1 00:00:01,000 --> 00:00:04,708 [intense electronic music] 2 00:00:06,416 --> 00:00:09,083 [haunting music] 3 00:00:19,041 --> 00:00:20,416 - [Jeff] I've got a question. 4 00:00:21,666 --> 00:00:23,458 How long do you think we humans have? 5 00:00:24,500 --> 00:00:26,333 - How long does the human race have? 6 00:00:26,375 --> 00:00:27,250 - Ooh. 7 00:00:27,291 --> 00:00:28,166 - Um. 8 00:00:29,250 --> 00:00:30,666 - Oh, wow. 9 00:00:30,708 --> 00:00:32,666 - I don't exactly know, but may be soon. 10 00:00:32,708 --> 00:00:33,750 - I have no clue. 11 00:00:33,791 --> 00:00:35,166 - [Jeff] No? [laughing] 12 00:00:35,208 --> 00:00:36,916 - I hope I get me at least 50 more years. [laughing] 13 00:00:36,958 --> 00:00:39,458 - I think there's infinite amount of time. 14 00:00:39,500 --> 00:00:40,541 - Infinite. 15 00:00:40,583 --> 00:00:41,916 It's infinite, yeah. 16 00:00:41,958 --> 00:00:43,166 - I give us a million. 17 00:00:43,208 --> 00:00:44,500 A million years. 18 00:00:44,541 --> 00:00:46,625 - Being kind, I would say probably about 10 years. 19 00:00:46,666 --> 00:00:47,833 - 10, 12 years. 20 00:00:47,875 --> 00:00:49,583 - Thousands of years. 21 00:00:49,625 --> 00:00:52,541 - 47 years, three months, five days. 22 00:00:52,583 --> 00:00:53,833 It's approximate. 23 00:00:53,875 --> 00:00:55,458 - We're kind of like cockroaches on the planet, 24 00:00:55,500 --> 00:00:57,500 no matter how much damage we'll do, 25 00:00:57,541 --> 00:01:02,208 enough of us will survive to procreate and keep it going. 26 00:01:02,250 --> 00:01:03,708 - Unless we can get to another planet, 27 00:01:03,750 --> 00:01:05,958 but then we're just gonna fuck it up like we did Earth. 28 00:01:06,000 --> 00:01:08,041 - Well, I think that we will be here 29 00:01:08,083 --> 00:01:11,125 for a long time, but we will change. 30 00:01:11,166 --> 00:01:12,958 We're gonna turn back into apes. 31 00:01:15,000 --> 00:01:18,666 [suspenseful dramatic music] 32 00:01:20,500 --> 00:01:22,958 - [Jeff] Have you ever wondered what would happen 33 00:01:23,000 --> 00:01:25,958 if a single species took over an entire planet? 34 00:01:27,958 --> 00:01:31,416 Maybe they're cute, maybe they're clever 35 00:01:32,958 --> 00:01:33,916 but lack a certain, 36 00:01:35,666 --> 00:01:38,125 shall we say, 37 00:01:38,166 --> 00:01:39,541 self-restraint? 38 00:01:40,791 --> 00:01:42,958 [somber dramatic music] 39 00:01:43,000 --> 00:01:44,541 What if they go too far? 40 00:01:46,666 --> 00:01:50,583 What if they go way, way, way, 41 00:01:50,625 --> 00:01:53,291 way, way too far? 42 00:01:53,333 --> 00:01:55,833 [somber dramatic music] 43 00:01:55,875 --> 00:02:00,875 How would they know when it's their time to go? 44 00:02:03,791 --> 00:02:07,583 [intriguing synthesizer music] 45 00:02:14,208 --> 00:02:18,208 [intensifying music] 46 00:03:18,958 --> 00:03:21,458 [music fading] 47 00:03:23,375 --> 00:03:26,166 [old-timey music] 48 00:03:31,041 --> 00:03:32,750 - Due to our release through factories 49 00:03:32,791 --> 00:03:34,416 and automobiles every year 50 00:03:34,458 --> 00:03:37,833 of more than six billion tons of carbon dioxide, 51 00:03:37,875 --> 00:03:40,583 our atmosphere seems to be getting warmer. 52 00:03:40,625 --> 00:03:41,666 - This is bad? 53 00:03:42,958 --> 00:03:45,125 - Well, it's been calculated a few degrees rise 54 00:03:45,166 --> 00:03:48,041 in the Earth's temperature would melt the polar ice caps. 55 00:03:49,333 --> 00:03:51,875 [crashing ice into water] 56 00:03:51,916 --> 00:03:55,375 And if this happens, an inland sea would fill a good portion 57 00:03:55,416 --> 00:03:57,333 of the Mississippi valley. 58 00:03:57,375 --> 00:04:00,041 For in weather, we're not only dealing with forces 59 00:04:00,083 --> 00:04:01,750 of a far greater variety 60 00:04:01,791 --> 00:04:04,458 than even the atomic physicist encounters, 61 00:04:04,500 --> 00:04:06,458 but with life itself. 62 00:04:06,500 --> 00:04:10,500 [synthesizer music] 63 00:04:10,541 --> 00:04:12,833 - [Jeff] That was 1958. 64 00:04:13,916 --> 00:04:14,875 We've known about the dangers 65 00:04:14,916 --> 00:04:17,208 of climate change for six decades. 66 00:04:18,708 --> 00:04:20,833 Back then, there was so much air pollution 67 00:04:20,875 --> 00:04:22,875 it would actually block out the sun. 68 00:04:24,583 --> 00:04:28,000 There was so much water pollution, 69 00:04:29,000 --> 00:04:30,708 [synthesizer music] 70 00:04:30,750 --> 00:04:32,916 Forget throwing plastic bottles into the water, 71 00:04:34,041 --> 00:04:35,791 we tossed our cars in there. 72 00:04:37,833 --> 00:04:40,041 We also knew someday we'd run out of oil. 73 00:04:40,083 --> 00:04:41,458 - For millions of Americans, 74 00:04:41,500 --> 00:04:43,916 this may be the worst weekend they've ever faced 75 00:04:43,958 --> 00:04:46,791 for finding gasoline to give them the automobile freedom 76 00:04:46,833 --> 00:04:48,000 they take as their due. 77 00:04:49,416 --> 00:04:51,875 - [Jeff] I never doubted humans would find a better way 78 00:04:51,916 --> 00:04:54,791 and I wanted to be part of it. 79 00:04:54,833 --> 00:04:56,625 A scientist sounded the alarm 80 00:04:56,666 --> 00:04:58,833 and the modern environmental movement was born. 81 00:04:58,875 --> 00:05:01,583 - Unless we do bring these chemicals under better control, 82 00:05:01,625 --> 00:05:04,541 we are certainly headed for disaster. 83 00:05:05,541 --> 00:05:07,833 - [Jeff] Students all across the country 84 00:05:07,875 --> 00:05:09,375 organized the first Earth Day. 85 00:05:09,416 --> 00:05:11,500 - This point in time, it's very, very fashionable 86 00:05:11,541 --> 00:05:12,791 to talk about the environment 87 00:05:12,833 --> 00:05:15,208 but as every day proceeds, we find very, 88 00:05:15,250 --> 00:05:16,875 very little concrete being done. 89 00:05:18,958 --> 00:05:20,750 - [Jeff] As for me, you might say 90 00:05:20,791 --> 00:05:22,875 I was an early environmentalist. 91 00:05:24,541 --> 00:05:25,958 When I was nine years old, 92 00:05:26,000 --> 00:05:28,333 a bulldozer began knocking down the woods near my home. 93 00:05:30,000 --> 00:05:33,125 I retaliated by putting sand in its gas tank. 94 00:05:33,166 --> 00:05:35,041 [synthesizer music] 95 00:05:35,083 --> 00:05:38,416 When I grew up, I became a tree hugger and moved 96 00:05:38,458 --> 00:05:39,916 to the wilds of Northern Michigan 97 00:05:39,958 --> 00:05:43,166 to build a sustainable homestead and commune with nature. 98 00:05:44,833 --> 00:05:46,666 I wired my cabin for solar panels 99 00:05:47,583 --> 00:05:49,916 and heated with wood instead of fossil fuels. 100 00:05:51,916 --> 00:05:53,750 I wrote about sustainable living 101 00:05:53,791 --> 00:05:56,750 and environmental issues for the Mother Earth News 102 00:05:56,791 --> 00:05:58,583 and several news outlets. 103 00:05:58,625 --> 00:06:01,791 [intensifying music] 104 00:06:01,833 --> 00:06:04,583 I traveled the country documenting invasive species, 105 00:06:05,791 --> 00:06:07,416 [banging and clunking] 106 00:06:07,458 --> 00:06:11,666 [buzzing] ecosystem collapse, 107 00:06:11,708 --> 00:06:13,791 and species threatened with extinction. 108 00:06:14,875 --> 00:06:16,250 - [tapping] Come on, girls, boys. 109 00:06:17,916 --> 00:06:19,416 [crowd chanting] 110 00:06:19,458 --> 00:06:21,625 - I covered protests against destroying mountains for coal. 111 00:06:21,666 --> 00:06:25,250 [people shouting and clapping] 112 00:06:25,291 --> 00:06:28,416 And was once even confronted by the BP police. 113 00:06:28,458 --> 00:06:29,791 [car tires crunching] 114 00:06:29,833 --> 00:06:30,583 - Journalist. - You're a journalist? 115 00:06:30,625 --> 00:06:32,041 - [Jeff] Jeff Gibbs, yeah. 116 00:06:32,083 --> 00:06:33,458 - By all means, you can take all the pictures you want. 117 00:06:33,500 --> 00:06:34,791 - [Jeff] Okay. 118 00:06:34,833 --> 00:06:36,083 - We'll write a report and then we have to send it 119 00:06:36,125 --> 00:06:37,875 to the FBI and the U.S. Attorney's office 120 00:06:37,916 --> 00:06:38,875 they'll call you. 121 00:06:38,916 --> 00:06:41,875 [traffic whizzing] 122 00:06:41,916 --> 00:06:43,125 [door slamming] 123 00:06:43,166 --> 00:06:45,833 - [Jeff] Through all of this, I kept wondering, 124 00:06:45,875 --> 00:06:48,125 why are we still addicted to fossil fuels? 125 00:06:50,125 --> 00:06:53,625 So I decided to begin following the green energy movement. 126 00:06:55,000 --> 00:06:57,916 [mild rock music] 127 00:06:57,958 --> 00:06:59,291 What better place to check out 128 00:06:59,333 --> 00:07:01,958 how our renewable energy revolution is coming along, 129 00:07:02,000 --> 00:07:03,041 than a solar festival 130 00:07:03,083 --> 00:07:05,125 in the Green Mountain state of Vermont 131 00:07:05,166 --> 00:07:07,875 powered by 100% solar energy. 132 00:07:07,916 --> 00:07:09,791 [bass guitar and guitar music] 133 00:07:09,833 --> 00:07:12,791 - Solar. [laughing] 134 00:07:12,833 --> 00:07:14,250 - [Jeff] I was having fun 135 00:07:15,291 --> 00:07:16,625 and got a chance to ask 136 00:07:16,666 --> 00:07:18,833 about getting solar panels installed. 137 00:07:18,875 --> 00:07:20,625 - You can keep adding, so maybe every time 138 00:07:20,666 --> 00:07:22,833 you get a tax return, buy another solar panel? 139 00:07:22,875 --> 00:07:26,041 [singing rock music] 140 00:07:26,083 --> 00:07:28,625 - [Jeff] But then, a little rain began to fall. 141 00:07:28,666 --> 00:07:31,625 [rock band playing and singing] 142 00:07:31,666 --> 00:07:32,708 ♪ Packed up my guitar 143 00:07:32,750 --> 00:07:34,250 ♪ Headed to the nearest bowling alley ♪ 144 00:07:34,291 --> 00:07:37,041 My camera man noticed some commotion behind the stage. 145 00:07:38,291 --> 00:07:39,291 [thudding] 146 00:07:49,208 --> 00:07:50,958 - [Jeff] So the festival's run off 147 00:07:51,000 --> 00:07:52,000 solar energy, primarily? 148 00:08:04,000 --> 00:08:04,916 - [Jeff] Right. 149 00:08:06,083 --> 00:08:08,083 - But the biofuel generator wasn't enough, 150 00:08:08,125 --> 00:08:09,291 so they wound up plugging 151 00:08:09,333 --> 00:08:12,083 into the electrical grid that we all use. 152 00:08:12,125 --> 00:08:14,333 - The other inverter operating, 153 00:08:14,375 --> 00:08:16,666 it's actually pulling power in from the grid, 154 00:08:16,708 --> 00:08:18,833 charging the batteries. 155 00:08:18,875 --> 00:08:20,083 It's running backwards from the way 156 00:08:20,125 --> 00:08:22,625 we originally intended to do it, but. 157 00:08:22,666 --> 00:08:24,916 [guitar music] 158 00:08:24,958 --> 00:08:26,708 - [Jeff] That was disappointing. 159 00:08:27,875 --> 00:08:28,916 [singing] 160 00:08:28,958 --> 00:08:30,250 But after all, it had been raining. 161 00:08:32,500 --> 00:08:34,416 Maybe next time things would go better. 