powered by the sun
The opening states a calm conclusion: life itself runs on the sun, not a gadget on a roof.
The living world is essentially solar-powered.David Attenborough: A Life on Our Planet · 2020 — Chapter 14 of 17 · 2'18" · B2
Morocco's Solar Switch, Explained: phase out
The narration makes renewable energy sound almost inevitable: plants already run on sunlight, and Morocco shows a country can switch. But the sharp turn comes with “It's crazy that our banks and our pensions are investing in fossil fuel...” — the argument is less about technology than about where the money is still going.
What happens
The narrator starts with plants capturing solar energy, then turns to Morocco, which once imported almost all its oil and gas and now meets 40% of its needs through renewables. The narration notes renewables are predicted to become the world's main power source, calls it crazy that banks and pensions still fund fossil fuels, and ends with benefits like cleaner cities and power that never runs out.
Listen for
solar-poweredphase outat the turn of the centuryexporter of
00:00 / 02:18Space play · ← → lines · R repeat
Now
Phrase of the scene
phase out
retire something in stages
An invitation, not an order: picture fuels leaving in stages, with sun, wind, water and geothermal waiting.
The clinic will phase out paper charts over two years, not this weekend.
Also in this scene
- solar-powered
powered by the sun
- at the turn of the century
in the years a century changes
- exporter of
a seller of it to other countries
- the only source
the one source left, not the leader
- it's crazy that
that fact is absurd, said outright
Everything marked in this scene
27 notes across 20 lines
Keep is small so the middle of essentially can carry the line.
The living world is essentially solar-powered.energy drawn from sunlight
The earth's plants capture three trillion kilowatt-hours of solar energy each day.the amount actually required
That's almost 20 times the energy we need... just from sunlight.contact clause: we need describes the energy, and that is left out.
That's almost 20 times the energy we need... just from sunlight.retire fossil fuels in stages
Imagine if we phase out fossil fuels and run our world on the eternal energies of nature too.power a whole way of life with
Imagine if we phase out fossil fuels and run our world on the eternal energies of nature too.Glide from the end of phase into out without a fresh breath.
Imagine if we phase out fossil fuels and run our world on the eternal energies of nature too.depend on it to keep going
Morocco relied on imported oil and gas for almost all of its energy.plants that make renewable power
of its needs at home from a network of renewable power plants, including the world's largest solar farm.a wide site of solar panels farm here is a power site, not crops
of its needs at home from a network of renewable power plants, including the world's largest solar farm.right along the boundary of a place
Sitting on the edge of the Sahara,linked by cable straight into a grid
and cabled directly into southern Europe,a seller of it to other countries
After the Sahara is named, Morocco is cast as a possible seller of solar power by 2050, not a country that has already done it.
Morocco could be an exporter of solar energy by 2050.forecast to happen, not yet fact
Within 20 years, renewables are predicted to be the world's main source of power.the leading source, others still allowed
Within 20 years, renewables are predicted to be the world's main source of power.passive plus infinitive: Renewables receive the forecast; the result after to be has not happened.
Within 20 years, renewables are predicted to be the world's main source of power.the one source left, not the leader
Right after a forecast that renewables will be the main source, the line raises the bid to the only source.
But we can make them the only source.putting money into that fuel
It's crazy that our banks and our pensions are investing in fossil fuel...Let and shrink to a light n, then land on pensions.
It's crazy that our banks and our pensions are investing in fossil fuel...absurd, not clinically mad — Use it to blast an absurd choice, not in a formal report.
It's crazy that our banks and our pensions are investing in fossil fuel...precisely these, with emphasis very means precisely, not extremely
when these are the very things that are jeopardizing the future that we are saving for.putting that future at risk
when these are the very things that are jeopardizing the future that we are saving for.keeping money for a later aim
when these are the very things that are jeopardizing the future that we are saving for.stranded preposition: The final for points back to the future being saved for.
when these are the very things that are jeopardizing the future that we are saving for.impossible to use up
And renewable energy will never run out.Stress never, and do not push again on run out.
