VLOG

Mark Z. Jacobson

Director of Stanford University

Atmosphere and Energy Program

Mark Jacobson of Stanford University addresses the supposed need for a “bridge” from fossil fuels to renewable energy, and how we can be implementing wind and solar energy today.

• 6 comments
• Read more
• 

Ralph Cavanagh of the Natural Resources Defense Council debunks a well-known concern over the “intermittent” output provided by wind and solar energy. His explanation utilizes an elegant musical metaphor, and is surprisingly simple.

Even better, his solution would cut costs for renewable energy developers and customers alike. It's hard to deny the efficacy of his plan. As a utilities customer, what do you think?

• 22 comments
• 

Dan Arvizu, the Director the National Renewable Energy Lab, explains the current state of the energy system in the US, and why it’s “not sustainable.”

He warns that our dependency on fossil fuels needs to change, but this type of change does not typically come about easily or quickly. Unfortunately we don’t have a lot of time to solve this issue, and his solution is a challenge to each and every one of us: public opinion is the “#1 ingredient” to this change. The problem is now on our doorstep and we must insist that a change is made.

He goes on to explain the mission of the NREL, and its role in a shifting energy landscape.

• 4 comments
• 

Every hour, the sun supplies to the surface of the Earth as much energy as humanity consumes in an entire year. Put another way, if we were to cover a single 100x100 square mile area in the desert with solar collectors they would generate more electricity than the United States currently consumes.  Is this the future of electricity? Or is it back to the future?

It was 1979 when President Jimmy Carter first set the goal of 20% solar by the year 2000. 30 years later and solar power accounts for less than 1% of the United States’ energy supply. So what happened to our green intentions? And whatever happened to those White House solar panels? To find out, join BTLS host David Biello as he uncovers the past, present and potential future of solar power.

• 25 comments
• 

Jeff Goodell, environmental author ('Big Coal', 'How to Cool the Planet') and contributing editor at Rolling Stone, shares his views on the future of electricity.

According to Jeff, in order to meet our growing energy needs we're going to need to stop thinking about generating 'clean' power vs. 'dirty', but instead start thinking in terms of how to develop 'smart' power vs. 'dumb'.

Goodell goes on to speculate that the current shift in how we think about the way we make and use electricity represents more than a technological transition—it's a cultural transition as well.

• 7 comments
• 

Scientific American editor and host of Beyond the Light Switch, David Biello, stops by Detroit’s American Black Journal to talk energy, environment and how the recent tragedy in Japan has impacted the image of nuclear power the world over. America's longest running public affairs show, American Black Journal is a weekly series on Detroit Public Television. Hosted by Stephen Henderson of The Detroit Free Press, ABJ presents a wide variety of African-American viewpoints on the important issues of today.

• 6 comments
• 

  On December 22, 2008 an ash dike ruptured at the Tennessee Valley Authority's Kingston Fossil Plant in Roane County, Tennessee. More than a square kilometer of land was covered in roughly 4 billion liters of coal ash slurry.

• 4 comments
• Read more
• 

Check out this deleted scene straight from the BTLS cutting room floor-in it David discusses the reality of Mayor John Fetterman's plan to restart the downtrodden economy of Braddock, PA. Fetterman hopes to turn things around for Braddock by attracting clean tech jobs (like the manufacturing of wind turbines) to Braddock's long-abandoned Carrie Furnace steel mill. This scene was skillfully edited for the web by another of our partners at Scientific American, Eric Olson.

• 39 comments
• 

David Biello learns more about thin film photovoltaic and discovers the best thing to happen to solar power since Jimmy Carter: building-integrated PV. To the untrained eye they may look like blue shingles, but these are shingles that can actually power your house. At their factory in Auburn Hills, Michigan David discusses this new concept in green design with Uni-Solar president Subhendu Guha. Would you put them on your roof?

• 318 comments
• 

Fellow Scientific American George Musser shows us around his rooftop solar array and breaks down the real costs of going Solar at Home.

• 65 comments
•