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Male Narrator: Americans used to rely on animal power
for transportation and to carry goods from place to place.
And oil from whales to light our evenings.
Today it's gasoline and motor vehicles, and vast amounts
of electricity to light our cities and power our economy.
But one study claims that Americans
spend just six minutes a year focusing on energy.
The American public does not like
to think about its energy use.
The one place Americans do think about energy use
is when they're standing at the pump.
Narrator: Global demand makes oil prices rise and fall
in response to events beyond our borders
and out of our control.
We worry about how our economy gets buffeted.
And the only way we do something about that
is to take into our own hands our destiny.
Narrator: In this program, we look at
how America uses energy.
And we'll meet people like you
who are helping their communities
find new sustainable resources and save energy.
Conservation, energy efficiency,
has already been something that the U.S.
has had tremendous achievement in.
And it is something, as the fifth fuel,
that can be very, very important for our future.
Narrator: Tapping that fifth fuel can be
as challenging as drilling for oil or gas.
But powering communities in these new ways
also empowers people.
We can control the things that go on in our home.
We can control the things that go on in our communities.
I'm a Republican.
What is more conservative than harnessing what is available
and around us in a long-term sustainable way?
Narrator: Our program's host, earth scientist Richard Alley,
knows the dangers of climate change.
But he also teaches about energy at Penn State.
And he's optimistic that Americans
can build a sustainable future.
Some states and cities are rolling up their sleeves
and moving ahead.
These citizens are heroes of America's new energy story
and show the way to a sustainable energy future.
The good news is we don't have to wait
for the national policies.
Narrator: Helping ourselves with clean energy
is also helping earth's climate.
The atmosphere doesn't care one whit what people think.
The atmosphere cares what people do.
Narrator: We visit five very different communities,
from Alaska to Texas, Portland to Baltimore plus Kansas,
in America's heartland, to find out how they're developing
new sources of energy, or cutting waste,
and why strategies like those make sense for all of us.
Female Narrator: Energy Quest USA -
Earth: The Operators' Manual is made possible by NSF,
the National Science Foundation,
where discoveries begin.
Narrator: Sometimes when Americans hear energy,
the next word that comes to mind is crisis.
It really doesn't have to be that way.
Shirley Jackson, former head
of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission,
and now president of one of America's leading
technical universities,
thinks the United States is actually well-placed.
Well, the U.S. is lucky because
we have such a diversity of climates
and diversity of geologies and in the end,
diversity of actual energy sources.
And that, in fact, makes us very fortunate
compared to other parts of the world.
They may have a given source of energy,
but they don't have the multiple sources.
Narrator: Alaska, like the rest of America,
has been addicted to oil.
Now, can abundant sustainable options
make it America's renewable state?
Kodiak Island, Alaska at 3,600 square miles
is about half the size of New Jersey.
Getting around almost always involves a boat, or a plane,
or a float-plane that's a bit of both.
Kodiak's population is less than 14,000,
leaving most of the island undeveloped and natural.
That beauty is one of Kodiak's economic assets,
bringing tourists to watch bears raising cubs
and catching fish.
Kodiak's human population also catches salmon,
with fish exports providing
another key source of jobs and income.
The island wants to limit imports
of dirty and expensive fossil fuels,
and tap natural resources to supply as much
clean and locally generated energy as possible.
Fuel prices, because we live on an island,
are very expensive.
You know, you learn pretty quickly
that you need an alternative.
Narrator: Kodiak was the first place in Alaska to make
wind power a substantial part of the energy mix,
with its three 1.5 megawatt turbines on Pillar Mountain.
So getting good quality, low-cost sustainable
power is really necessary for the long-term viability
of the economy of Alaska.
Narrator: Upgrades at the Terror Lake
hydro-electric plant, plus plans for three more turbines
leave the KEA co-op confident they can hit
95% renewables by 2020.
Though Kodiak uses diesel as a backup and during repairs,
the wind turbines save the island 800,000 gallons
of expensive, imported fuel each year.
And this matters to the local business community.
This morning, we're offloading pink salmon
and red salmon, chum salmon and coho
that came from the west side of Kodiak--
it keeps us busy, the plants work 24 hours a day,
and it's a very, very big industry for Kodiak.
Narrator: This processing plant runs
100% on renewable energy, so Kodiak's wind power
provides a clean, green marketing hook.
The package says, sustainable seafood,
produced in Kodiak, Alaska,
with wind-generated renewable energy.
You got some folks in the community
that are really concerned about price.
You know, they just want the lowest cost power
at their house or at their business.
The wind does that.
It's less than 50% of the cost of power versus diesel.
Then you got folks in the town that are very just,
environmentally concerned.
And they are incredibly excited,
because it's a whole lot cleaner than diesel is.
And then you've got the majority of folks who want both,
which is great as well.
Narrator: Kodiak is a genuine island, surrounded by ocean,
but vast areas of interior Alaska
are also islands of habitation, small communities
surrounded by open country and dense forests.
Many have no road access, and the only way to transport
heavy fuel is via rivers like the Yukon.
