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(intense electronic music)
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(haunting music)
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[Jeff] I have a question.
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How long do we humans have?
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How long does mankind have?
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Oh.
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Aeh.
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Oh wow
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I don't know exactly, but it could be soon.
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I have no idea.
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[Jeff] no? (laugh)
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I hope I can get at least 50 more years. (laugh)
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I think there is an infinite amount of time.
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Infinite.
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infinite, yes.
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I give us a million.
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A million years.
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I would probably say as nice about 10 years.
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10, 12 years.
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Thousands of years.
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47 years, three months, five days.
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It is approximate.
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We're like cockroaches on the planet
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no matter how much damage we're going to do,
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enough of us will survive to reproduce and keep going.
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Unless we can get to another planet,
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but then we'll just mess it up like we did on Earth.
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Well, I think we'll be here
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for a long time, but we will change.
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We will turn into monkeys again.
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(exciting dramatic music)
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[Jeff] Have you ever wondered what would happen?
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What if a single species took over an entire planet?
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Maybe they're cute, maybe they're smart
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but a certain is missing
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should we say
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Self-control?
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(darker dramatic music)
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What if they go too far?
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What if they go far, far, far?
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way too far?
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(darker dramatic music)
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How would you know when it's time to go?
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(fascinating orchestral music)
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(Intensification of orchestral music)
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(Music fades)
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(old music)
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Because of our emissions from factories
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and cars every year
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of more than six billion tons of carbon dioxide,
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Our atmosphere seems to be getting warmer.
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Is it bad?
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Well, a couple of degrees of climb was calculated
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and the temperature of the earth would melt the polar ice caps.
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(Let the ice crash into the water)
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And if this happens, an inland sea would become a good part
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of the Mississippi Valley.
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Foreign weather, we are not only dealing with forces
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of a much greater variety
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when even the atomic physicists encounter
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but with life itself.
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(Piano synthesizer music)
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[Jeff] That was 1958.
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We knew about the dangers
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of climate change for six decades.
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There was so much air pollution back then
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that the sun was actually blocking.
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There was so much water pollution, rivers were burning.
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(Synthesizer music)
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Forget about throwing plastic bottles into the water
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We threw our cars into it.
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We also knew that one day we would run out of oil.
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For millions of Americans
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This could be the worst weekend you have ever had
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for the search for petrol to give them the freedom to drive
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that they take as their right.
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[Jeff] I never thought people would find a better way
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and I wanted to be part of it.
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A scientist raised the alarm
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and the modern environmental movement was born.
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Unless we can better control these chemicals,
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we are certainly on the way to disaster.
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[Jeff] students across the country
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organized the first day of earth.
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It's very, very fashionable at this point
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talk about the environment
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but as an everyday procedure you find that very
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very little is done.
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[Jeff] As for me, you could say
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I was an early environmentalist.
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When I was nine years old
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A bulldozer struck the forest near my house.
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I retaliated by putting sand in the gas tank.
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(softly dramatic music)
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When I grew up, I became a tree keeper and moved
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in the wilderness of northern Michigan
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to build a sustainable farm and communicate with nature.
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I wired my cabin for solar panels
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and used wood instead of fossil fuels.
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I wrote about sustainable living
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on environmental issues for Mother Earth News
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and several news agencies.
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(soft singing)
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I traveled the country to document invasive species.
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(hammer and clink)
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(Buzz) collapse of the ecosystem.
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(scary music)
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And endangered species.
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Come on girls, boys.
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(Crowd sings)
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I have reported protests against the destruction of mountains for coal.
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(People scream and clap)
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And was even confronted by the BP police once.
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(Car tire crunch)
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Journalist. Are you a journalist?
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[Jeff] Yes, yes, yes.
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You can definitely take all the pictures you want.
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[Jeff] Okay.
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We will write in our report and then we have to send it
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to the FBI and the US law firm.
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They'll call you.
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(Traffic whizzing)
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(popping)
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[Jeff] Through all of this I kept asking myself:
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Why are we still addicted to fossil fuels?
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So I decided to follow the green energy movement.
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(mild rock music)
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What better place to check out
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how our revolution of renewable energies is progressing,
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as a solar festival
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in the green mountain state of Vermont.
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Powered by 100% solar energy.
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(Bass guitar and guitar music)
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Solar. (laugh)
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[Jeff] I was having fun.
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And got a chance to ask
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about the installation of solar panels.
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So you can add something every time
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Do you get a tax refund, buy another solar panel?
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(singing rock music)
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[Jeff] But then a little rain started to fall.
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(Rock band plays and sings)
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♪ My guitar packed ♪
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♪ Off to the next bowling alley ♪
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My cameraman noticed some excitement behind the stage.
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(Beat)
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[Jeff] What have you set up here?
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This applies to biodiesel generators
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in case we lose electricity through rain.
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[Jeff] So the festival is going
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especially on solar energy?
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Primarily.
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We have to bring some of these things with us
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just because we want to be sure
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We have enough power not to kill our fancy toys
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that we light the stage.
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[Jeff] Right.
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But the biofuel generator wasn't enough
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So they got blocked
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into the power grid that we all use.
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The other inverter is working
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it actually draws electricity from the grid,
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to charge the batteries.
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(Background chat)
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It runs backwards from the pa
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we originally intended to do it, but.
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(Guitar music)
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[Jeff] That was disappointing.
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(To sing)
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But it had been raining.
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Maybe next time it would go better.
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(soft rock music)
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Fortunately, hope was on the way.
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It's been a long time, but tonight
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Change has come to America.
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(Cheering the crowd)
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(Guitar music)
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[Jeff] Green activists across the country cheered
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as a newly elected president, Barack Obama,
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a trillion dollar stimulus package rolled out
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with almost $ 100 billion for green energy.
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(Guitar playing and people singing)
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Gruen was finally starting up
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and everyone wanted to be part of it.
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President Obama brought environmental activist Van Jones
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from the Apollo Alliance, with turnkey projects.
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You have to build tens of thousands of wind farms,
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You have to set up millions of solar panels.
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[Jeff] Former Vice President Al Gore,
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who had released an Oscar-winning film a few years earlier,
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shared his ideas with the president.
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We now have the opportunity
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To create jobs across the country
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in all 50 states to supply America again.
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[Jeff] Al Gore had already encouraged
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Sir Richard Branson, owner of a billionaire airline,
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to invest generously in green energy.
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Branson promises future profits from its airline
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in the amount of maybe three billion dollars.
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Three billion, that's a B to fight global warming!
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Is Al Gore a Prophet?
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(laugh)
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Ah, ah, ah, how do you spell "prophet"? (laugh)
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(everyone's laughing)
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[Jeff] Investors came forward.
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[Newswoman] investor Vinod Khosla, known as the father
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the Clean Tech Revolution,
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pocketed over a billion dollars of his own money
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in about fifty energy startups.
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[Jeff] Big banks really wanted to get involved.
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We believe that for renewable energies by 2020
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$ 395 billion will be required on an annual basis.
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[Jeff] Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.,
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was also a board member of large environmental organizations
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and led an investment group for green energy.
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We build wind farms, we build solar farms,
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As soon as you have built our system, there is always free energy.
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(Quiet music)
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[Jeff] The Sierra Club received $ 50 million
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by the billionaire and former New York Mayor,
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Michael Bloomberg.
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Your mission?
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Fight coal and promote clean energy.
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With the Mayor's gift the following will happen.
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We will have a large and aggressive presence in 46 countries.
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It is time for America to find a new energy path.
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One that takes us beyond coal.
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So funny
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[Jeff] And then Bill McKibben,
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one of the nation's leading environmentalists
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and author of a breakthrough book called
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The end of nature
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founded an organization called 350.org
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with the mission to ignite a global climate movement.
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(soothing music)
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I can show off my tie for a minute
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because they did it for me yesterday?
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It has this 350 on it
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because it's the most important number in the world.
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[Jeff] Things looked good.
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And the green energy transition was in progress.
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(Wind blows)
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Michigan had been hit hard by the Great Recession
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and hundreds of millions of dollars
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with the green stimulus program, money arrived.
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Now, to do their part for the new green economy,
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General Motors launched a new line of electric vehicles.
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When the Chevy Volt was ready to be released,
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I attended their press conference.
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So these electric vehicles are finished
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for public consumption and we are ready
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with the infrastructure, with the tariffs,
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with communication.
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I am very grateful to be here today
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This is an opportunity for me to say formal thank you.
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The Chevy Volt is up.
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We will be able to see it.
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(Hit metal)
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[Woman] We have about 1,000 photos.
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[Jeff] Yes.
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Here is the plug.
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(Crowd laughs)
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(Click)
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As simple as that.
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[Jeff] The batteries are in the trunk?
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No, the battery in this special design is a T-shape.
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exactly in the middle and over the back seat area.
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(Group talk)
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Because everyone thought we killed the electric vehicle.
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No we have not.
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It is alive and well.
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[Jeff] So what's charging the batteries right now?
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What is the power source?
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Well, here it comes from the building.
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[Jeff] I mean is it our current mix?
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Oh, actually Lansing feeds the building.
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[Jeff] what's this?
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Lansing supplies the building with electricity.
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So, I don't know
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[Jeff] You are ...
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I bet there's some coal?
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I think they're full of natural gas, don't they?
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[Jeff] The car is charging from your network at the moment?
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Correct.
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It would be loaded from our network, which is 95% coal.
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[Jeff] How long will it take?
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before there is a solar and wind network?
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Oh my God.
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to suggest that the total energy consumption
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for these cars from wind and sun
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would be incorrect in the near future.
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Indeed, we are talking about charging
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At night, so there is no sun at this time.
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So we are exposed to the wind and very often
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the wind falls off at night.
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I don't think coal is bad.
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That what? The size
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Removal of the Talberg summit.
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Oh, mountain ...
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Oh yes oh yes. (laugh)
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[Jeff] Yes.
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It has nice BTUs, it has nice energy values.
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How do you burn it cleaner?
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I mean, do you see that natural gas is being bashed?
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We'll be natural gas based performance
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deliver very soon.
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And even with this mix, we plan to use biofuels when we can.
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[Jeff] Did you get any support?
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Oh, the environmental groups support us a lot.
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We have installed the largest solar system in the state
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at my company, The Board of Water and Lights,
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just down the street from here a few miles
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if you want to see it.
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Which agency are you with?
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[Jeff] New World Media, we're doing a poll
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on renewable energies.
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Oh, sorry, I have to go for a second.
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[Jeff] Okay, sure.
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Thanks a lot.
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(People talk)
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[Jeff] I decided to accept his offer
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to check your football field-sized solar system
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right down the street.
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What we try with this type of tour is:
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to get a feel for what they have already done
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as an indication of what we could do
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to get more out of it.
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We looked closely at wind power and found that
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there is no really good wind around here
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all the time.
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We liked that about solar.
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You would get the strength when you needed it most.
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Pass them around, look at them.
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You are flexible.
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Made in Michigan, that would be another good thing.
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Although the efficiency
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of these panels are just below 8%.
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If you happen to be a NASA member and you own it
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a rover running around Mars,
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you have very efficient panels.
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But we cannot afford that
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at about a million dollars per square inch.
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[Jeff] For how many houses would
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power this array?
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The standard answer we all say is:
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that we offer enough
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to meet the top requirements of 50 houses.
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But, for most people who do
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take a closer look:
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we generate approximately 63, 64 thousand kilowatt hours per year.
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Our average customer uses
352
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about six thousand kilowatt hours a year.
353
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Six thousand in 64, it's just over 10.
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We can cover the energy needs for 10 houses.
355
00:15:54,005 --> 00:15:55,000
over a year.
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(Traffic hums)
357
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Will that be an incentive to invest more solar energy?
358
00:16:01,005 --> 00:16:03,000
Well, if you have all the energy
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00:16:03,005 --> 00:16:07,000
want to do more than a year for the city of Lansing?
360
00:16:07,005 --> 00:16:08,000
Now how about
361
00:16:08,005 --> 00:16:09,000
You have a solar system
362
00:16:09,005 --> 00:16:11,000
that would be three times five miles.
363
00:16:11,005 --> 00:16:12,000
Correct.
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00:16:12,005 --> 00:16:13,000
But we don't do that.
365
00:16:13,005 --> 00:16:15,000
But I mean. (Female voice is hidden)
366
00:16:15,005 --> 00:16:18,000
[Jeff] My friend from the Sierra Club wanted him
367
00:16:18,005 --> 00:16:22,000
to be more positive but he wasn't interested.
368
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(Wind blows)
369
00:16:25,005 --> 00:16:28,000
As a result of the great pressure for green energy
370
00:16:28,005 --> 00:16:30,000
there are wind farms across the country,
371
00:16:30,005 --> 00:16:34,000
also near my house in northern Michigan.
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00:16:34,005 --> 00:16:35,000
We have been making coal and nuclear power for years.
373
00:16:35,005 --> 00:16:38,000
We tried to get more on the renewable side.
374
00:16:38,005 --> 00:16:40,000
These are the biggest in Michigan
375
00:16:40,005 --> 00:16:43,000
I think it's a total of 482 feet (147 m).
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00:16:43,005 --> 00:16:44,000
[Jeff] How many cubic meters of concrete?
377
00:16:44,005 --> 00:16:46,000
[John] There were 800 cubic meters of concrete at the base,
378
00:16:46,005 --> 00:16:49,000
and around 140 tons of reinforcing steel.
379
00:16:49,005 --> 00:16:50,000
[Jeff] What are these rotors made of?
380
00:16:50,005 --> 00:16:52,000
This is all glass and wood fiber.
381
00:16:52,005 --> 00:16:54,000
They are about 36,000 pounds each.
382
00:16:54,005 --> 00:16:58,000
This tower will weigh 800,000 pounds when we are done.
383
00:16:58,005 --> 00:17:01,000
Then the unit weighs 220,000 pounds ...
384
00:17:01,005 --> 00:17:03,000
and the hub rotor assembly another 160.
385
00:17:03,005 --> 00:17:05,000
It is quite extensive.
386
00:17:05,005 --> 00:17:08,000
(Wind blows)
387
00:17:08,005 --> 00:17:10,000
[Jeff] They were impressive machines.
388
00:17:10,005 --> 00:17:12,000
(Wind blows)
389
00:17:12,005 --> 00:17:14,000
But is it possible that machines have some
390
00:17:14,005 --> 00:17:16,000
be made by an industrial civilization
391
00:17:16,005 --> 00:17:20,000
save us from industrial civilization?
392
00:17:20,005 --> 00:17:26,000
(Wind blows)
393
00:17:26,005 --> 00:17:27,000
(Group speaks together)
394
00:17:27,005 --> 00:17:29,000
In the home country of environmental leader Bill McKibben
395
00:17:29,005 --> 00:17:32,000
from Vermont, the Green Mountain State,
396
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one location was deforested
397
00:17:33,005 --> 00:17:36,000
for the installation of wind turbines.
398
00:17:36,005 --> 00:17:37,000
A group of citizens were concerned
399
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about how the construction
400
00:17:38,005 --> 00:17:41,000
could affect the mountains they love.
401
00:17:41,005 --> 00:17:43,000
I went on a tour with them.
402
00:17:43,005 --> 00:17:45,000
There will be 21 turbines.
403
00:17:45,005 --> 00:17:46,000
[Group] 21?
404
00:17:46,005 --> 00:17:47,000
Yes. about this project?
405
00:17:47,005 --> 00:17:49,000
in this project, yes.
406
00:17:49,005 --> 00:17:54,000
The guess was that there might be three full-time jobs.
407
00:17:54,005 --> 00:17:57,000
if the goal is to make Vermont the leader in climate change
408
00:17:57,005 --> 00:17:59,000
I appreciate looking at the sky
409
00:17:59,005 --> 00:18:02,000
in the hope that we can do it.
410
00:18:02,005 --> 00:18:05,000
But more importantly, I personally watch
411
00:18:05,005 --> 00:18:07,000
Towards the ground ... This is not a legacy that
412
00:18:07,005 --> 00:18:08,000
I want to leave it to my children.
413
00:18:08,005 --> 00:18:11,000
When I was a child we went hiking in these forests.
414
00:18:11,005 --> 00:18:13,000
we could drink from the beaker
415
00:18:13,005 --> 00:18:18,000
down the hill here, and now you have to question that.
416
00:18:18,005 --> 00:18:20,000
[Jeff] And how long should these towers last?
417
00:18:20,005 --> 00:18:21,000
[Man] about 20 years, 20
418
00:18:21,005 --> 00:18:24,000
I know it's only a nanosecond.
419
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[Jeff] 20 years?
420
00:18:25,005 --> 00:18:28,000
Oh, it's a nanosecond in the time of energy.
421
00:18:28,005 --> 00:18:29,000
[Jeff] Has anyone thought about it
422
00:18:29,005 --> 00:18:32,000
that this is a removal of mountain peaks for wind instead of coal?
423
00:18:32,005 --> 00:18:33,000
Yes, and we even let people say:
424
00:18:33,005 --> 00:18:36,000
"When you're in Kentucky and West Virginia
425
00:18:36,005 --> 00:18:39,000
Remove mountain peaks for coal,
426
00:18:39,005 --> 00:18:42,000
then it is time for the rest of the country
427
00:18:42,005 --> 00:18:45,000
also involved in the removal of mountain peaks, right? "
428
00:18:45,005 --> 00:18:46,000
Uhoh.
429
00:18:46,005 --> 00:18:47,000
[Jeff] Do you think he'll tell us to move out?
430
00:18:47,005 --> 00:18:48,000
[Man with a hat] Probably.
431
00:18:48,005 --> 00:18:49,000
The thing is, you gotta have a fossil fuel
432
00:18:49,005 --> 00:18:53,000
Have a power plant as a backup
433
00:18:53,005 --> 00:18:55,000
which is idle 100% of the time.
434
00:18:55,005 --> 00:18:58,000
Because when you drive the system up or down,
435
00:18:58,005 --> 00:19:01,000
depending on the demand for the wind
436
00:19:01,005 --> 00:19:03,000
then you actually create a larger carbon footprint
437
00:19:03,005 --> 00:19:05,000
as if you were just going through it.
438
00:19:05,005 --> 00:19:06,000
[Jeff] Do you ever go where they are going?
439
00:19:06,005 --> 00:19:07,000
That is not true.
440
00:19:07,005 --> 00:19:10,000
It doesn't matter, we will have an intelligent network.
441
00:19:10,005 --> 00:19:12,000
Doesn't make a difference, they still have to
442
00:19:12,005 --> 00:19:13,000
You use it. Let it run idle.
443
00:19:13,005 --> 00:19:18,000
Let's just say the wind has just stopped.
444
00:19:18,005 --> 00:19:20,000
It just stopped an hour ago.
445
00:19:20,005 --> 00:19:21,000
You must have this current.
446
00:19:21,005 --> 00:19:22,000
[Jeff] what are you doing
447
00:19:22,005 --> 00:19:24,000
I am an environmental, health and safety consultant.
448
00:19:24,005 --> 00:19:27,000
I usually work with companies to help them do things
449
00:19:27,005 --> 00:19:30,000
but I would never work with scum like that.
450
00:19:30,005 --> 00:19:33,000
(Leaves crunch)
451
00:19:33,005 --> 00:19:36,000
You didn't put me in front of the camera, did you?
