menu Home chevron_right
NEWS & CULTURE

The Infinite Energy Source Made Possible By The Oil And Gas Industry ⚡️

Joe Scott | July 17, 2026



Get Nebula using my link for 40% off an annual subscription: https://go.nebula.tv/joescott

In today’s Lightning Round video, I get a snarky question about how cats are the deadliest animals on Earth, and it turns out that yes, one particular (and adorable) cat is one of the most successful hunters in the animal kingdom. I also talk about geothermal energy and the advancements that are happening in that field, discuss my favorite videos, and much more. 🙂

Want to support the channel? Here’s how:

Patreon: http://www.patreon.com/answerswithjoe
Channel Memberships: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC-2YHgc363EdcusLIBbgxzg/join
T-Shirts & Merch: https://laughsmarter.com

Check out my 2nd channel, Joe Scott TMI:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCqi721JsXlf0wq3Z_cNA_Ew

And my podcast channel, Conversations With Joe:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCJzc7TiJ2nnuyJkUpOZ8RKA

You can listen to my podcast, Conversations With Joe on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.
Spotify 👉 https://spoti.fi/37iPGzF
Apple Podcasts 👉 https://apple.co/3j94kfq
Google Podcasts 👉 https://bit.ly/3qZCo1V

Follow me at all my places!
Instagram: https://instagram.com/answerswithjoe
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@answerswithjoe
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/answerswithjoe
Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/answerswithjoe

TIMESTAMPS
0:00 – Intro
1:19 – Solar Installation
11:43 – Research
17:44 – Future Earth
20:02 – Cats Are Deadly
23:44 – Watching At 2x Speed
25:11 – Shoutouts
26:39 – Big Dogs

Written by Joe Scott

Comments

This post currently has 47 comments.

  1. @markusAkino

    July 17, 2026 at 7:33 pm

    Hey Joe, when you start discussion on a topic, do you think you could put up a graphic showing your best guess knowledge level, mapped using the dunning Kruger graph.

    Love the channel

  2. @ronmorrell9809

    July 17, 2026 at 7:33 pm

    On small scale geothermal heating projects, heat extraction from the local volume can outpace inflows, resulting in a limited lifespan. Going deeper likely reduces the problem , but higher capital costs require higher extraction rates. Is there an acceptable equilibrium?

  3. @ALucas73

    July 17, 2026 at 7:33 pm

    Me: Are hyenas dogs?
    A.I.: No, hyenas are not canines. While they share dog-like physical features and hunting styles, they belong to their own entirely unique biological family called Hyaenidae.
    Hyenas are phylogenetically closer to felines and viverrid (Mongoose, Civet, Binturong, Fossa, genet, and Linsang, are all Vivverids)

  4. @ALucas73

    July 17, 2026 at 7:33 pm

    One cat, and its offspring, in NZ caused the extinction of a species of bird. This is the famous case of Lyall’s wren (also known as the Stephens Island wren) on Stephens Island, New Zealand.

    While it is a popular legend that a single pregnant cat named "Tibbles" single-handedly wiped out the entire bird population within a year, the true story is slightly different.

    The Historical Context

    The Last Refuge: Lyall's wrens were tiny, nocturnal, flightless songbirds that could run incredibly fast and originally lived across mainland New Zealand. They were wiped out on the mainland long ago by Polynesian rats, but a surviving population held out in isolation on Stephens Island in the Cook Strait.

    The Cat's Arrival: When lighthouse keepers and their families moved to Stephens Island in 1894, pregnant domestic cats were brought along.

    The Demise: The cats successfully escaped and established a feral population. Because the wrens were completely flightless and had no evolutionary fear of mammalian predators, the feral cats hunted them to extinction in about a year.

    The Ironic Discovery: The lighthouse keeper, David Lyall, had a keen eye for nature and sent the dead birds his cats brought him to museums in London and Wellington. This meant the global scientific community learned of the wren's discovery and its extinction almost simultaneously.

  5. @ALucas73

    July 17, 2026 at 7:33 pm

    Here in New Zealand approximately 96.4% of electricity generation comes from renewable sources.

    Geothermal energy is a cornerstone of our renewable electricity mix, generating roughly 20% to over 25% of the country's power supply.