Bear Ketzler is city manager of Tanana,
a remote and mainly native Alaskan village
at the confluence of the Yukon and Tanana Rivers.
90% of our bulk freight
that comes in, comes by the barge.
Narrator: That includes diesel for the power plant
and heating oil for homes.
Diesel prices increased 83% between 2000 and 2005,
and utility costs can sometimes be more than
1/3 of a household's income.
The increase of energy costs,
it jeopardizes everything.
It jeopardizes our school, it really jeopardizes
the ability for the city to function effectively.
Narrator: Communities like Tanana
rely on the river for the fish protein
that's a large part of a subsistence diet.
And the river also provides
a cheap and local source of energy.
We have abundant resources of wood, biomass.
Wood that floats down the river, in the spring and the fall time.
Narrator: Timber is increasingly replacing oil
and diesel in Tanana's communal buildings,
like the washeteria, a combination laundromat,
public showers and water treatment plant.
Right now, we don't even need oil,
we're just running the whole place
off this one wood boiler, which is just amazing.
Narrator: Using biomass and solar, the washeteria
now uses only one quarter as much heating oil.
Instead, the city pays residents to gather
sustainable timber, keeping dollars in the local community.
And using biomass at the washeteria has proven
so cost effective that the city is planning
to install boilers in other public buildings.
Bear: We're going to be one of the first communities
on Yukon River that is installing
a biomass systems on the school.
In October of this year we're hoping to have
that wood system on line, so instead of burning
15,000 gallons of oil throughout this winter,
we're hoping to burn about 60 cords of wood.
And keep that money local and create
a little bit of an economy here.
Narrator: The bottom line for Tanana-- savings for the city.
Biomass is cheaper, local, cleaner and more sustainable.
Bear: Even though we are a very rich state, very blessed
to have the oil development that we do have,
those days are diminishing.
If we're going to make it in rural Alaska,
we have to move towards renewable resources.
I think we have, you know, less than 10 years
to move in that area.
Narrator: Winter in Alaska presents extreme challenges.
On this January day it was close to minus 50.
Gwen Holdmann is an engineer with the University of Alaska's
Center for Energy and Power.
She and her husband also raise sled dogs
and both are mushers who have raced in the Iditarod.
Today's run takes her past the Alaska pipeline,
which has transported more than 16 billion
barrels of oil since it opened in 1977.
Despite the fact that Alaska is rich in fossil fuels,
Gwen knows they're limited and expensive.
She wants to take advantage of every opportunity
to tap renewable energy.
Gwen: We are an isolated part of the world, and we are still
dependent very much on imports, and so becoming more
self-reliant on energy is still a real goal here.
Narrator: Gwen was part of the team
that built the first geothermal power plant in Alaska
at Chena hot springs.
Bernie Karl runs the Chena Resort
and came up with the idea of creating an ice museum
from the heat energy of the springs.
Bernie: Now you've heard of the great wall of China.
This is the great wall of Chena.
There's 800 tons of ice here.
Narrator: Bernie is a real American pioneer--
a showman, an entrepreneur, a tinkerer and enthusiast
for recycling old machinery, because it's cheaper.
He and Gwen successfully transformed the hot springs
into a geothermal resource that now generates power
from lower temperature water than anywhere else on earth.
What you're looking at is something that's impossible.
I went to the world's best manufacturer
of geothermal equipment and they said, "can't be done,
the word can't is not in my vocabulary."
It wasn't obvious at first that it could be done,
because these are low, really moderate
temperatures for geothermal.
The water that we're talking about here
is about the same as a good hot cup of coffee
and generating power from that isn't a trivial thing.
Narrator: Normal conditions for mid-winter Chena
are 3-4 feet of snow, subzero temperatures,
and only a few hours of daylight.
Heating and lighting costs were staggeringly high.
But now the resort runs year-round with over
90% of its electricity coming from the hot springs.
Bernie's latest impossible idea is to use geothermal power
to make the resort self-sufficient in food
even when it's minus 50 outside.
Bernie: We have 85kw of lights in here,
high pressure sodium.
We're changing it to 8.5 kw of L.E.D.s.
Now, this takes 1/10th the electricity.
Narrator: For the past 6 years Chena has hosted
a renewable energy fair.
One keynote speaker was U.S. Senator Lisa Murkowski.
Lisa Murkowski: I'm a Republican.
Republicans by definition are seemingly more conservative.
What is more conservative
than harnessing what is available
and around us in a long-term sustainable way?
We have more renewable opportunities here in Alaska
than any other place in the world.
We've got incredible river systems.
We have 33,000 miles of coastline, the power
of the tides, the power of the currents.
We have biomass potential that is just beyond belief.
As diverse and as big and remote and as costly as things are
in Alaska, if we can demonstrate that it can be done here,
think about the hope that it provides.
They'll look at us and say,
"Wow, if Alaska can do it, we can do this.
We can take control of our energy future."
Narrator: But to have a sustainable energy future,
we have to do things differently than in the past.
Richard Alley explains--
We've been burning whatever was at hand
for a long, long time.