452
00:19:36,005 --> 00:19:39,000
Though not judgmental or trying to play God,
453
00:19:39,005 --> 00:19:43,000
but we have to deal with population grow
454
00:19:43,005 --> 00:19:47,000
and we all have to reduce sustainable resources.
455
00:19:47,005 --> 00:19:50,000
All this energy is supposed to heat a water park.
456
00:19:50,005 --> 00:19:54,000
We can find unique and different ways to waste energy.
457
00:19:54,005 --> 00:19:56,000
This is not a Vermont company.
458
00:19:56,005 --> 00:20:00,000
Green Mountain Power is bought up by Gaz Metro
459
00:20:00,005 --> 00:20:03,000
and Gaz Metro belongs to Enbridge, as I understand it,
460
00:20:03,005 --> 00:20:08,000
It is a large commodity company in Canada
461
00:20:08,005 --> 00:20:10,000
which the oil sands recycle,
462
00:20:10,005 --> 00:20:13,000
and want to build the XL pipeline.
463
00:20:13,005 --> 00:20:14,000
Can you see it.
464
00:20:14,005 --> 00:20:18,000
[Woman] And they're all in bed together.
465
00:20:18,005 --> 00:20:20,000
Still, we don't know the whole story.
466
00:20:20,005 --> 00:20:22,000
[Jeff] Have you asked Mr. McKibben to look at this?
467
00:20:22,005 --> 00:20:25,000
He thinks everything that is renewable is good.
468
00:20:25,005 --> 00:20:25,000
[Jeff] Yes.
469
00:20:25,005 --> 00:20:27,000
That's how I heard people say.
470
00:20:27,005 --> 00:20:32,000
(Wind blows)
471
00:20:32,005 --> 00:20:38,000
(Up-tempo music)
472
00:20:38,005 --> 00:20:41,000
[Jeff] I'm in a strange position.
473
00:20:41,005 --> 00:20:44,000
I am against our addiction to fossil fuels
474
00:20:44,005 --> 00:20:48,000
and have been a fan of green energy for a long time.
475
00:20:48,005 --> 00:20:49,000
(Crowd talks)
476
00:20:49,005 --> 00:20:52,000
But wherever I came across green energy
477
00:20:52,005 --> 00:20:54,000
it wasn't as it seemed.
478
00:20:54,005 --> 00:20:58,000
This is like an eternal energy battery.
479
00:20:58,005 --> 00:20:59,000
[Jeff] And where do you get the hydrogen from?
480
00:20:59,005 --> 00:21:03,000
The hydrogen is inside, the hydrogen is drawn
481
00:21:03,005 --> 00:21:06,000
from any hydrocarbon material.
482
00:21:06,005 --> 00:21:10,000
So you can get it from natural gas, you can get it
483
00:21:10,005 --> 00:21:15,000
of every petroleum-based product.
484
00:21:15,005 --> 00:21:16,000
[Jeff] I read about a zoo that was said to be
485
00:21:16,005 --> 00:21:20,000
being driven by elephant dung.
486
00:21:20,005 --> 00:21:21,000
But it turned out to be the elephants
487
00:21:21,005 --> 00:21:24,000
didn't even produce enough manure to heat the elephant barn.
488
00:21:24,005 --> 00:21:25,000
Yes, we really are not doing enough
489
00:21:25,005 --> 00:21:28,000
and what we had, elephant-wise, couldn't even do that.
490
00:21:28,005 --> 00:21:29,000
We would need a lot more.
491
00:21:29,005 --> 00:21:30,000
[Jeff] More elephants?
492
00:21:30,005 --> 00:21:31,000
[Zookeeper] Yes, (woman laughs) more elephants
493
00:21:31,005 --> 00:21:33,000
or crap.
494
00:21:33,005 --> 00:21:35,000
[Jeff] Ethanol plants seem too
495
00:21:35,005 --> 00:21:37,000
to have a secret ingredient.
496
00:21:37,005 --> 00:21:39,000
This is the most productive farmland in the world
497
00:21:39,005 --> 00:21:42,000
and we're not that far west of the biggest coal mines
498
00:21:42,005 --> 00:21:43,000
also in the world.
499
00:21:43,005 --> 00:21:47,000
Bring the two together and you have an ethanol system.
500
00:21:47,005 --> 00:21:51,000
[Jeff] Great, so ethanol needed two things.
501
00:21:51,005 --> 00:21:54,000
A huge industrial agricultural system based on fossil fuels
502
00:21:54,005 --> 00:21:58,000
to produce corn and more fossil fuels,
503
00:21:58,005 --> 00:22:00,000
in the form of coal.
504
00:22:00,005 --> 00:22:05,000
All of this when trying to replace fossil fuels?
505
00:22:05,005 --> 00:22:09,000
It was enough to make my head explode.
506
00:22:09,005 --> 00:22:11,000
(pulsating music)
507
00:22:11,005 --> 00:22:12,000
I had the uncomfortable feeling
508
00:22:12,005 --> 00:22:16,000
that green energy would not save us.
509
00:22:16,005 --> 00:22:18,000
And I wasn't the only one.
510
00:22:18,005 --> 00:22:19,000
I counted something
511
00:22:19,005 --> 00:22:21,000
like 25 different alternative energy options.
512
00:22:21,005 --> 00:22:24,000
So sure among all of these
513
00:22:24,005 --> 00:22:26,000
there are enough energy sources
514
00:22:26,005 --> 00:22:29,000
to basically keep us alive
515
00:22:29,005 --> 00:22:31,000
like we are in eternal ways.
516
00:22:31,005 --> 00:22:33,000
That is not the reality.
517
00:22:33,005 --> 00:22:36,000
We are currently getting in some cases
518
00:22:36,005 --> 00:22:39,000
No energy from these possible options.
519
00:22:39,005 --> 00:22:42,000
[Jeff] Richard York from the University of Oregon,
520
00:22:42,005 --> 00:22:44,000
published a study in the journal Nature
521
00:22:44,005 --> 00:22:47,000
asking a question:"Replacing non-fossil energy sources
522
00:22:47,005 --> 00:22:50,000
actually fossil fuels?
523
00:22:50,005 --> 00:22:51,000
What we often implicitly assume
524
00:22:51,005 --> 00:22:54,000
is that the replacement squeezes out
525
00:22:54,005 --> 00:22:56,000
what you want it to replace.
526
00:22:56,005 --> 00:22:58,000
What you will find is:
527
00:22:58,005 --> 00:23:02,000
Nations that don't build fossil energy sources don't seem to be
528
00:23:02,005 --> 00:23:05,000
to realize special suppression of fossil fuels.
529
00:23:05,005 --> 00:23:07,000
[Jeff] This is pretty amazing.
530
00:23:07,005 --> 00:23:09,000
Billions of dollars are spent
531
00:23:09,005 --> 00:23:12,000
and green energy doesn't even replace fossil fuels?
532
00:23:12,005 --> 00:23:15,000
You don't even know it's a question, yes.
533
00:23:15,005 --> 00:23:19,000
The story we're in right now is fine
534
00:23:19,005 --> 00:23:21,000
We are in ecologically hot water,
535
00:23:21,005 --> 00:23:23,000
However, there are technological improvements
536
00:23:23,005 --> 00:23:25,000
and if we're just creative enough
537
00:23:25,005 --> 00:23:27,000
if we're just awesome enough
538
00:23:27,005 --> 00:23:30,000
and if we work hard enough, we will triumph.
539
00:23:30,005 --> 00:23:33,000
Searching for technological solutions one by one
540
00:23:33,005 --> 00:23:37,000
will just take us to another level of disaster
541
00:23:37,005 --> 00:23:40,000
sooner rather than later.
542
00:23:40,005 --> 00:23:43,000
We want to believe that these things will be available to us.
543
00:23:43,005 --> 00:23:46,000
So if we worry a little bit
544
00:23:46,005 --> 00:23:50,000
and someone comes up with a new thing and promises
545
00:23:50,005 --> 00:23:56,000
let us believe that this will do it for us.
546
00:23:56,005 --> 00:23:59,000
(Guitar sounds)
547
00:23:59,005 --> 00:24:02,000
[Jeff] Because we're a little worried
548
00:24:02,005 --> 00:24:06,000
Do we really want to accept an idea that sounds alternative?
549
00:24:06,005 --> 00:24:07,000
Or green?
550
00:24:07,005 --> 00:24:09,000
(Strum guitar)
551
00:24:09,005 --> 00:24:12,000
Do we avoid looking too closely?
552
00:24:12,005 --> 00:24:18,000
because we don't want to know the answer?
553
00:24:18,005 --> 00:24:21,000
Ozzie Zehner, visiting scientist at UC Berkeley
554
00:24:21,005 --> 00:24:24,000
and Northwestern University introduced themselves
555
00:24:24,005 --> 00:24:27,000
some similar questions.
556
00:24:27,005 --> 00:24:28,000
I mean, I thought the solar
557
00:24:28,005 --> 00:24:31,000
and wind were probably very good solutions.
558
00:24:31,005 --> 00:24:32,000
It's not that long ago.
559
00:24:32,005 --> 00:24:36,000
One of the most dangerous things right now is the illusion
560
00:24:36,005 --> 00:24:39,000
that alternative technologies like wind and sun,
561
00:24:39,005 --> 00:24:41,000
are somehow different from fossil fuels.
562
00:24:41,005 --> 00:24:43,000
What I often hear is that solar cells
563
00:24:43,005 --> 00:24:44,000
are made of sand.
564
00:24:44,005 --> 00:24:47,000
[Announcer] Have you ever thought about sun panels?
565
00:24:47,005 --> 00:24:48,000
The main ingredient which
566
00:24:48,005 --> 00:24:50,000
they work is silicon or sand.
567
00:24:50,005 --> 00:24:51,000
[Announcer] This is what the commodity chips are made of
568
00:24:51,005 --> 00:24:53,000
consist of sand.
569
00:24:53,005 --> 00:24:55,000
They don't use sand at all.
570
00:24:55,005 --> 00:24:57,000
I'll show you something ...
571
00:24:57,005 --> 00:24:59,000
(Chair click)
572
00:24:59,005 --> 00:25:02,000
So this is one of the ingredients
573
00:25:02,005 --> 00:25:04,000
It is actually quartz that has been mined.
574
00:25:04,005 --> 00:25:05,000
(Stones rattle)
575
00:25:05,005 --> 00:25:09,000
(Stone explodes)
576
00:25:09,005 --> 00:25:11,000
[Announcer] Spruce Pine, North Carolina,
577
00:25:11,005 --> 00:25:14,000
is considered the best source in the world for high-purity quartz
578
00:25:14,005 --> 00:25:16,000
for semiconductors, solar
579
00:25:16,005 --> 00:25:18,000
and communication applications.
580
00:25:18,005 --> 00:25:21,000
You cannot use sand because sand contains too many contaminants.
581
00:25:21,005 --> 00:25:24,000
So you start with very high quality quartz
582
00:25:24,005 --> 00:25:26,000
and coal of very high quality. Then be
583
00:25:26,005 --> 00:25:30,000
these two put together in an arc furnace and fused.
584
00:25:30,005 --> 00:25:33,000
[Woman] The quartz is then melted with coal
585
00:25:33,005 --> 00:25:38,000
in a large oven at temperatures of up to 1,800 degrees.
586
00:25:38,005 --> 00:25:41,000
and you need more coal to do this.
587
00:25:41,005 --> 00:25:42,000
I get another coal out.
588
00:25:42,005 --> 00:25:45,000
If we melt them together,
589
00:25:45,005 --> 00:25:47,000
we get silicon metal and carbon dioxide.
590
00:25:47,005 --> 00:25:48,000
The carbon dioxide just goes off
591
00:25:48,005 --> 00:25:49,000
and you got rid of the carbon
592
00:25:49,005 --> 00:25:51,000
and have silicon metal left.
593
00:25:51,005 --> 00:25:52,000
It is not clean coal. (laugh)
594
00:25:52,005 --> 00:25:54,000
[Jeff] Not clean coal.
595
00:25:54,005 --> 00:25:56,000
Ozzie Zehner said it was an illusion
596
00:25:56,005 --> 00:26:00,000
that renewable energy will replace coal or any fossil fuel.
597
00:26:00,005 --> 00:26:03,000
Environmental groups continue to tell a different story.
598
00:26:03,005 --> 00:26:06,000
We have already seen that more than 25% of the U.S. coal fleet
599
00:26:06,005 --> 00:26:10,000
has already withdrawn
600
00:26:10,005 --> 00:26:11,000
or has a decommissioning schedule.
601
00:26:11,005 --> 00:26:14,000
[Jeff] Coal-fired power plants closed, but Ozzie said
602
00:26:14,005 --> 00:26:16,000
that well-meaning people have been misled.
603
00:26:16,005 --> 00:26:18,000
NV Energy will now shut down the plant
604
00:26:18,005 --> 00:26:19,000
and go with renewable.
605
00:26:19,005 --> 00:26:21,000
One of the largest solar systems
606
00:26:21,005 --> 00:26:23,000
and that will happen right behind me.
607
00:26:23,005 --> 00:26:25,000
since you cannot replace a coal-fired power plant with solar,
608
00:26:25,005 --> 00:26:27,000
they actually replace the coal-fired power plant
609
00:26:27,005 --> 00:26:29,000
through two natural gas plants.
610
00:26:29,005 --> 00:26:31,000
And natural gas is a fossil fuel.
611
00:26:31,005 --> 00:26:33,000
This is the Las Vegas CoGen natural gas plant.
612
00:26:33,005 --> 00:26:35,000
This is one of the facilities
613
00:26:35,005 --> 00:26:38,000
which replaces the decommissioned coal-fired power plant.
614
00:26:38,005 --> 00:26:41,000
This is the Sun Peak generation facility.
615
00:26:41,005 --> 00:26:43,000
This is the second natural gas plant
616
00:26:43,005 --> 00:26:46,000
that was used to replace the coal-fired power plant.
617
00:26:46,005 --> 00:26:48,000
And you hear the same story in Iowa.
618
00:26:48,005 --> 00:26:50,000
[Woman] Instead of the generated energy
619
00:26:50,005 --> 00:26:51,000
from coal-fired power plants,
620
00:26:51,005 --> 00:26:53,000
the solar park is now
621
00:26:53,005 --> 00:26:57,000
avoid about 2.1 million pounds of carbon pollution.
622
00:26:57,005 --> 00:27:01,000
But then they build a bigger natural gas plant.
623
00:27:01,005 --> 00:27:04,000
This is a 650 megawatt natural gas plant.
624
00:27:04,005 --> 00:27:05,000
That is four times more megawatts
625
00:27:05,005 --> 00:27:09,000
than the coal-fired power station over there that it replaces.
626
00:27:09,005 --> 00:27:11,000
And they do the same in North Carolina,
627
00:27:11,005 --> 00:27:12,000
which was the topic of all things
628
00:27:12,005 --> 00:27:15,000
this series "Years of Dangerous Life"
629
00:27:15,005 --> 00:27:17,000
Duke Energy is currently operating a coal-fired power plant
630
00:27:17,005 --> 00:27:19,000
outside of Asheville, which is the largest
631
00:27:19,005 --> 00:27:22,000
Climate pollution source in western North Carolina.
632
00:27:22,005 --> 00:27:24,000
And we are working on decommissioning this plant
633
00:27:24,005 --> 00:27:25,000
and replace it with clean energy.
634
00:27:25,005 --> 00:27:26,000
But what they don't tell you is
635
00:27:26,005 --> 00:27:29,000
that we are also building a larger natural gas plant.
636
00:27:29,005 --> 00:27:34,000
So we will pull a 376 megawatt coal-fired power plant out of circulation.
637
00:27:34,005 --> 00:27:36,000
We're going to invest $ 750 million
638
00:27:36,005 --> 00:27:39,000
to build a state-of-the-art natural gas plant.
639
00:27:39,005 --> 00:27:41,000
When Michael Brune gets up and talks about clean energy,
640
00:27:41,005 --> 00:27:43,000
he uses solar cells and wind turbines.
641
00:27:43,005 --> 00:27:44,000
It is the new world.
642
00:27:44,005 --> 00:27:46,000
100% clean energy.
643
00:27:46,005 --> 00:27:48,000
When Michael Bloomberg gets up and says:
644
00:27:48,005 --> 00:27:51,000
Cleaner energy, he speaks of natural gas.
645
00:27:51,005 --> 00:27:55,000
Create cleaner energy, sun, wind and natural gas.
646
00:27:55,005 --> 00:27:57,000
[Ozzie] The Sierra Club's Beyond Coal campaign is actually falling
647
00:27:58,000 --> 00:28:00,000
actually with one of the biggest production expansions
648
00:28:00,005 --> 00:28:03,000
fossil fuels that we have ever achieved.
649
00:28:03,005 --> 00:28:06,000
Most of it is natural gas.
650
00:28:06,005 --> 00:28:07,000
[Jeff] Ozzie's claim
651
00:28:07,005 --> 00:28:10,000
that renewable energies do not replace fossil fuels:
652
00:28:10,005 --> 00:28:12,000
if this is true, all of our assumptions would
653
00:28:12,005 --> 00:28:17,000
about green energy and what would save us upside down.
654
00:28:17,005 --> 00:28:18,000
(calm piano music)
655
00:28:18,005 --> 00:28:20,000
What would happen if I asked the same question?
656
00:28:20,005 --> 00:28:23,000
for industry experts?
657
00:28:23,005 --> 00:28:25,000
Such as. where do sun panels come from?
658
00:28:25,005 --> 00:28:26,000
Well, you have to start with a mine.
659
00:28:26,005 --> 00:28:27,000
[Jeff] Wait until you see mine
660
00:28:27,005 --> 00:28:29,000
(laugh)
661
00:28:29,005 --> 00:28:31,000
Or what prevents us from governing the world?
662
00:28:31,005 --> 00:28:33,000
on 100% sun and wind?
663
00:28:33,005 --> 00:28:36,000
Inconsistency is one of the biggest challenges.
664
00:28:36,005 --> 00:28:37,000
Good stability.
665
00:28:37,005 --> 00:28:40,000
The sun is everywhere except when it's not there.
666
00:28:40,005 --> 00:28:42,000
There were a lot of developers out there
667
00:28:42,005 --> 00:28:45,000
flocked to California for their solar parks
668
00:28:45,005 --> 00:28:46,000
and to connect wind farms.
669
00:28:46,005 --> 00:28:47,000
The utilities would contact me and my team
670
00:28:47,005 --> 00:28:51,000
to help them investigate the impact on their network.
671
00:28:51,005 --> 00:28:52,000
[Jeff] If we have solar cells
672
00:28:52,005 --> 00:28:54,000
or add wind turbines to a network,
673
00:28:54,005 --> 00:28:56,000
can we shut down a coal-fired power station?
674
00:28:56,005 --> 00:28:58,000
That is certainly the goal, the problem is
675
00:28:58,005 --> 00:29:01,000
or the difference is that renewable energies are inconsistent.
676
00:29:01,005 --> 00:29:03,000
Suddenly a cloud cover could come
677
00:29:03,005 --> 00:29:07,000
and your solar energy could decrease drastically.
678
00:29:07,005 --> 00:29:08,000
And if you have nothing else there
679
00:29:08,005 --> 00:29:12,000
balancing whatever the burden is at that moment,
680
00:29:12,005 --> 00:29:14,000
then there will be power cuts.
