When it comes to climate and energy, Gates is a radical consumerist. In his view, energy consumption is good - it just needs to be clean energy.

I'm a monomaniac with one goal: clean air from clean energy.

Energy consumption matters both to our environment and our economy.

In reality, Republicans have long been at war with clean energy. They have ridiculed investments in solar and wind power, bashed energy-efficiency standards, attacked state moves to promote renewable energy and championed laws that would enshrine taxpayer subsidies for fossil fuels while stripping them from wind and solar.

Present annual world energy consumption is about equal to the annihilation energy of 4 tons of matter.

A transition to clean energy is about making an investment in our future.