Power Trip: The Story of Energy

The New York Horse Manure Crisis

New York City was a crowded mess: no one could figure out what to do with all the horse manure, urine, and rotting horse carcasses on the streets spreading disease. New York had over 100,000 horses producing over 2.5 million pounds of manure every day. Fossil fuel powered trains, electric streetcars and internal combustion vehicles were seen as the clean-energy alternative.

The New York Horse Manure Crisis

2m 34s

  • Globalization: asset-mezzanine-16x9

    Globalization

    S2 E6 - 56m 19s

    Learn how energy enabled rapid globalization, both as both a widely traded product and as a facilitator for moving goods globally. In the ancient world, globalization was always a goal, but modern forms of energy provided the missing link.

  • Culture: asset-mezzanine-16x9

    Culture

    S2 E5 - 54m 44s

    Culture and modern energy go hand in hand. Our fashion, music and art all have been impacted by modern energy. Wealthy industrialists with fortunes made from energy funded much of modern culture, using energy systems to spread culture across the globe.

  • Entertainment: asset-mezzanine-16x9

    Entertainment

    S2 E4 - 57m 15s

    Entertainment both shapes and reflects our attitudes about energy. Modern energy enabled mass entertainment like popular music, movies, TV shows and video games, which impacted our society. Energy changed sports with climate control and modern lighting, and amusement parks help familiarize customers with energy breakthroughs.

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