681
00:29:14,005 --> 00:29:15,000
[Jeff] So we can't
682
00:29:15,005 --> 00:29:17,000
turn off a fossil fuel power plant
683
00:29:17,005 --> 00:29:19,000
when the sun is shining or the wind is blowing?
684
00:29:19,005 --> 00:29:20,000
It's not that easy.
685
00:29:20,005 --> 00:29:23,000
We have to be able to secure this power output
686
00:29:23,005 --> 00:29:26,000
to keep the system stable all the time
687
00:29:26,005 --> 00:29:28,000
so it doesn't break down
688
00:29:28,005 --> 00:29:32,000
Most likely it will be through fast acting gas systems,
689
00:29:32,005 --> 00:29:35,000
but also what we call base load systems,
690
00:29:35,005 --> 00:29:37,000
either nuclear power or coal that is in constant use
691
00:29:37,005 --> 00:29:40,000
but maybe shut down during the day
692
00:29:40,005 --> 00:29:44,000
and started up again when the demand increases.
693
00:29:44,005 --> 00:29:45,000
[Jeff] Does it affect efficiency?
694
00:29:45,005 --> 00:29:48,000
Switching power plants on and off with fossil fuels?
695
00:29:48,005 --> 00:29:49,000
Oh yeah.
696
00:29:49,005 --> 00:29:51,000
You don't like being driven up and down.
697
00:29:51,005 --> 00:29:54,000
It does ... that's wear and tear for them.
698
00:29:54,005 --> 00:29:58,000
When you turn it on, turn it off, energy is used
699
00:29:58,005 --> 00:29:59,000
and lost and anytime,
700
00:29:59,005 --> 00:30:01,000
a bit like turning your car on and off,
701
00:30:01,005 --> 00:30:02,000
You use a little extra gas
702
00:30:02,005 --> 00:30:03,000
to turn it on.
703
00:30:03,005 --> 00:30:04,000
I still think you
704
00:30:04,005 --> 00:30:06,000
have to maintain a kind of base load.
705
00:30:06,005 --> 00:30:07,000
[Jeff] Then what's the solution?
706
00:30:07,005 --> 00:30:08,000
You need energy storage.
707
00:30:08,005 --> 00:30:12,000
You can't rely on it without storage.
708
00:30:12,005 --> 00:30:15,000
If you can save the generated energy
709
00:30:15,005 --> 00:30:19,000
of things that are intermittent like sun and wind,
710
00:30:19,005 --> 00:30:22,000
you can save them, so you reduce
711
00:30:22,005 --> 00:30:23,000
Your base load requirements.
712
00:30:23,005 --> 00:30:24,000
[Jeff] But would add memory
713
00:30:24,005 --> 00:30:27,000
how batteries increase their carbon footprint?
714
00:30:27,005 --> 00:30:29,000
Yes absolutely.
715
00:30:29,005 --> 00:30:31,000
Actually to a large extent.
716
00:30:31,005 --> 00:30:34,000
And when more energy storage devices go online,
717
00:30:34,005 --> 00:30:37,000
it has a massive implication.
718
00:30:37,005 --> 00:30:38,000
(Piano music)
719
00:30:38,005 --> 00:30:40,000
[Jeff] When I looked up how much battery storage
720
00:30:40,005 --> 00:30:42,000
there is, it is less than a ten
721
00:30:42,005 --> 00:30:44,000
one percent of what is needed.
722
00:30:44,005 --> 00:30:47,000
They will start to decompose in a few years
723
00:30:47,005 --> 00:30:50,000
and have to be replaced a few years later.
724
00:30:50,005 --> 00:30:53,000
I learned that sun panels don't last forever.
725
00:30:53,005 --> 00:30:55,000
Some solar panels are designed for a lifespan of only 10 years.
726
00:30:55,005 --> 00:31:00,000
So there is nothing with this magical free energy ...
727
00:31:00,005 --> 00:31:02,000
I don’t know it’s the solution
728
00:31:02,005 --> 00:31:07,000
and here I help sell the materials
729
00:31:07,005 --> 00:31:10,000
which would go into photovoltaics.
730
00:31:10,005 --> 00:31:12,000
[Jeff] And so, about the profound limitations of sun and wind
731
00:31:12,005 --> 00:31:16,000
to overcome which are seldom discussed in the media.
732
00:31:16,005 --> 00:31:18,000
A new generation of technology rose
733
00:31:18,005 --> 00:31:20,000
in the California desert.
734
00:31:20,005 --> 00:31:21,000
[Woman] What is this?
735
00:31:21,005 --> 00:31:23,000
What we use is a mirror field
736
00:31:23,005 --> 00:31:26,000
Focus sunlight on a tower.
737
00:31:26,005 --> 00:31:29,000
The power plant will have 377 megawatts
738
00:31:29,005 --> 00:31:31,000
be the largest of its kind in the world.
739
00:31:31,005 --> 00:31:34,000
This will be the largest solar system in the world!
740
00:31:34,005 --> 00:31:35,000
(Crowd claps and cheers)
741
00:31:35,005 --> 00:31:37,000
There are some people who look at a desert
742
00:31:37,005 --> 00:31:40,000
and see km after km of emptiness.
743
00:31:40,005 --> 00:31:44,000
I see miles and miles of a gold mine.
744
00:31:44,005 --> 00:31:46,000
[Jeff] But this next generation
745
00:31:46,005 --> 00:31:49,000
also has a fossil fuel secret.
746
00:31:49,005 --> 00:31:51,000
This solar system burns quite a bit of natural gas
747
00:31:51,005 --> 00:31:53,000
every morning to get it up and running.
748
00:31:53,005 --> 00:31:55,000
[Jeff] How long do you have to burn it for?
749
00:31:55,005 --> 00:31:56,000
Usually hours.
750
00:31:56,005 --> 00:31:59,000
This is the incoming natural gas for the plant.
751
00:31:59,005 --> 00:32:01,000
This plant would also work without natural gas
752
00:32:01,005 --> 00:32:03,000
how I would be without coffee in the morning. (laugh)
753
00:32:03,005 --> 00:32:05,000
[Jeff] Or maybe how you would be without food.
754
00:32:05,005 --> 00:32:06,000
Without food, yes. (laugh)
755
00:32:06,005 --> 00:32:08,000
You have to apply for a permit for acid rain,
756
00:32:08,005 --> 00:32:11,000
Permits for nitrous oxide emissions,
757
00:32:11,005 --> 00:32:14,000
You have to apply for CO2 compensation permits.
758
00:32:14,005 --> 00:32:16,000
Because carbon dioxide is produced here
759
00:32:16,005 --> 00:32:17,000
so they have to make up for it.
760
00:32:17,005 --> 00:32:20,000
The whole thing is built using the fossil fuel infrastructure.
761
00:32:20,005 --> 00:32:22,000
from concrete to steel to mirrors,
762
00:32:22,005 --> 00:32:24,000
and the back of the mirrors.
763
00:32:24,005 --> 00:32:29,000
The sun is renewable, but the solar system is not.
764
00:32:29,005 --> 00:32:30,000
[Jeff] Oh come on.
765
00:32:30,005 --> 00:32:31,000
There has to be something renewable.
766
00:32:31,005 --> 00:32:32,000
Glass is renewable.
767
00:32:32,005 --> 00:32:33,000
Glass. (laugh)
768
00:32:33,005 --> 00:32:34,000
Glass is not renewable.
769
00:32:34,005 --> 00:32:36,000
[Jeff] Iron is renewable.
770
00:32:36,005 --> 00:32:38,000
(laugh)
771
00:32:38,005 --> 00:32:39,000
Aluminum?
772
00:32:39,005 --> 00:32:39,000
It is renewable.
773
00:32:39,005 --> 00:32:41,000
I recycle my beverage cans.
774
00:32:41,005 --> 00:32:42,000
(laughs) I know it's renewable.
775
00:32:42,005 --> 00:32:44,000
Yes, the problem with all of these materials is
776
00:32:44,005 --> 00:32:48,000
that it takes an incredible amount of energy to extract
777
00:32:48,005 --> 00:32:51,000
and process all materials
778
00:32:51,005 --> 00:32:52,000
which goes into building something like that.
779
00:32:52,005 --> 00:32:55,000
They use more fossil fuels for this
780
00:32:55,005 --> 00:32:58,000
than you benefit from it.
781
00:32:58,005 --> 00:33:00,000
You'd be better off if you just burned the fossil fuels
782
00:33:00,005 --> 00:33:03,000
in the first place, instead of playing like that.
783
00:33:03,005 --> 00:33:04,000
[Jeff] That green energy is nothing
784
00:33:04,005 --> 00:33:07,000
dealing with fossil fuels is obviously a story
785
00:33:07,005 --> 00:33:09,000
just for you and me.
786
00:33:09,005 --> 00:33:11,000
Here is Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.,
787
00:33:11,005 --> 00:33:14,000
in conversation with insiders from oil and gas companies.
788
00:33:14,005 --> 00:33:17,000
It is a combined solar gas system.
789
00:33:17,005 --> 00:33:20,000
It is a turbine that we are taking out of a gas system.
790
00:33:20,005 --> 00:33:22,000
hang it on a large scaffold, a tower,
791
00:33:22,005 --> 00:33:25,000
and surround it with huge mirrors in the desert.
792
00:33:25,005 --> 00:33:26,000
The plants we build, the wind turbines
793
00:33:26,005 --> 00:33:29,000
and the solar systems are gas systems.
794
00:33:29,005 --> 00:33:32,000
[Jeff] What game is being played?
795
00:33:32,005 --> 00:33:36,000
Well (gusty wind), we are basically fed only a lie.
796
00:33:36,005 --> 00:33:37,000
For example you will hear
797
00:33:37,005 --> 00:33:39,000
over Germany that runs on wind and sun.
798
00:33:39,005 --> 00:33:41,000
35% right now.
799
00:33:41,005 --> 00:33:43,000
50% of their electricity.
800
00:33:43,005 --> 00:33:45,000
There were days last summer
801
00:33:45,005 --> 00:33:46,000
than the Germans 80%
802
00:33:46,005 --> 00:33:48,000
their electricity was generated by the sun.
803
00:33:48,005 --> 00:33:49,000
[Ozzie] But Germany
804
00:33:49,005 --> 00:33:51,000
is still Europe's largest coal consumer.
805
00:33:51,005 --> 00:33:58,000
(speak in foreign language)
806
00:33:58,005 --> 00:33:59,000
Uhh.
807
00:33:59,005 --> 00:34:00,000
[Ozzie] Just a small fraction
808
00:34:00,005 --> 00:34:03,000
their energy actually comes from wind and sun.
809
00:34:03,005 --> 00:34:05,000
In fact, Germany has just built a large terminal
810
00:34:05,005 --> 00:34:09,000
to import natural gas from the United States.
811
00:34:09,005 --> 00:34:11,000
Elon Musk, the founder of Tesla,
812
00:34:11,005 --> 00:34:13,000
when he announced his Gigafactory battery system,
813
00:34:13,005 --> 00:34:16,000
he said it would get wind and solar energy.
814
00:34:16,005 --> 00:34:19,000
Through a combination of geothermal wind and sun,
815
00:34:19,005 --> 00:34:22,000
it will produce all the energy it needs.
816
00:34:22,005 --> 00:34:23,000
[Ozzie] But actually it has power lines that connect it
817
00:34:23,005 --> 00:34:28,000
to the same power grid to which we are all connected.
818
00:34:28,005 --> 00:34:33,000
(rapid dramatic music)
819
00:34:33,005 --> 00:34:35,000
Electric cars, wind turbines
820
00:34:35,005 --> 00:34:37,000
and solar panels use rare earth metals.
821
00:34:37,005 --> 00:34:38,000
And the rare earth mine is actually mine
822
00:34:38,005 --> 00:34:41,000
right up the street from here.
823
00:34:41,005 --> 00:34:43,000
When these deep deposits are mined, they contain about 90%
824
00:34:43,005 --> 00:34:47,000
of what they pull out of the ground, uranium,
825
00:34:47,005 --> 00:34:50,000
Thorium and a small amount of other radionuclides.
826
00:34:50,005 --> 00:34:53,000
Radioactive waste that has to be disposed of somehow.
827
00:34:53,005 --> 00:34:56,000
They turn it into a paste and spread it out
828
00:34:56,005 --> 00:34:57,000
over the desert floor.
829
00:34:57,005 --> 00:34:58,000
[Jeff] Well that's good for the desert, right.
830
00:34:58,005 --> 00:35:00,000
Yes, the desert loves it.
831
00:35:00,005 --> 00:35:02,000
(laugh)
832
00:35:02,005 --> 00:35:04,000
Tesla’s electric cars are made of aluminum,
833
00:35:04,005 --> 00:35:05,000
which uses eight times more energy
834
00:35:05,005 --> 00:35:07,000
to manufacture as steel.
835
00:35:07,005 --> 00:35:11,000
They use lithium, which is also dependent on toxic degradation.
836
00:35:11,005 --> 00:35:13,000
And more graphite, one
837
00:35:13,005 --> 00:35:15,000
is the rarest form of carbon.
838
00:35:15,005 --> 00:35:16,000
Indeed, the investors wanted
839
00:35:16,005 --> 00:35:18,000
open several new graphite mines
840
00:35:18,005 --> 00:35:21,000
after Tesla announced the Gigafactory.
841
00:35:21,005 --> 00:35:23,000
Apple claims to be 100% renewable.
842
00:35:23,005 --> 00:35:26,000
We never stop thinking about what's best for the planet.
843
00:35:26,005 --> 00:35:29,000
We now run Apple 100% on renewable energy.
844
00:35:29,005 --> 00:35:34,000
(applause and cheers) All of our facilities worldwide.
845
00:35:34,005 --> 00:35:35,000
[Ozzie] And they cut down a forest
846
00:35:35,005 --> 00:35:38,000
to set up solar panels near their North Carolina facility.
847
00:35:38,005 --> 00:35:41,000
But they have not disconnected from the power grid and cannot.
848
00:35:41,005 --> 00:35:43,000
Herzog says that energy-hungry companies
849
00:35:43,005 --> 00:35:46,000
how Apple can never go completely off the grid.
850
00:35:46,005 --> 00:35:48,000
You are still connected to our power grid.
851
00:35:48,005 --> 00:35:49,000
(rapid energetic music)
852
00:35:49,005 --> 00:35:50,000
[Ozzie] Despite all claims
853
00:35:50,005 --> 00:35:53,000
I haven't found a single entity anywhere in the world
854
00:35:53,005 --> 00:35:57,000
which runs 100% with sun and wind.
855
00:35:57,005 --> 00:35:59,000
(exciting music)
856
00:35:59,005 --> 00:36:02,000
[Jeff] It turns out that you don't need fossil fuels
857
00:36:02,005 --> 00:36:06,000
to run a place like Ivanpah, you need the devil yourself.
858
00:36:06,005 --> 00:36:09,000
or in this case yourself.
859
00:36:09,005 --> 00:36:11,000
[Ozzie] All the mirrors you see there are built
860
00:36:11,005 --> 00:36:14,000
by the Bruedern Koch, Guardian Glass Industry,
861
00:36:14,005 --> 00:36:15,000
a company they control.
862
00:36:15,005 --> 00:36:17,000
Koch Carbon generates many of the inputs used
863
00:36:17,005 --> 00:36:20,000
to produce the cement and the concrete and the steel.
864
00:36:20,005 --> 00:36:22,000
And not only that, they build the systems
865
00:36:22,005 --> 00:36:24,000
which manufacture polysilicon for solar cells.
866
00:36:24,005 --> 00:36:25,000
You actually have
867
00:36:25,005 --> 00:36:28,000
their own solar line called Solar Molex.
868
00:36:28,005 --> 00:36:31,000
The Brueder Koch are there at every step of the process.
869
00:36:31,005 --> 00:36:33,000
[Jeff] But they're the bad guys.
870
00:36:33,005 --> 00:36:35,000
Yes (laughs), the fun part is
871
00:36:35,005 --> 00:36:37,000
that if you criticize solar systems like this,
872
00:36:37,005 --> 00:36:39,000
You are accused of working for the Brueder Koch.
873
00:36:39,005 --> 00:36:40,000
(laugh)
874
00:36:40,005 --> 00:36:42,000
That is the idiocy in all of this.
875
00:36:42,005 --> 00:36:44,000
This absolutely cannot prolong the life of civilization.
876
00:36:44,005 --> 00:36:48,000
This is due to the most toxic and industrial processes
877
00:36:48,005 --> 00:36:52,000
that we have ever created.
878
00:36:52,005 --> 00:36:55,000
(Roll drum)
879
00:36:55,005 --> 00:36:58,000
(small triangle rings)
880
00:36:58,005 --> 00:37:06,000
(pulsating dramatic music)
881
00:37:06,005 --> 00:37:12,000
(Building music in intensity)
882
00:37:12,005 --> 00:37:26,000
(Tempo dramatic music)
883
00:37:26,005 --> 00:37:36,000
(Music building)
884
00:37:36,005 --> 00:39:04,000
(Music tempo increases)
885
00:39:04,005 --> 00:39:12,000
(Music ends dramatically)
886
00:39:12,005 --> 00:39:13,000
The beauty of a solar system,
887
00:39:13,005 --> 00:39:15,000
and especially this technology,
888
00:39:15,005 --> 00:39:19,000
is that it's so environmentally friendly.
889
00:39:19,005 --> 00:39:39,000
(Roar of large machines)
890
00:39:39,005 --> 00:39:40,000
[Jeff] I thought once too
891
00:39:40,005 --> 00:39:42,000
that deserts could be victim zones.
892
00:39:42,005 --> 00:39:45,000
(powerful drum-based music)
893
00:39:45,005 --> 00:39:46,000
I was wrong.
894
00:39:46,005 --> 00:39:48,000
Deserts are not dead.
895
00:39:48,005 --> 00:39:53,000
Indeed, they are full of ancient life.
896
00:39:53,005 --> 00:40:03,000
(powerful music)
897
00:40:03,005 --> 00:40:08,000
Joshua Tree stands in the desert and waits
898
00:40:08,005 --> 00:40:10,000
waiting for the giant ground sloths
899
00:40:10,005 --> 00:40:13,000
and the mammoths that will never return.
900
00:40:13,005 --> 00:40:17,000
The joshua tree depended on the giant mammals
901
00:40:17,005 --> 00:40:20,000
reaching up and eating their seeds,
902
00:40:20,005 --> 00:40:22,000
and thus to scatter the Joshua tree.
903
00:40:22,005 --> 00:40:25,000
(mystical vocal music)
904
00:40:25,005 --> 00:40:29,000
But now, stranded in time and space,
905
00:40:29,005 --> 00:40:32,000
the Joshua tree awaits a new fate.
906
00:40:32,005 --> 00:40:34,000
To be sacrificed
907
00:40:34,005 --> 00:40:37,000
in the name of progress.
908
00:40:37,005 --> 00:40:40,000
Joshua trees are torn down to make way for solar projects.
909
00:40:40,005 --> 00:40:42,000
Cassie Carlisle from 23ABC travels
910
00:40:42,005 --> 00:40:45,000
in the Mojave desert to talk to neighbors.
911
00:40:45,005 --> 00:40:46,000
[Cassie] They're not your usual tree.
912
00:40:46,005 --> 00:40:48,000
More like something out of fiction,
913
00:40:48,005 --> 00:40:51,000
But these Joshuas are causing a stir.