And renewable energy will never run out.Morocco's Solar Switch, explained
What's really going on
The sequence builds its case by making renewable energy seem less like a sacrifice than an obvious upgrade: sunlight alone offers “almost 20 times the energy we need”, and Morocco is already converting that potential into a national supply. The real target, though, is not technology but finance. When the narration calls it “It's crazy that our banks and our pensions are investing in fossil fuel...” the contradiction is framed as self-defeat: money saved for the future is being used to endanger that same future. The repeated future tense — “could be,” “will be,” “will never run out” — turns a description of solar farms into an argument about what should be funded now. The confidence comes from pairing a measurable example with a moral question.
Theme
SurvivalClean energy is tied to the future people are saving for, making fuel investment a question of survival.
MoneyBanks and pensions are said to fund the very fuels that jeopardize the future they are meant to protect.
Listen for
- is essentially — Keep is small so the middle of essentially can carry the line.
- phase out — Glide from the end of phase into out without a fresh breath.
- and our — Let and shrink to a light n, then land on pensions.
- never run out — Stress never, and do not push again on run out.
That's almost 20 times the energy we need... just from sunlight.Sunlight alone supplies far more power than human demand, so the problem being framed is not scarcity of energy.
Imagine if we phase out fossil fuels and run our world on the eternal energies of nature too.The line asks listeners to picture a full transition: remove fossil fuels and power the whole world with renewable natural energy.
Morocco could be an exporter of solar energy by 2050.A country once dependent on imported fuel could reverse the flow and sell solar power abroad.
But we can make them the only source.The forecast says renewables will become the main source; the argument goes further and says they can replace the rest entirely.
It's crazy that our banks and our pensions are investing in fossil fuel...The absurdity is that savings meant to secure the future are funding the fuels that put that future at risk.
Questions about this scene
Why does the sequence bring up Morocco?
Morocco serves as a concrete example of a fast energy shift. It once relied on imported oil and gas for almost all its energy; now it generates 40% of its needs at home from a range of renewable power plants, including the world's largest solar farm.
What is the objection to banks and pensions investing in fossil fuels?
The line calls it crazy because those investments are in the very things jeopardizing the future that people are saving for. The money is meant to secure what comes next, yet it is tied to fuels that threaten it.
Is the sequence saying renewables will be the only power source?
It first says renewables are predicted to be the world's main source within 20 years. Then it adds: “But we can make them the only source.” The first is a forecast; the second is presented as a possibility or aim.
Why mention that renewable energy will never run out?
It is one of the benefits listed for a renewable future, alongside more affordable energy and cleaner, quieter cities. Unlike fuel that can be depleted, renewables are presented as an energy supply that will not run out.
David Attenborough: A Life on Our Planet · 17 chapters
All chapters →
Up next · Chapter 15spilt overPalau's No-Fish Zones Pay Off
Chapter 1life-supportChernobyl Empties a City
Chapter 2achingly intricateAttenborough at the Disused Quarry
Chapter 3like clockworkThe Holocene Was Our Eden
Chapter 4come crashing downGrzimek Charts the Serengeti
Chapter 5an edge toDavid Sees the Blue Marble
Chapter 6little more thanWhaling Turns from Harvest to Crime
Chapter 7dizzying diversityOil Palms Behind the Green Curtain
Chapter 8reap the open ocean harvestThe Ocean Starts to Die
Chapter 9stumbled onCoral Reefs Turn White
Chapter 10headed for disasterNo Ice Where Ice Was
Chapter 11already emptyingThe Wild Was Already Emptying
Chapter 12one-way doorsDavid Warns of One-Way Doors
Chapter 13level offHuman Population Peak
Watching · Chapter 14phase outMorocco's Solar Switch
Chapter 15spilt overPalau's No-Fish Zones Pay Off
Chapter 16make space forAttenborough Links Diet to Land
Chapter 17locking awayForests Take the Carbon BackChapter 14 of 17 · about 9 min to go