But as we see repeatedly with energy,
you can burn too much of a good thing.
And there are patterns in the human use of energy
and if we're stupid enough to repeat them,
burn all the fossil fuel remaining on the planet
and put the CO2 into the air, we will cook our future.
Take what we did to trees in North America, for example.
When the first settlers arrived on America's east coast,
the forests were so thick, you could barely see the sky.
That soon changed.
And the forests almost completely disappeared
as more and more trees were cut down to meet the heating,
cooking and building needs of a growing population.
Making iron needed lots of furnaces
and the furnaces ran on charcoal made from trees.
You can trace that history in tell-tale place names
from my home state of Pennsylvania.
So farewell virgin forests, hello Pennsylvania Furnace,
Lucy Furnace, Harmony Forge,
and Valley Forge of Revolutionary War fame.
Large areas of forest were soon depleted,
and charcoal making and iron production moved on,
to repeat the process elsewhere.
Peak Wood, meaning the time of maximum production,
came as early as the first decades of the 19th century
or even before that for some parts of the east coast.
The pattern of using up an energy resource
until it was nearly gone was repeated at sea.
As America's population grew, so did their need
for a better way to light the night.
So whaling crews went to sea, on the hunt
for the very best source of illumination...
whale oil.
At first, large numbers of whales were found nearby.
They could just be towed to shore.
But by the 1870s, we'd burned so many whales
to light our evenings, that all the easy whales were gone.
Whale-oil prices roughly doubled.
Now ships had to travel close to the poles
in search of bowhead whales.
Their oil wasn't as good.
And conditions were really dangerous.
In 1871, up in the arctic,
33 ships were trapped in the ice and crushed.
Just as happened with America's forests,
we'd exploited the most easily accessible resources
and hadn't stopped until we'd almost used them up.
Lucky for us, in 1859 a cheaper and more abundant
source of energy had been discovered
with Edwin Drake's successful oil well,
drilled in Titusville, Pennsylvania.
And for 150 years, America ran and grew on oil and coal.
Narrator: Today, in some ways,
we're in danger of repeating the past.
As the easy oil was all used up,
we're drilling in challenging conditions up in the Arctic.
We're considering an increasing reliance on tar sands,
which are plentiful in our northern neighbor,
Canada, but which are dirtier to process.
But once more, America has been fortunate
to find a new, abundant, domestic
and potentially cleaner source of energy.
Several regions from North Dakota to the mid-atlantic
and northeastern states have large amounts
of natural gas deep underground in shale rock formations.
And the city of Fort Worth sits literally
on top of the Barnett Shale.
For the first time, a new source of energy
is emerging when there's an awareness
of the urgent need for sustainability.
Can Fort Worth and America figure out how to make
shale gas a significant part of our energy future,
without repeating the mistakes of our energy past?
Folks used to call this cowtown.
Today, there are more than 2,000 gas wells
right under the city of Fort Worth.
This city's grown by 200,000 people in 10 years
and estimate it will gain another 200,000...
Narrator: Rapid growth has brought congestion on the roads
and pressure on fresh water resources
at a time of record drought all across Texas.
That has motivated the city to be part
of the sustainability roundtable,
bringing together developers and planners,
energy executives, university researchers
and even the commander of the local naval air station.
Mayor Price: We have to begin to develop a master vision
for how do we be sustainable?
It has to be a concentrated effort on every department's
part to think about their water use, their electric use.
Narrator: Roundtable members realize their push
for sustainability is happening against the backdrop
of the natural gas boom.
It's quite remarkable how rapidly shale gas has
developed from being basically zero percent of our production
to being more than a third of our total
natural gas production and going up.
Narrator: Depending on how quickly we use it, experts say
America could have enough gas for several decades.
To some, this is a huge bonanza.
Larry Broaden: We've found so much gas here
and in other areas, that the price has been driven down.
Narrator: To others, shale gas
is an environmental disaster waiting to happen.
There has to be a more robust discussion
with the public about risk and risk benefit.
Very few discussions start that way.
Most of them start with, "here's a source we must use."
or "here's a source of energy we must not use."
The real issue is, what is our desired end state?
Narrator: Geologists have known about shale gas
for more than 20 years.
But that didn't mean the gas
was easy or economical to extract.
In this industry video, you can see that hydraulic fracturing
or fracking uses a mixture of water, sand and chemicals.
This is injected deep underground
to break up the rock and let the gas flow
up to the surface more easily.
Mayor Price: We say we've been punching holes
in the ground in Texas for 100 years.
Narrator: What was new was drilling down and then out
horizontally, and the locations of the pad sites.
Mayor Price: We've been fracking wells for 50,
but we've not done it in your backyard.
Narrator: Larry Brogdon is an oil and gas man who made money
by acquiring and selling drilling rights.
Now he teaches a course that touches on energy, economics,
and environment at Texas Christian University.
The economic benefit to this area in the last
10 years has been about over $65 billion.
Narrator: And when natural gas
is used to generate electricity,
some estimates are that it's 50% cleaner than coal.