914
00:40:51,005 --> 00:40:53,000
No, it makes me sick to clear them
915
00:40:53,005 --> 00:40:55,000
kill them very quickly
916
00:40:55,005 --> 00:40:56,000
Now grind them up
917
00:40:56,005 --> 00:40:59,000
to get rid of all the evidence.
918
00:40:59,005 --> 00:41:06,000
(powerful dramatic music)
919
00:41:06,005 --> 00:41:09,000
[Jeff] Not far from Ivanpah Solar,
920
00:41:09,005 --> 00:41:10,000
Daggett, California was at home
921
00:41:10,005 --> 00:41:13,000
to several generations of solar systems.
922
00:41:13,005 --> 00:41:16,000
Including some of the first on the planet.
923
00:41:16,005 --> 00:41:20,000
(loud machines)
924
00:41:20,005 --> 00:41:22,000
Ozzie and I thought we were going on a trip
925
00:41:22,005 --> 00:41:28,000
to see where it all started.
926
00:41:28,005 --> 00:41:37,000
(Wind blows loudly)
927
00:41:37,005 --> 00:41:40,000
This is really one of the sunniest places on the planet.
928
00:41:40,005 --> 00:41:43,000
and it is the center of the solar industry
929
00:41:43,005 --> 00:41:45,000
and they built and dismantled plants here
930
00:41:45,005 --> 00:41:49,000
for about 40 years.
931
00:41:49,005 --> 00:41:50,000
(Male voice on loudspeaker)
932
00:41:50,005 --> 00:41:51,000
[Jeff] Then we ran randomly
933
00:41:51,005 --> 00:41:53,000
in the mayor of Daggett.
934
00:41:53,005 --> 00:41:55,000
And then the solar panels out there, my husband,
935
00:41:55,005 --> 00:42:00,000
back in, I would say '83, '84, they have there
936
00:42:00,005 --> 00:42:01,000
these solar systems built out there.
937
00:42:01,005 --> 00:42:02,000
Yes, the SEGS.
938
00:42:02,005 --> 00:42:04,000
and everyone here worked.
939
00:42:04,005 --> 00:42:05,000
How does that hold
940
00:42:05,005 --> 00:42:07,000
Are the jobs still there?
941
00:42:07,005 --> 00:42:07,000
No.
942
00:42:07,005 --> 00:42:09,000
Jobs said goodbye.
943
00:42:09,005 --> 00:42:11,000
They have their normal people running the facility
944
00:42:11,005 --> 00:42:13,000
Plant operator and the like,
945
00:42:13,005 --> 00:42:15,000
The big wigs, you know, they have.
946
00:42:15,005 --> 00:42:18,000
I don't know where this energy goes.
947
00:42:18,005 --> 00:42:20,000
[Jeff] Were you originally optimistic?
948
00:42:20,005 --> 00:42:22,000
that the sun would bring more jobs
949
00:42:22,005 --> 00:42:23,000
and development for people?
950
00:42:23,005 --> 00:42:24,000
Yes, we really meant it. We really meant it.
951
00:42:24,005 --> 00:42:27,000
Many things come into this city, they come and go.
952
00:42:27,005 --> 00:42:28,000
They go very quickly.
953
00:42:28,005 --> 00:42:32,000
(loud wind blows)
954
00:42:32,005 --> 00:42:34,000
Do you see that?
955
00:42:34,005 --> 00:42:36,000
[Jeff] Then Ozzie and I discovered
956
00:42:36,005 --> 00:42:40,000
that the huge solar panels had been razed.
957
00:42:40,005 --> 00:42:42,000
Oh my God.
958
00:42:42,005 --> 00:42:43,000
(Wind roars)
959
00:42:43,005 --> 00:42:48,000
[Jeff] I mean that was huge.
960
00:42:48,005 --> 00:42:52,000
I suddenly realized what we saw.
961
00:42:52,005 --> 00:42:55,000
A solar death zone.
962
00:42:55,005 --> 00:42:57,000
Look at the blowing sand.
963
00:42:57,005 --> 00:42:58,000
Yes.
964
00:42:58,005 --> 00:42:59,000
There is sand everywhere
965
00:42:59,005 --> 00:43:01,000
Sand dunes form in this area.
966
00:43:01,005 --> 00:43:04,000
[Jeff] Wow.
967
00:43:04,005 --> 00:43:08,000
(Buzz of the solar factory)
968
00:43:08,005 --> 00:43:17,000
(festive music)
969
00:43:17,005 --> 00:43:20,000
So, after all the mining,
970
00:43:20,005 --> 00:43:22,000
the fossil fuels,
971
00:43:22,005 --> 00:43:24,000
the toxins,
972
00:43:24,005 --> 00:43:26,000
environmental degradation,
973
00:43:26,005 --> 00:43:28,000
Here's what happens next.
974
00:43:28,005 --> 00:43:30,000
(dark music)
975
00:43:30,005 --> 00:43:32,000
Just a few years after construction,
976
00:43:32,005 --> 00:43:37,000
things started to fall apart in Ivanpah.
977
00:43:37,005 --> 00:43:43,000
Broken mirrors lay in the desert.
978
00:43:43,005 --> 00:43:44,000
(Music intensifies)
979
00:43:44,005 --> 00:43:46,000
Yes, this huge solar energy
980
00:43:46,005 --> 00:43:49,000
and wind technology plants
981
00:43:49,005 --> 00:43:50,000
last only a few decades
982
00:43:50,005 --> 00:43:52,000
(dark music)
983
00:43:52,005 --> 00:43:55,000
then tear off and start over.
984
00:43:55,005 --> 00:43:59,000
(dark music)
985
00:43:59,005 --> 00:44:02,000
If there is enough planet left.
986
00:44:02,005 --> 00:44:06,000
(dark music)
987
00:44:06,005 --> 00:44:08,000
It became clear that
988
00:44:08,005 --> 00:44:12,000
What we called green, renewable energy
989
00:44:12,005 --> 00:44:17,000
and industrial civilization are one and the same.
990
00:44:17,005 --> 00:44:19,000
Desperate measures not to save the planet
991
00:44:19,005 --> 00:44:21,000
(Thunder cracks)
992
00:44:21,005 --> 00:44:23,000
but to save our way of life.
993
00:44:23,005 --> 00:44:26,000
(dark music)
994
00:44:26,005 --> 00:44:30,000
Desperate measures instead of facing reality
995
00:44:30,005 --> 00:44:34,000
people experience the limits of the planet
996
00:44:34,005 --> 00:44:36,000
all at the same time.
997
00:44:36,005 --> 00:44:39,000
every other perspective that I look at
998
00:44:39,005 --> 00:44:43,000
and imagine we could do more of that
999
00:44:43,005 --> 00:44:46,000
or go to a larger area, or use more of it.
1000
00:44:46,005 --> 00:44:48,000
Well, it turns out that there is no more.
1001
00:44:48,005 --> 00:44:51,000
I have looked at sea production and fish production
1002
00:44:51,005 --> 00:44:55,000
and found that the high point was 20 years ago.
1003
00:44:55,005 --> 00:45:00,000
We eat more and more from fish farming.
1004
00:45:00,005 --> 00:45:03,000
The current hectares of actively managed land,
1005
00:45:03,005 --> 00:45:05,000
that has also reached its peak.
1006
00:45:05,005 --> 00:45:08,000
The rivers are already drained
1007
00:45:08,005 --> 00:45:11,000
beyond the limits of what they can maintain.
1008
00:45:11,005 --> 00:45:15,000
The Colorado River no longer reaches the sea.
1009
00:45:15,005 --> 00:45:18,000
Well, then start looking at the groundwater.
1010
00:45:18,005 --> 00:45:20,000
the southern great plains,
1011
00:45:20,005 --> 00:45:23,000
and I think you can almost predict when the groundwater will run out
1012
00:45:23,005 --> 00:45:26,000
and it's in a decade or two.
1013
00:45:26,005 --> 00:45:27,000
(dark music)
1014
00:45:27,005 --> 00:45:31,000
Human vulnerabilities on a global scale,
1015
00:45:31,005 --> 00:45:35,000
that each of them we could possibly prevent
1016
00:45:35,005 --> 00:45:37,000
but we see them spread
1017
00:45:37,005 --> 00:45:43,000
cross-topic about society and the earth system.
1018
00:45:43,005 --> 00:45:46,000
And I don't think those responsible
1019
00:45:46,005 --> 00:45:54,000
are not nearly nervous enough.
1020
00:45:54,005 --> 00:45:54,000
[Jeff] Although everyone
1021
00:45:54,005 --> 00:45:56,000
of them takes climate change seriously,
1022
00:45:56,005 --> 00:45:59,000
Every expert I spoke to wanted
1023
00:45:59,005 --> 00:46:02,000
to draw my attention to the same underlying problem.
1024
00:46:02,005 --> 00:46:07,000
There are too many people who consume too much and too quickly.
1025
00:46:07,005 --> 00:46:09,000
As a global community, we really have
1026
00:46:09,005 --> 00:46:12,000
to deal with the topic of population.
1027
00:46:12,005 --> 00:46:15,000
The population growth continues,
1028
00:46:15,005 --> 00:46:18,000
not the elephant, but the herd of elephants in the room.
1029
00:46:18,005 --> 00:46:20,000
[Jeff] Can be a single species
1030
00:46:20,005 --> 00:46:21,000
that has come to rule an entire planet
1031
00:46:21,005 --> 00:46:26,000
be smart enough to voluntarily limit your own presence?
1032
00:46:26,005 --> 00:46:28,000
[Jeff] Is there a precedent in nature for that?
1033
00:46:28,005 --> 00:46:30,000
(laugh)
1034
00:46:30,005 --> 00:46:31,000
Impressive.
1035
00:46:31,005 --> 00:46:36,000
We have to limit our ability to consume.
1036
00:46:36,005 --> 00:46:39,000
Because we're not good at curtailing them
1037
00:46:39,005 --> 00:46:43,000
when there are seemingly unrestricted resources.
1038
00:46:43,005 --> 00:46:47,000
Species often hit the wall of the population and then crash.
1039
00:46:47,005 --> 00:46:49,000
I mean, that's a common story in biology.
1040
00:46:49,005 --> 00:46:51,000
If that happens to us in a way,
1041
00:46:51,005 --> 00:46:53,000
it’s the natural order of things.
1042
00:46:53,005 --> 00:46:57,000
And I don't think we'll find a way out here.
1043
00:46:57,005 --> 00:46:58,000
Not me.
1044
00:46:58,005 --> 00:46:59,000
[Jeff] As a scientist
1045
00:46:59,005 --> 00:47:01,000
What leads you to this conclusion?
1046
00:47:01,005 --> 00:47:05,000
Well, because right now a large percentage
1047
00:47:05,005 --> 00:47:09,000
of which is supported by industrial agriculture,
1048
00:47:09,005 --> 00:47:11,000
which is heavily subsidized by oil.
1049
00:47:11,005 --> 00:47:15,000
And it is not sustainable.
1050
00:47:15,005 --> 00:47:17,000
And there is no going back.
1051
00:47:17,005 --> 00:47:20,000
Without any wave of death in the population,
1052
00:47:20,005 --> 00:47:23,000
there is no going back.
1053
00:47:23,005 --> 00:47:24,000
[Jeff] what has nobody asked you about
1054
00:47:24,005 --> 00:47:25,000
that you want
1055
00:47:25,005 --> 00:47:27,000
(laugh)
1056
00:47:27,005 --> 00:47:30,000
Nobody ever asked me if I'm scared.
1057
00:47:30,005 --> 00:47:31,000
[Jeff] Yes.
1058
00:47:31,005 --> 00:47:32,000
and I have it.
1059
00:47:32,005 --> 00:47:33,000
I'm actually scared.
1060
00:47:33,005 --> 00:47:36,000
I lose sleep because of all of this.
1061
00:47:36,005 --> 00:47:42,000
(dark music)
1062
00:47:42,005 --> 00:47:44,000
[Jeff] Modern people needed tens of thousands
1063
00:47:44,005 --> 00:47:48,000
of years to reach a population of 700 million.
1064
00:47:48,005 --> 00:47:50,000
And then we have stored energy for millions of years
1065
00:47:50,005 --> 00:47:53,000
developed, known as fossil fuels.
1066
00:47:53,005 --> 00:47:56,000
Our human population exploded.
1067
00:47:56,005 --> 00:48:00,000
It has increased tenfold in just 200 years.
1068
00:48:00,005 --> 00:48:02,000
Our consumption has also exploded.
1069
00:48:02,005 --> 00:48:04,000
On average ten times per person,
1070
00:48:04,005 --> 00:48:08,000
and many times more in the western world.
1071
00:48:08,005 --> 00:48:10,000
You put the two together,
1072
00:48:10,005 --> 00:48:14,000
The result is a 100 times greater overall human impact
1073
00:48:14,005 --> 00:48:16,000
than 200 years ago.
1074
00:48:16,005 --> 00:48:18,000
(soft music)
1075
00:48:18,005 --> 00:48:25,000
And that's the most terrible knowledge I've ever had.
1076
00:48:25,005 --> 00:48:31,000
We humans face a fall from an unimaginable height.
1077
00:48:31,005 --> 00:48:33,000
Not because of one thing.
1078
00:48:33,005 --> 00:48:36,000
Not just climate change.
1079
00:48:36,005 --> 00:48:38,000
But all the man-made changes
1080
00:48:38,005 --> 00:48:41,000
from which the planet suffers.
1081
00:48:41,005 --> 00:48:43,000
(slow tempo music)
1082
00:48:43,005 --> 00:48:46,000
Why are bankers, industrialists?
1083
00:48:46,005 --> 00:48:48,000
and environmental leaders only on the narrow solution
1084
00:48:48,005 --> 00:48:52,000
of green technology concentrated?
1085
00:48:52,005 --> 00:48:55,000
Is it the profit motive?
1086
00:48:55,005 --> 00:48:58,000
And why am I, almost all my life
1087
00:48:58,005 --> 00:49:00,000
fell for the illusion that green energy would save us?
1088
00:49:00,005 --> 00:49:05,000
(Waves on the shore)
1089
00:49:05,005 --> 00:49:06,000
(squeaking door)
1090
00:49:06,005 --> 00:49:08,000
Sure, to answer this question
1091
00:49:08,005 --> 00:49:10,000
I needed professional help.
1092
00:49:10,005 --> 00:49:11,000
Keep my things.
1093
00:49:11,005 --> 00:49:13,000
No, I never heard ...
1094
00:49:13,005 --> 00:49:15,000
I'm just being honest with you about my dilemma.
1095
00:49:15,005 --> 00:49:20,000
You can be my clinical social psych (laughs)
1096
00:49:20,005 --> 00:49:23,000
It's like the right has a religion.
1097
00:49:23,005 --> 00:49:26,000
And they believe in infinite fossil fuels.
1098
00:49:26,005 --> 00:49:30,000
Our side says, "Oh, everything will be fine,
1099
00:49:30,005 --> 00:49:31,000
we will have solar panels.
1100
00:49:31,005 --> 00:49:33,000
we'll have wind towers. "
1101
00:49:33,005 --> 00:49:35,000
As soon as I heard you talk about our denial of dea
1102
00:49:35,005 --> 00:49:37,000
I was like, "Could it be?
1103
00:49:37,005 --> 00:49:39,000
Could it be that we cannot face our own mortality?
1104
00:49:39,005 --> 00:49:40,000
absolutely.
1105
00:49:40,005 --> 00:49:43,000
Could we have a religion without realizing it? "
1106
00:49:43,005 --> 00:49:47,000
I think you hit the proverbial nail on the head.
1107
00:49:47,005 --> 00:49:50,000
What distinguishes people from all other forms
1108
00:49:50,005 --> 00:49:53,000
of life that is, we are not just here
1109
00:49:53,005 --> 00:49:55,000
but that we know we are here.
1110
00:49:55,005 --> 00:49:59,000
If you know that you are here, you will recognize
1111
00:49:59,005 --> 00:50:02,000
at least weak that one day you won't be here.
1112
00:50:02,005 --> 00:50:05,000
And on top of that, we don't like that we're animals.
1113
00:50:05,005 --> 00:50:08,000
So, we don't like that one day we'll die.
1114
00:50:08,005 --> 00:50:10,000
We don't like that you can go outside
1115
00:50:10,005 --> 00:50:12,000
and be hit by a damn meteor.
1116
00:50:12,005 --> 00:50:14,000
What people have done in the past
1117
00:50:14,005 --> 00:50:17,000
is to envelop us
1118
00:50:17,005 --> 00:50:19,000
in culturally constructive belief systems.
1119
00:50:19,005 --> 00:50:21,000
Call them cultures
1120
00:50:21,005 --> 00:50:25,000
Let us call them worldviews, schemes of things.
1121
00:50:25,005 --> 00:50:29,000
Whatever you call them, every human community has them.
1122
00:50:29,005 --> 00:50:33,000
Every culture has a view of the origin of the universe.
1123
00:50:33,005 --> 00:50:35,000
Every culture has a recipe
1124
00:50:35,005 --> 00:50:36,000
for how to behave while you are here.
1125
00:50:36,005 --> 00:50:40,000
And every culture offers its inhabitants hope for immortality.
1126
00:50:40,005 --> 00:50:44,000
either literally or symbolically.
1127
00:50:44,005 --> 00:50:47,000
Then the question is what happens when you
1128
00:50:47,005 --> 00:50:51,000
encounter people who do not share these beliefs?
1129
00:50:51,005 --> 00:50:54,000
Whether you know it or not, whether you like it or not,
1130
00:50:54,005 --> 00:50:56,000
but that undermines trust
1131
00:50:56,005 --> 00:50:59,000
that you allow your own views.
1132
00:50:59,005 --> 00:51:02,000
And expose you to fear
1133
00:51:02,005 --> 00:51:04,000
for which these beliefs were constructed
1134
00:51:04,005 --> 00:51:06,000
primarily to destroy them.
1135
00:51:06,005 --> 00:51:09,000
If we want to make progress, whatever that word means,
1136
00:51:09,005 --> 00:51:12,000
or even to exist as a form of life, we will
1137
00:51:12,005 --> 00:51:18,000
need to radically revise our basic concepts,
1138
00:51:18,005 --> 00:51:23,000
of who and what we are and what we appreciate.
1139
00:51:23,005 --> 00:51:26,000
Because the people you used to refer to
1140
00:51:26,005 --> 00:51:29,000
both left and right
1141
00:51:29,005 --> 00:51:35,000
who think we will be able to discover more oil.
1142
00:51:35,005 --> 00:51:40,000
Or solar paneling us into the future,
1143
00:51:40,005 --> 00:51:43,000
where life will look like now
1144
00:51:43,005 --> 00:51:45,000
you know, just cleaner or better.
1145
00:51:45,005 --> 00:51:47,000
[Jeff] Either with more oil or greener oil.
1146
00:51:47,005 --> 00:51:48,000
Or both.
1147
00:51:48,005 --> 00:51:51,000
I think it's just a delusion.
1148
00:51:51,005 --> 00:51:54,000
What I hear is when I am not
1149
00:51:54,005 --> 00:51:58,000
found my own concern for life and death,
1150
00:51:58,005 --> 00:52:02,000
and faced with a reminder that I most likely
1151
00:52:02,005 --> 00:52:07,000
make some tragic decisions for the community.
1152
00:52:07,005 --> 00:52:08,000
Yes.