162 00:08:35,500 --> 00:08:38,500 [mellow rock music] 163 00:08:39,416 --> 00:08:42,250 Luckily for us, hope was on the way. 164 00:08:42,291 --> 00:08:45,500 - It's been a long time comin' but tonight, 165 00:08:46,375 --> 00:08:48,166 change has come to America. 166 00:08:48,208 --> 00:08:50,625 [crowd cheering] 167 00:08:50,666 --> 00:08:51,958 [guitar music] 168 00:08:52,000 --> 00:08:54,375 - [Jeff] Green activists across the country cheered 169 00:08:54,416 --> 00:08:57,000 when newly elected president Barack Obama 170 00:08:57,041 --> 00:08:59,750 rolled out a trillion dollar stimulus package 171 00:08:59,791 --> 00:09:02,875 with nearly 100 billion dollars for green energy. 172 00:09:02,916 --> 00:09:04,333 [guitar strumming and people chanting] 173 00:09:04,375 --> 00:09:06,666 Green was finally ramping up 174 00:09:06,708 --> 00:09:08,583 and everyone wanted to be part of it. 175 00:09:09,791 --> 00:09:12,916 President Obama brought in environmental 176 00:09:12,958 --> 00:09:15,791 from the Apollo Alliance, with shovel-ready projects. 177 00:09:15,833 --> 00:09:18,166 - They've gotta put up tens of thousands of wind farms, 178 00:09:18,208 --> 00:09:20,541 they've gotta put up millions of solar panels. 179 00:09:21,458 --> 00:09:23,208 - [Jeff] Former Vice President Al Gore, 180 00:09:23,250 --> 00:09:26,791 who had a few years earlier released an Oscar winning film, 181 00:09:26,833 --> 00:09:29,125 shared his ideas with the president. 182 00:09:29,166 --> 00:09:31,125 - We have the opportunity now 183 00:09:31,166 --> 00:09:34,541 to create jobs all across this country, 184 00:09:34,583 --> 00:09:38,291 in all 50 states, to repower America. 185 00:09:39,541 --> 00:09:41,291 - [Jeff] Al Gore had already encouraged 186 00:09:41,333 --> 00:09:44,500 billionaire airline owner Sir Richard Branson 187 00:09:44,541 --> 00:09:47,500 to invest big-time in green energy. 188 00:09:47,541 --> 00:09:50,125 - Branson is pledging future profits from his airline 189 00:09:50,166 --> 00:09:52,083 to the tune of perhaps three billion dollars. 190 00:09:52,125 --> 00:09:55,416 Three billion, that's with a B, to fight global warming! 191 00:09:55,458 --> 00:09:57,333 - Is Al Gore a prophet? 192 00:09:57,375 --> 00:09:58,708 [laughing] 193 00:09:58,750 --> 00:10:03,166 - Ah, um, ah, how do you spell "prophet?" [laughing] 194 00:10:03,208 --> 00:10:05,958 [all laughing] 195 00:10:07,583 --> 00:10:09,166 - [Jeff] Investors came forward. 196 00:10:09,208 --> 00:10:12,041 - [Newswoman] Investor Vinod Khosla, known as the father 197 00:10:12,083 --> 00:10:13,750 of the clean tech revolution, 198 00:10:13,791 --> 00:10:17,000 has poured over a billion dollars of his own money 199 00:10:17,041 --> 00:10:19,750 into some fifty energy startups. 200 00:10:19,791 --> 00:10:22,916 - [Jeff] Major banks were eager to get involved. 201 00:10:22,958 --> 00:10:26,833 - By 2020, we think, renewables will require 202 00:10:26,875 --> 00:10:30,291 395 billion on an annual basis. 203 00:10:30,333 --> 00:10:32,208 - [Jeff] Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., 204 00:10:32,250 --> 00:10:35,500 was both on the board of major environmental organizations 205 00:10:35,541 --> 00:10:38,333 and was leading a green energy investment group. 206 00:10:38,375 --> 00:10:41,041 - We build wind farms, we build solar farms, 207 00:10:41,083 --> 00:10:43,833 once you build our plant, it's free energy forever. 208 00:10:44,875 --> 00:10:46,208 [calm music] 209 00:10:46,250 --> 00:10:47,625 - [Jeff] The Sierra Club received 50 million dollars 210 00:10:47,666 --> 00:10:49,708 from billionaire and former New York City mayor 211 00:10:49,750 --> 00:10:50,791 Michael Bloomberg. 212 00:10:50,833 --> 00:10:51,875 Their mission? 213 00:10:51,916 --> 00:10:54,500 Fight coal and promote clean energy. 214 00:10:54,541 --> 00:10:56,333 - So with the mayor's gift, here's what will happen. 215 00:10:56,375 --> 00:10:59,958 We'll have a large and aggressive 216 00:11:00,000 --> 00:11:03,375 - It's time for America to find a new energy path. 217 00:11:03,416 --> 00:11:05,541 One that takes us beyond coal. 218 00:11:05,583 --> 00:11:06,416 - So funny-- 219 00:11:06,458 --> 00:11:08,291 - [Jeff] And then Bill McKibben, 220 00:11:08,333 --> 00:11:11,166 one of the nation's leading environmentalists 221 00:11:11,208 --> 00:11:13,291 and author of a breakthrough book called 222 00:11:13,333 --> 00:11:14,833 "The End of Nature," 223 00:11:14,875 --> 00:11:17,833 formed an organization called 350.org 224 00:11:17,875 --> 00:11:21,208 with the mission of igniting a global climate movement. 225 00:11:21,250 --> 00:11:22,500 [calming music] 226 00:11:22,541 --> 00:11:24,958 - Can I show off my necktie for a minute 227 00:11:25,000 --> 00:11:26,625 'cause they made it for me yesterday? 228 00:11:26,666 --> 00:11:28,000 It's got that 350 on it 229 00:11:28,041 --> 00:11:31,416 'cause it's the most important number in the world. 230 00:11:31,458 --> 00:11:33,166 - [Jeff] Things were looking up 231 00:11:33,208 --> 00:11:35,958 and the green energy revolution was under way. 232 00:11:36,875 --> 00:11:38,166 [wind blowing] 233 00:11:38,208 --> 00:11:40,916 Michigan had been hit hard by the Great Recession 234 00:11:40,958 --> 00:11:42,625 and hundreds of millions of dollars 235 00:11:42,666 --> 00:11:45,041 in green stimulus money was arriving. 236 00:11:45,083 --> 00:11:48,625 Now, to do their part for the new green economy, 237 00:11:48,666 --> 00:11:52,125 General Motors introduced a new line of electric vehicles. 238 00:11:52,166 --> 00:11:54,083 When the Chevy Volt was ready for release, 239 00:11:54,125 --> 00:11:56,000 I attended their press conference. 240 00:11:56,958 --> 00:11:59,666 - So, these electric vehicles are ready 241 00:11:59,708 --> 00:12:02,666 for public consumption and we're ready 242 00:12:02,708 --> 00:12:04,375 with the infrastructure, with the rates, 243 00:12:04,416 --> 00:12:05,833 with the communications. 244 00:12:05,875 --> 00:12:08,750 - I am extremely grateful to be here today and in fact, 245 00:12:08,791 --> 00:12:11,958 this is a chance for me to say, thank you, more formally. 246 00:12:12,000 --> 00:12:13,291 The Chevy Volt is upstairs. 247 00:12:13,333 --> 00:12:14,833 We'll be able to take a look at it. 248 00:12:14,875 --> 00:12:16,291 [banging metal] 249 00:12:16,333 --> 00:12:17,583 - [Woman] You've got about 1,000 photos. 250 00:12:17,625 --> 00:12:18,458 - [Jeff] Yeah. 251 00:12:18,500 --> 00:12:19,583 - This is the plug. 252 00:12:19,625 --> 00:12:22,333 [crowd laughing] 253 00:12:24,083 --> 00:12:24,833 [clicking] 254 00:12:24,875 --> 00:12:26,291 It's as simple as that. 255 00:12:27,416 --> 00:12:28,833 - [Jeff] The batteries are in the trunk? 256 00:12:29,375 --> 00:12:33,291 - No, the battery in this particular design is a T-shape, 257 00:12:33,333 --> 00:12:37,833 right down the center and across the backseat area. 258 00:12:37,875 --> 00:12:39,791 [group talking] 259 00:12:39,833 --> 00:12:42,208 'Cause everybody thought we killed the electric vehicle. 260 00:12:42,250 --> 00:12:43,916 No, we didn't. 261 00:12:43,958 --> 00:12:45,416 It's alive and well. 262 00:12:45,458 --> 00:12:48,166 - [Jeff] So, what's charging the batteries right now? 263 00:12:48,208 --> 00:12:49,416 What's the source of electricity? 264 00:12:49,458 --> 00:12:50,833 - Well, here, it's coming from the building. 265 00:12:50,875 --> 00:12:53,458 - [Jeff] I mean, is it, what's their mix of power? 266 00:12:53,500 --> 00:12:56,125 - Oh, actually, Lansing feeds the building. 267 00:12:56,166 --> 00:12:57,208 - [Jeff] What's that? 268 00:12:57,250 --> 00:12:58,791 - Lansing feeds power to the building. 269 00:12:58,833 --> 00:13:00,833 So, I don't know-- 270 00:13:00,875 --> 00:13:02,416 - [Jeff] They're-- 271 00:13:02,458 --> 00:13:03,833 - I betcha they're a bit of coal? 272 00:13:03,875 --> 00:13:06,875 I think they're heavy on natural gas, aren't they? 273 00:13:06,916 --> 00:13:08,916 - [Jeff] Right now, the car's charging off your grid? 274 00:13:08,958 --> 00:13:10,458 - Right. 275 00:13:10,500 --> 00:13:14,875 It would be charging off our grid, which is about 95% coal. 276 00:13:16,291 --> 00:13:17,500 - [Jeff] How long do you think it will be 277 00:13:17,541 --> 00:13:20,958 before there's a solar and wind powered grid? 278 00:13:21,000 --> 00:13:22,125 - Oh, golly. 279 00:13:22,166 --> 00:13:24,458 - To suggest that all of the power used 280 00:13:24,500 --> 00:13:29,000 for these cars will be generated from wind and solar, 281 00:13:29,041 --> 00:13:32,083 in the very near future, would not be correct. 282 00:13:32,125 --> 00:13:34,125 In fact, these, we're talking about charging these up 283 00:13:34,166 --> 00:13:36,833 at night, so there won't be any solar at that time. 284 00:13:36,875 --> 00:13:38,708 So we're down to wind and very often, 285 00:13:38,750 --> 00:13:40,458 at night, the wind does fall off. 286 00:13:41,625 --> 00:13:44,666 - I don't think coal is bad. 287 00:13:44,708 --> 00:13:45,500 - [Jeff] The big battle-- The what? 288 00:13:45,541 --> 00:13:46,250 [Jeff] Mountain top removal. 289 00:13:46,291 --> 00:13:47,083 - Oh, mount... 290 00:13:47,125 --> 00:13:47,833 Oh yeah, oh yeah. [laughing] 291 00:13:47,875 --> 00:13:49,458 - [Jeff] Yeah. 292 00:13:49,500 --> 00:13:53,000 - It's got lovely BTUs, it's got lovely energy value. 293 00:13:54,083 --> 00:13:56,708 How do you burn it more cleanly? 294 00:13:57,791 --> 00:14:00,541 I mean, do you see natural gas getting bashed? 295 00:14:00,583 --> 00:14:03,000 - We will be delivering power based 296 00:14:03,041 --> 00:14:05,041 on natural gas very shortly. 297 00:14:05,083 --> 00:14:10,666 And even with that mix, we intend to use 298 00:14:10,708 --> 00:14:12,375 - [Jeff] Have you gotten any support? 299 00:14:12,416 --> 00:14:14,666 - Oh, the environment groups are extremely supportive. 300 00:14:14,708 --> 00:14:16,916 - We did install the state's largest solar array 301 00:14:16,958 --> 00:14:18,750 at my company, The Board of Water and Light, it's 302 00:14:18,791 --> 00:14:20,875 just down the street from here a few miles 303 00:14:20,916 --> 00:14:21,750 if you want to take a look at it. 304 00:14:21,791 --> 00:14:24,375 What outfit are you with? 305 00:14:24,416 --> 00:14:25,875 - [Jeff] New World Media, we're doing a segment 306 00:14:25,916 --> 00:14:27,041 on the renewable energy... 307 00:14:27,083 --> 00:14:28,041 - Oh, excuse me, I gotta go for a second 308 00:14:28,083 --> 00:14:29,083 but thanks. 309 00:14:29,958 --> 00:14:32,750 [people chatting] 310 00:14:33,750 --> 00:14:35,541 - [Jeff] I decided to take him up on his offer 311 00:14:35,583 --> 00:14:38,458 to check out their football field sized solar array 312 00:14:38,500 --> 00:14:39,625 right down the street. 