    Capacity: NZ operates 17 geothermal power plants across 8 major geothermal fields, boasting a combined generation capacity of over 1,200 MW.

    Global Standing: New Zealand consistently ranks in the top 5 countries globally for geothermal electricity generation.

    History: The Wairakei (why-rucky) power station (near Taupō) was the World's Second Geothermal plant when it opened in 1958, and it is still operating today.

    Sourced primarily from the Taupō Volcanic Zone, it provides highly reliable, weather-independent baseload electricity and direct heat for industry, Agriculture, & Tourism.

  6. @CyberFitzy

    July 17, 2026 at 7:33 pm

    But…, ARE THERE MILLIONS of people working in the industry? Especially hands on, blue collar tradesman (contractors)?
    Here, in Australia we keep getting parroted how "BIG" our Gas (LPG/Natural Gas) industry is… Only to discover its only big because the machines are big and so are the executive offices.. Not really the engineers and workers on the ground level, which is what's sold to the people politically as why "we need to prop up the industry" only to discover all the profits go off country into billionaire's pockets, because.. and our tax dollars subsidise the industry as the corrupt cherry on top.
    An example of this is an American fracking company that has been given approval by 2 of our politicians since retired to high paying jobs in said company… They're fracking our Northern Territory for Gas in an aquifer basin that will definitely poison entire river courses in pristine outback nature.. They will be lifting $156B worth of Gas over the next 7-10years paying nothing to Australia… but the seeking point to Australians is Jobs! Jobs! Jobs!…. How many jobs might you ask??
    7… seven jobs.. that's it.
    They are the most expensive jobs in human history, surely?! 🙄😮‍💨

    We've been conned, again!

  7. @mynameishuman4582

    July 17, 2026 at 7:33 pm

    Geothermal can be used to boost heat or cooling systems in temperate climates without drilling that far down. Similar to closed loop.

    For example, where I live we have extreme cold (below 0 F plus windchill) and hot (90-100F index) temps. The earth beneath the frost line (50-60F) is warmer and cooler than those outside temps. So when we need to use heating and cooling systems, the temp beneath us is a great starting point. It's not 0 energy, but it does help reduce the use of other sources for energy.

  8. @angelamccabe6447

    July 17, 2026 at 7:33 pm

    I feel this way about the history of spice trade. I heard first heard of it on Behind the Bastards which is an amazing podcast about the bastards of history (not literal bastard by birth but one by demeanor and action). There a wild multi episode on L.Ron Hubbard that is insane.

  9. @00Damien

    July 17, 2026 at 7:33 pm

    Joe Scott: Some people might say I am thinking too long term here and that is true. The thought I have is no less valid and maybe you will see this and reply in some way. If you consider the earth only has a finite amount of internal energy. If for some reason we never moved past geothermal and just perfected it and put it all over the entire planet. Even going so far as to make enormous off shore facilities so that it could be greatly increased in size due to it not taking up any space we use. Wouldn't all of this intentional leeching of the earths energy be a species ending bad idea? The less energy stored inside the planet the less movement of the metals in our core and that is what drives our electromagnetic sphere which is basically the only reason we get to live on the surface of our planet. I know there are some radioactive processes going on that will create heat, but they aren't enough to stop overall planetary heat loss as it stands right now without an eight billion strong heat leech army gearing up for maximum leeching. Granted there is a huge difference in humanity's ability to poison our atmosphere versus pulling enough heat from our planet to make a difference. It is possible though with enough time and humans perfecting and maximizing their heat leeching for the energy needed to fuel these massive AI's and every other industry that will grow with humanity and requires a lot of energy. What are your thoughts?

  10. @miashinbrot8388

    July 17, 2026 at 7:33 pm

    About geothermal energy — doesn't it essentially involve moving heat from underground and releasing it at ground level? Even for closed-loop geothermal? Won't that thereby increase global warming — not to the extent of burning petrochemicals, probably, but to some significant extent?