The advantage that natural gas has is that it's
much lower carbon in terms of its footprint.
Narrator: Industry insiders say Americans need to recognize
that the power we all use has to come from somewhere.
Somebody goes over there and they flip on that
light switch and they think they're just using electricity,
well, natural gas is generating a whole lot of that electricity.
Narrator: However, public concern, here in Fort Worth
and nationally, has focused on worries
that the entire cycle of drilling, fracking, production
and fluid disposal can contaminate drinking water,
trigger earthquakes, and leak methane.
It is an industrial activity,
and that means the management of water.
That means air quality.
And the third thing is just the community impact,
that suddenly areas that were not being developed
for natural gas, now have this development coming in.
Narrator: Daniel Yergin was a member of a special committee
tasked by the U.S. Secretary of Energy
to study the potential environmental impacts
of natural gas drilling.
The committee came up with 20 recommendations
of best practices, with number one being
better sharing of information with the public.
Number 14, disclosure of fracking fluids,
and number 11, studies about possible
methane contamination of water supplies.
One has to do the full life cycle analysis,
kind of cradle to grave kind of thing,
to really understand where the points
of vulnerability are including full environmental
costs and to then weigh the risks and the benefits.
And that will help us lay out
what the panoply of sources would look like.
Narrator: Only if safeguards are in place
can this fossil fuel really serve as a bridge
to a more sustainable future.
Right now best practices would focus on things like
how do you handle the water that is produced out of the well
as the result of hydraulic fracturing and making sure
that it's disposed of in a very environmentally sound way.
Narrator: As the name, hydraulic fracturing, implies,
massive amounts of water are required for fracking
and in Texas where water is a precious resource,
this is a major concern.
Water is huge, facing the city.
And I think that water is one of those things
that most people don't think long term about.
Narrator: Although mayor price says local breweries use
more water than the drillers, with sustainability in mind,
there's no reason why fracking has to use potable water.
So now we're able to use reclaimed water
to frack these wells and thereby use less
of our potable water and it can take
3 million gallons of water to frack one well.
Narrator: Once thought of as a sewage treatment plant,
Village Creek is now the water reclamation facility.
Until recently, 50% of Fort Worth's
potable water was used for irrigation.
Now the city's distributing treated grey water
in distinctive purple pipes to irrigate golf courses
and playing fields and for industrial uses
at the giant Dallas-Fort Worth Airport.
Every day in the city of Fort Worth,
about a million people put water down the drain.
This is where it ends up.
Narrator: The water treatment process itself is becoming
more sustainable and less energy intensive.
And in a twist, this new approach relies
on a truly natural gas.
Methane is the primary component of natural gas
but it's also a by-product of our daily lives,
found in human waste.
One of the first steps in the process
is to remove solids from the waste and put it
into digesters where methane gas is generated.
Under normal circumstances you may consider
methane to be a greenhouse gas which would be bad
for the environment, but here we're using it as a renewable
resource to power our engines, possibly getting
up to as much as 90-95%, of the energy required
for the operation of this facility.
Narrator: Fort Worth is aiming for sustainable growth
and an energy boom without a following bust.
But the energy we all surely need will more easily be found
by tapping another resource that's found in Fort Worth,
and every community.
When we talk about energy,
we talk about the various major energy sources.
You talk about oil, natural gas, coal, nuclear.
Increasingly also, of course, the renewables, wind and solar.
But there's one fuel that gets left out of the discussion
and yet it's one that has enormous impact on the future.
That's the fifth fuel, energy efficiency, conservation.
Narrator: Kansas, a land of wheat, and corn, and cattle.
In the heart of the country, it's number 48
out of all 50 states in energy efficiency.
So this is a place where energy conservation
can really make a difference.
Come on, girls.
Our region is a region of farmers.
We are famously conservative and we have talked
from the beginning about putting the conserve
back in conservative.
Narrator: According to a study by the Natural Resources
Defense Council, improvements in energy efficiency
have the potential to deliver more than $700 billion
in cost savings in the U.S. alone.
But, they say motivating consumers to take action
is the key to unlocking this potential
and that was the aim of Nancy Jackson's
Climate and Energy project,
with its Take Charge! Challenge.
Kansans are patriotic, Kansans are hardworking,
Kansans are humble.
Narrator: And Kansans are competitive.
You all are competing against Ottawa,
Baldwin City, and Paola, so really,
you gotta beat those guys, yes?
Do you want to help us beat Manhattan?
Narrator: 2011 was the second year
for the Take Charge! Challenge, a friendly competition
among 16 communities arranged in four regional groups
aiming to reduce their local energy use.
Some of the lowest cost, most effective ways
that you can take ownership of your energy future
is taking ownership of the efficiency
and the conservation of your house or your business.
Narrator: Ray Hammarlund's office used
federal stimulus dollars to fund four prizes of $100,000
for each of the four regions in the competition.
Just as important as the grand prize,
$25,000 went to each community
to fund local coordinators who took the lead
in galvanizing grassroots efforts.
Here's how the challenge worked in Iola.