313 00:14:41,375 --> 00:14:43,000 - What we're trying to do with this kind of a tour is, 314 00:14:43,041 --> 00:14:44,708 get a sense for what they've already done, 315 00:14:44,750 --> 00:14:46,291 as an indication of what we could do 316 00:14:46,333 --> 00:14:47,958 to push the envelope even further. 317 00:14:49,291 --> 00:14:53,250 - We took a hard look at wind and determined that, 318 00:14:53,291 --> 00:14:56,583 around here, there's not really any real good wind coming 319 00:14:56,625 --> 00:14:57,791 through all the time. 320 00:14:57,833 --> 00:14:59,291 That's what we liked about solar. 321 00:14:59,333 --> 00:15:02,333 You would get the power when you most needed it. 322 00:15:02,375 --> 00:15:03,875 Pass these around, look at 'em. 323 00:15:03,916 --> 00:15:05,666 They are pliable. 324 00:15:05,708 --> 00:15:08,083 Made in Michigan, that was another good thing. 325 00:15:08,125 --> 00:15:09,500 Although, the efficiency 326 00:15:09,541 --> 00:15:12,791 of these panels is only about, just under 8%. 327 00:15:14,916 --> 00:15:16,666 If you happen to be NASA and you happen 328 00:15:16,708 --> 00:15:18,375 to own a rover running around Mars, 329 00:15:18,416 --> 00:15:20,625 they have very efficient panels. 330 00:15:20,666 --> 00:15:22,041 But, we can't afford those 331 00:15:22,083 --> 00:15:24,208 at about a million dollars a square inch. 332 00:15:27,833 --> 00:15:29,250 - The standard answer that we tell everybody is, 333 00:15:29,291 --> 00:15:30,500 we're providing enough to meet 334 00:15:30,541 --> 00:15:33,125 the peak requirements of 50 homes. 335 00:15:33,166 --> 00:15:36,083 However, for most of the people that look 336 00:15:36,125 --> 00:15:37,500 at it a little bit closer, 337 00:15:37,541 --> 00:15:41,125 we generate about 63, 64 thousand kilowatt hours a year. 338 00:15:41,166 --> 00:15:42,708 Our average customer uses 339 00:15:42,750 --> 00:15:44,833 about six thousand kilowatt hours a year. 340 00:15:44,875 --> 00:15:48,583 Six thousand into 64, it's just a little over 10. 341 00:15:48,625 --> 00:15:51,041 We can meet the energy requirements for 10 homes. 342 00:15:52,250 --> 00:15:53,583 Over a year. 343 00:15:53,625 --> 00:15:54,958 [traffic humming] 344 00:15:55,000 --> 00:15:58,708 - Will that be an incentive to put more solar on? 345 00:15:59,791 --> 00:16:01,291 - Well, if you wanted to make all 346 00:16:01,333 --> 00:16:05,375 of the energy required for the city of Lansing over a year? 347 00:16:05,416 --> 00:16:06,166 - Well, how about-- 348 00:16:06,208 --> 00:16:07,750 - You'd have a solar array 349 00:16:07,791 --> 00:16:09,583 that was three miles by five miles. 350 00:16:09,625 --> 00:16:10,583 - Right. 351 00:16:10,625 --> 00:16:11,875 But-- - We're not gonna do that. 352 00:16:11,916 --> 00:16:13,791 - But, but, I mean. [woman's voice fades out] 353 00:16:13,833 --> 00:16:15,750 - [Jeff] My friend from the Sierra Club wanted him 354 00:16:15,791 --> 00:16:19,291 to be more positive, but he was not interested. 355 00:16:20,583 --> 00:16:23,458 [distant machinery noise] 356 00:16:23,500 --> 00:16:26,458 As a consequence of the big push for green energy, 357 00:16:26,500 --> 00:16:28,875 wind farms were rising around the nation, 358 00:16:28,916 --> 00:16:30,916 including near my home in northern Michigan. 359 00:16:32,208 --> 00:16:33,708 - We've done coal and nuclear for years. 360 00:16:33,750 --> 00:16:36,666 We've been trying to get in more into the renewable side. 361 00:16:36,708 --> 00:16:38,916 These are the largest in Michigan, 362 00:16:38,958 --> 00:16:41,041 I think it's 482 foot total. 363 00:16:41,083 --> 00:16:42,375 - [Jeff] How many yards of concrete? 364 00:16:42,416 --> 00:16:44,666 - [John] It was 800 yards of concrete in the base, 365 00:16:44,708 --> 00:16:47,333 right around 140 tons of resteel. 366 00:16:47,375 --> 00:16:48,708 - [Jeff] What are the blades made out of? 367 00:16:48,750 --> 00:16:50,291 - That's all fiberglass and balsam. 368 00:16:50,333 --> 00:16:52,791 They're about 36,000 pounds a piece. 369 00:16:52,833 --> 00:16:56,750 This tower will weigh 800,000 pounds when we're done. 370 00:16:56,791 --> 00:16:59,083 Then the cell is 220,000 pounds 371 00:16:59,125 --> 00:17:01,750 and the hub and rotor assembly is another 160. 372 00:17:01,791 --> 00:17:03,541 It's pretty substantial. 373 00:17:03,583 --> 00:17:05,750 [wind turbine sound] 374 00:17:05,791 --> 00:17:08,041 - [Jeff] They were impressive machines. 375 00:17:08,083 --> 00:17:10,125 [wind turbine sound] 376 00:17:10,166 --> 00:17:12,333 But is it possible for machines made 377 00:17:12,375 --> 00:17:14,000 by industrial civilization 378 00:17:15,000 --> 00:17:17,583 to save us from industrial civilization? 379 00:17:18,500 --> 00:17:20,958 [wind turbine whistling] 380 00:17:23,791 --> 00:17:25,583 [group talking together] 381 00:17:25,625 --> 00:17:27,791 In environmental leader Bill McKibben's home state 382 00:17:27,833 --> 00:17:30,375 of Vermont, the Green Mountain state, 383 00:17:30,416 --> 00:17:31,500 a site was being cleared 384 00:17:31,541 --> 00:17:33,875 for the installation of wind turbines. 385 00:17:33,916 --> 00:17:35,750 A group of citizens was concerned 386 00:17:35,791 --> 00:17:36,916 about how the construction 387 00:17:36,958 --> 00:17:38,791 might affect the mountains they love. 388 00:17:39,791 --> 00:17:41,416 I joined them for a tour. 389 00:17:41,458 --> 00:17:43,083 - It's going to be 21 turbines. 390 00:17:43,125 --> 00:17:44,000 - [Group] 21? 391 00:17:44,041 --> 00:17:45,916 - Yeah. - On this project? 392 00:17:45,958 --> 00:17:47,833 - In this project, yeah. 393 00:17:47,875 --> 00:17:51,791 The estimate was maybe there would be three full-time jobs. 394 00:17:52,958 --> 00:17:55,125 - If the goal is to try to make Vermont the leader 395 00:17:55,166 --> 00:17:57,875 in climate change, I appreciate looking 396 00:17:57,916 --> 00:18:00,208 to the sky in the hopes that we can do that. 397 00:18:00,250 --> 00:18:02,791 But more importantly, I'm personally looking 398 00:18:02,833 --> 00:18:05,333 at the ground thinking, this is not the kind of legacy 399 00:18:05,375 --> 00:18:06,833 I'd want to leave to my kids. 400 00:18:06,875 --> 00:18:09,541 When I was a kid we'd go hiking in these woods, 401 00:18:09,583 --> 00:18:11,375 we would be able to drink from the waters 402 00:18:11,416 --> 00:18:14,375 down the hill here, and now you have to question that. 403 00:18:16,250 --> 00:18:18,083 - [Man] And how long are these towers supposed to last? 404 00:18:18,125 --> 00:18:19,791 - [Young Man] 20-something years, 20-- 405 00:18:19,833 --> 00:18:22,291 - I know, it's just a nanosecond. 406 00:18:22,333 --> 00:18:23,541 - [Jeff] 20 years? 407 00:18:23,583 --> 00:18:25,541 - Oh, it's a nanosecond in the time of energy. 408 00:18:26,583 --> 00:18:27,750 - [Jeff] Has anybody considered 409 00:18:27,791 --> 00:18:30,000 that this is mountain top removal for wind 410 00:18:30,041 --> 00:18:31,916 - Yeah, and we've even had people say, 411 00:18:31,958 --> 00:18:34,041 "If you can do mountain top removal 412 00:18:34,083 --> 00:18:37,250 "in Kentucky and West Virginia for coal, 413 00:18:37,291 --> 00:18:39,791 "then it's about time the rest of the country shared 414 00:18:39,833 --> 00:18:41,833 "in mountain top removal, too." 415 00:18:42,833 --> 00:18:43,875 - [Jeff] Hello. 416 00:18:45,333 --> 00:18:46,000 - [Jeff] You think they're gonna tell us to move back? 417 00:18:46,041 --> 00:18:46,833 - [Man In Hat] Probably. 418 00:18:46,875 --> 00:18:48,166 The thing is that you've got 419 00:18:48,208 --> 00:18:51,666 to have a fossil fuel power plant backing it up 420 00:18:51,708 --> 00:18:53,958 and idling 100% of the time. 421 00:18:54,000 --> 00:18:56,041 Because if you cycle up or cycle down, 422 00:18:56,083 --> 00:18:58,833 as the demand on the wind comes through, 423 00:18:58,875 --> 00:19:01,791 then you actually generate a bigger carbon footprint 424 00:19:01,833 --> 00:19:03,625 than if you just ran it straight. 425 00:19:03,666 --> 00:19:04,750 - [Jeff] Do you ever go to things where they just go, 426 00:19:04,791 --> 00:19:06,166 "That's not true. 427 00:19:06,208 --> 00:19:08,750 "It doesn't matter, we're gonna have a smart grid." 428 00:19:08,791 --> 00:19:10,583 - Doesn't make any difference, they still gotta 429 00:19:10,625 --> 00:19:11,958 have it idling. 430 00:19:12,000 --> 00:19:15,916 Because, let's just say the wind stopped right now. 431 00:19:15,958 --> 00:19:17,916 Just stopped for an hour. 432 00:19:17,958 --> 00:19:19,500 You've got to have that power. 433 00:19:19,541 --> 00:19:20,916 - [Jeff] What do you do? 434 00:19:20,958 --> 00:19:22,791 - I'm an environmental health and safety consultant. 435 00:19:22,833 --> 00:19:25,291 I usually work with businesses to help them do things, 436 00:19:25,333 --> 00:19:28,916 but I would never work with scum like this. 437 00:19:28,958 --> 00:19:31,208 [leaves crunching] 438 00:19:31,250 --> 00:19:33,541 - You didn't get me on camera doing this, did ya? 439 00:19:34,458 --> 00:19:37,875 Not being judgmental or trying to play God, 440 00:19:37,916 --> 00:19:41,208 but we've got to deal with population growth 441 00:19:41,250 --> 00:19:45,375 and sustainable resources, we've all gotta cut back. 442 00:19:45,416 --> 00:19:48,750 All this energy's supposedly going to heat a water park. 443 00:19:48,791 --> 00:19:52,333 We can find unique and different ways to waste energy. 444 00:19:52,375 --> 00:19:54,500 This is not a Vermont company. 445 00:19:54,541 --> 00:19:58,333 Green Mountain Power will be bought out by Gaz Metro 446 00:19:58,375 --> 00:20:01,791 and Gaz Metro is owned by Enbridge, as I understand it, 447 00:20:01,833 --> 00:20:06,625 which is a big resource company in Canada 448 00:20:06,666 --> 00:20:08,291 which is exploiting the tar sands 449 00:20:08,333 --> 00:20:10,208 that wants to build the XL pipeline. 450 00:20:11,666 --> 00:20:12,833 See, it's-- 451 00:20:12,875 --> 00:20:15,958 - [Woman] And they're all in bed together. 452 00:20:16,000 --> 00:20:17,833 - Still we don't know the whole story. 453 00:20:17,875 --> 00:20:19,833 - [Jeff] Have you asked Mr. McKibben to come see this? 454 00:20:19,875 --> 00:20:22,833 - He thinks anything renewable is good. 455 00:20:22,875 --> 00:20:24,083 - [Jeff] Yeah. 456 00:20:24,125 --> 00:20:24,875 - At least that's what I've heard people say. 457 00:20:24,916 --> 00:20:27,666 [wind blowing] 458 00:20:30,208 --> 00:20:32,875 [up tempo music] 459 00:20:36,958 --> 00:20:38,708 - [Jeff] I am in a strange position. 460 00:20:39,958 --> 00:20:42,833 I'm against our addiction to fossil fuels 461 00:20:42,875 --> 00:20:44,916 and have long been a fan of green energy. 462 00:20:45,916 --> 00:20:47,041 [crowd talking] 463 00:20:47,083 --> 00:20:49,125 But everywhere I encountered green energy, 464 00:20:50,125 --> 00:20:51,791 it wasn't what it seemed. 465 00:20:52,875 --> 00:20:56,333 - This is like a perpetual energy battery. 