1153
00:52:08,005 --> 00:52:14,000
The only solution in principle is, as Albert Camus put it,
1154
00:52:14,005 --> 00:52:17,000
He said:"There is only one freedom to deal with dea
1155
00:52:17,005 --> 00:52:21,000
after that everything is possible.
1156
00:52:21,005 --> 00:52:25,000
I find that almost inspiring.
1157
00:52:25,005 --> 00:52:27,000
[Jeff] As for our environmental leaders,
1158
00:52:27,005 --> 00:52:29,000
which linger in comfortable illusions
1159
00:52:29,005 --> 00:52:34,000
How tragic were decisions they could make?
1160
00:52:34,005 --> 00:52:38,000
I wanted to find out.
1161
00:52:38,005 --> 00:52:49,000
(Buzz of machines)
1162
00:52:49,005 --> 00:52:51,000
(Leaves crunch)
1163
00:52:51,005 --> 00:52:54,000
[Josh] They claim that they only use forest remains,
1164
00:52:54,005 --> 00:52:57,000
but actually a lot of what the McNeil facility,
1165
00:52:57,005 --> 00:53:00,000
and many biomass facilities burn are whole trees.
1166
00:53:00,005 --> 00:53:02,000
As you can see from this stack that is properly stacked
1167
00:53:02,005 --> 00:53:06,000
These are trees outside the facility.
1168
00:53:06,005 --> 00:53:08,000
[Jeff] It turns out to be the greatest source
1169
00:53:08,005 --> 00:53:13,000
of green energy in Vermont is something called biomass.
1170
00:53:13,005 --> 00:53:16,000
Burn trees to generate electricity.
1171
00:53:16,005 --> 00:53:18,000
This is definitely not the way to go.
1172
00:53:18,005 --> 00:53:21,000
The first step is actually to look at our lifestyle.
1173
00:53:21,005 --> 00:53:25,000
how we can reduce our energy consumption.
1174
00:53:25,005 --> 00:53:30,000
This is all the ashes that contain different amounts of toxic metals.
1175
00:53:30,005 --> 00:53:32,000
a lot of radiation
1176
00:53:32,005 --> 00:53:33,000
because these trees have absorbed ...
1177
00:53:33,005 --> 00:53:35,000
Oops, there is the ...
1178
00:53:35,005 --> 00:53:38,000
(Machine hums)
1179
00:53:38,005 --> 00:53:40,000
You are in a prohibited area there.
1180
00:53:40,005 --> 00:53:41,000
[Jeff] Are we?
1181
00:53:41,005 --> 00:53:44,000
May I ask you both to come to our office, okay.
1182
00:53:44,005 --> 00:53:45,000
[Josh] Is that something you're interested in?
1183
00:53:45,005 --> 00:53:47,000
It's no interest, you have five seconds
1184
00:53:47,005 --> 00:53:49,000
or I call 911.
1185
00:53:49,005 --> 00:53:49,000
[Jeff] Okay.
1186
00:53:49,005 --> 00:53:53,000
[Security guard] We have two people here
1187
00:53:53,005 --> 00:53:54,000
(loud grating steps)
1188
00:53:54,005 --> 00:53:56,000
The police will be down here in about two minutes.
1189
00:53:56,005 --> 00:53:57,000
[Josh] You asked us to go and we do it.
1190
00:53:57,005 --> 00:53:59,000
[Security guard] I'm not asking you to go.
1191
00:53:59,005 --> 00:54:01,000
I ask you to come to the office.
1192
00:54:01,005 --> 00:54:02,000
[Josh] Okay, thanks for the offer.
1193
00:54:02,005 --> 00:54:04,000
Maybe next time.
1194
00:54:04,005 --> 00:54:06,000
(electronic beep)
1195
00:54:06,005 --> 00:54:07,000
(Machine hums)
1196
00:54:07,005 --> 00:54:09,000
You have everything here.
1197
00:54:09,005 --> 00:54:12,000
You have the number one polluter in the state
1198
00:54:12,005 --> 00:54:14,000
what people think and it's magical fairy dust
1199
00:54:14,005 --> 00:54:16,000
from the chimney.
1200
00:54:16,005 --> 00:54:18,000
Reality is what you have is an institution
1201
00:54:18,005 --> 00:54:22,000
that burns 400,000 green tons of trees a year.
1202
00:54:22,005 --> 00:54:25,000
This plant burns 110 m3 per hour.
1203
00:54:25,005 --> 00:54:26,000
[Jeff] That's a hell of a lot of wood.
1204
00:54:26,005 --> 00:54:27,000
[Josh] And on top of that,
1205
00:54:27,005 --> 00:54:30,000
it actually burns natural gas.
1206
00:54:30,005 --> 00:54:31,000
[Jeff] And to think you have to have 10 of them
1207
00:54:31,005 --> 00:54:35,000
as a replacement for an average coal-fired power plant.
1208
00:54:35,005 --> 00:54:36,000
It just won't work.
1209
00:54:36,005 --> 00:54:37,000
It's just crazy.
1210
00:54:37,005 --> 00:54:39,000
It takes a lot of fossil fuels
1211
00:54:39,005 --> 00:54:42,000
to cut down all these trees
1212
00:54:42,005 --> 00:54:44,000
to invite them to use the big machines
1213
00:54:44,005 --> 00:54:46,000
to dump the wood chips everywhere.
1214
00:54:46,005 --> 00:54:48,000
So the idea that somehow that doesn't do anything
1215
00:54:48,005 --> 00:54:51,000
with fossil fuels just doesn't make sense.
1216
00:54:51,005 --> 00:54:53,000
This would not be possible without fossil fuels.
1217
00:54:53,005 --> 00:54:55,000
[Jeff] How were the environmental groups
1218
00:54:55,005 --> 00:54:56,000
drawn in?
1219
00:54:56,005 --> 00:54:59,000
Obviously, the main factor is deception.
1220
00:54:59,005 --> 00:55:01,000
Many of these environmental groups claim that
1221
00:55:01,005 --> 00:55:03,000
for example, all we have to do is
1222
00:55:03,005 --> 00:55:06,000
our fossil fuel economy
1223
00:55:06,005 --> 00:55:08,000
to switch to a few solar panels and windmills,
1224
00:55:08,005 --> 00:55:11,000
and we can continue our life as usual.
1225
00:55:11,005 --> 00:55:13,000
Some of the environmental groups have
1226
00:55:13,005 --> 00:55:17,000
advertised such facilities for years and say
1227
00:55:17,005 --> 00:55:21,000
Number one, it's carbon neutral,
1228
00:55:21,005 --> 00:55:24,000
and that this will actually help us ward off climate change
1229
00:55:24,005 --> 00:55:27,000
because there are no CO2 emissions.
1230
00:55:27,005 --> 00:55:30,000
It actually emits over 400 thousand tons
1231
00:55:30,005 --> 00:55:32,000
carbon dioxide per year.
1232
00:55:32,005 --> 00:55:35,000
Oh, but if we graft them on, they'll grow back.
1233
00:55:35,005 --> 00:55:38,000
and will grow back over a period of decades to centuries.
1234
00:55:38,005 --> 00:55:40,000
If we felled every tree in the United States
1235
00:55:40,005 --> 00:55:43,000
it could supply the country with electricity for a year.
1236
00:55:43,005 --> 00:55:49,000
What happens when these trees have disappeared?
1237
00:55:49,005 --> 00:55:53,000
(Wind blows)
1238
00:55:53,005 --> 00:55:54,000
[Jeff] I discovered that biomass plants
1239
00:55:54,005 --> 00:55:58,000
were not always biomass plants.
1240
00:55:58,005 --> 00:56:00,000
It is actually a waste incineration plant
1241
00:56:00,005 --> 00:56:02,000
which is represented as a biomass plant.
1242
00:56:02,005 --> 00:56:06,000
The impact in this community is serious.
1243
00:56:06,005 --> 00:56:11,000
The facility is located right next to the Head Start School
1244
00:56:11,005 --> 00:56:13,000
for preschool children.
1245
00:56:13,005 --> 00:56:14,000
There is Green Hill Manor and
1246
00:56:14,005 --> 00:56:18,000
this is a supervised senior residence.
1247
00:56:18,005 --> 00:56:22,000
And there is also a Catholic elementary school
1248
00:56:22,005 --> 00:56:24,000
next door.
1249
00:56:24,005 --> 00:56:26,000
[Jeff] How do you know they're polluting?
1250
00:56:26,005 --> 00:56:26,000
Can you ever see it
1251
00:56:26,005 --> 00:56:27,000
We can see it.
1252
00:56:27,005 --> 00:56:30,000
The snow in elementary school
1253
00:56:30,005 --> 00:56:35,000
and in preschool is covered with black,
1254
00:56:35,005 --> 00:56:36,000
a kind of black soot.
1255
00:56:36,005 --> 00:56:38,000
We just had it analyzed
1256
00:56:38,005 --> 00:56:44,000
and it came back mostly as tire chips.
1257
00:56:44,005 --> 00:56:47,000
You have to add processed fuel from tire
1258
00:56:47,005 --> 00:56:49,000
to raise the temperature of the fire
1259
00:56:49,005 --> 00:56:52,000
because anyone who has tried to burn green or wet wood
1260
00:56:52,005 --> 00:56:56,000
knows that it doesn't burn very well.
1261
00:56:56,005 --> 00:56:57,000
[Jeff] But this biomass plant had ...
1262
00:56:57,005 --> 00:57:00,000
another surprise.
1263
00:57:00,005 --> 00:57:03,000
They admit that they are 20.1 tons per hour
1264
00:57:03,005 --> 00:57:06,000
burn with cresol treated railway sleepers.
1265
00:57:06,005 --> 00:57:11,000
They are also allowed to pay £ 500 an hour
1266
00:57:11,005 --> 00:57:15,000
PCP treated railway sleepers burn.
1267
00:57:15,005 --> 00:57:18,000
These will be shipped from Canada.
1268
00:57:18,005 --> 00:57:22,000
It's not green, it's not renewable, it's not carbon neutral,
1269
00:57:22,005 --> 00:57:24,000
It is not what they claim.
1270
00:57:24,005 --> 00:57:28,000
Still, they received a $ 11.5 million grant
1271
00:57:28,005 --> 00:57:31,000
because it was classified as renewable.
1272
00:57:31,005 --> 00:57:33,000
The plant owner told us
1273
00:57:33,005 --> 00:57:38,000
that they had problems getting enough wood shavings.
1274
00:57:38,005 --> 00:57:41,000
And he even asked us if we had old wood
1275
00:57:41,005 --> 00:57:44,000
where we lived and whether we would call the facility
1276
00:57:44,005 --> 00:57:47,000
to let them know so they could come and pick it up.
1277
00:57:47,005 --> 00:57:48,000
[Jeff] We don't talk
1278
00:57:48,005 --> 00:57:50,000
over an old industrial area,
1279
00:57:50,005 --> 00:57:52,000
We are next to one of the most beautiful places in the world.
1280
00:57:52,005 --> 00:57:55,000
We are next to Lake Superior. This is Keweenaw B ...
1281
00:57:55,005 --> 00:57:59,000
This is actually L'Anse Bay, it is part of Keweenaw Bay.
1282
00:57:59,005 --> 00:58:05,000
It is Lake Superior, our lake. (Voice breaks)
1283
00:58:05,005 --> 00:58:12,000
Therefore it is a very sacred place for many people.
1284
00:58:12,005 --> 00:58:13,000
(Horse feet rattle)
1285
00:58:13,005 --> 00:58:15,000
Are you with the news
1286
00:58:15,005 --> 00:58:16,000
[Jeff] No it should
1287
00:58:16,005 --> 00:58:17,000
a climate change rally is taking place.
1288
00:58:17,005 --> 00:58:18,000
Oh.
1289
00:58:18,005 --> 00:58:22,000
(Group singing)
1290
00:58:22,005 --> 00:58:25,000
[Jeff] Michigan State University students,
1291
00:58:25,005 --> 00:58:28,000
Inspired by 350.org, they held a rally
1292
00:58:28,005 --> 00:58:31,000
for the clean energy future that was promised to them.
1293
00:58:31,005 --> 00:58:36,000
(Crowd screams and cheers)
1294
00:58:36,005 --> 00:58:37,000
Imagine when I found out
1295
00:58:37,005 --> 00:58:41,000
that it is the largest oncampus coal-fired power station in the nation.
1296
00:58:41,005 --> 00:58:44,000
The goal is to get the whole world moving
1297
00:58:44,005 --> 00:58:45,000
beyond fossil fuels.
1298
00:58:45,005 --> 00:58:47,000
(Crowd cheers and claps)
1299
00:58:47,005 --> 00:58:51,000
[Student] Who wants to make a 350 sign on the steps? "
1300
00:58:51,005 --> 00:58:53,000
[Jeff] But it turned out that the state of Michigan was sort of
1301
00:58:53,005 --> 00:58:58,000
of green energy that the students did not support.
1302
00:58:58,005 --> 00:58:59,000
The university has signed a contract
1303
00:58:59,005 --> 00:59:02,000
with an energy company.
1304
00:59:02,005 --> 00:59:04,000
You put together a modeling tool.
1305
00:59:04,005 --> 00:59:05,000
The first two or three months
1306
00:59:05,005 --> 00:59:08,000
that the steering committee used this modeling tool
1307
00:59:08,005 --> 00:59:11,000
it didn't even contain data for wind or sun.
1308
00:59:11,005 --> 00:59:12,000
So there was (voice fades)
1309
00:59:12,005 --> 00:59:13,000
[Jeff] Adam told me they were going to do it
1310
00:59:13,005 --> 00:59:16,000
Replacing coal burning with biomass burning.
1311
00:59:16,005 --> 00:59:18,000
But the permit that is currently being examined
1312
00:59:18,005 --> 00:59:24,000
is a state approval for 24,000 tons of biomass,
1313
00:59:24,005 --> 00:59:25,000
I think every year.
1314
00:59:25,005 --> 00:59:28,000
And that is planned in all four boilers.
1315
00:59:28,005 --> 00:59:30,000
Unfortunately the steering committee takes into account
1316
00:59:30,005 --> 00:59:32,000
Biomass is currently renewable.
1317
00:59:32,005 --> 00:59:35,000
Which we are not satisfied with.
1318
00:59:35,005 --> 00:59:36,000
(Students laugh)
1319
00:59:36,005 --> 00:59:38,000
[Jeff] Michigan State wasn't the only university
1320
00:59:38,005 --> 00:59:41,000
which has turned green.
1321
00:59:41,005 --> 00:59:43,000
I am happy to inform you that Carolina
1322
00:59:43,005 --> 00:59:46,000
going beyond coal in the next decade.
1323
00:59:46,005 --> 00:59:50,000
Now that we're starting to wean ourselves off coal, we're roughly
1324
00:59:50,005 --> 00:59:54,000
turn to try another alternative energy source, biomass.
1325
00:59:54,005 --> 00:59:55,000
[Jeff] And who was here
1326
00:59:55,005 --> 00:59:57,000
to help the University of North Carolina switch,
1327
00:59:57,005 --> 01:00:01,000
from burning coal to burning trees?
1328
01:00:01,005 --> 01:00:03,000
It is a great pleasure for me to be here today
1329
01:00:03,005 --> 01:00:05,000
to celebrate the remarkable step
1330
01:00:05,005 --> 01:00:07,000
that the university is going to say:
1331
01:00:07,005 --> 01:00:09,000
we will do our part.
1332
01:00:09,005 --> 01:00:10,000
(festive music)
1333
01:00:10,005 --> 01:00:13,000
[Jeff] A remarkable step.
1334
01:00:13,005 --> 01:00:15,000
We should do our part by:
1335
01:00:15,005 --> 01:00:17,000
get off bed with coal company
1336
01:00:17,005 --> 01:00:22,000
and to bed with timber companies?
1337
01:00:22,005 --> 01:00:24,000
Where did the idea come from anyway that colleges
1338
01:00:24,005 --> 01:00:27,000
green by burning trees?
1339
01:00:27,005 --> 01:00:32,000
A small college called Middlebury in the heart of Vermont.
1340
01:00:32,005 --> 01:00:34,000
Welcome to the celebration of the opening
1341
01:00:34,005 --> 01:00:38,000
of the new Middlebury biomass gasification system.
1342
01:00:38,005 --> 01:00:40,000
It is a great pleasure for me now, you
1343
01:00:40,005 --> 01:00:43,000
this afternoon's speaker to introduce Bill McKibben.
1344
01:00:43,005 --> 01:00:44,000
(Audience claps)
1345
01:00:44,005 --> 01:00:47,000
What drives a learning community?
1346
01:00:47,005 --> 01:00:50,000
And from this afternoon the simple answer
1347
01:00:50,005 --> 01:00:53,000
with it is wood chips.
1348
01:00:53,005 --> 01:00:56,000
It is incredibly nice to stand there
1349
01:00:56,005 --> 01:00:59,000
and look at this big bunker full of wood shavings.
1350
01:00:59,005 --> 01:01:02,000
You can use any kind of wood, oak, willow,
1351
01:01:02,005 --> 01:01:03,000
whatever you want.
1352
01:01:03,005 --> 01:01:06,000
We can throw pretty much anything that burns in there
1353
01:01:06,005 --> 01:01:08,000
if we can reduce it to the right size.
1354
01:01:08,005 --> 01:01:10,000
And there are very few similar cases anywhere
1355
01:01:10,005 --> 01:01:14,000
in this country with this kind of change on this scale.
1356
01:01:14,005 --> 01:01:15,000
But it shows that it can happen anywhere
1357
01:01:15,005 --> 01:01:17,000
and it should happen everywhere.
1358
01:01:17,005 --> 01:01:21,000
In fact, it has to happen everywhere.
1359
01:01:21,005 --> 01:01:24,000
[Jeff] It has to happen everywhere.
1360
01:01:24,005 --> 01:01:26,000
(dramatic piano music)
1361
01:01:26,005 --> 01:01:28,000
And now it's time for a nature break.
1362
01:01:28,005 --> 01:01:31,000
Enjoy our sustainably managed forests in Michigan.
1363
01:01:31,005 --> 01:01:32,000
(classical piano music)
1364
01:01:32,005 --> 01:01:34,000
If you go through and look here
1365
01:01:34,005 --> 01:01:36,000
Practically nothing grows.
1366
01:01:36,005 --> 01:01:39,000
Occasionally a bit of grass.
1367
01:01:39,005 --> 01:01:40,000
(increasing classical music)
1368
01:01:40,005 --> 01:01:42,000
[Jeff] And it seemed that biomass plants actually did
1369
01:01:42,005 --> 01:01:44,000
were suddenly everywhere,
1370
01:01:44,005 --> 01:01:47,000
like this one in Cadillac, Michigan.
1371
01:01:47,005 --> 01:01:49,000
(Truck engine rumbles)
1372
01:01:49,005 --> 01:01:51,000
A waste incineration plant in Detroit
1373
01:01:51,005 --> 01:01:53,000
was considered green.
1374
01:01:53,005 --> 01:01:55,000
(classical piano music)
1375
01:01:55,005 --> 01:01:58,000
The Detroit incinerator is known to emit terrible smells
1376
01:01:58,005 --> 01:02:00,000
and pollutants that neighbors say they feel sick
1377
01:02:00,005 --> 01:02:02,000
and their health is at risk.
1378
01:02:02,005 --> 01:02:05,000
It is a stench, it is a terrible stench.