The challenge started in January of this year
and ends October 1st.
You're required to have three community events.
We're going to have a lot more than that.
Today, we are at the Fight The Energy Hog Festival.
Becky Nilges: I love the hog.
He was just so ugly that he is cute.
He represents energy hogs in your home.
You would probably let him in but you don't know
the damage he's going to do.
Narrator: Competing towns scored points by counting how
many cfl bulbs and programmable thermostats were installed
and how many professional home energy audits were done.
Our job as energy auditors, both for commercial
buildings as well as residential buildings is,
we're essentially detectives.
What's happening here?
Is there a great deal of air leakage?
And we're finding that the majority of the houses
that we're dealing with actually use a lot more energy
than they need to.
Narrator: In Lawrence, a house of worship
did an energy audit, made changes,
and got a pretty nice donation in its collection plate.
David Owen: One part of the audit was
to contact the power company.
Well, during that process we discovered
they had been overcharging us.
And so we got a check, a rebate check from them for $4,456.
Narrator: Other changes start small, but add up.
We were a little bit worried at one point
that the congregation would not accept
the very bright, white type lights.
So as an experiment, we took one of these chandeliers
and changed all the bulbs in it to the cfls.
And then we took the priest over here and we said,
"which one did we do?" and he could not tell us.
So that told us it was ok to do them all.
Narrator: Changing lights, adding insulation,
and upgrading windows paid off.
Even though it's an old building,
we saved 64% on the consumption of energy in this room.
Narrator: Lighting makes up about 15%
of a typical home's electricity bill,
and lighting all of our residential
and commercial buildings uses about 13%
of the nation's total electricity.
But changing out old bulbs is a lot easier than paying
for audits and the energy enhancements they recommend.
Here's where the 2011 Take Charge! Challenge
promised material assistance using stimulus funds.
Ken Wagner: It's a $500 audit that costs you $100.
The rest of that $500 is covered under the Take Charge Challenge
program through the Kansas Energy Office.
We really love the competitive spirit of the program
and I think it's really raised a whole awareness
of energy efficiency and the importance of energy
efficiency to a lot of segments in our community here.
Narrator: Even Baldwin City bankers were grateful
for financial assistance from state and federal governments.
Dave Hill: Nine months ago, we installed
a 14 KW solar power system.
I believe the initial cost of the system was basically
$65,000 and then we got
a substantial grant from USDA, I believe it was $20,000.
We have about $18,000 of our own money invested in the system,
after all the deductions.
We think it will pay out in about 7-8 years.
Narrator: David Crane of NRG Energy
thinks that kind of approach makes good business sense.
Crane: What I say to every businessman who has
a customer-facing business, think of a solar panel not only
as a source of electricity, think of it as a billboard.
You don't even have to write your name on it.
Just put it on the top of your store and it will be sending
a message to your customers that you're doing
the right thing when it comes to sustainable energy.
Narrator: Surveys of why conservation is hard to achieve
have found that people want one-stop shopping,
a place where they can find out what to do
and get practical recommendations
about who to hire and what it all might cost,
just what this new facility was to offer.
Now it's mid-October, time for the results
of the 2011 Take Charge! Challenge.
MC: Fort Scott.
MC: And the winner is Baldwin City.
Nancy Jackson: Over 100 billion BTUs were saved as a result
of this Challenge, and millions and millions
of dollars in each community.
Those savings come from measures that have been installed
that will guarantee those savings for years to come.
So the savings are enormous over time.
$100,000 has a nice ring to it
and it's a nice cash award for a community of our size.
Our challenge now is to continue on with energy efficiency
and encourage our community to save.
Nancy: One of our real goals was to help people to stop thinking
about energy efficiency as the things they shouldn't do,
as what not to do, and think about it instead
as a tremendous opportunity to both
save money in the near term, and to make
our electric system more resilient in the long term.
So it's about what we can do, both individually and together,
and for us that feels like the real win.
The United States today is twice
as energy efficient as it was in the 1970s.
And I think we have the capability in the decades
ahead to become twice as energy efficient again.
We believe this is something that can be done
really anywhere with great success.
Narrator: Baltimore, Maryland.
According to one study, the air in Maryland
is the 5th dirtiest in the nation.
Are there ways for America's 21st largest city
to cut emissions and save energy and money?
Baltimore is unique in that it has
over 225 neighborhoods within the city limits.
Narrator: Like Kansas, it's been using competition
to jump start the process of sustainability.
Narrator: BNEC, the Baltimore Neighborhood Energy Challenge
used existing events like this anti-crime rally
in the Park Heights neighborhood
to let city residents know about opportunities
to save energy and to share the top ten things to do.
You signing people up?
We are willing to go and talk to anybody, anywhere,
where we can get some face time with people
to talk about energy savings and conservation.
And if it means going to an event talking about crime,
we will go to an event talking about crime.
If it's about a neighborhood block party,
we will go to a neighborhood block party.
We find people where we can get them.
And the toilet tank bank
and draft stopper gaskets as well.
You're welcome.
