Brandon Stanton of Humans of New York is normally our favorite photographer because of the way he highlights the beauty, diversity, and strangeness of life in the city. But today we’re also applauding him for finding this dude, the former CEO of the NY State Energy Research and Development Authority, and asking him to explain “something about energy a lot of people don’t know.” We’re betting that at least some of HONY’s 1.6 million Facebook fans needed to hear this:

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Stories like this don’t tell themselves.

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Energy is the main source of pollution. I don’t think enough people make that connection. They think of pollution as giant industries spewing smoke into the air, but in reality it mainly comes from the energy that we use everyday — driving our cars, lighting our houses, even that camera you’re using. We’re never going to stop needing energy, so we just have to find the most efficient ways of creating it.

Man, how great is that, just off the cuff? Probably not illuminating to you, informed Grist reader, but clear and simple for those who lack background. (If you’re bored, though, why not wander over to Amazon and check out Brandon’s new book?)

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