1379
01:02:05,005 --> 01:02:06,000
[Jeff] A proposed biofuel plant
1380
01:02:06,005 --> 01:02:09,000
would be trees for the upper peninsula of Michigan
1381
01:02:09,005 --> 01:02:12,000
of tens of thousands of square miles.
1382
01:02:12,005 --> 01:02:15,000
To produce 40 million gallons of ethanol
1383
01:02:15,005 --> 01:02:17,000
they will be over a million tons
1384
01:02:17,005 --> 01:02:19,000
green wood must be used.
1385
01:02:19,005 --> 01:02:21,000
We indicated that they would use more natural gas
1386
01:02:21,005 --> 01:02:24,000
when they were going to produce ethanol
1387
01:02:24,005 --> 01:02:25,000
to displace the natural gas.
1388
01:02:25,005 --> 01:02:27,000
If you keep doing this,
1389
01:02:27,005 --> 01:02:29,000
You will fertilize the forest.
1390
01:02:29,005 --> 01:02:31,000
[Jeff] Forests fertilize?
1391
01:02:31,005 --> 01:02:32,000
Fossil fuels?
1392
01:02:32,005 --> 01:02:33,000
Fertilizer based on fossil fuels.
1393
01:02:33,005 --> 01:02:34,000
[Jeff] Made from natural gas?
1394
01:02:34,005 --> 01:02:35,000
Yes.
1395
01:02:35,005 --> 01:02:36,000
(frenzied piano music)
1396
01:02:36,005 --> 01:02:37,000
[Jeff] Then came an election proposal supported
1397
01:02:37,005 --> 01:02:41,000
by Bill McKibben and almost every large environmental group,
1398
01:02:41,005 --> 01:02:45,000
Michigan has to draw 25% of its electricity
1399
01:02:45,005 --> 01:02:48,000
from renewable sources by 2025.
1400
01:02:48,005 --> 01:02:51,000
[News] This year Michigan voters have a choice:
1401
01:02:51,005 --> 01:02:54,000
Keep burning dirty coal and oil, or move Michigan
1402
01:02:54,005 --> 01:02:57,000
to clean, renewable energies like wind and sun.
1403
01:02:57,005 --> 01:02:59,000
Vote yes to proposal three.
1404
01:02:59,005 --> 01:03:01,000
[Jeff] surprisingly proposal three,
1405
01:03:01,005 --> 01:03:06,000
also known as 25 by 25, the brainchild
1406
01:03:06,005 --> 01:03:11,000
was an organization that is 100% biofuels and biomass.
1407
01:03:11,005 --> 01:03:13,000
It allows America's agriculture, ranches, and forest areas
1408
01:03:13,005 --> 01:03:16,000
as an active participant in the contribution
1409
01:03:16,005 --> 01:03:18,000
to be America's energy future.
1410
01:03:18,005 --> 01:03:19,000
[Jeff] These are the biomass
1411
01:03:19,005 --> 01:03:22,000
and biofuel plants in the United States
1412
01:03:22,005 --> 01:03:28,000
(to pop)
1413
01:03:28,005 --> 01:03:31,000
How did it happen?
1414
01:03:31,005 --> 01:03:32,000
And it wasn't just the United States.
1415
01:03:32,005 --> 01:03:35,000
It was all over the world.
1416
01:03:35,005 --> 01:03:39,000
Wood chips, which is just a euphemism for trees,
1417
01:03:39,005 --> 01:03:42,000
are exported from America to Europe,
1418
01:03:42,005 --> 01:03:46,000
British Columbia, Brazil and Indonesia.
1419
01:03:46,005 --> 01:03:48,000
wherever you can get them.
1420
01:03:48,005 --> 01:03:49,000
(classical piano music)
1421
01:03:49,005 --> 01:03:52,000
Biomass, especially if you add biofuels,
1422
01:03:52,005 --> 01:03:56,000
is by far the largest part of green energy
1423
01:03:56,005 --> 01:03:58,000
all over the world, also in Germany,
1424
01:03:58,005 --> 01:04:01,000
Source of the sun miracle.
1425
01:04:01,005 --> 01:04:03,000
(classical piano music)
1426
01:04:03,005 --> 01:04:06,000
But maybe I was missing something.
1427
01:04:06,005 --> 01:04:07,000
Maybe I was wrong.
1428
01:04:07,005 --> 01:04:09,000
(Female voice on speaker)
1429
01:04:09,005 --> 01:04:12,000
I decided to ask people who are protesting against fossil fuels
1430
01:04:12,005 --> 01:04:16,000
how they perceived biomass and biofuels as green energy.
1431
01:04:16,005 --> 01:04:18,000
Would you say we don't need biofuels?
1432
01:04:18,005 --> 01:04:20,000
and food and forests for energy?
1433
01:04:20,005 --> 01:04:21,000
no, no, definitely not.
1434
01:04:21,005 --> 01:04:23,000
Of course not, of course not.
1435
01:04:23,005 --> 01:04:25,000
Burning biomass, any kind of combustion,
1436
01:04:25,005 --> 01:04:28,000
is something we just have to move away from.
1437
01:04:28,005 --> 01:04:29,000
The more trees we have, the better.
1438
01:04:29,005 --> 01:04:30,000
Much of it didn't grow overnight.
1439
01:04:30,005 --> 01:04:32,000
If we reduce it, we don't know how it works.
1440
01:04:32,005 --> 01:04:33,000
[Jeff] You are here as an oak tree?
1441
01:04:33,005 --> 01:04:34,000
Yes.
1442
01:04:34,005 --> 01:04:35,000
If I had a chainsaw
1443
01:04:35,005 --> 01:04:36,000
that wouldn't save the planet, would it?
1444
01:04:36,005 --> 01:04:37,000
No, it's painful.
1445
01:04:37,005 --> 01:04:38,000
It is a painful way.
1446
01:04:38,005 --> 01:04:39,000
I can tell you that now.
1447
01:04:39,005 --> 01:04:41,000
[Jeff] It would take a while for you to grow back.
1448
01:04:41,005 --> 01:04:42,000
(laugh)
1449
01:04:42,005 --> 01:04:43,000
Yes, oh yes.
1450
01:04:43,005 --> 01:04:45,000
But I wouldn't be, it would be a child.
1451
01:04:45,005 --> 01:04:48,000
With so many people doing it on such a large scale,
1452
01:04:48,005 --> 01:04:52,000
suddenly it's pretty serious.
1453
01:04:52,005 --> 01:04:54,000
No, I don't think we should burn trees.
1454
01:04:54,005 --> 01:04:56,000
[Group] No, no.
1455
01:04:56,005 --> 01:04:57,000
Why should we cut down trees?
1456
01:04:57,005 --> 01:05:00,000
We shouldn't replace a terrible way to get energy
1457
01:05:00,005 --> 01:05:02,000
with another terrible way to get energy.
1458
01:05:02,005 --> 01:05:03,000
Because it's one thing.
1459
01:05:03,005 --> 01:05:04,000
(Girl's voice fades)
1460
01:05:04,005 --> 01:05:07,000
[Jeff] Obviously most citizens are against it
1461
01:05:07,005 --> 01:05:08,000
on biomass and biofuels.
1462
01:05:08,005 --> 01:05:10,000
(soothing guitar music)
1463
01:05:10,005 --> 01:05:13,000
But what about environmental leaders?
1464
01:05:13,005 --> 01:05:18,000
Sometimes they produced biomass, but sometimes,
1465
01:05:18,005 --> 01:05:21,000
sound as if you were against biomass.
1466
01:05:21,005 --> 01:05:23,000
Like this Sierra Club policy,
1467
01:05:23,005 --> 01:05:25,000
We are deeply concerned about the effects
1468
01:05:25,005 --> 01:05:29,000
of wood energy for indigenous forests.
1469
01:05:29,005 --> 01:05:32,000
Or signed this statement from 75 environmental groups,
1470
01:05:32,005 --> 01:05:35,000
that burning forests for energy is one
1471
01:05:35,005 --> 01:05:38,000
destroy our best defenses against climate change.
1472
01:05:38,005 --> 01:05:41,000
On the other hand, their language leaves gaps
1473
01:05:41,005 --> 01:05:43,000
the biomass enables.
1474
01:05:43,005 --> 01:05:48,000
The NRDC says you need to use the "right types of biomass".
1475
01:05:48,005 --> 01:05:50,000
The Dogwood Alliance says
1476
01:05:50,005 --> 01:05:54,000
Maybe small biomass plants are fine.
1477
01:05:54,005 --> 01:05:55,000
And the Sierra Club says with high pressure:
1478
01:05:55,005 --> 01:05:58,000
Biomass can be sustainable.
1479
01:05:58,005 --> 01:06:00,000
(thoughtful guitar music)
1480
01:06:00,005 --> 01:06:03,000
Which side are they really on?
1481
01:06:03,005 --> 01:06:05,000
I sure thought when the camera rolls,
1482
01:06:05,005 --> 01:06:07,000
Environmental leaders would speak for the trees.
1483
01:06:07,005 --> 01:06:10,000
[Group] Not at all.
1484
01:06:10,005 --> 01:06:14,000
Where's the science, where's the science?
1485
01:06:14,005 --> 01:06:18,000
We are here to tell a story about what
1486
01:06:18,005 --> 01:06:22,000
the forests of this state, our communities, mean us.
1487
01:06:22,005 --> 01:06:24,000
[Jeff] Does your organization have an attitude to this?
1488
01:06:24,005 --> 01:06:27,000
I am not sure if I would say that we support it as well
1489
01:06:27,005 --> 01:06:29,000
that we can wrap our heads around it.
1490
01:06:29,005 --> 01:06:32,000
We have almost made peace with the timber industry.
1491
01:06:32,005 --> 01:06:34,000
[Jeff] I'm just curious, what's your group attitude?
1492
01:06:34,005 --> 01:06:37,000
on the use of forests for biomass?
1493
01:06:37,005 --> 01:06:42,000
Biomass is renewable, biomass is sustainable.
1494
01:06:42,005 --> 01:06:47,000
And I'm at Clean Water Action,
1495
01:06:47,005 --> 01:06:49,000
We don't really have a point of view on this.
1496
01:06:49,005 --> 01:06:51,000
If the director of the Sierra Club were here
1497
01:06:51,005 --> 01:06:55,000
you would be able to chew your ear over it.
1498
01:06:55,005 --> 01:06:59,000
I am the director of the Sierra Club in Pennsylvania.
1499
01:06:59,005 --> 01:07:00,000
[Jeff] Supports the Sierra Club
1500
01:07:00,005 --> 01:07:05,000
Biomass or not?
1501
01:07:05,005 --> 01:07:06,000
I am not quite ready to date
1502
01:07:06,005 --> 01:07:08,000
to talk about our current position in relation to biomass.
1503
01:07:08,005 --> 01:07:10,000
Our position is somewhat nuanced
1504
01:07:10,005 --> 01:07:14,000
so I just want to be careful not to ...
1505
01:07:14,005 --> 01:07:16,000
(Crowd talks)
1506
01:07:16,005 --> 01:07:17,000
[Jeff] So you're at 350?
1507
01:07:17,005 --> 01:07:18,000
I am.
1508
01:07:18,005 --> 01:07:20,000
350 have a position on biomass
1509
01:07:20,005 --> 01:07:21,000
because I'm actually somehow ...
1510
01:07:21,005 --> 01:07:23,000
I can't really speak for 350.
1511
01:07:23,005 --> 01:07:25,000
Do you personally have an opinion
1512
01:07:25,005 --> 01:07:28,000
should we burn green trees for green energy?
1513
01:07:28,005 --> 01:07:31,000
No, I have no opinion on this.
1514
01:07:31,005 --> 01:07:33,000
I like a fire. (laugh)
1515
01:07:33,005 --> 01:07:34,000
[Jeff] One of my biggest concerns as an environmentalist
1516
01:07:34,005 --> 01:07:36,000
is we we try to burn trees
1517
01:07:36,005 --> 01:07:38,000
There are tree power plants.
1518
01:07:38,005 --> 01:07:40,000
Do you know the problems with biomass or biofuels?
1519
01:07:40,005 --> 01:07:43,000
Yes, yes, I'm not so aware of that
1520
01:07:43,005 --> 01:07:45,000
how it could or should be me.
1521
01:07:45,005 --> 01:07:47,000
Jeff Gibbs is working on a documentary.
1522
01:07:47,005 --> 01:07:49,000
In Michigan, where I live, where I come from,
1523
01:07:49,005 --> 01:07:51,000
there are large plants that burn trees for energy
1524
01:07:51,005 --> 01:07:53,000
and pretty much felled trees.
1525
01:07:53,005 --> 01:07:54,000
Have you thought about whether
1526
01:07:54,005 --> 01:07:57,000
that should or shouldn't be part of the green energy?
1527
01:07:57,005 --> 01:07:59,000
The great thing about green energy is
1528
01:07:59,005 --> 01:08:00,000
You don't have to select a favorite.
1529
01:08:00,005 --> 01:08:01,000
Jeff Gibbs.
1530
01:08:01,005 --> 01:08:02,000
Oh hello.
1531
01:08:02,005 --> 01:08:04,000
My biggest concern is that in Germany for example
1532
01:08:04,005 --> 01:08:06,000
They move towards the sun and wind
1533
01:08:06,005 --> 01:08:09,000
but 60% of their actual energy comes from biomass.
1534
01:08:09,005 --> 01:08:12,000
60% of renewable energies.
1535
01:08:12,005 --> 01:08:13,000
Are trees burning for energy?
1536
01:08:13,005 --> 01:08:15,000
I don't know the details from Germany.
1537
01:08:15,005 --> 01:08:17,000
What Germany really does is a lot
1538
01:08:17,005 --> 01:08:20,000
sun related and that's really powerful to see.
1539
01:08:20,005 --> 01:08:21,000
[Jeff] I would like to see how we get out
1540
01:08:21,005 --> 01:08:22,000
against the burning of trees.
1541
01:08:22,005 --> 01:08:23,000
All right, go and do it.
1542
01:08:23,005 --> 01:08:23,000
For clean energy
1543
01:08:23,005 --> 01:08:25,000
Would you?
1544
01:08:25,005 --> 01:08:27,000
Although I confess that I am heating my wood stove
1545
01:08:27,005 --> 01:08:29,000
almost every night of winter,
1546
01:08:29,005 --> 01:08:30,000
So I'm not really the right person to ask that.
1547
01:08:30,005 --> 01:08:32,000
But green energy for power plants.
1548
01:08:32,005 --> 01:08:35,000
Yes, yes, I don't know.
1549
01:08:35,005 --> 01:08:36,000
That's not what it's about today.
1550
01:08:36,005 --> 01:08:38,000
[Jeff] But if we burn trees
1551
01:08:38,005 --> 01:08:41,000
instead of fossil fuels.
1552
01:08:41,005 --> 01:08:42,000
(Crowd drowns) from Taiwan.
1553
01:08:42,005 --> 01:08:44,000
Oh good.
1554
01:08:44,005 --> 01:08:47,000
We wonder what role you have
1555
01:08:47,005 --> 01:08:48,000
want to play in it (voice fades)?
1556
01:08:48,005 --> 01:08:54,000
[Jeff] I think the biomass question is a non-starter.
1557
01:08:54,005 --> 01:08:56,000
(dark music)
1558
01:08:56,005 --> 01:08:58,000
I only found an environmental leader who was ready
1559
01:08:58,005 --> 01:09:02,000
Reject biomass and biofuels.
1560
01:09:02,005 --> 01:09:03,000
So we're talking about
1561
01:09:03,005 --> 01:09:07,000
the old oil industry, which is now tried
1562
01:09:07,005 --> 01:09:09,000
to keep up
1563
01:09:09,005 --> 01:09:13,000
through another raw material, the green planet.
1564
01:09:13,005 --> 01:09:17,000
The only reason why corn and soybeans were planted for biofuels
1565
01:09:17,005 --> 01:09:20,000
in this country is that the subsidies make it profitable.
1566
01:09:20,005 --> 01:09:24,000
I think the big crisis of our time is that
1567
01:09:24,005 --> 01:09:28,000
our minds have been manipulated to give strength to illusions.
1568
01:09:28,005 --> 01:09:30,000
We have shifted to measuring growth,
1569
01:09:30,005 --> 01:09:34,000
not in terms of how life is enriched
1570
01:09:34,005 --> 01:09:36,000
but in terms of how life is destroyed.
1571
01:09:36,005 --> 01:09:39,000
(peaceful guitar)
1572
01:09:39,005 --> 01:09:42,000
[Jeff] Your honesty was refreshing.
1573
01:09:42,005 --> 01:09:47,000
But for the rest of them I wondered:
1574
01:09:47,005 --> 01:09:50,000
What are they hiding
1575
01:09:50,005 --> 01:09:54,000
And why are they hiding it?
1576
01:09:54,005 --> 01:09:57,000
Is it your ignorance?
1577
01:09:57,005 --> 01:09:59,000
Or is it something else?
1578
01:09:59,005 --> 01:10:01,000
(Music increases in tempo)
1579
01:10:01,005 --> 01:10:03,000
What if you were misled yourself?
1580
01:10:03,005 --> 01:10:05,000
(Intensification of the dramatic music)
1581
01:10:05,005 --> 01:10:07,000
What if you made some kind of deal?
1582
01:10:07,005 --> 01:10:11,000
that they shouldn't have done?
1583
01:10:11,005 --> 01:10:18,000
And do they all lead us off the cliff?
1584
01:10:18,005 --> 01:10:22,000
(light happy music)
1585
01:10:22,005 --> 01:10:24,000
It was long overdue for me
1586
01:10:24,005 --> 01:10:27,000
get along with the other elephant in the living room.
1587
01:10:27,005 --> 01:10:31,000
The profit motive.
1588
01:10:31,005 --> 01:10:33,000
The only reason we were force-fed this story:
1589
01:10:33,005 --> 01:10:37,000
Climate change plus renewable energies mean that we are saved,
1590
01:10:37,005 --> 01:10:39,000
is because billionaires, bankers
1591
01:10:39,005 --> 01:10:43,000
and companies benefit from it.
1592
01:10:43,005 --> 01:10:45,000
And the reason why we don't have overpopulation,
1593
01:10:45,005 --> 01:10:51,000
Consumption and the suicide of economic growth speak
1594
01:10:51,005 --> 01:10:53,000
it is bad for business.
1595
01:10:53,005 --> 01:10:55,000
Especially the cancerous form of capitalism
1596
01:10:55,005 --> 01:10:57,000
that rules the world.
1597
01:10:57,005 --> 01:11:00,000
Now hiding under a green blanket.
1598
01:11:00,005 --> 01:11:02,000
Today Bloomberg makes philanthropies,
1599
01:11:02,005 --> 01:11:05,000
I am happy to announce a new investment
1600
01:11:05,005 --> 01:11:08,000
$ 30 million in the Beyond Coal campaign.
1601
01:11:08,005 --> 01:11:11,000
(Crowd cheers and claps)
1602
01:11:11,005 --> 01:11:12,000
We have more.
1603
01:11:12,005 --> 01:11:13,000
I am happy to say that more
1604
01:11:13,005 --> 01:11:15,000
than a dozen additional donors committed
1605
01:11:15,005 --> 01:11:17,000
have to reach that $ 30 million.
1606
01:11:17,005 --> 01:11:20,000
(clapping and cheering)
1607
01:11:20,005 --> 01:11:22,000
[Jeff] And who were these new partners?