Narrator: In addition to sharing information,
the Baltimore Challenge enlisted energy captains
to canvass their own neighborhoods
taking the conservation message directly to homeowners.
Ok, on this side as well, right?
Narrator: That's something the challenge's
utility partners knew they couldn't do.
I'm on the BNEC challenge pledge.
Ruth Kiselewich: If somebody just comes to your door
and asks you to sign a petition to help the environment,
to reduce your energy use, or if you see a message
even from the local utility about all these
great things you can do, it's not enough.
My sister Tracy, Alice Kennedy
from the Baltimore City Sustainability Commission.
Thomas Stosur: Unique thing about BNEC is the fact
that it builds on this neighbor-to-neighbor advocacy
and communication for energy conservation.
It goes right down to the household level, you know,
neighbors talking to each other across the yard.
What do you guys do to save energy at home?
Leave the lights off.
During the day we turn the lights off.
When we're not looking at TV, we turn the TV off.
So the TV cannot watch itself.
That's basically what we do.
Narrator: To jump start energy savings, the challenge
has a bag of free stuff including indoor/outdoor cfls,
just right for the porch lights
so characteristic of Baltimore.
Would you be interested in trying that?
You can get up there--
He will!
Everyone's household budgets
are shrinking right now too, so I think
that if we all just can be wise about what were doing,
we're all going save a little bit of money.
Robbyn: So, you're all signed up?
I think I have to give you my account number.
Narrator: The challenge found that neighbor-to-neighbor
sharing could be even more effective
when the energy captains went inside homes
to demonstrate quick and effective steps
in a simplified peer-to-peer energy audit.
Then when you're not here or you're not using it,
turn the power strip off.
Narrator: For Baltimore residents, saving water
also saves substantial dollars and this simple bladder
reduces the amount used in each and every flush.
What impressed the organizers of the first year's challenge
was that Park Heights, home to the Pimlico racetrack
and one of the most underserved neighborhoods
saved the most energy, nearly 13%.
The organizers said the main reason was the energy
and enthusiasm of the Park Heights energy captains.
They actually saw, those residents who participated
there, the largest benefit of any of the neighborhoods.
To see this very grassroots effort
take off and outperform
any other neighborhood was really impressive.
Narrator: The Park Heights captains were also successful
in applying for follow-on funding
to continue their conservation efforts.
The announcement of the 2011 community energy saving grants
brought out U.S. Senator Ben Cardin
and Baltimore mayor, Stephanie Rawlings-Blake.
Mayor Blake: Saving energy means lower utility costs
and after the heat wave we've had, I'm sure everyone
is interested in lower utility costs
and the knowledge about energy savings is contagious.
Narrator: Baltimore city itself took lessons
from the challenge and started pitting city departments
against each other in a competition to catch
energy vampires around city buildings.
Using their new grant, the Park Heights captains
started planning a new outreach campaign,
using junior energy ambassadors
to reach out to schools and others.
With homeowners' permission, challenge staff
could access utility bills and so track energy savings,
neighborhood by neighborhood.
So, we actually are able to show that we have
proven savings by looking at utility usage data
and showing that some of these little actions
in the home can help save money and save energy.
Narrator: Bottom line, thanks in part to the challenge,
Baltimore is on track to meet its goal
of reducing carbon emissions
and energy use 15% by 2015
and the utilities can cut back too.
As we reduce energy use and energy demand
what we're doing is we're eliminating the need
for a new medium-size power plant.
Particularly in hard economic times,
this challenge helps build a sense
of, "I can accomplish something individually.
I can impact my life in a very positive way."
Saving energy means a reduced strain
on our power grid, lower utility costs
as well as reduced greenhouse gas emissions,
which means, for generations to come, we will have better
air quality and a cleaner and more sustainable Baltimore.
Narrator: Can what cities do locally really move
the dial toward national sustainability?
Portland, Oregon, shows what's possible.
70% of all the oil consumed in America
is used for transportation.
But congestion wastes a huge amount,
perhaps 16% of all the oil imported from the Persian Gulf.
Despite our best efforts, we are still
taking 10% of the world's petroleum supply
just to get back and forth to work every day.
Narrator: Congressman Earl Blumenauer
represents Oregon's third district, including Portland.
He heads up the Congressional bike caucus.
And his city started finding solutions some 30 years back.
You know, one of the things we did was,
we have an urban growth boundary, and what that is,
is a ring around the city of Portland
and its surrounding suburbs, so that we cannot
kind of sprawl out and we can't become Los Angeles.
Narrator: Between 1950 and 1990,
America's urban population grew by 90%.
But cities' land area grew more than 250%.
Remarkably, Portland bucked that trend of urban sprawl.
Key decisions made include a move from investment
in freeways into transit and also to integrate
transit planning with land use planning.
Narrator: Along with region-wide thinking,
Portland now has an infrastructure
that emphasizes mass transit, along with something
this city pioneered in the 19th century...
bicycles.
It may be easy to parody Portland's love affair
with all things green including the cycling community.
But putting bikes to work has practical advantages
if they can be made into something used
for more than pure recreation.