466 00:20:56,375 --> 00:20:57,750 - [Jeff] And where do you get the hydrogen from? 467 00:20:57,791 --> 00:21:01,500 - The hydrogen that's in, the hydrogen is sourced 468 00:21:01,541 --> 00:21:04,166 from any hydrocarbon material. 469 00:21:04,208 --> 00:21:08,958 So, you can get it from natural gas, you can get it 470 00:21:09,000 --> 00:21:12,083 from any petroleum or oil based product. 471 00:21:13,541 --> 00:21:14,750 - [Jeff] I read about a zoo that was said 472 00:21:14,791 --> 00:21:16,333 to be powered by elephant manure. 473 00:21:17,791 --> 00:21:18,958 But it turned out the elephants 474 00:21:19,000 --> 00:21:22,583 didn't even produce enough manure to heat 475 00:21:22,625 --> 00:21:23,916 - Yeah, we don't even really make enough 476 00:21:23,958 --> 00:21:26,791 in what we have, elephant wise, to even do that. 477 00:21:26,833 --> 00:21:27,833 We would need a lot more. 478 00:21:27,875 --> 00:21:29,166 - [Jeff] More elephants? 479 00:21:29,208 --> 00:21:29,833 - [Zoo Keeper] Yep, [woman laughing] more elephants 480 00:21:29,875 --> 00:21:30,666 more manure. 481 00:21:32,000 --> 00:21:33,291 - [Jeff] Ethanol plants also seem 482 00:21:33,333 --> 00:21:35,041 to have a secret ingredient. 483 00:21:35,083 --> 00:21:37,708 - This is the most productive farmland in the world 484 00:21:37,750 --> 00:21:40,833 and we're not that far west of the biggest coal mines 485 00:21:40,875 --> 00:21:42,333 in the world, as well. 486 00:21:42,375 --> 00:21:44,458 So, bring the two together and you have an ethanol plant. 487 00:21:45,583 --> 00:21:49,250 - [Jeff] Great, so ethanol was reliant on two things: 488 00:21:49,291 --> 00:21:52,666 a giant, fossil fuel-based, industrial agricultural system 489 00:21:52,708 --> 00:21:56,250 to produce corn, and even more fossil fuels 490 00:21:56,291 --> 00:21:58,375 in the form of coal. 491 00:21:58,416 --> 00:22:02,000 All of this in the attempt to replace fossil fuels? 492 00:22:03,833 --> 00:22:05,791 It was enough to make my head explode. 493 00:22:07,333 --> 00:22:08,833 [pulsating music] 494 00:22:08,875 --> 00:22:10,791 I was getting the uneasy feeling 495 00:22:10,833 --> 00:22:12,875 that green energy was not going to save us. 496 00:22:13,833 --> 00:22:15,750 And I wasn't the only one. 497 00:22:15,791 --> 00:22:17,041 - I've counted something 498 00:22:17,083 --> 00:22:19,875 like 25 different alternative energy options. 499 00:22:19,916 --> 00:22:21,791 So surely, among all of those, 500 00:22:21,833 --> 00:22:24,458 there are enough sources 501 00:22:24,500 --> 00:22:26,791 of energy to keep us living basically 502 00:22:26,833 --> 00:22:28,708 the way we are in perpetuity. 503 00:22:29,625 --> 00:22:31,541 That's not the reality. 504 00:22:31,583 --> 00:22:34,333 Currently, we're getting, in some cases, 505 00:22:34,375 --> 00:22:37,666 no energy from these potential options. 506 00:22:37,708 --> 00:22:39,875 - [Jeff] Richard York, of the University of Oregon, 507 00:22:39,916 --> 00:22:42,208 published a study in the Journal of Nature 508 00:22:42,250 --> 00:22:45,666 in which he posed the question- do non-fossil energy sources 509 00:22:45,708 --> 00:22:47,833 actually replace fossil fuels? 510 00:22:47,875 --> 00:22:49,875 - What we implicitly assume, often, 511 00:22:49,916 --> 00:22:52,500 the substitute pushes out 512 00:22:52,541 --> 00:22:54,750 the thing you want it to substitute for. 513 00:22:54,791 --> 00:22:56,416 What you find is, 514 00:22:56,458 --> 00:23:00,750 nations that add non-fossil energy sources do not seem 515 00:23:00,791 --> 00:23:03,958 to see a particular suppression of fossil fuel use. 516 00:23:04,000 --> 00:23:05,250 - [Jeff] That's pretty mind-blowing. 517 00:23:05,291 --> 00:23:07,208 We've got billions of dollars being spent 518 00:23:07,250 --> 00:23:10,000 and green energy is not even replacing fossil fuels? 519 00:23:10,041 --> 00:23:13,541 - They don't even know that that's a question, yes. 520 00:23:13,583 --> 00:23:17,750 - The story that we're in, right now, is okay, 521 00:23:17,791 --> 00:23:19,916 we're in ecological hot water, 522 00:23:19,958 --> 00:23:21,833 but there are technological fixes 523 00:23:21,875 --> 00:23:23,708 and if we're just creative enough, 524 00:23:23,750 --> 00:23:25,375 if we're just ingenious enough 525 00:23:25,416 --> 00:23:28,541 and if we just work hard enough, we will triumph. 526 00:23:28,583 --> 00:23:31,791 Seeking technological fixes, one after another, 527 00:23:31,833 --> 00:23:35,500 is simply going to lead us to another level 528 00:23:35,541 --> 00:23:38,500 of catastrophe sooner rather than later. 529 00:23:38,541 --> 00:23:41,416 - We wanna believe that these things are gonna be available 530 00:23:41,458 --> 00:23:44,458 for us, so if we get a little worried 531 00:23:44,500 --> 00:23:48,708 and somebody comes up with a new thingy and promises 532 00:23:48,750 --> 00:23:54,208 that this will do it for us, we wanna believe. 533 00:23:54,250 --> 00:23:57,750 [guitar strums] 534 00:23:57,791 --> 00:23:59,791 - [Jeff] Because we're a little worried, 535 00:24:00,875 --> 00:24:04,333 are we desperate to accept any idea that sounds alternative 536 00:24:04,375 --> 00:24:05,625 or green? 537 00:24:05,666 --> 00:24:07,916 [guitar strumming] 538 00:24:07,958 --> 00:24:09,750 Are we avoiding looking too closely 539 00:24:10,666 --> 00:24:12,916 because we don't want to know the answer? 540 00:24:16,291 --> 00:24:19,125 Ozzie Zehner, a visiting scholar at UC Berkeley 541 00:24:19,166 --> 00:24:22,583 and Northwestern University was asking some 542 00:24:22,625 --> 00:24:23,875 of the same questions. 543 00:24:24,958 --> 00:24:26,625 - I mean, I thought that solar 544 00:24:26,666 --> 00:24:28,958 and wind were probably very good solutions. 545 00:24:29,000 --> 00:24:30,625 It wasn't really even that long ago. 546 00:24:30,666 --> 00:24:34,291 One of the most dangerous things right now is the illusion 547 00:24:34,333 --> 00:24:37,666 that alternative technologies, like wind and solar, 548 00:24:37,708 --> 00:24:39,583 are somehow different from fossil fuels. 549 00:24:39,625 --> 00:24:41,875 Well I hear a lot of the time that solar cells 550 00:24:41,916 --> 00:24:43,375 are made out of sand. 551 00:24:43,416 --> 00:24:44,875 - [Announcer] Have you ever thought about solar panels? 552 00:24:44,916 --> 00:24:46,041 The main ingredient 553 00:24:46,083 --> 00:24:48,250 that makes them work is silicon, or sand. 554 00:24:48,291 --> 00:24:50,041 - [Announcer] This is the raw material chips 555 00:24:50,083 --> 00:24:51,916 are made of, sand. 556 00:24:51,958 --> 00:24:53,291 - They don't use sand at all. 557 00:24:53,333 --> 00:24:54,750 I'll show you what... 558 00:24:54,791 --> 00:24:56,833 [chair clicking] 559 00:24:56,875 --> 00:24:59,958 So, this is one of the ingredients, 560 00:25:00,000 --> 00:25:01,875 it's actually mined quartz. 561 00:25:01,916 --> 00:25:03,666 [rocks clattering] 562 00:25:03,708 --> 00:25:06,791 [rock exploding] 563 00:25:06,833 --> 00:25:08,875 - [Announcer] Spruce Pine, North Carolina, 564 00:25:08,916 --> 00:25:12,000 regarded as the finest source of high purity quartz 565 00:25:12,041 --> 00:25:14,416 in the world, for semiconductor, solar 566 00:25:14,458 --> 00:25:16,833 and communication applications. 567 00:25:16,875 --> 00:25:19,375 - You can't use sand because sand has too many impurities. 568 00:25:19,416 --> 00:25:22,041 So, you start with a very high quality quartz 569 00:25:22,083 --> 00:25:24,708 and a very high quality coal, and then you put 570 00:25:24,750 --> 00:25:28,916 those two together into an arc furnace and you melt them. 571 00:25:28,958 --> 00:25:31,041 - [Woman] The quartz is then melted with coal 572 00:25:31,083 --> 00:25:35,916 in a large furnace at temperatures of 573 00:25:35,958 --> 00:25:37,875 - And so you need more coal to do that. 574 00:25:38,916 --> 00:25:40,750 I'll get another coal out. 575 00:25:40,791 --> 00:25:42,833 When we melt these together, 576 00:25:42,875 --> 00:25:44,833 we get silicon metal and carbon dioxide. 577 00:25:44,875 --> 00:25:45,958 The carbon dioxide just goes off 578 00:25:46,000 --> 00:25:47,041 and you got rid of the carbon 579 00:25:47,083 --> 00:25:48,958 and you're left with silicon metal. 580 00:25:49,000 --> 00:25:50,208 This is not clean coal apparently. [laughing] 581 00:25:50,250 --> 00:25:52,041 - [Jeff] Not clean coal. 582 00:25:52,083 --> 00:25:53,875 Ozzie Zehner said it was an illusion 583 00:25:53,916 --> 00:25:58,208 that renewables were replacing coal or any fossil fuel. 584 00:25:58,250 --> 00:26:01,333 Environmental groups continued telling a different story. 585 00:26:01,375 --> 00:26:04,208 - We've already seen more than 25% 586 00:26:04,250 --> 00:26:07,958 of the U.S. coal fleet has already either retired 587 00:26:08,000 --> 00:26:09,916 or is on a schedule to retire. 588 00:26:09,958 --> 00:26:12,083 - [Jeff] Coal plants were closing, but Ozzie explained 589 00:26:12,125 --> 00:26:14,500 that well meaning people were being misled. 590 00:26:14,541 --> 00:26:16,916 - NV Energy's now gonna go ahead and shut down the plant 591 00:26:16,958 --> 00:26:17,791 and go with renewable. 592 00:26:17,833 --> 00:26:19,208 One of the largest solar plants 593 00:26:19,250 --> 00:26:21,208 and that's gonna happen right behind me. 594 00:26:21,250 --> 00:26:23,708 - Since you can't replace a coal plant with solar, 595 00:26:23,750 --> 00:26:25,541 they're actually replacing the coal plant 596 00:26:25,583 --> 00:26:27,041 with two natural gas plants, 597 00:26:27,083 --> 00:26:28,791 and natural gas is a fossil fuel. 598 00:26:28,833 --> 00:26:31,958 This is the Las Vegas Co-Gen natural gas plant. 599 00:26:32,000 --> 00:26:33,458 This is one of the facilities 600 00:26:33,500 --> 00:26:35,875 that's replacing the coal plant that's being shut down. 601 00:26:35,916 --> 00:26:39,041 This is the Sun Peak generating facility. 602 00:26:39,083 --> 00:26:40,833 This is the second natural gas plant 603 00:26:40,875 --> 00:26:43,750 that was used to replace the coal plant. 604 00:26:43,791 --> 00:26:46,041 And you hear the same story in Iowa. 605 00:26:46,083 --> 00:26:48,041 - [Woman] Instead of using energy generated 606 00:26:48,083 --> 00:26:49,875 by coal-fired power plants, 607 00:26:49,916 --> 00:26:51,541 the solar farm will now avoid 608 00:26:51,583 --> 00:26:54,750 about 2.1 million pounds of carbon pollution. 609 00:26:54,791 --> 00:26:57,916 - But then they're building a larger natural gas plant. 610 00:26:59,125 --> 00:27:02,083 This is a 650 megawatt natural gas plant. 611 00:27:02,125 --> 00:27:03,958 That's four times more megawatts 612 00:27:04,000 --> 00:27:07,250 than the coal plant over there that it's replacing. 