1608
01:11:22,005 --> 01:11:24,000
One of them was Jeremy Grantham,
1609
01:11:24,005 --> 01:11:28,000
Billionaires, world leader in wood investments.
1610
01:11:28,005 --> 01:11:29,000
(Man speaks in the background)
1611
01:11:29,005 --> 01:11:30,000
They didn't invest in trees
1612
01:11:30,005 --> 01:11:34,000
to turn them into nature reserves,
1613
01:11:34,005 --> 01:11:37,000
which could answer another riddle,
1614
01:11:37,005 --> 01:11:41,000
why is this name excluded in the Sierra Club tax return?
1615
01:11:41,005 --> 01:11:44,000
Would you be embarrassed to accept three million dollars
1616
01:11:44,005 --> 01:11:47,000
from a man making a living selling the forest
1617
01:11:47,005 --> 01:11:49,000
earned in the whole world?
1618
01:11:49,005 --> 01:11:52,000
That Bloomberg is a billionaire for wood investments
1619
01:11:52,005 --> 01:11:55,000
brought to the party was no accident.
1620
01:11:55,005 --> 01:11:58,000
Bloomberg sponsored a climate meeting at the United Nations
1621
01:11:58,005 --> 01:12:00,000
about the recycling of biomass and biofuels
1622
01:12:00,005 --> 01:12:03,000
to discuss around the world.
1623
01:12:03,005 --> 01:12:06,000
Billionaires were in love with the idea
1624
01:12:06,005 --> 01:12:10,000
to convert what was left of nature into green profits.
1625
01:12:10,005 --> 01:12:13,000
Remember when Al Gore was able to convince Richard Branson
1626
01:12:13,005 --> 01:12:15,000
Invest billions in saving the planet?
1627
01:12:15,005 --> 01:12:18,000
[News anchor] Richard Branson, founder of Virgin Atlantic,
1628
01:12:18,005 --> 01:12:21,000
powered a Boeing 747 from London to Amsterdam
1629
01:12:21,005 --> 01:12:24,000
with a coconut oil blend to unlock the potential of this amazing
1630
01:12:24,005 --> 01:12:28,000
to emphasize oil as a clean energy biofuel.
1631
01:12:28,005 --> 01:12:31,000
[Jeff] Branson had actually invested in biofuels.
1632
01:12:31,005 --> 01:12:33,000
He tried the dune fuel that damaged the planet
1633
01:12:33,005 --> 01:12:35,000
with biofuels to replace that consumption
1634
01:12:35,005 --> 01:12:40,000
of the living planet required.
1635
01:12:40,005 --> 01:12:42,000
And it was the start of the game for the aviation industry.
1636
01:12:42,005 --> 01:12:43,000
[News anchor] Dozens of researchers
1637
01:12:43,005 --> 01:12:44,000
gathered from all over the northwest
1638
01:12:44,005 --> 01:12:47,000
in Missoula the last two days to explore the idea
1639
01:12:47,005 --> 01:12:49,000
the mass of the region's wood reserves
1640
01:12:49,005 --> 01:12:50,000
to convert into jet fuel.
1641
01:12:50,005 --> 01:12:53,000
Mainly because of the growing demand for aviation fuel
1642
01:12:53,005 --> 01:12:55,000
a billion gallons was expected in the northwest alone.
1643
01:12:55,005 --> 01:12:58,000
[News] United Airlines will have a share of $ 30 million
1644
01:12:58,005 --> 01:13:01,000
buy from the biofuel company Fulcrum BioEnergy.
1645
01:13:01,005 --> 01:13:06,000
The airline used 3.9 billion gallons of fuel last year.
1646
01:13:06,005 --> 01:13:09,000
[Jeff] What technology did Silicon Valley billionaires hope for?
1647
01:13:09,005 --> 01:13:12,000
Vinod Khosla to benefit?
1648
01:13:12,005 --> 01:13:16,000
Nature takes a million years to produce our crude oil.
1649
01:13:16,005 --> 01:13:18,000
KiOR (bankrupt biofuel company) can produce it in seconds.
1650
01:13:18,005 --> 01:13:21,000
[Lesley] The company took over this old paper mill
1651
01:13:21,005 --> 01:13:24,000
where tree trunks are picked up by a giant claw,
1652
01:13:24,005 --> 01:13:28,000
dropped into a shredder and pulverized into wood shavings.
1653
01:13:28,005 --> 01:13:29,000
Pure gasoline?
1654
01:13:29,005 --> 01:13:31,000
clean, green gasoline.
1655
01:13:31,005 --> 01:13:33,000
There must be a disadvantage.
1656
01:13:33,005 --> 01:13:35,000
There is no disadvantage.
1657
01:13:35,005 --> 01:13:37,000
[Jeff] The bank that crashed the economy
1658
01:13:37,005 --> 01:13:40,000
Millions of lives are ruined and their tentacles
1659
01:13:40,005 --> 01:13:42,000
on the levers of power
1660
01:13:42,005 --> 01:13:45,000
what would be your favorite form of green energy?
1661
01:13:45,005 --> 01:13:46,000
one of the very interesting markets
1662
01:13:46,005 --> 01:13:48,000
we are dealing with is Brazil.
1663
01:13:48,005 --> 01:13:51,000
It's different from any other current market by
1664
01:13:51,005 --> 01:13:53,000
alternative energy is not really alternative energy.
1665
01:13:53,005 --> 01:13:57,000
It is so much part of the fabric of society.
1666
01:13:57,005 --> 01:14:00,000
The country started using its enormous sugar cane resources
1667
01:14:00,005 --> 01:14:03,000
to use for the production of ethanol.
1668
01:14:03,005 --> 01:14:05,000
[Jeff] There was a man from Goldman Sachs
1669
01:14:05,005 --> 01:14:07,000
who was particularly in love
1670
01:14:07,005 --> 01:14:09,000
with the conversion of forests into profits.
1671
01:14:09,005 --> 01:14:12,000
Does everyone have enough coffee?
1672
01:14:12,005 --> 01:14:14,000
Maybe you want to get more.
1673
01:14:14,005 --> 01:14:17,000
[Jeff] Meet David Blood, the former CEO
1674
01:14:17,005 --> 01:14:20,000
by Asset Management for Goldman Sachs.
1675
01:14:20,005 --> 01:14:22,000
How much money did Mr. Blood think that
1676
01:14:22,005 --> 01:14:24,000
should be invested in green energy?
1677
01:14:24,005 --> 01:14:27,000
A natural orientation for something on the order of magnitude
1678
01:14:27,005 --> 01:14:31,000
of $ 4050 trillion in capital.
1679
01:14:31,005 --> 01:14:34,000
[Jeff] $ 4050 trillion!
1680
01:14:34,005 --> 01:14:37,000
And who would help the Goldman Sachs man?
1681
01:14:37,005 --> 01:14:41,000
Help him raise this astronomical amount of money?
1682
01:14:41,005 --> 01:14:43,000
A gentleman, some of you may recognize him
1683
01:14:43,005 --> 01:14:45,000
and know Bill McKibben.
1684
01:14:45,005 --> 01:14:48,000
It all depends on what type
1685
01:14:48,005 --> 01:14:50,000
of political will we can muster.
1686
01:14:50,005 --> 01:14:53,000
And if we don't do it very quickly,
1687
01:14:53,005 --> 01:14:57,000
then we won't make it.
1688
01:14:57,005 --> 01:14:59,000
[Jeff] So Bill McKibben went forward
1689
01:14:59,005 --> 01:15:01,000
for the political will for trillions of dollars
1690
01:15:01,005 --> 01:15:04,000
to produce in green investments.
1691
01:15:04,005 --> 01:15:05,000
Our next guest was called
1692
01:15:05,005 --> 01:15:07,000
our nation's leading environmentalist.
1693
01:15:07,005 --> 01:15:09,000
And you are in a sense
1694
01:15:09,005 --> 01:15:11,000
the big poobah of the environmental movement.
1695
01:15:11,005 --> 01:15:16,000
My guest is on a global crusade tonight.
1696
01:15:16,005 --> 01:15:18,000
[Jeff] On a global crusade for what?
1697
01:15:18,005 --> 01:15:20,000
The obligation to withdraw from fossil fuel investments.
1698
01:15:20,005 --> 01:15:24,000
We cannot justify investing our money in companies
1699
01:15:24,005 --> 01:15:26,000
which basically runs back to genesis.
1700
01:15:26,005 --> 01:15:29,000
[Jeff] So if you part with fossil fuels,
1701
01:15:29,005 --> 01:15:34,000
and invest in green funds, what do you invest in?
1702
01:15:34,005 --> 01:15:36,000
I have worked intensively on securities
1703
01:15:36,005 --> 01:15:40,000
and Exchange Commission filings to find out.
1704
01:15:40,005 --> 01:15:43,000
For example in the Green Century Funds,
1705
01:15:43,005 --> 01:15:47,000
recommended by 350.org and Bill McKibben,
1706
01:15:47,005 --> 01:15:50,000
I found less than one percent sun and wind,
1707
01:15:50,005 --> 01:15:54,000
and 99% of things like mining,
1708
01:15:54,005 --> 01:15:59,000
(increasing dramatic music)
1709
01:15:59,005 --> 01:16:01,000
oil and gas infrastructure companies,
1710
01:16:01,005 --> 01:16:03,000
(dramatic music)
1711
01:16:03,005 --> 01:16:06,000
including an oelsand exploiter.
1712
01:16:06,005 --> 01:16:09,000
McDonald's is one of the companies that consume meat
1713
01:16:09,005 --> 01:16:12,000
drives across the planet.
1714
01:16:12,005 --> 01:16:14,000
Archer Daniels Midland,
1715
01:16:14,005 --> 01:16:18,000
one of the world's largest producers of biofuels,
1716
01:16:18,005 --> 01:16:20,000
Coca Cola, the greatest creator
1717
01:16:20,005 --> 01:16:23,000
plastic pollution on earth,
1718
01:16:23,005 --> 01:16:27,000
Wood and paper companies, including one
1719
01:16:27,005 --> 01:16:32,000
which boasts of burning biomass and banks.
1720
01:16:32,005 --> 01:16:34,000
(dramatic music)
1721
01:16:34,005 --> 01:16:35,000
Many banks.
1722
01:16:35,005 --> 01:16:37,000
(dramatic music)
1723
01:16:37,005 --> 01:16:41,000
Including BlackRock, the largest
1724
01:16:41,005 --> 01:16:44,000
Deforestation financier on earth.
1725
01:16:44,005 --> 01:16:46,000
The business you are dealing wi
1726
01:16:46,005 --> 01:16:49,000
is actually destroying our life support system.
1727
01:16:49,005 --> 01:16:51,000
(dramatic music)
1728
01:16:51,005 --> 01:16:53,000
[Jeff] The Sierra Club, also a partner
1729
01:16:53,005 --> 01:16:57,000
with a green fund called aspiration.
1730
01:16:57,005 --> 01:17:00,000
Aspiration also includes dozens of companies that
1731
01:17:00,005 --> 01:17:04,000
benefit from the destruction of the planet
1732
01:17:04,005 --> 01:17:10,000
Including Chevron, ExxonMobil, Chesapeake Energy.
1733
01:17:10,005 --> 01:17:12,000
[Announcement] About the production potential
1734
01:17:12,005 --> 01:17:14,000
to maximize the borehole
1735
01:17:14,005 --> 01:17:17,000
the shale formation is hydraulically broken.
1736
01:17:17,005 --> 01:17:20,000
[Jeff] The Russian gas giant Gazprom.
1737
01:17:20,005 --> 01:17:22,000
[Announcer] Gazprom owns the largest
1738
01:17:22,005 --> 01:17:27,000
explored gas reserves in the world, 36 trillion cubic meters.
1739
01:17:27,005 --> 01:17:30,000
[Jeff] And in perhaps the most bizarre turn of all,
1740
01:17:30,005 --> 01:17:34,000
the largest holding of the Sierra Club green fund is in Viva,
1741
01:17:34,005 --> 01:17:37,000
the world's largest consumer of forests,
1742
01:17:37,005 --> 01:17:41,000
which are burned in green energy biomass plants.
1743
01:17:41,005 --> 01:17:47,000
(dark piano music)
1744
01:17:47,005 --> 01:17:49,000
An investment option is of course a green fund,
1745
01:17:49,005 --> 01:17:53,000
led by Bill McKibben's buddy David Blood.
1746
01:17:53,005 --> 01:17:56,000
And who was the chair of this fund?
1747
01:17:56,005 --> 01:17:58,000
Someone familiar.
1748
01:17:58,005 --> 01:18:01,000
Use capitalism, there are incentives
1749
01:18:01,005 --> 01:18:04,000
so that people can do their best.
1750
01:18:04,005 --> 01:18:06,000
[Jeff] Al Gore and David Blood have teamed up
1751
01:18:06,005 --> 01:18:11,000
to start a company called Blood and Gore.
1752
01:18:11,005 --> 01:18:16,000
No, delete that, Generation Investment Management.
1753
01:18:16,005 --> 01:18:18,000
And within that fund have Blood and Gore
1754
01:18:18,005 --> 01:18:23,000
determines a particular asset class with one goal
1755
01:18:23,005 --> 01:18:27,000
$ 650 million in biomass and biofuels.
1756
01:18:27,005 --> 01:18:28,000
The funny thing was that they got together
1757
01:18:28,005 --> 01:18:31,000
before Al Gore’s film came out.
1758
01:18:31,005 --> 01:18:33,000
(dramatic music)
1759
01:18:33,005 --> 01:18:38,000
Was this film just about climate change or something else?
1760
01:18:38,005 --> 01:18:41,000
On the one hand we have gold bars.
1761
01:18:41,005 --> 01:18:45,000
Mm, mm, mm. (Audience laughs)
1762
01:18:45,005 --> 01:18:46,000
Don't you look good?
1763
01:18:46,005 --> 01:18:49,000
I just want to have some of these gold bars.
1764
01:18:49,005 --> 01:18:53,000
On the other side of the scales, the entire planet.
1765
01:18:53,005 --> 01:18:55,000
(Audience laughs)
1766
01:18:55,005 --> 01:18:57,000
If we do the right thing
1767
01:18:57,005 --> 01:19:00,000
then we will create a lot of prosperity.
1768
01:19:00,005 --> 01:19:02,000
[Jeff] And when it was time for Al Gore
1769
01:19:02,005 --> 01:19:06,000
to choose between the entire planet and a couple of these
1770
01:19:06,005 --> 01:19:10,000
To get gold bars, what choice did he make?
1771
01:19:10,005 --> 01:19:13,000
Here Al Gore makes a living by pretending to be himself
1772
01:19:13,005 --> 01:19:16,000
to care about the rainforest while lobbying the congress
1773
01:19:16,005 --> 01:19:20,000
on behalf of the sugar cane ethanol industry.
1774
01:19:20,005 --> 01:19:21,000
Let me go into the Brazilian efforts here:
1775
01:19:21,005 --> 01:19:24,000
with the question of the possibility of enlargement in
1776
01:19:24,005 --> 01:19:27,000
the Amazon basin and other deforestation
1777
01:19:27,005 --> 01:19:29,000
to produce more ethanol from sugar cane is a concern.
1778
01:19:29,005 --> 01:19:31,000
And apparently you're not so worried about it.
1779
01:19:31,005 --> 01:19:34,000
No, no, I just forgot about it.
1780
01:19:34,005 --> 01:19:35,000
(Engine roars)
1781
01:19:35,005 --> 01:19:38,000
(Children scream and cry)
1782
01:19:38,005 --> 01:19:43,000
What is going on there is really very worrying.
1783
01:19:43,005 --> 01:19:48,000
(speak in foreign language)
1784
01:19:48,005 --> 01:19:51,000
And with your permission, I'll show you a very short example
1785
01:19:51,005 --> 01:19:55,000
of which over a period of 25 years.
1786
01:19:55,005 --> 01:19:59,000
(loud knock)
1787
01:19:59,005 --> 01:20:01,000
[Announcer] The invasion of sugar cane into the crops
1788
01:20:01,005 --> 01:20:02,000
the region violates land rights
1789
01:20:02,005 --> 01:20:05,000
the indigenous people together.
1790
01:20:05,005 --> 01:20:07,000
These are pictures of a last trench attempt
1791
01:20:07,005 --> 01:20:10,000
from the GuaraniKaiowá to resist eviction.
1792
01:20:10,005 --> 01:20:13,000
It is important to note that the exploitation
1793
01:20:13,005 --> 01:20:18,000
the sugar cane growing areas in Brazil do not have to
1794
01:20:18,005 --> 01:20:22,000
inevitably have the consequence
1795
01:20:22,005 --> 01:20:28,000
to cause the destruction in the Amazon.
1796
01:20:28,005 --> 01:20:30,000
Burn sugar cane fields.
1797
01:20:30,005 --> 01:20:32,000
They are lit before the harvest
1798
01:20:32,005 --> 01:20:35,000
to remove the leaves and tips of the plant,
1799
01:20:35,005 --> 01:20:37,000
That makes cutting more efficient.
1800
01:20:37,005 --> 01:20:39,000
(dark music)
1801
01:20:39,005 --> 01:20:41,000
Environmentalists apparently accuse them
1802
01:20:41,005 --> 01:20:44,000
endless sugar cane fields, air and water pollution
1803
01:20:44,005 --> 01:20:46,000
on an epic scale.
1804
01:20:46,005 --> 01:20:49,000
And along with deforestation and the threat it poses
1805
01:20:49,005 --> 01:20:52,000
presented to the environment becomes clear.
1806
01:20:52,005 --> 01:20:53,000
(dramatic music)
1807
01:20:53,005 --> 01:20:55,000
Once the indigenous families were driven out
1808
01:20:55,005 --> 01:21:01,000
the landowners lit their houses.
1809
01:21:01,005 --> 01:21:06,000
(dramatic music)
1810
01:21:06,005 --> 01:21:07,000
[Jeff] Is there anything too terrible?
1811
01:21:07,005 --> 01:21:11,000
qualify as green energy?
1812
01:21:11,005 --> 01:21:14,000
Thank you very much, Secretary Mabus and US Navy for
1813
01:21:14,005 --> 01:21:17,000
today's invitation to speak to you again.
1814
01:21:17,005 --> 01:21:18,000
The work of the Navy in the establishment
1815
01:21:18,005 --> 01:21:22,000
this new fuel industry is invaluable.
1816
01:21:22,005 --> 01:21:24,000
(roaring aircraft engine)
1817
01:21:24,005 --> 01:21:26,000
[Announcer] The U.S. Navy has a special message
1818
01:21:26,005 --> 01:21:27,000
this year.
1819
01:21:27,005 --> 01:21:29,000
It's time to go green.
1820
01:21:29,005 --> 01:21:32,000
Joining the ships is what the U.S. Navy calls
1821
01:21:32,005 --> 01:21:34,000
it's a great green fleet of warships,
1822
01:21:34,005 --> 01:21:36,000
fueled by fuel from renewable sources such as algae,
1823
01:21:36,005 --> 01:21:39,000
Grass and animal fat.
1824
01:21:39,005 --> 01:21:42,000
[Jeff] Animal Fat?