That's the purpose of what's called the Oregon Manifest,
a design challenge to come up with clever and practical ways
to transport packages as well as people.
A decade ago it was hard to find
a bike that was not a racing bike
or a mountain bike or a touring bike.
Now any bike shop that you walk into,
in the city of Portland anyway, you'll find city bikes,
bikes that are really made for commuting to and from work,
from riding to the park to the grocery store.
Narrator: Half of U.S. car trips
cover less than 10 miles, and short trips
where engines make a cold start
are the most gasoline intensive and polluting.
So if city bikes like these became mass-produced
and popular and if every one of the nation's
more than 100,000,000 households
substituted one 5-mile trip each day,
the nation would save $36.5 billion on gasoline.
Already one young entrepreneur has put Portland's
non-polluting pedal power to work
and made a business of it.
We use these large tricycle trucks to deliver
products into a two mile radius of the urban core for Portland.
We deliver everything from bread and produce
to office products to water to cycle parts.
Each trike can carry about 800 pounds.
They're all electric-assisted.
So it's a hybrid human and electric power.
The less congestion we have,
our goods and services move faster.
We're an international global city.
We have to be scrappy, so bicyclists
are about reducing congestion.
Over the past 2 1/2 years we've helped
displace over 25,000 truck or van-based deliveries.
And when you start to look at the overall greenhouse gas
reduction and avoidance, day by day it's not very much,
but cumulatively it really starts to stack up.
Narrator: Cycling may be an outward and very visible sign
of a transition away from cars, but the region's
mass transit network also has serious numbers.
We have been electrifying
our transportation for 30 years here.
And today there's literally about 150,000 boardings per day.
And that means that people who otherwise might be traveling
around in cars are traveling around in electrons.
As a result of how we put the pieces together
in Portland over the last 1/3 of a century, Portlanders
voluntarily drive 20% less than the national average.
This translates into a dollar savings
for the typical household
of more than $2,500 a year.
And that's money that stays in our community.
It is not going to Houston or Saudi Arabia, Japan or Germany.
Narrator: Portland's leaders talk about the trip not taken
as something that saves money and benefits the environment.
Currently more than a quarter of Portland's workforce
commutes by bike, carpool or mass transit.
But planners are working on the next giant step
in low carbon transportation, electric vehicles.
I think we get to the point where electric
vehicles will be able to do, you know, 98% of the personal
transportation needs, and of course that's mainly
in the cities and the suburbs.
Narrator: An average Portlander's daily commute
of 20 miles could easily be powered
by a single battery charge.
So Electric Avenue is a test site to get ground truth
on how people might use e-vehicles.
We think the next 10 to 30 years is going to be
focusing on individual passenger vehicles like the ones behind me
and also on urban freight and service vehicles,
those parcel delivery trucks, the post office.
Narrator: Those vehicles also make lots of short trips
with starts and stops, producing emissions
and using up a lot of fuel.
Nationally, companies like Frito Lay are competing
with others like Federal Express to see
who can deploy the most low emission delivery vehicles.
Tailpipe emissions are the single
greatest source of emissions in our major cities.
So I think probably every mayor,
everywhere, supports the idea
of getting more vehicles on their local roads
that don't have tailpipes.
Narrator: Portland's original plans concentrated
on land use and transportation.
The focus for the future is the neighborhood.
The goal is what's called a 20 minute neighborhood
with most everything a family needs
in easy walking or biking distance,
where kids can learn how to ride safely to and from school.
Earl: This effort of integrating the pedestrian,
streetcar, bike, along with mixed use development,
it is enriching the experience of going
to the store, going to visit a neighbor
and makes us a more sustainable, cost-effective community.
Narrator: Portland's transportation innovations
have direct economic benefits.
By actually doing the right things here,
we've built this base of great export.
We've got solar firms, wind firms.
We have firms focused on energy efficiency
with hundreds and hundreds of employees.
And they're locating here or they grew up here because
we were trying to do something and we built demand here.
We're one of the cheapest cities
on the west coast, because we offer options other than
having to own a car to live and work and have a good life.
I think just like anything you're trying to do,
whether it's a business or a government or a city,
good things don't happen by accident.
You need to have some good plans.
We can reduce that carbon footprint while we provide
economic opportunities for our citizens and others.
Narrator: Richard Alley agrees--
science and sustainability both come together
in an Operators' Manual for America.
Like thousands of Portlanders, I commute by bike.
Like many in Fort Worth, I've worked for an energy company.
My university runs a herd of cows,
so I connect with Kansans.
I've spent time in some pretty cold places,
so I know some of the challenges Alaska faces
and I appreciate the importance of affordable energy
to everyone including the citizens of Baltimore.
So as we look around our planet with eyes informed
by climate science and with an appreciation
of the vast potential for clean, low-carbon sources of energy,
I think we can be optimistic about our prospects
while being realistic about how humans
are affecting the planet.
Our world is complex, like a giant jigsaw puzzle.
But earth science gives us an Operators' Manual
to help us see where most of the pieces go.
Some things we know with really high confidence.