613 00:27:07,291 --> 00:27:09,166 And they're doing the same thing in North Carolina, 614 00:27:09,208 --> 00:27:10,375 which was the subject 615 00:27:10,416 --> 00:27:13,000 of that Years of Living Dangerously series. 616 00:27:13,041 --> 00:27:14,791 - Duke Energy operates a coal plant right 617 00:27:14,833 --> 00:27:17,125 outside of Asheville that is the biggest source 618 00:27:17,166 --> 00:27:20,333 of climate pollution in western North Carolina. 619 00:27:20,375 --> 00:27:22,166 And we are working to retire that plant 620 00:27:22,208 --> 00:27:23,500 and replace it with clean energy. 621 00:27:23,541 --> 00:27:24,958 - But what they don't tell you is 622 00:27:25,000 --> 00:27:27,583 that we're also building a larger natural gas facility. 623 00:27:27,625 --> 00:27:31,916 - So, we'll be retiring a two-unit 376 624 00:27:31,958 --> 00:27:34,750 We'll invest $750 million 625 00:27:34,791 --> 00:27:37,166 to build a state-of-the-art natural gas plant. 626 00:27:37,208 --> 00:27:39,708 - When Michael Brune stands up and talks about clean energy, 627 00:27:39,750 --> 00:27:41,208 he's using solar cells and wind turbines. 628 00:27:41,250 --> 00:27:42,875 - This is the new world 629 00:27:42,916 --> 00:27:44,916 100% clean energy. 630 00:27:44,958 --> 00:27:46,250 - When Michael Bloomberg stands up and says, 631 00:27:46,291 --> 00:27:48,833 "Cleaner energy," he's talking about natural gas. 632 00:27:48,875 --> 00:27:52,708 - Create cleaner energy: solar, wind, and natural gas. 633 00:27:53,208 --> 00:27:55,750 - [Ozzie] In fact, the Sierra Club's Beyond Coal campaign 634 00:27:55,791 --> 00:27:58,833 actually coincides with one of the largest expansions 635 00:27:58,875 --> 00:28:01,125 of fossil fuel production that we've ever pulled off, 636 00:28:01,166 --> 00:28:03,041 most of that being natural gas. 637 00:28:04,291 --> 00:28:05,500 - [Jeff] Ozzie's assertion 638 00:28:05,541 --> 00:28:08,083 that renewables were not replacing fossil fuels, 639 00:28:08,125 --> 00:28:10,916 if true, would upend all of our assumptions 640 00:28:10,958 --> 00:28:13,541 about green energy and what was going to save us. 641 00:28:14,791 --> 00:28:16,166 [tranquil piano music] 642 00:28:16,208 --> 00:28:18,375 What would happen if I asked the same question 643 00:28:18,416 --> 00:28:19,833 to industry insiders? 644 00:28:21,125 --> 00:28:23,250 Like, where do solar panels come from? 645 00:28:23,291 --> 00:28:25,625 - Well, you have to start with a mine. 646 00:28:25,666 --> 00:28:27,208 [laughing] 647 00:28:27,250 --> 00:28:29,541 Or, what's stopping us from running the world 648 00:28:29,583 --> 00:28:31,583 on 100% solar and wind? 649 00:28:31,625 --> 00:28:34,291 - Well, intermittency is one of the major challenges. 650 00:28:34,333 --> 00:28:35,791 - Grid stability. 651 00:28:35,833 --> 00:28:38,166 - The sun's everywhere, except when it's not there. 652 00:28:38,208 --> 00:28:40,250 - There's a lot of developers that were flocking 653 00:28:40,291 --> 00:28:43,208 to California, wanting to connect their solar farms 654 00:28:43,250 --> 00:28:44,416 and wind farms. 655 00:28:44,458 --> 00:28:46,000 The utilities would turn to me and my team 656 00:28:46,041 --> 00:28:49,708 to help them look at what the impact to their grid would be. 657 00:28:49,750 --> 00:28:50,791 - [Jeff] When we add solar cells 658 00:28:50,833 --> 00:28:51,875 or wind turbines to a grid, 659 00:28:51,916 --> 00:28:53,708 do we get to shut off a coal plant? 660 00:28:54,625 --> 00:28:56,708 - That's certainly the goal, the problem is, 661 00:28:56,750 --> 00:28:59,708 or the difference is that renewables are intermittent. 662 00:28:59,750 --> 00:29:01,958 All of a sudden, a cloud cover could come over 663 00:29:02,000 --> 00:29:05,125 and your solar generation could drastically decrease, 664 00:29:05,166 --> 00:29:06,666 and if you don't have something else there 665 00:29:06,708 --> 00:29:09,916 to meet whatever the load is at that moment, 666 00:29:09,958 --> 00:29:12,125 then you're gonna have power outages. 667 00:29:12,166 --> 00:29:13,166 - [Jeff] So, we don't get 668 00:29:13,208 --> 00:29:14,750 to turn a fossil fuel power plant off 669 00:29:14,791 --> 00:29:16,916 when the sun is shining or the wind is blowing? 670 00:29:16,958 --> 00:29:18,541 - Well, it's not that easy. 671 00:29:18,583 --> 00:29:21,166 We need to be able to back up that power 672 00:29:21,208 --> 00:29:24,458 to keep the system steady all the time 673 00:29:24,500 --> 00:29:25,958 so it doesn't collapse. 674 00:29:26,000 --> 00:29:30,250 Most likely that's through fast-acting gas plants, 675 00:29:30,291 --> 00:29:33,000 but also what we call the baseload plants, 676 00:29:33,041 --> 00:29:35,500 either nuclear or coal that are on all the time 677 00:29:35,541 --> 00:29:38,625 but that maybe can be dialed down during the day 678 00:29:38,666 --> 00:29:42,083 and dialed up when demand starts rising. 679 00:29:42,125 --> 00:29:43,500 - [Jeff] Does it affect the efficiency 680 00:29:43,541 --> 00:29:45,958 to turn fossil fuel power plants on and off? 681 00:29:46,000 --> 00:29:47,166 - Oh, yeah. 682 00:29:47,208 --> 00:29:49,125 They don't like to be dialed up and down. 683 00:29:49,166 --> 00:29:52,416 It does make, that's wear and tear for them. 684 00:29:52,458 --> 00:29:56,125 - Turning them on, turning it off, there's energy used 685 00:29:56,166 --> 00:29:57,750 and lost and any time, 686 00:29:57,791 --> 00:29:59,166 kind of like when you turn on your car on and off, 687 00:29:59,208 --> 00:30:00,250 you use a little extra gas 688 00:30:00,291 --> 00:30:01,625 to get it turned on. 689 00:30:01,666 --> 00:30:02,708 I do still think you have 690 00:30:02,750 --> 00:30:04,291 to maintain a baseload of some kind. 691 00:30:04,333 --> 00:30:05,625 - [Jeff] What's the solution then? 692 00:30:05,666 --> 00:30:06,916 - You need energy storage. 693 00:30:06,958 --> 00:30:09,916 - Without storage, you can't count on it. 694 00:30:09,958 --> 00:30:13,750 - If you can store the energy that's created off 695 00:30:13,791 --> 00:30:17,000 of things that are intermittent like solar and wind, 696 00:30:17,041 --> 00:30:20,291 you can store that, now you're reducing your need 697 00:30:20,333 --> 00:30:21,416 for a baseload. 698 00:30:21,458 --> 00:30:22,666 - [Jeff] But would adding storage 699 00:30:22,708 --> 00:30:24,833 like batteries increase the carbon footprint? 700 00:30:24,875 --> 00:30:26,208 - Yeah, absolutely. 701 00:30:27,791 --> 00:30:29,000 In a big way, actually. 702 00:30:29,041 --> 00:30:31,416 And as more energy storage gets on the grid, 703 00:30:32,666 --> 00:30:35,625 it has a mass scale implication. 704 00:30:35,666 --> 00:30:36,958 [piano music] 705 00:30:37,000 --> 00:30:38,000 - [Jeff] When I looked up how much battery storage 706 00:30:38,041 --> 00:30:40,125 there is, it was less than one-tenth 707 00:30:40,166 --> 00:30:41,916 of one percent of what's needed. 708 00:30:42,875 --> 00:30:45,000 In a couple years, they begin to degrade 709 00:30:45,041 --> 00:30:47,208 and need to be replaced a few years later. 710 00:30:48,166 --> 00:30:50,875 I learned that the solar panels don't last forever, either. 711 00:30:50,916 --> 00:30:53,916 - Some solar panels are built to last only 10 years. 712 00:30:53,958 --> 00:30:58,375 So, it's not as if you get this magic free energy. 713 00:30:58,416 --> 00:31:00,833 I don't know that it's the solution, 714 00:31:00,875 --> 00:31:05,166 and here I am helping to sell the materials 715 00:31:05,208 --> 00:31:06,791 that would go into photovoltaics. 716 00:31:08,791 --> 00:31:10,833 - [Jeff] And so to overcome profound limitations 717 00:31:10,875 --> 00:31:13,750 of solar and wind, rarely discussed in the media, 718 00:31:13,791 --> 00:31:16,000 a new generation of technology was rising 719 00:31:16,041 --> 00:31:17,500 in the California desert. 720 00:31:18,750 --> 00:31:19,875 - [Woman] What is this? 721 00:31:19,916 --> 00:31:21,625 - What we're using is a field of mirrors 722 00:31:21,666 --> 00:31:23,916 to focus sunlight onto a tower. 723 00:31:23,958 --> 00:31:27,416 The power plant itself, at 377 megawatts, 724 00:31:27,458 --> 00:31:29,500 will be the largest of its kind in the world. 725 00:31:29,541 --> 00:31:31,750 - This will become the biggest solar plant in the world! 726 00:31:31,791 --> 00:31:33,000 [crowd clapping and cheering] 727 00:31:33,041 --> 00:31:35,500 There's some people that look out in a desert, 728 00:31:35,541 --> 00:31:38,708 and they see miles and miles of emptiness. 729 00:31:38,750 --> 00:31:42,166 I see miles and miles of a gold mine. 730 00:31:43,000 --> 00:31:44,416 - [Jeff] But this next generation 731 00:31:44,458 --> 00:31:46,750 had a fossil fuel secret, too. 732 00:31:46,791 --> 00:31:49,041 - This solar facility burns natural gas pretty much 733 00:31:49,083 --> 00:31:51,666 every morning in order to get it started up. 734 00:31:51,708 --> 00:31:53,000 - [Jeff] How long do they have to burn it for? 735 00:31:53,041 --> 00:31:54,625 - Hours, usually. 736 00:31:54,666 --> 00:31:57,416 This is the incoming natural gas for the facility. 737 00:31:57,458 --> 00:31:59,583 This plant would work about as well without natural gas 738 00:31:59,625 --> 00:32:01,166 as I would without coffee in the morning. [laughing] 739 00:32:01,208 --> 00:32:03,000 - [Jeff] Or maybe how you would be without food. 740 00:32:03,041 --> 00:32:04,625 - Or without food, yeah. [laughing] 741 00:32:04,666 --> 00:32:06,833 They have to file for acid rain permits, 742 00:32:06,875 --> 00:32:08,833 permits for nitrous oxide emissions, 743 00:32:08,875 --> 00:32:12,000 they have to apply for carbon offset permits. 744 00:32:12,041 --> 00:32:14,000 Because they're producing carbon dioxide here, 745 00:32:14,041 --> 00:32:15,583 so they have to offset that. 746 00:32:15,625 --> 00:32:18,041 The whole thing is built using fossil fuel infrastructure, 747 00:32:18,083 --> 00:32:20,875 from the concrete to the steel to the mirrors, 748 00:32:20,916 --> 00:32:22,500 to the backing on the mirrors. 749 00:32:22,541 --> 00:32:27,208 The sun is renewable, but the solar arrays are not. 750 00:32:27,250 --> 00:32:28,333 - [Jeff] Oh, come on. 751 00:32:28,375 --> 00:32:29,291 There's got to be something renewable. 752 00:32:29,333 --> 00:32:30,666 Glass is renewable. 753 00:32:30,708 --> 00:32:31,625 - Glass. [laughing] 754 00:32:31,666 --> 00:32:32,916 Glass is not renewable. 755 00:32:32,958 --> 00:32:34,208 - [Jeff] Iron's renewable. 756 00:32:34,250 --> 00:32:36,000 [laughing] 757 00:32:36,041 --> 00:32:36,791 Aluminum? 758 00:32:36,833 --> 00:32:37,833 That's renewable. 759 00:32:37,875 --> 00:32:38,958 I recycle my soda cans. 760 00:32:39,000 --> 00:32:40,958 [laughing] I know it's renewable. 