1825
01:21:42,005 --> 01:21:48,000
(Hitting and pounding)
1826
01:21:48,005 --> 01:21:50,000
the next time you fill up
1827
01:21:50,005 --> 01:21:51,000
at a gas station in your neighborhood,
1828
01:21:51,005 --> 01:21:54,000
you might find that you have a small alligator
1829
01:21:54,005 --> 01:21:55,000
pump in your tank.
1830
01:21:55,005 --> 01:21:57,000
That's right, U.L. Lafayette researcher
1831
01:21:57,005 --> 01:21:59,000
have alligator fat as renewable
1832
01:21:59,005 --> 01:22:04,000
Developed source for biofuels.
1833
01:22:04,005 --> 01:22:08,000
[Jeff] And once we drive through the animals, what's next?
1834
01:22:08,005 --> 01:22:12,000
GE, which brings you nuclear energy and wind turbines,
1835
01:22:12,005 --> 01:22:15,000
is ready with a plan.
1836
01:22:15,005 --> 01:22:18,000
I believe that liquid fuels, chemicals,
1837
01:22:18,005 --> 01:22:22,000
have to be done sometime
1838
01:22:22,005 --> 01:22:24,000
from sustainable raw materials.
1839
01:22:24,005 --> 01:22:26,000
We believe that seaweed is one
1840
01:22:26,005 --> 01:22:29,000
of the most attractive options.
1841
01:22:29,005 --> 01:22:39,000
(majestic music)
1842
01:22:39,005 --> 01:22:43,000
[Jeff] Hurry up.
1843
01:22:43,005 --> 01:22:49,000
The algae forest was dead a year after filming.
1844
01:22:49,005 --> 01:22:55,000
(dark music)
1845
01:22:55,005 --> 01:22:58,000
You might be wondering how people like what nature has to offer
1846
01:22:58,005 --> 01:23:02,000
Is there anything left to destroy to enrich yourself?
1847
01:23:02,005 --> 01:23:06,000
That's why they're billionaires and you aren't.
1848
01:23:06,005 --> 01:23:10,000
(laugh)
1849
01:23:10,005 --> 01:23:11,000
The takeover of the environmental movement
1850
01:23:11,005 --> 01:23:14,000
through capitalism is now complete.
1851
01:23:14,005 --> 01:23:16,000
Environmentalists no longer resist
1852
01:23:16,005 --> 01:23:21,000
those with a profit motive, but work with them.
1853
01:23:21,005 --> 01:23:25,000
The nature conservation is now the timber management area.
1854
01:23:25,005 --> 01:23:29,000
We will record the most important pieces biologically
1855
01:23:29,005 --> 01:23:32,000
and it will be another big block
1856
01:23:32,005 --> 01:23:34,000
sold to wood investment groups.
1857
01:23:34,005 --> 01:23:38,000
The union of the scientists concerned is a union
1858
01:23:38,005 --> 01:23:41,000
of concerned sellers who have taken millions
1859
01:23:41,005 --> 01:23:42,000
not for science,
1860
01:23:42,005 --> 01:23:48,000
but to create markets for electric cars.
1861
01:23:48,005 --> 01:23:50,000
The Sierra Club sells electric cars
1862
01:23:50,005 --> 01:23:53,000
and solar panels directly from their website.
1863
01:23:53,005 --> 01:23:55,000
The best thing about Sungevity (solar company) is
1864
01:23:55,005 --> 01:23:56,000
that they make it easy for you
1865
01:23:56,005 --> 01:24:00,000
All you have to do is say yes.
1866
01:24:00,005 --> 01:24:02,000
[Jeff] The New York Times works with ExxonMobil
1867
01:24:02,005 --> 01:24:05,000
to bring you the good news about biofuels.
1868
01:24:05,005 --> 01:24:06,000
[Announcer] Fuel derived from algae
1869
01:24:06,005 --> 01:24:09,000
could help us to meet the growing demands.
1870
01:24:09,005 --> 01:24:11,000
[Jeff] Treehugger.com who claims
1871
01:24:11,005 --> 01:24:14,000
To be the biggest single source of environmental news
1872
01:24:14,005 --> 01:24:17,000
was founded by Georgia Pacific, a timber company,
1873
01:24:17,005 --> 01:24:19,000
founded and financed.
1874
01:24:19,005 --> 01:24:23,000
In fact, they are neighbors.
1875
01:24:23,005 --> 01:24:26,000
Georgia Pacific belongs to our friends, the Brothers Cook,
1876
01:24:26,005 --> 01:24:28,000
which are probably the biggest recipients
1877
01:24:28,005 --> 01:24:32,000
of subsidies for biomass and green energy in the United States.
1878
01:24:32,005 --> 01:24:34,000
(dark music)
1879
01:24:34,005 --> 01:24:36,000
Yes, the fusion of environmental protection
1880
01:24:36,005 --> 01:24:39,000
and capitalism is now complete.
1881
01:24:39,005 --> 01:24:42,000
But maybe it was always complete.
1882
01:24:42,005 --> 01:24:45,000
How is 350.org funded?
1883
01:24:45,005 --> 01:24:46,000
So, not very well.
1884
01:24:46,005 --> 01:24:49,000
(laughs) Who are your financiers?
1885
01:24:49,005 --> 01:24:51,000
To the extent that we have any money at all,
1886
01:24:51,005 --> 01:24:53,000
it comes from some foundations in Europe and the USA.
1887
01:24:53,005 --> 01:24:55,000
[Karyn] Which one?
1888
01:24:55,005 --> 01:24:56,000
Ah, let's see.
1889
01:24:56,005 --> 01:25:05,000
I'm trying to figure out who the biggest donors are.
1890
01:25:05,005 --> 01:25:13,000
There is a foundation in Sweden called:
1891
01:25:13,005 --> 01:25:16,000
I think it's called the Rasmusson Foundation
1892
01:25:16,005 --> 01:25:18,000
that I think it was the biggest donor.
1893
01:25:18,005 --> 01:25:21,000
So you don't get any money from Pew or Rockefeller
1894
01:25:21,005 --> 01:25:22,000
or one of these big foundations?
1895
01:25:22,005 --> 01:25:23,000
[Bill] Not true, we have it.
1896
01:25:23,005 --> 01:25:26,000
The Rockefeller Brothers Fund gave us some money
1897
01:25:26,005 --> 01:25:27,000
when we started.
1898
01:25:27,005 --> 01:25:29,000
That was also useful.
1899
01:25:29,005 --> 01:25:31,000
But they no longer finance you?
1900
01:25:31,005 --> 01:25:34,000
I don't know, I don't have something like that ...
1901
01:25:34,005 --> 01:25:36,000
[Karyn] (laughs) Really?
1902
01:25:36,005 --> 01:25:38,000
Donors sitting in front of me.
1903
01:25:38,005 --> 01:25:40,000
[Karyn] People usually know that.
1904
01:25:40,005 --> 01:25:43,000
Rockefeller was one of ours, is one of ours
1905
01:25:43,005 --> 01:25:46,000
is a great ally in this fight.
1906
01:25:46,005 --> 01:25:50,000
[Interviewer] You just sold your TV network to Al Jazeera.
1907
01:25:50,005 --> 01:25:51,000
Correct.
1908
01:25:51,005 --> 01:25:53,000
[Interviewer] And this government is basically nothing
1909
01:25:53,005 --> 01:25:54,000
but an oil producer.
1910
01:25:54,005 --> 01:25:55,000
Mainly gas and oil.
1911
01:25:55,005 --> 01:25:58,000
They take that, about a hundred million dollars before taxes
1912
01:25:58,005 --> 01:26:02,000
from a country whose wealth is based on fossil fuels.
1913
01:26:02,005 --> 01:26:05,000
Isn't that a bit of hypocrisy?
1914
01:26:05,005 --> 01:26:08,000
Well, I understand the criticism, but I don't agree with it.
1915
01:26:08,005 --> 01:26:09,000
I am proud of the transactions.
1916
01:26:09,005 --> 01:26:13,000
If you couldn't do one for your business,
1917
01:26:13,005 --> 01:26:15,000
find a more sustainable choice?
1918
01:26:15,005 --> 01:26:16,000
What is not sustainable about it?
1919
01:26:16,005 --> 01:26:19,000
because it’s covered by fossil fuel money.
1920
01:26:19,005 --> 01:26:21,000
I understand, I understand, I understand.
1921
01:26:21,005 --> 01:26:23,000
[Jeff] And if you yourself
1922
01:26:23,005 --> 01:26:25,000
have gotten an environmental movement and environmental leaders,
1923
01:26:25,005 --> 01:26:28,000
why not buy the holy day yourself?
1924
01:26:28,005 --> 01:26:30,000
[Man] (crowd screams) Happy Earth Day!
1925
01:26:30,005 --> 01:26:31,000
♪ Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh ♪
1926
01:26:31,005 --> 01:26:33,000
♪ Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh ♪
1927
01:26:33,005 --> 01:26:35,000
♪ Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh ♪
1928
01:26:35,005 --> 01:26:39,000
♪ You make me say ♪
1929
01:26:39,005 --> 01:26:42,000
♪ Ah, you make me say ♪
1930
01:26:42,005 --> 01:26:45,000
Now we are facing the biggest sets of problems
1931
01:26:45,005 --> 01:26:48,000
that we saw during my lifetime.
1932
01:26:48,005 --> 01:26:50,000
It is now time for a new generation
1933
01:26:50,005 --> 01:26:53,000
the stage jumps in and creates a habitable land,
1934
01:26:53,005 --> 01:26:56,000
a habitable planet that we can all enjoy.
1935
01:26:56,005 --> 01:26:58,000
Are you this generation
1936
01:26:58,005 --> 01:27:01,000
(Crowd screams and cheers)
1937
01:27:01,005 --> 01:27:03,000
I have to thank Building Energy
1938
01:27:03,005 --> 01:27:06,000
that provided so much solar energy
1939
01:27:06,005 --> 01:27:09,000
that we could run the entire event with solar energy.
1940
01:27:09,005 --> 01:27:13,000
(Crowd cheers and screams)
1941
01:27:13,005 --> 01:27:15,000
[Jeff] But when I went behind the stage to see
1942
01:27:15,005 --> 01:27:17,000
what was really going on.
1943
01:27:17,005 --> 01:27:19,000
It's not all there, Jack,
1944
01:27:19,005 --> 01:27:19,000
I can tell you that.
1945
01:27:19,005 --> 01:27:23,000
For a toaster it is 1200 watts.
1946
01:27:23,005 --> 01:27:27,000
This system there could operate a toaster.
1947
01:27:27,005 --> 01:27:29,000
[Jeff] I found the installer.
1948
01:27:29,005 --> 01:27:30,000
Hi.
1949
01:27:30,005 --> 01:27:31,000
[Jeff] Are you leading the festival?
1950
01:27:31,005 --> 01:27:33,000
with these solar panels?
1951
01:27:33,005 --> 01:27:38,000
The concert is powered by a diesel power system.
1952
01:27:38,005 --> 01:27:43,000
They did not ask us to provide the concert with energy.
1953
01:27:43,005 --> 01:27:45,000
[Jeff] Oh, okay.
1954
01:27:45,005 --> 01:27:45,000
And we want too
1955
01:27:45,005 --> 01:27:48,000
thank our incredible company sponsors
1956
01:27:48,005 --> 01:27:50,000
which were behind the move to end extreme poverty
1957
01:27:50,005 --> 01:27:53,000
and fight climate change from the start.
1958
01:27:53,005 --> 01:27:54,000
I want to thank Toyota.
1959
01:27:54,005 --> 01:27:58,000
(loud roaring engine)
1960
01:27:58,005 --> 01:27:58,000
Citibank.
1961
01:27:58,005 --> 01:28:02,000
(Ringing and cheering)
1962
01:28:02,005 --> 01:28:03,000
We would like to thank Caterpillar.
1963
01:28:03,005 --> 01:28:05,000
We are at the point of destruction
1964
01:28:05,005 --> 01:28:07,000
the Dakota supply pipeline.
1965
01:28:07,005 --> 01:28:09,000
It looks that current
1966
01:28:09,005 --> 01:28:13,000
at least three bulldozers are leveling the country.
1967
01:28:13,005 --> 01:28:16,000
(Group screams and cheers)
1968
01:28:16,005 --> 01:28:18,000
People came through the fence
1969
01:28:18,005 --> 01:28:20,000
the bulldozers are still driving,
1970
01:28:20,005 --> 01:28:21,000
(People scream)
1971
01:28:21,005 --> 01:28:24,000
and they march over the mounds.
1972
01:28:24,005 --> 01:28:26,000
(loud furious screaming)
1973
01:28:26,005 --> 01:28:27,000
[Man in orange shirt] Get out!
1974
01:28:27,005 --> 01:28:28,000
Get out of here!
1975
01:28:28,005 --> 01:28:30,000
Without these partners, this would not be possible.
1976
01:28:30,005 --> 01:28:32,000
All please:give a round of applause.
1977
01:28:32,005 --> 01:28:37,000
(Crowd cheers and claps)
1978
01:28:37,005 --> 01:28:45,000
(slow festive music)
1979
01:28:45,005 --> 01:28:50,000
[Jeff] Now I know that all of this may seem overwhelming.
1980
01:28:50,005 --> 01:28:50,000
It's kind of a thing
1981
01:28:50,005 --> 01:28:54,000
that we don't normally try or think about it.
1982
01:28:54,005 --> 01:28:57,000
(slow festive music)
1983
01:28:57,005 --> 01:29:00,000
But by not thinking about it
1984
01:29:00,005 --> 01:29:02,000
it has a good chance that we will succeed.
1985
01:29:02,005 --> 01:29:05,000
(slow festive music)
1986
01:29:05,005 --> 01:29:09,000
I really believe that the path to change
1987
01:29:09,005 --> 01:29:10,000
comes from consciousness.
1988
01:29:10,005 --> 01:29:12,000
(slow festive music)
1989
01:29:12,005 --> 01:29:17,000
This awareness alone can be the beginning of the transformation.
1990
01:29:17,005 --> 01:29:21,000
(slow festive music)
1991
01:29:21,005 --> 01:29:24,000
There is a way out.
1992
01:29:24,005 --> 01:29:28,000
We humans have to realize that this infinite grow
1993
01:29:28,005 --> 01:29:33,000
is suicide on a finite planet.
1994
01:29:33,005 --> 01:29:36,000
We have to accept that our human presence
1995
01:29:36,005 --> 01:29:40,000
is already far beyond sustainability.
1996
01:29:40,005 --> 01:29:42,000
And everything that is implied by it.
1997
01:29:42,005 --> 01:29:44,000
(slow festive music)
1998
01:29:44,005 --> 01:29:48,000
We need control over our environmental movement
1999
01:29:48,005 --> 01:29:51,000
and our future, of billionaires and you
2000
01:29:51,005 --> 01:29:54,000
permanent war against planet earth, take over.
2001
01:29:54,005 --> 01:29:56,000
(slow festive music)
2002
01:29:56,005 --> 01:29:58,000
You are not our friends.
2003
01:29:58,005 --> 01:30:01,000
(slow festive music)
2004
01:30:01,005 --> 01:30:04,000
The new must be less
2005
01:30:04,005 --> 01:30:06,000
and instead of climate change
2006
01:30:06,005 --> 01:30:09,000
we finally have to accept
2007
01:30:09,005 --> 01:30:11,000
that it's not the carbon dioxide molecule
2008
01:30:11,005 --> 01:30:14,000
that destroys the planet,
2009
01:30:14,005 --> 01:30:17,000
(slow solemn music) It's us.
2010
01:30:17,005 --> 01:30:19,000
(slow festive music)
2011
01:30:19,005 --> 01:30:25,000
It's not one thing, it's everything we humans do.
2012
01:30:25,005 --> 01:30:29,000
A man-made apocalypse.
2013
01:30:29,005 --> 01:30:33,000
If we get ourselves under control, anything is possible.
2014
01:30:33,005 --> 01:30:37,000
(slow festive music)
2015
01:30:37,005 --> 01:30:39,000
And if not.
2016
01:30:39,005 --> 01:30:50,000
(threatening music)
2017
01:30:50,005 --> 01:30:58,000
(Chainsaw buzzes)
2018
01:30:58,005 --> 01:31:02,000
(Trees crashing)
2019
01:31:02,005 --> 01:31:07,000
(sad sad music)
2020
01:31:07,005 --> 01:31:12,000
(Trees crashing)
2021
01:31:12,005 --> 01:31:23,000
(slow festive music)
2022
01:31:23,005 --> 01:31:27,000
(Scrape trees)
2023
01:31:27,005 --> 01:31:33,000
(Orangutan chirps)
2024
01:31:33,005 --> 01:31:42,000
♪ AhOoh ♪
2025
01:31:42,005 --> 01:32:00,000
(sad orchestral music)
2026
01:32:00,005 --> 01:32:08,000
(Music fades)
2027
01:32:08,005 --> 01:32:13,000
(Snap branch)
2028
01:32:13,005 --> 01:32:25,000
(slow festive music)
2029
01:32:25,005 --> 01:32:31,000
(blazing crackling fire)
2030
01:32:31,005 --> 01:32:38,000
♪ AhAhOoh ♪
2031
01:32:38,005 --> 01:32:46,000
♪ OohOoh (with increasing intensity) ♪
2032
01:32:46,005 --> 01:32:49,000
♪ AhOoh ♪
2033
01:32:49,005 --> 01:32:57,000
(Orangutan chirps)
2034
01:32:57,005 --> 01:33:05,000
(Woman sings sadly)
2035
01:33:05,005 --> 01:33:07,000
(Orangutan Squeak)
2036
01:33:07,005 --> 01:33:10,000
Yes Yes Yes.
2037
01:33:10,005 --> 01:33:11,000
(speak softly)
2038
01:33:11,005 --> 01:33:15,000
♪ AhAhAh ♪
2039
01:33:15,005 --> 01:33:18,000
♪ O OhOhAh ♪
2040
01:33:18,005 --> 01:33:22,000
♪ O OhOhAh ♪
2041
01:33:22,005 --> 01:33:28,000
♪ OohAh ♪
2042
01:33:28,005 --> 01:33:33,000
♪ OhOhOh ♪
2043
01:33:33,005 --> 01:33:54,000
♪ Ooh ♪
2044
01:33:54,005 --> 01:33:56,000
(dark music)
2045
01:34:29,000 --> 01:34:35,000
A week after the premiere of this film, Sierra Club campaigned against biomass burning.
2046
01:34:35,001 --> 01:34:42,000
Days later they awarded a green award to a college that burns biomass ...
2047
01:35:11,001 --> 01:35:18,000
After the first screening of this film, Bill McKinnen said he was wrong about biomass.
2048
01:35:18,001 --> 01:35:26,000
The Middlebury plant and thousands more are still burning trees today ...
2049
01:35:55,000 --> 01:36:01,000
Al Gore and David Blood have a new billion dollar sustainability fund ...
2050
01:36:01,001 --> 01:36:06,000
opened in the Cayman Islands.
2051
01:37:16,000 --> 01:37:20,000
Shortly after the second screening of this film ...
2052
01:37:20,001 --> 01:37:29,000
the Sierras Club's "green" aspiration fund was abruptly closed. "
2053
01:39:00,000 --> 01:39:13,000
"Mankind is challenged to maturity like never before
to prove their mastery
- not by nature, but by itself "
2054
01:39:13,001 --> 01:39:25,000
"Mankind is challenged to maturity like never before
to prove their mastery
- not by nature, but by itself "
Rachel Carson 1962 "147001
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