Carbon dioxide levels are increasing in earth's atmosphere
and basic physics and objective research show
that CO2 warms things up.
Analyzing the chemistry of the CO2, shows that
most of the carbon is coming from our use of fossil fuel.
Satellites looking down from space show
that the atmosphere is warming down here,
but cooling up here, high in the stratosphere,
showing the warmth isn't from the sun.
And we've got lots more solid knowledge
that just about every climate scientist agrees on.
Of course, there are some things we still don't know.
We'd like to know more about clouds.
On balance, do they work to make climate changes
bigger, or smaller?
And we'd like to know how weather extremes will change
and how fast.
Some things we simply can't know.
When will the next big volcanic eruption spread cooling clouds
of ash around the planet for a year or two?
But even with these uncertainties,
the big picture is pretty clear.
But in a very real sense, the most important questions
aren't about science and engineering,
but society and policies.
What do we want to do?
And on that, surprisingly, there's a growing consensus,
across political parties, businesses and community groups
who are listening to the science and looking to the future.
Obviously in some ways,
there is a diversity of opinion about the degree
to which man-made activities affect the climate.
Now I happen to be on the side of those who believe
there is an effect.
But suppose one were not.
Whether one's focus is on national security,
geopolitical effect or the environment--
in the end all of these things track in the same direction.
Everyone's always talking
about the exceptionalism of the United States
and global leadership and clear thought leadership
culturally, socially, and I believe in all that.
But if you believe in all that, you then can't turn around
and say, "Well, we're helpless and we're just
a little bit of the problem and no matter what we do,
China and India will go their own way."
There's just no evidence that that's the case.
If the United States leads in this way, others will follow.
I mean, that's what leadership is about.
At the end of the day the atmosphere doesn't care
one whit what people think.
The atmosphere cares what people do.
We can reduce emissions in real time.
Why people do it?
As long as they do it, doesn't matter to us.
Richard Alley: For all we know about the climate,
for all the promise of renewables,
perhaps even more important is figuring out
how to unleash people power to energize our nation.
That's what an Operators' Manual is all about.
It tells us how something works and how to get
the very best performance out of it.
And I also have faith in how America's democracy works.
We can make positive changes if we think clearly,
and move forward together.
That's my hope.
That's my faith.
For Earth: The Operators' Manual, I'm Richard Alley.
Female Narrator: Energy Quest USA -
Earth: The Operators' Manual is made possible by NSF,
the National Science Foundation,
where discoveries begin.
For the annotated script
with links to information on climate change
and sustainability, online tools to help you
save money and energy, educator resources
and much more, visit pbs.org/etom.
Energy Quest USA is available
on DVD and Blu-ray Disc.
The companion book is also available.
To order visit shop PBS.org or call us at 1800 PLAY PBS
Narrator: Part of Portland's 20 minute neighborhood plan
is supporting communities where people can bike to stores,
instead of driving, and kids can ride to school, in safety.
Instructor: Left turn--
Narrator: That's the mission of the community cycling
center and its We All Can Ride program.
We All Can Ride
is a bicycling and active living organization
rooted in the community of North Portland
to encourage and educate low income communities of color that
riding bicycles are not only for hobby, but is also a mode
of transportation and also exercising,
you know prevent childhood obesity
and just to support the health of the community.
Great bike ride-- thank you so much.
We'll do this next time.
Any kind of behavior change is
about finding a few champions, getting a few people out there,
and having them basically spread the story.
It's not a top-down thing.
Narrator: Village Creek, Fort Worth's water treatment plant
and BRIT, the Botanical Research Institute of Texas
look very different, but both are working
to cut back on energy and conserve water.
In Texas and in most of the Southwest,
we've gotten both heat and drought.
What we wanted this building to demonstrate was our mission.
And our mission is conservation and sustainability.
And it's green from the bottom to the top.
This summer with the sweltering heat that we had here in Texas,
all of the air conditioning was basically supplied
by geothermal power.
Narrator: One roof is covered in solar collectors
and another with native vegetation.
All the rain, if we ever get any, eventually winds
up in a retention pond we have in the back of the property.
And all of our irrigation comes out of that retention pond.
We are not on the grid for city water for our irrigation.
Narrator: Sy Sohmer hopes BRIT serves as an inspiration
and that many more leed-certified buildings
will follow.
Narrator: Fairbanks, Alaska.
It's so cold here in winter that car exhaust makes ice fog
at intersections and the city's air
is often dirty with wood smoke and fumes from heating oil.
Enter a pellet factory near the town of North Pole, Alaska.
What comes in is sawdust and wood waste.
We take the lowest grade materials
available in the forest.
Narrator: Intense heat drives out moisture.
Chad: This burner is a 24 million btu burner.
It operates on 97% wood fuel and we can dry
between 14 and 16 tons
of raw material every hour.
The pellets come out looking very similar to rabbit food.
Narrator: But these pellets burn cleaner
and cost 40% less, than other heating fuels.
And this is a perfect opportunity for Alaska
to utilize a locally manufactured product that
really makes a difference in the air quality around here.