Planet of the Humans, by filmmakers Michael Moore, Jeff Gibbs, and Ozzie Zehner, has been roundly criticized by everyone involved in energy transition, and rightly so, because it’s more than a decade out of date. But it did manage to confuse some people about the true state of energy transition, and misled them into believing that wind and solar are some kind of hoax perpetrated on an unsuspecting public by evil billionaires. Even worse, some opponents of energy transition started using the film for their own purposes.
But we think everyone—including the filmmakers themselves—rather missed the point of what the film was really about, which isn’t energy transition at all. It’s something else entirely.
In this episode, we speak with Dutch energy analyst Auke Hoekstra about how the film isn't actually about renewable energy at all by focusing on the entire worldview of the filmmakers. You may have read some critiques of the film already, but we guarantee you haven’t heard this take on it!
Auke Hoekstra is known on Twitter for showing how people underestimate solar, and for debunking claims that electric vehicles emit more CO2 than conventional cars. He’s also the owner of a small consultancy company called Zenmo Simulations, and that’s how he makes his money. His main job is researcher at the Eindhoven University of Technology and he leads a research program making agent-based models of zero emission energy and mobility system.
On Twitter: @AukeHoekstra
On the Web: ZEnMo Simulations
Recording date: June 4, 2020
Air date: July 8, 2020
Geek rating: 3