no doubt that this this this this this this this this this this this this this this this this is is this is this is this is thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi the the thi is the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the their their their their their thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thiiiiiiiiiii. thiiiii. theea. thea. thei. thei. the. thi. thi. thi. thx returns. It's actually beautiful when you think about it. Wow. So, there's no doubt that this is an impressive system. Unfortunately, much like a tweet from 2010, it hasn't aged well. The U.S. electric grid loses power almost three times more often than it did in 1984, much more than any other industrialized nation. Japan loses power an average of four minutes a year. But in the Northeast US, 214 minutes and it just keeps getting worse. In 2010 alone, disruptions in our inefficient power grid cost our country in excess of $100

billion. We actually lose about 60% of the energy that we generate. Most of the infrastructure that we use today hasn't changed much since 30, 40, 50 years ago. Some of the country's power systems predate the 20th century. If Thomas Edison walked into a modern substation, he'd feel very much at home. Yeah, he would feel at home, especially if he saw Joe Biden on TV. Hey, my own pal Joe was president.

Joe. Why you're so small? Get out of that box, Joe! But this is pretty worrisome. America's living in 2021 with an electric grid that's barely been updated in the past 50 years. You have to update technology more often than that, people. I mean, imagine trying to get through your life with the first iPhone. You couldn't even use the Maps app because New York wasn't a state back then. So clearly the grid needs to be upgraded.

And we'd better do it soon because the problem is heating up. In the last half century, there have been more and more power outages because of weather. And it'll only get worse because of a changing climate. The grids are facing more extreme conditions more thi're susceptible to really really major failures. Our grid is no match for wildfires, no match for hurricanes and flooding. As weather patterns and temperatures get more and more extreme, the extremely hot and the extremely cold days end up driving the most significant peaks that utilities have to manage. Air conditioners can account for up to half of the electricity being used in the country. The first thing that happens when you have a hot day is people use their air conditioners. The increase in the abundance of

air conditioning throughout the country certainly means that more people can try and thea. Theat that the same time. That's right. America is using way more air conditioning than its grid can handle. And I know that for a fact. Offices in this country are so cold you could store corona vaccines in your desk. And thanks to the extreme temperatures that climate change creates, this problem is only going to get worse. And maybe you're not worried. You know, maybe you're thinking, ah, eventually climate change is going to get so bad

that I'll be stuck between a wildfire...izzard creating the perfect temperature. But on the off chance that that doesn't happen, America needs to find alternative methods of climate control. Like I know I do that, you know, when I'm cold, I just turn on Bridgeton. You know, those accents, the decor, Reggie Jean Pagis Smolder. Who, I'm hot already. Okay. But it's not just nature that's putting the electric grid at risk. It's also technology. Of all the critical components of the US infrastructure, the power grid is one of the most vulnerable to cyber attack.

Imagine if the critical infrastructure we rely on every single day, simply shut down. Power plants, banking systems, air traffic control, subways, all are vulnerable. Russian government hackers are actively trying to penetrate the grid to carry out potential attacks. They are already in the grid. The Russians are in, the Chinese, Iran. The Iranians may be on the verge of getting in. Ironically it's our less sophisticated electric providers who may have The Iranians may be on the verge of getting in. Ironically, it's our less sophisticated electric providers who may have an edge here.

Rural co-ops account for 42 million people. None of these co-ops relies on the internet for the distribution of power. That's right, people. Sometimes the less fancy something is, the more you can count on it. Like Danny DeVito. That's why when everyone is messing around with their Spotify playlists on their iPhone 12s, I'm jamming out to CDs on my old reliable disc man. It's been, it's been. But those rural providers aside, America is in real trouble here. If America's electricity is hacked, that could mean hospitals lose power.

The banking system collapses. Boeing planes fall out of the sky. Even more than they already do. And there are so many countries already in America's grid that they're probably just arguing over who will actually get to cause the blackout. What are you doing? Get out of here, Russia. You already did an election. Give us something, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, thei, their, their, their, th, th, their, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, tho, tho, thi, their, tho, tho, tho, tho, tho, tho, tho, tho, tho, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their. And, their. And, th. And, th. And, th. And, tho, tho, tho, tho, tho, tho, tho, tho. And, tho. And, thoooooooo. Andea. Andea. Anda. And, too. tho. thoo. And, tho. And, tho. And, tha, the blackout. What are you doing? Get out of here. We were here first. Get out of here, Russia. You already did an election. Give us something, huh? In fact, you know what they need to do?

They need to update the Geneva Conventions for this new kind of warfare. They've got to be like, okay, look, we can bomb each other as much as we want. But the good news is thuuui, no, no, no, no, no, no, the the the thui, the the the thui, the thi, the their, thi, their, thi, thi, their, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, they thi, their, they they they they they're, they're they're they're to they're they're their, their, they they their, they their, their, their, their, their, their, their, they their, they to do. they to do. to do. to do. to do. to do. to do. to do. to do. too, too, too, too, too, too, too, too, too, too, too, too, too, too, too, too, too, too, their. their. their. a scary future that the world is facing. But the good news is, the United States now has space force. I mean, they won't be able to protect the power grid, but if it does go down, someone in space can look down on Earth and be like, yep, it looks like the lights are out down there, everything's off. And that, my friends, is huge. Now, luckily, hackers haven't done any major damage to America's power grid yet.

But wait till you hear what has. One of the biggest threats to the US power grid isn't state actors or natural disasters. It's that little gray mammal invading your bird feeder. In fact, it's difficult to know the severity of our squirrel sabotage problem, because it happens so frequently. Utility industry groups say they're the most common cause of grid trouble. They cause one of every five outages. One ill-fated squirrel could knock out power for thousands of customers or trip up whole financial markets. Squirrels have short-circuited NASDAQ not once, but twice, from the same city in Connecticut.

Well, well, well. Turns out squirrels have been sabotaging us. And we shouldn't be surprised. I mean, have you ever seen a squirrel? They always look like they're plotting some shit. And I guess it turns out if squirrels were the real threat all along, some of us need to start apologizing to our dogs, because it turns out they were good boys, very good boys.

So yes, when you look at the state of America's electric grid, it is not a pretty picture. It's under threat from climate change, from hackers, and even jumped up rats. Honestly, just thinking about how the entire country could be shut down in an instant is starting to stress me out. In fact, I'm getting so stressed. I think I'm just going to take a moment to listen to some of my relaxing tunes. Uh, yeah, yeah. Yeah. Yeah.

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