Energy is Life: A Rational Optimist’s Case for Human Progress

What does energy really mean for ordinary lives - for safety, dignity, education, and opportunity?

Few of us stop to ask why it matters so profoundly.

In this thought-provoking talk, award-winning science communicator Zion Lights reveals the human story behind one of the most misunderstood forces in our world. Drawing from her new book Energy is Life, she explores how access to energy has lifted billions from hardship, empowered communities, and opened the door to human flourishing.

Blending personal insight with scientific clarity, Zion challenges assumptions, demystifies modern technologies, and offers a hopeful, humane vision of our shared future. She examines why our intuitions about risk often mislead us, how cognitive biases shape public debates, and what we can do to think more clearly in an age of misinformation.

Sharing her own journey from anti-technology activism to evidence-based advocacy, Zion makes a grounded case that science, reason, and abundant clean energy are essential to human progress and human flourishing.

Zion Lights
…is an award-winning Science Communicator and environmental advocate who makes complex science clear and compelling. She explores energy, climate, and technology through the lens of human challenges, showing how curiosity and evidence can shape a better future. Her work combines technical clarity with a sense of wonder, helping people see the big questions and the choices that define our civilisation.
Zion is the author of the forthcoming book Energy is Life, which shows how science, technology, and the choices we make today can transform our energy systems and bring power to those who need it most.

**To see more of Zion’s work visit her website. Zion blogs at Everything is Light and is active on X, YouTube, TikTok, [Instag