761 00:32:41,000 --> 00:32:42,750 - Yeah, the problem with all of these materials is 762 00:32:42,791 --> 00:32:46,583 that it takes an incredible amount of energy to mine 763 00:32:46,625 --> 00:32:48,833 and process all of the materials 764 00:32:48,875 --> 00:32:50,750 that go into building something like this. 765 00:32:50,791 --> 00:32:53,291 You use more fossil fuels to do this 766 00:32:53,333 --> 00:32:56,041 than you're getting benefit from it. 767 00:32:56,083 --> 00:32:57,750 You would have been better off just burning the fossil fuels 768 00:32:57,791 --> 00:33:01,125 in the first place, instead of playing pretend. 769 00:33:01,166 --> 00:33:02,583 - [Jeff] That green energy has nothing 770 00:33:02,625 --> 00:33:05,500 to do with fossil fuels is apparently a story 771 00:33:05,541 --> 00:33:07,666 only meant for you and me. 772 00:33:07,708 --> 00:33:09,125 Here is Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., 773 00:33:09,166 --> 00:33:12,208 speaking to oil and gas company insiders. 774 00:33:12,250 --> 00:33:15,791 - It's a combination solar gas plant. 775 00:33:15,833 --> 00:33:18,083 It's a turbine that we just take from a gas plant, 776 00:33:18,125 --> 00:33:20,708 suspend it from a big scaffolding, a tower, 777 00:33:20,750 --> 00:33:22,875 and surround it by giant mirrors in the desert. 778 00:33:22,916 --> 00:33:24,875 The plants that we're building, the wind plants 779 00:33:24,916 --> 00:33:26,750 and the solar plants, are gas plants. 780 00:33:26,791 --> 00:33:29,000 - [Jeff] What kind of game is being played? 781 00:33:30,166 --> 00:33:34,708 - Well [gusting wind] we're basically just being fed a lie. 782 00:33:34,750 --> 00:33:35,875 For instance, you'll hear 783 00:33:35,916 --> 00:33:37,833 about Germany running on wind and solar. 784 00:33:37,875 --> 00:33:39,125 - They were getting 50% of their power 785 00:33:39,166 --> 00:33:41,125 coming from the sun. 786 00:33:41,166 --> 00:33:43,000 - There were days this past summer 787 00:33:43,041 --> 00:33:44,958 when the Germans were generating 80% 788 00:33:45,000 --> 00:33:46,416 of their power from the sun. 789 00:33:46,458 --> 00:33:47,666 - [Ozzie] But Germany 790 00:33:47,708 --> 00:33:49,583 is still Europe's largest consumer of coal. 791 00:33:56,125 --> 00:33:57,125 - Uhh. 792 00:33:57,166 --> 00:33:58,458 - [Ozzie] Only a small fraction 793 00:33:58,500 --> 00:34:01,041 of their energy actually comes from wind and solar. 794 00:34:01,083 --> 00:34:03,833 In fact, Germany is pushing forward with a large terminal 795 00:34:03,875 --> 00:34:06,041 that could import natural gas from the United States. 796 00:34:07,750 --> 00:34:09,041 Elon Musk, the founder of Tesla, 797 00:34:09,083 --> 00:34:10,958 when he announced his Gigafactory battery plant, 798 00:34:11,000 --> 00:34:13,833 he said it would power itself with wind and solar energy. 799 00:34:13,875 --> 00:34:17,541 - Through a combination of geothermal, wind and solar, 800 00:34:17,583 --> 00:34:19,750 it will produce all the energy that it needs. 801 00:34:19,791 --> 00:34:21,541 - [Ozzie] But in fact, it has lines connecting it 802 00:34:21,583 --> 00:34:24,333 to the same electrical grid that we're all connected to. 803 00:34:26,125 --> 00:34:29,958 [fast paced dramatic music] 804 00:34:31,916 --> 00:34:33,000 Electric cars, wind turbines 805 00:34:33,041 --> 00:34:35,083 and solar panels use rare earth metals. 806 00:34:35,125 --> 00:34:36,583 And in fact, a rare earth mine is 807 00:34:36,625 --> 00:34:38,750 right up the street from here. 808 00:34:38,791 --> 00:34:41,833 In mining these deep deposits, about 90% 809 00:34:41,875 --> 00:34:44,833 of what they pull up out of the ground contains uranium, 810 00:34:44,875 --> 00:34:48,458 thorium and low level of other radionuclides. 811 00:34:48,500 --> 00:34:51,291 Radioactive waste that has to be disposed of somehow, 812 00:34:51,333 --> 00:34:53,750 they kind of turn it into a paste and spread it 813 00:34:53,791 --> 00:34:55,208 over the desert floor. 814 00:34:55,250 --> 00:34:56,500 - [Jeff] Well, that's good for the desert, right? 815 00:34:56,541 --> 00:34:58,083 - Yeah, the desert loves that. 816 00:34:58,125 --> 00:35:00,541 [laughing] 817 00:35:00,583 --> 00:35:02,166 Tesla's electric cars are built with aluminum, 818 00:35:02,208 --> 00:35:03,833 which uses eight times more energy 819 00:35:03,875 --> 00:35:05,375 to manufacture than steel. 820 00:35:05,416 --> 00:35:08,791 They use lithium, which also relies on toxic mining. 821 00:35:08,833 --> 00:35:10,875 And even more graphite, which is one 822 00:35:10,916 --> 00:35:12,541 of the rarest forms of carbon. 823 00:35:13,541 --> 00:35:14,750 In fact, the investors wanted 824 00:35:14,791 --> 00:35:16,583 to open several new graphite mines 825 00:35:16,625 --> 00:35:19,291 after Tesla announced the Gigafactory. 826 00:35:19,333 --> 00:35:21,083 Apple claims to be 100% renewable. 827 00:35:21,125 --> 00:35:24,041 - We never stop thinking about what's best for the planet. 828 00:35:24,083 --> 00:35:27,708 We now run Apple on 100% renewable energy. 829 00:35:27,750 --> 00:35:32,000 [clapping and cheering] All of our facilities, worldwide. 830 00:35:32,041 --> 00:35:33,500 - [Ozzie] And they did chop down a forest 831 00:35:33,541 --> 00:35:36,500 to put up solar panels near their North Carolina plant. 832 00:35:36,541 --> 00:35:39,000 But they didn't disconnect from the grid and they can't. 833 00:35:39,041 --> 00:35:41,166 - Duke says energy hungry companies 834 00:35:41,208 --> 00:35:44,166 like Apple can never go entirely off the grid. 835 00:35:44,208 --> 00:35:46,333 - They're still hooked up to our grid. 836 00:35:46,375 --> 00:35:47,416 [fast paced energetic music] 837 00:35:47,458 --> 00:35:48,791 - [Ozzie] Despite all of the claims, 838 00:35:48,833 --> 00:35:51,500 I haven't found a single entity anywhere in the world 839 00:35:51,541 --> 00:35:55,041 that's running on 100% solar and wind alone. 840 00:35:55,083 --> 00:35:57,333 [suspenseful music] 841 00:35:57,375 --> 00:36:00,000 - [Jeff] It turns out, you don't just need fossil fuels 842 00:36:00,041 --> 00:36:04,166 to run a place like Ivanpah, you need the devil himself, 843 00:36:04,208 --> 00:36:06,958 or in this case, themselves. 844 00:36:07,000 --> 00:36:09,416 - [Ozzie] All of the mirrors that you see there are built 845 00:36:09,458 --> 00:36:11,916 by the Koch brothers, Guardian Glass Industry, 846 00:36:11,958 --> 00:36:13,375 a company that they control. 847 00:36:13,416 --> 00:36:15,708 Koch Carbon creates a lot of the inputs that are used 848 00:36:15,750 --> 00:36:18,375 to create the cement and the concrete and the steel. 849 00:36:18,416 --> 00:36:20,583 And not only that, they build the plants 850 00:36:20,625 --> 00:36:22,708 that builds polysilicon for solar cells. 851 00:36:22,750 --> 00:36:23,875 They have, actually, 852 00:36:23,916 --> 00:36:26,000 their own solar line called Solar Molex. 853 00:36:26,041 --> 00:36:29,458 From every step of the process, the Koch brothers are there. 854 00:36:29,500 --> 00:36:31,416 - [Jeff] But, they're the evil doers. 855 00:36:31,458 --> 00:36:32,875 - Yeah [laughing], the funny part is 856 00:36:32,916 --> 00:36:35,000 that when you criticize solar plants like this, 857 00:36:35,041 --> 00:36:37,416 you're accused of working for the Koch brothers. 858 00:36:37,458 --> 00:36:38,458 [laughing] 859 00:36:38,500 --> 00:36:40,416 That's the idiocy in all of this. 860 00:36:40,458 --> 00:36:42,916 This absolutely can not extend civilization's life. 861 00:36:42,958 --> 00:36:45,916 This relies on the most toxic and industrial processes 862 00:36:45,958 --> 00:36:47,208 that we've ever created. 863 00:36:50,250 --> 00:36:53,125 [drum rolling] 864 00:36:53,166 --> 00:36:56,541 [small triangle dinging] 865 00:36:56,583 --> 00:37:00,083 [pulsating dramatic music] 866 00:37:03,833 --> 00:37:07,875 [music building in intensity] 867 00:37:10,416 --> 00:37:13,791 [up tempo dramatic music] 868 00:37:24,750 --> 00:37:27,458 [music building] 869 00:37:34,125 --> 00:37:37,625 [music tempo increasing] 870 00:39:02,166 --> 00:39:06,000 [music ending dramatically] 871 00:39:10,125 --> 00:39:11,833 - The beauty of a solar facility, 872 00:39:11,875 --> 00:39:13,125 and particularly this technology, 873 00:39:13,166 --> 00:39:15,791 is that it is so environmentally benign. 874 00:39:16,833 --> 00:39:20,791 [roaring of large machinery] 875 00:39:37,500 --> 00:39:38,541 [Jeff] I, too, had once thought 876 00:39:38,583 --> 00:39:40,875 deserts could be sacrifice zones. 877 00:39:40,916 --> 00:39:42,875 [powerful drum based music] 878 00:39:42,916 --> 00:39:44,333 I was wrong. 879 00:39:44,375 --> 00:39:45,666 Deserts are not dead. 880 00:39:46,875 --> 00:39:48,875 They are, in fact, full of ancient life. 881 00:39:51,000 --> 00:39:53,916 [powerful music] 882 00:40:01,000 --> 00:40:04,416 In the desert, the Joshua tree stands, waiting, 883 00:40:05,791 --> 00:40:08,000 waiting for the giant ground sloths 884 00:40:08,041 --> 00:40:10,416 and the mammoths that shall never return. 885 00:40:12,000 --> 00:40:15,083 The Joshua tree depended on the giant mammals 886 00:40:15,125 --> 00:40:17,833 to reach up high and eat their seeds, 887 00:40:17,875 --> 00:40:20,875 and thus disperse the Joshua tree. 888 00:40:20,916 --> 00:40:23,750 [mystical vocal music] 889 00:40:23,791 --> 00:40:27,041 But now, stranded in time and space, 890 00:40:27,083 --> 00:40:30,333 the Joshua tree awaits a new fate. 891 00:40:30,375 --> 00:40:31,625 To be sacrificed 892 00:40:32,625 --> 00:40:33,875 in the name of progress. 893 00:40:35,416 --> 00:40:38,708 - Joshua trees are torn down to make way for solar projects. 894 00:40:38,750 --> 00:40:40,666 23ABC's Cassie Carlisle travels 895 00:40:40,708 --> 00:40:42,875 to the Mojave Desert to talk to neighbors. 896 00:40:42,916 --> 00:40:44,750 - [Cassie] They're not your usual tree. 897 00:40:44,791 --> 00:40:46,250 More like something from fiction, 898 00:40:46,291 --> 00:40:48,791 but these Joshuas are causing quite an uproar. 899 00:40:48,833 --> 00:40:51,458 - No, it makes me sick that they're clearing them off, 900 00:40:51,500 --> 00:40:53,250 killing them real quick, 901 00:40:53,291 --> 00:40:54,833 and now they're grinding them up, 902 00:40:54,875 --> 00:40:56,416 getting rid of all the evidence. 903 00:40:57,791 --> 00:41:01,166 [powerful dramatic music] 904 00:41:04,666 --> 00:41:06,958 - [Jeff] Not far from Ivanpah Solar, 905 00:41:07,000 --> 00:41:08,541 Daggett, California was home 906 00:41:08,583 --> 00:41:11,291 to several generations of solar arrays 907 00:41:11,333 --> 00:41:13,875 including some of the first on the planet. 908 00:41:13,916 --> 00:41:16,875 [wind blowing] 909 00:41:18,250 --> 00:41:20,125 Ozzie and I thought we would take a trip 910 00:41:20,166 --> 00:41:21,916 to see where it all began. 