  11. @Fenriswaffle

    July 17, 2026 at 7:33 pm

    In regards to HH. Holmes, there IS another channel that made a video in 2022 about Holmes (not his real name) and how much of the legend around him and especially his "murder castle" wasn't true. The channel is Well There's Your Problem Podcast, its like…2/3 podcast and 1/3 video, there is a video element which is slides, so still mostly carried by audio, and the content is very podcast so don't expect a high degree of focus. It is a wild story.

  12. @niklnik1008

    July 17, 2026 at 7:33 pm

    2:47 late to the party but have to correct this:

    I'm currently writing a study paper about mainly the methods of modelling and simulating geothermal boreholes, buuuut what I can say is that what you're describing Joe, is only true for systems specifically making electricity. Much more prominent is the use of smaller installations for the heating and cooling of buildings, both of which can happen with the same borehole, just at different times throughout the year. Usually and depending on depth, these installations use a heat pump to elevate the thermal levels of the outflow coming from the borehole to a temperature like 35-40°C (~90°F if I'm not mistaken) which is hot enough to heat buildings with the use of floor tile heating. Classic radiator heating unfortunately requires a lot higher temps, but does still work. It's just less efficient.
    Heating alone (at least here in Europe) contributes to almost 40% of all energy used and is currently provided by mostly gas, oil or electric heaters, all of which are mediocre options at best.

    For electricity production there is also another way, with the use of deep reservoirs of ground water which at achievable depth can be around 80 to 120°C. This can be used for power production by the application of either the organic Rankine or Kalina process. Both of which are processes for low temperature electricity generation using classic turbines. One prominent example that comes to mind for me is the plant in Taufkirchen, close Munich in Germany. The plant provides 44MW of total power, 40 of which are heating and 4 are for electric generators😊

  13. @stephenmancuso3314

    July 17, 2026 at 7:33 pm

    “ pressure causes heat” LOL NO. Increasing pressure (and changing volume) causes heat… but even that’s wrong. It’s more like it’s concentrating heat.. all the heat in the Earth is because of decay products from nuclear reactions and whatever is left over from the great bombardment when the Earth was formed

  14. @Todd5747

    July 17, 2026 at 7:33 pm

    That one talks about the lack of large dogs like cats… But really, wild wolves are bigger than most dog breeds. They're definitely still pretty large. Not something anyone would want to face in the wild at night, especially not alone.

  15. @dennisalbert6115

    July 17, 2026 at 7:33 pm

    Base load is geothermal, thsnk you for educating people, it is very, and i mean extremely dissapointing that geothermal is not preferred over every other renewable type of energy, we should actually prevent any development of any other source of energy if geothermal can serve the purpose, higher investment is needed for innovation. If not geo we need nuclear, geothermal is just underground nuclear reaction from earth core

  16. @clymerwright8591

    July 17, 2026 at 7:33 pm

    Interesting timing (at least for me) I just came across a company called Fervo Energy as I was looking for GEOTHERM investment oppertunities for my stock portofilo. Unfortunatly they are not public yet but I think are leading the way.

  17. @binaryglitch64

    July 17, 2026 at 7:33 pm

    In Arizona there's geothermal cooling rather than geothermal heating… it's technically entropyand therefore the opposite of energy but cutting the AC demand saves on energy usage so it still equates to a net positive for the grid. My point is that like the dunning-kruger effect it's often ignored that there is an opposite side to it. For those who don't know the dunning-kruger effect isn't just dumb people thinking they're smarter than they are… it's also smart people thinking they know less than they do. Don't believe me on either of these? Look it up, but dive deep. Most of what you'll find will only show the well know side, but if you dig deep enough (pun intended) you'll find that more scholarly sources will mention the other side of it.

Leave a Reply





This area can contain widgets, menus, shortcodes and custom content. You can manage it from the Customizer, in the Second layer section.

 

 

 

  • play_circle_filled

    92.9 : The Torch

  • play_circle_filled

    AGGRO
    'Til Deaf Do Us Part...

  • play_circle_filled

    SLACK!
    The Music That Made Gen-X

  • play_circle_filled

    KUDZU
    The Northwoods' Alt-Country & Americana

  • play_circle_filled

    BOOZHOO
    Indigenous Radio

  • play_circle_filled

    THE FLOW
    The Northwoods' Hip Hop and R&B

play_arrow skip_previous skip_next volume_down
playlist_play