911 00:41:26,500 --> 00:41:29,708 [wind blowing loudly] 912 00:41:35,916 --> 00:41:38,125 - This is one of the sunniest places in the planet, really, 913 00:41:38,166 --> 00:41:41,458 and it's the center of the solar industry 914 00:41:41,500 --> 00:41:42,875 and they've been building and dismantling 915 00:41:42,916 --> 00:41:46,833 and building arrays here for about 40 years. 916 00:41:46,875 --> 00:41:48,166 [man's voice on loudspeaker] 917 00:41:48,208 --> 00:41:49,250 - [Jeff] Then we happened to run 918 00:41:49,291 --> 00:41:51,083 into the mayor of Daggett. 919 00:41:51,125 --> 00:41:53,500 - And then the solar plants out there, my husband, 920 00:41:53,541 --> 00:41:58,000 back in, I'd say '83, '84, they worked out there building 921 00:41:58,041 --> 00:41:58,916 that solar plant out there. 922 00:41:58,958 --> 00:41:59,875 - Yeah, the SEGS. 923 00:41:59,916 --> 00:42:02,458 - And everybody here worked. 924 00:42:02,500 --> 00:42:03,333 - How's that held up? 925 00:42:03,375 --> 00:42:04,875 Is it, are the jobs still here? 926 00:42:04,916 --> 00:42:05,916 - No. 927 00:42:05,958 --> 00:42:07,666 Jobs went bye-bye. 928 00:42:07,708 --> 00:42:09,625 They have their normal people that run the plant, 929 00:42:09,666 --> 00:42:11,541 the plant operators and stuff like that, 930 00:42:11,583 --> 00:42:13,833 the big wigs, you know, they have that. 931 00:42:13,875 --> 00:42:15,833 Where that energy's going, I don't know. 932 00:42:15,875 --> 00:42:17,750 - [Jeff] Were you originally optimistic 933 00:42:17,791 --> 00:42:19,916 that the solar would bring more jobs 934 00:42:19,958 --> 00:42:21,041 and development for people? 935 00:42:21,083 --> 00:42:22,500 - Yeah, we really did, we really did. 936 00:42:22,541 --> 00:42:25,125 A lot of things come into this town, they come and go. 937 00:42:25,166 --> 00:42:26,750 They go really fast. 938 00:42:26,791 --> 00:42:29,750 [loud wind blowing] 939 00:42:29,791 --> 00:42:30,916 - Do you see this? 940 00:42:32,666 --> 00:42:34,166 - [Jeff] Then Ozzie and I discovered 941 00:42:34,208 --> 00:42:37,000 that the giant solar arrays had been razed to the ground. 942 00:42:38,583 --> 00:42:40,125 - Oh, my God. 943 00:42:40,166 --> 00:42:41,250 [wind whooshing] 944 00:42:41,291 --> 00:42:42,958 - [Jeff] I mean, this was huge. 945 00:42:46,708 --> 00:42:49,000 It suddenly dawned on me what we were looking at. 946 00:42:50,416 --> 00:42:51,791 A solar dead zone. 947 00:42:53,583 --> 00:42:55,125 Look at the blowing sand. 948 00:42:55,166 --> 00:42:56,166 - Yeah. 949 00:42:56,208 --> 00:42:57,416 There's sand everywhere, 950 00:42:57,458 --> 00:42:59,666 there's sand dunes forming around this area. 951 00:42:59,708 --> 00:43:00,500 - [Jeff] Wow. 952 00:43:02,666 --> 00:43:06,208 [truck idling] 953 00:43:06,250 --> 00:43:09,000 [solemn music] 954 00:43:15,541 --> 00:43:16,958 So, after all the mining, 955 00:43:18,208 --> 00:43:20,166 the fossil fuels, 956 00:43:20,208 --> 00:43:21,750 the toxins, 957 00:43:21,791 --> 00:43:23,708 the environmental destruction, 958 00:43:24,916 --> 00:43:26,875 here's what happens next. 959 00:43:26,916 --> 00:43:28,083 [somber music] 960 00:43:28,125 --> 00:43:30,708 Only a few years after it was built, 961 00:43:30,750 --> 00:43:33,000 things at Ivanpah began to fall apart. 962 00:43:35,875 --> 00:43:37,875 Broken mirrors littered the desert. 963 00:43:41,208 --> 00:43:42,250 [music intensifying] 964 00:43:42,291 --> 00:43:43,875 Yes, these giant solar 965 00:43:43,916 --> 00:43:46,916 and wind technology installations may last 966 00:43:46,958 --> 00:43:48,458 only a few decades, 967 00:43:48,500 --> 00:43:50,666 [somber music] 968 00:43:50,708 --> 00:43:52,958 then tear it down and start all over again. 969 00:43:53,916 --> 00:43:56,416 [somber music] 970 00:43:57,333 --> 00:43:59,000 If there is enough planet left. 971 00:44:00,458 --> 00:44:02,958 [somber music] 972 00:44:04,916 --> 00:44:06,416 It was becoming clear that 973 00:44:06,458 --> 00:44:09,125 what we have been calling green, renewable energy 974 00:44:10,041 --> 00:44:13,083 and industrial civilization, are one and the same. 975 00:44:14,958 --> 00:44:17,875 Desperate measures not to save the planet, 976 00:44:17,916 --> 00:44:19,333 [thunder crashing] 977 00:44:19,375 --> 00:44:21,333 but to save our way of life. 978 00:44:21,375 --> 00:44:24,666 [somber music] 979 00:44:24,708 --> 00:44:28,125 Desperate measures rather than face the reality, 980 00:44:28,166 --> 00:44:32,208 humans are experiencing the planet's limits 981 00:44:32,250 --> 00:44:34,125 all at once. 982 00:44:34,166 --> 00:44:37,708 - Every different perspective I look at 983 00:44:37,750 --> 00:44:41,250 and imagine, well, we could do more of this, 984 00:44:41,291 --> 00:44:44,458 or go to a larger area or use more of that. 985 00:44:44,500 --> 00:44:46,833 Well, it turns out, there isn't more. 986 00:44:46,875 --> 00:44:49,875 I looked at marine production and fish production 987 00:44:49,916 --> 00:44:52,333 and found that peaked 20 years ago. 988 00:44:53,708 --> 00:44:57,166 More and more of what we eat is from fish farming. 989 00:44:58,083 --> 00:45:01,416 The current acres of actively farmed land, 990 00:45:01,458 --> 00:45:03,416 that has peaked also. 991 00:45:03,458 --> 00:45:05,958 The rivers are already being irrigated 992 00:45:06,000 --> 00:45:09,083 to about the limits of what they can sustain. 993 00:45:09,125 --> 00:45:13,583 The Colorado River doesn't get to the ocean anymore. 994 00:45:13,625 --> 00:45:16,083 Well, then you start looking at ground water, 995 00:45:16,125 --> 00:45:18,000 the Southern Great Plains, 996 00:45:18,041 --> 00:45:21,166 and I think they can almost predict when they will run out 997 00:45:21,208 --> 00:45:23,791 of ground water and it's in a decade or two. 998 00:45:23,833 --> 00:45:25,333 [somber music] 999 00:45:25,375 --> 00:45:29,333 A human vulnerability at the global scale, 1000 00:45:29,375 --> 00:45:33,083 that any one of them we could maybe compartmentalize, 1001 00:45:33,125 --> 00:45:34,958 but we're seeing them propagating 1002 00:45:35,000 --> 00:45:40,000 across topic after topic of society and the earth system. 1003 00:45:41,083 --> 00:45:43,750 And I don't think the people 1004 00:45:43,791 --> 00:45:46,000 in charge are near nervous enough. 1005 00:45:51,958 --> 00:45:53,083 - [Jeff] Though each 1006 00:45:53,125 --> 00:45:54,791 of them takes climate change seriously, 1007 00:45:54,833 --> 00:45:56,833 every expert I talked to wanted 1008 00:45:56,875 --> 00:46:00,000 to bring my attention to the same, underlying problem. 1009 00:46:00,041 --> 00:46:04,875 - There are too many human beings using too much, too fast. 1010 00:46:04,916 --> 00:46:07,166 - As a global community, we really have got 1011 00:46:07,208 --> 00:46:09,833 to start dealing with the issue of population. 1012 00:46:09,875 --> 00:46:13,166 - Population growth continues to be the, 1013 00:46:13,208 --> 00:46:16,833 not the elephant, the herd of elephants, in the room. 1014 00:46:16,875 --> 00:46:18,125 - [Jeff] Can a single species 1015 00:46:18,166 --> 00:46:19,875 that's come to dominate an entire planet-- 1016 00:46:19,916 --> 00:46:24,875 - Be smart enough to voluntarily limit its own presence? 1017 00:46:24,916 --> 00:46:26,416 - [Jeff] Is there any precedence for that in nature? 1018 00:46:26,458 --> 00:46:27,958 [laughing] 1019 00:46:28,000 --> 00:46:29,375 - Wow. 1020 00:46:29,416 --> 00:46:32,958 - We have to have our abilities to consume reined in. 1021 00:46:34,125 --> 00:46:37,000 Because we're not good at reining them in 1022 00:46:37,041 --> 00:46:40,833 if there are seemingly unrestrained resources. 1023 00:46:40,875 --> 00:46:44,750 - Species hit the population wall a lot and then they crash. 1024 00:46:44,791 --> 00:46:47,791 I mean, that's a common story in biology. 1025 00:46:47,833 --> 00:46:49,916 If that happens to us, in a way, 1026 00:46:49,958 --> 00:46:51,541 it's the natural order of things. 1027 00:46:51,583 --> 00:46:54,250 And I don't think we're gonna find a way out of this one. 1028 00:46:55,666 --> 00:46:56,375 I don't. 1029 00:46:56,416 --> 00:46:57,375 - [Jeff] As a scientist, 1030 00:46:57,416 --> 00:46:58,750 what leads you to that conclusion? 1031 00:46:58,791 --> 00:47:03,416 - Well, because right now, a large percentage 1032 00:47:03,458 --> 00:47:07,500 of that number is supported by industrial agriculture, 1033 00:47:07,541 --> 00:47:09,500 which is heavily subsidized by oil, 1034 00:47:09,541 --> 00:47:10,791 and it's not sustainable, 1035 00:47:14,000 --> 00:47:15,458 and there's no going back. 1036 00:47:15,500 --> 00:47:18,541 Without seeing some sort of major die-off in population, 1037 00:47:18,583 --> 00:47:19,791 there's no turning back. 1038 00:47:21,208 --> 00:47:22,541 - [Jeff] What's the thing that nobody ever asks you 1039 00:47:22,583 --> 00:47:23,791 that you want-- 1040 00:47:23,833 --> 00:47:25,791 [laughing] 1041 00:47:25,833 --> 00:47:27,791 - Nobody's ever asked me if I'm scared. 1042 00:47:28,916 --> 00:47:29,666 - [Jeff] Yeah. 1043 00:47:29,708 --> 00:47:30,458 - And, I am. 1044 00:47:30,500 --> 00:47:31,375 I actually am scared. 1045 00:47:31,416 --> 00:47:34,166 I lose sleep over all of this. 1046 00:47:34,208 --> 00:47:36,958 [somber music] 1047 00:47:40,791 --> 00:47:42,500 - [Jeff] It took modern humans tens of thousands 1048 00:47:42,541 --> 00:47:45,541 of years to reach a population of 700 million. 1049 00:47:46,708 --> 00:47:48,458 And then we tapped into millions of years 1050 00:47:48,500 --> 00:47:51,500 of stored energy, known as fossil fuels. 1051 00:47:51,541 --> 00:47:53,333 Our human population exploded. 1052 00:47:54,208 --> 00:47:58,083 It increased by 10 times in a mere 200 years. 1053 00:47:58,125 --> 00:48:00,375 Our consumption has also exploded, 1054 00:48:00,416 --> 00:48:02,875 on average ten times per person, 1055 00:48:02,916 --> 00:48:05,208 and many times more in the Western world. 1056 00:48:06,125 --> 00:48:07,958 You put the two together, 1057 00:48:08,000 --> 00:48:11,875 the result is a total human impact 100 times greater 1058 00:48:11,916 --> 00:48:14,125 than only 200 years ago. 1059 00:48:14,166 --> 00:48:16,833 [mellow music] 1060 00:48:16,875 --> 00:48:20,958 And that is the most terrifying realization I have ever had. 1061 00:48:23,500 --> 00:48:27,041 We humans are poised for a fall from an unimaginable height. 1062 00:48:28,791 --> 00:48:30,375 Not because of one thing, 1063 00:48:31,416 --> 00:48:32,916 not climate change alone, 1064 00:48:34,208 --> 00:48:36,333 but all the human-caused changes 1065 00:48:36,375 --> 00:48:37,875 the planet is suffering from. 1066 00:48:39,541 --> 00:48:40,958 [slow tempo music] 1067 00:48:41,000 --> 00:48:44,250 So, why are bankers, industrialists 1068 00:48:44,291 --> 00:48:46,083 and environmental leaders only focused 1069 00:48:46,125 --> 00:48:48,416 on the narrow solution of green technology? 1070 00:48:50,333 --> 00:48:51,708 Is it the profit motive? 1071 00:48:53,291 --> 00:48:56,291 And why, for most of my life, have I fallen 1072 00:48:56,333 --> 00:48:58,958 for the illusion green energy would save us? 1073 00:48:59,000 --> 00:49:02,250 [waves lapping on shore] 1074 00:49:03,250 --> 00:49:04,208 [squeaking door] 1075 00:49:04,250 --> 00:49:05,833 Clearly, to answer this question, 1076 00:49:05,875 --> 00:49:08,125 I needed professional help. 1077 00:49:08,166 --> 00:49:09,458 - Keep my stuff. 1078 00:49:09,500 --> 00:49:11,541 No, I never heard... 1079 00:49:11,583 --> 00:49:13,375 - I'll just be honest with you about my dilemma. 1080 00:49:13,416 --> 00:49:17,750 You can be my clinical social psych-- [laughing] 1081 00:49:17,791 --> 00:49:20,666 It's like, the right has religion, 1082 00:49:21,708 --> 00:49:24,250 and they have a belief in infinite fossil fuels. 1083 00:49:24,291 --> 00:49:27,833 Our side says, "Oh, it's gonna be okay, 1084 00:49:27,875 --> 00:49:29,041 we're gonna have solar panels, 1085 00:49:29,083 --> 00:49:31,250 we're gonna have wind towers." 1086 00:49:31,291 --> 00:49:33,333 Soon as I heard you talk about our denial of death, 1087 00:49:33,375 --> 00:49:35,958 I'm like could that be it? 1088 00:49:36,000 --> 00:49:38,458 Could it be that we can't face our own mortality? 1089 00:49:38,500 --> 00:49:40,750 Could we have a religion that we're unaware of? 1090 00:49:40,791 --> 00:49:42,125 - Absolutely. 1091 00:49:42,166 --> 00:49:44,750 I think you've hit the proverbial nail on the head. 1092 00:49:44,791 --> 00:49:48,916 What just differentiates people from all other forms 1093 00:49:48,958 --> 00:49:51,458 of life is that, we're not only here 1094 00:49:51,500 --> 00:49:52,916 but that we know that we're here. 1095 00:49:52,958 --> 00:49:57,041 If you know that you're here, then you recognize, 1096 00:49:57,083 --> 00:50:00,333 even dimly, that you'll not be here someday. 1097 00:50:00,375 --> 00:50:03,958 And on top of that, we don't like that we're animals. 1098 00:50:04,000 --> 00:50:05,750 So we don't like that we're gonna die someday, 1099 00:50:05,791 --> 00:50:07,791 and we don't like that you could walk outside 1100 00:50:07,833 --> 00:50:09,875 and get hit by a fuckin' meteor. 1101 00:50:09,916 --> 00:50:11,916 What human beings did back 1102 00:50:11,958 --> 00:50:15,083 in yesteryear is to envelop ourselves 1103 00:50:15,125 --> 00:50:17,958 in culturally constructed belief systems. 1104 00:50:18,000 --> 00:50:19,250 You know, call them cultures, 1105 00:50:19,291 --> 00:50:23,125 call them world views, schemes of things. 1106 00:50:23,166 --> 00:50:27,125 Whatever you call them, every human community has them. 1107 00:50:27,166 --> 00:50:31,333 Every culture has an account of the origin of the Universe. 1108 00:50:31,375 --> 00:50:32,875 Every culture has a prescription 1109 00:50:32,916 --> 00:50:34,916 for how you're supposed to behave while you're here. 1110 00:50:34,958 --> 00:50:38,833 And every culture offers its denizens hope of immortality, 1111 00:50:38,875 --> 00:50:42,833 either literally or symbolically. 1112 00:50:42,875 --> 00:50:45,375 Then the question is, well, what happens when you bump 1113 00:50:45,416 --> 00:50:49,083 into people who don't share those beliefs? 1114 00:50:49,125 --> 00:50:51,958 Whether you know it or not, whether you like it or not, 1115 00:50:52,000 --> 00:50:54,333 that's undermining the confidence 1116 00:50:54,375 --> 00:50:57,375 with which you subscribe to your own views, 1117 00:50:57,416 --> 00:50:59,875 and exposing you to the very anxiety 1118 00:50:59,916 --> 00:51:02,000 that those beliefs were constructed 1119 00:51:02,041 --> 00:51:04,208 to eradicate in the first place. 1120 00:51:04,250 --> 00:51:07,041 If we're to make progress, whatever that word means, 1121 00:51:07,083 --> 00:51:10,666 or even to persist as a form of life, we're gonna need 1122 00:51:10,708 --> 00:51:15,708 to radically overhaul our basic conception 1123 00:51:16,750 --> 00:51:20,166 of who and what we are, and what it is that we value. 1124 00:51:21,208 --> 00:51:23,875 Because the people that you referred to earlier, 1125 00:51:23,916 --> 00:51:27,375 both on the left and the right 1126 00:51:27,416 --> 00:51:32,791 that think we're gonna be able to discover more oil, 1127 00:51:32,833 --> 00:51:37,958 or solar panel ourselves into the future, 1128 00:51:38,000 --> 00:51:41,291 where life will look pretty much like it does now. 1129 00:51:41,333 --> 00:51:43,500 You know, only cleaner and better. 1130 00:51:43,541 --> 00:51:45,083 - [Jeff] Either with more oil or greener or both. 1131 00:51:45,125 --> 00:51:46,250 - Correct. 1132 00:51:46,291 --> 00:51:49,000 I think that's just frankly delusional. 1133 00:51:49,041 --> 00:51:51,916 - What I'm hearing is that, if I haven't come to grips 1134 00:51:51,958 --> 00:51:55,791 with my own anxiety about death and life, 1135 00:51:55,833 --> 00:52:00,333 and presented with a reminder of that, I'm highly likely 1136 00:52:00,375 --> 00:52:05,166 to make some tragic decisions for the community. 1137 00:52:05,208 --> 00:52:06,708 - Yes. 1138 00:52:06,750 --> 00:52:12,000 The only solution in principle is, as Albert Camus put it, 1139 00:52:12,041 --> 00:52:15,333 he said, "There's only one liberty, to come to terms 1140 00:52:15,375 --> 00:52:18,958 with death, thereafter anything is possible." 1141 00:52:19,000 --> 00:52:22,291 I find that downright inspiring. 1142 00:52:23,958 --> 00:52:25,791 - [Jeff] As for our environmental leaders, 1143 00:52:25,833 --> 00:52:27,958 who dwelled in comfortable illusions, 1144 00:52:28,000 --> 00:52:30,541 how tragic of decisions were they capable of making? 1145 00:52:32,791 --> 00:52:34,041 I was about to find out. 1146 00:52:36,666 --> 00:52:40,000 [humming of machinery] 1147 00:52:46,833 --> 00:52:49,625 [leaves crunching] 1148 00:52:49,666 --> 00:52:52,125 - [Josh] They claim they're just using forest residues, 1149 00:52:52,166 --> 00:52:55,333 but actually a great deal of what the McNeil facility, 1150 00:52:55,375 --> 00:52:58,333 and lots of biomass facilities burn, is whole trees. 1151 00:52:58,375 --> 00:53:00,500 As you can see by this pile that's stacked right 1152 00:53:00,541 --> 00:53:03,208 outside of the facility, these are trees. 1153 00:53:05,000 --> 00:53:06,416 - [Jeff] It turns out that the biggest source 1154 00:53:06,458 --> 00:53:09,791 of green energy in Vermont is something called biomass. 1155 00:53:10,875 --> 00:53:12,958 Burning trees to create electricity. 1156 00:53:14,750 --> 00:53:16,875 - This is definitely not the way. 1157 00:53:16,916 --> 00:53:19,250 At the first step is actually looking at our lifestyles, 1158 00:53:19,291 --> 00:53:21,791 how we can reduce our energy consumption. 1159 00:53:23,208 --> 00:53:28,541 This is all the ash that has varying levels of toxic metals, 1160 00:53:28,583 --> 00:53:30,041 a great deal of radiation 1161 00:53:30,083 --> 00:53:31,500 because these trees have been absorb... 1162 00:53:31,541 --> 00:53:32,541 Oops, there's the... 1163 00:53:33,708 --> 00:53:36,583 [machinery humming] 1164 00:53:36,625 --> 00:53:38,500 - You're in uh forbidden territory here. 1165 00:53:38,541 --> 00:53:39,958 - [Jeff] Are we? 1166 00:53:40,000 --> 00:53:41,958 - May I ask both of you to come up to our office, okay? 1167 00:53:42,000 --> 00:53:43,208 - [Josh] Is that something you're interested in doing? 1168 00:53:43,250 --> 00:53:45,833 - It's not an interest, you've got five seconds 1169 00:53:45,875 --> 00:53:46,875 or I'm calling 911. 1170 00:53:46,916 --> 00:53:48,208 - [Jeff] Okay. 1171 00:53:48,250 --> 00:53:50,750 - [Security Guard] We've got two individuals here-- 1172 00:53:50,791 --> 00:53:52,083 [loud crunching footsteps] 1173 00:53:52,125 --> 00:53:53,958 The police will be down here in about two minutes. 1174 00:53:54,000 --> 00:53:55,833 - [Josh] But you asked us to leave and we're doing so. 1175 00:53:55,875 --> 00:53:57,000 - [Security Guard] I'm not asking you to leave, 1176 00:53:57,041 --> 00:53:59,000 I'm asking you to come up to the office. 1177 00:53:59,041 --> 00:54:00,583 - [Josh] Okay, thanks for the offer. 1178 00:54:00,625 --> 00:54:01,541 Maybe next time. 1179 00:54:02,416 --> 00:54:04,166 [electronic beeping] 1180 00:54:04,208 --> 00:54:05,166 [machinery humming] 1181 00:54:05,208 --> 00:54:06,583 You got everything here. 1182 00:54:07,541 --> 00:54:10,000 You have the number one polluter in the state 1183 00:54:10,041 --> 00:54:12,666 that people think emits magical fairy dust 1184 00:54:12,708 --> 00:54:14,583 from the smokestack. 1185 00:54:14,625 --> 00:54:16,416 Reality is what you have is a facility 1186 00:54:16,458 --> 00:54:20,333 that burns 400,000 green tons a year of trees. 1187 00:54:20,375 --> 00:54:23,375 This facility burns thirty cords of wood per hour. 1188 00:54:23,416 --> 00:54:24,916 - [Jeff] That's a hell of a lot of wood. 1189 00:54:24,958 --> 00:54:26,083 - [Josh] And on top of that, 1190 00:54:26,125 --> 00:54:28,541 it actually burns natural gas, as well. 1191 00:54:28,583 --> 00:54:29,958 - [Jeff] And to think you would have to have 10 1192 00:54:30,000 --> 00:54:32,916 of these to replace one average coal-fired power plant. 1193 00:54:32,958 --> 00:54:34,416 It's just not gonna work. 1194 00:54:34,458 --> 00:54:35,833 - It's just nuts. 1195 00:54:35,875 --> 00:54:37,500 It takes a great deal of fossil fuels 1196 00:54:37,541 --> 00:54:40,000 to cut down all these trees, 1197 00:54:40,041 --> 00:54:42,000 to truck 'em in, to use the big machinery 1198 00:54:42,041 --> 00:54:43,750 to dump the wood chips everywhere. 1199 00:54:43,791 --> 00:54:46,375 So, the idea that somehow this is not anything to do 1200 00:54:46,416 --> 00:54:49,083 with fossil fuels just doesn't even make any sense. 1201 00:54:49,125 --> 00:54:51,916 It couldn't happen without fossil fuels, in fact. 1202 00:54:51,958 --> 00:54:53,416 - [Jeff] How did the environmental groups 1203 00:54:53,458 --> 00:54:54,625 get pulled into this? 1204 00:54:54,666 --> 00:54:57,000 - Obviously, the main factor is delusion. 1205 00:54:57,041 --> 00:54:59,833 A lot of these environmental groups have been saying 1206 00:54:59,875 --> 00:55:01,916 that all we have to do is, for instance, 1207 00:55:01,958 --> 00:55:04,000 switch our fossil fuel economy over 1208 00:55:04,041 --> 00:55:06,000 to a few solar panels and windmills, 1209 00:55:06,041 --> 00:55:09,666 and we can continue living life as normal. 1210 00:55:09,708 --> 00:55:11,833 Some of the environmental groups have been, 1211 00:55:11,875 --> 00:55:15,875 for years, touting facilities like this saying that, 1212 00:55:15,916 --> 00:55:18,875 number one, it's carbon neutral. 1213 00:55:18,916 --> 00:55:22,625 That this will actually help us fend off climate change 1214 00:55:22,666 --> 00:55:25,958 because there are no CO2 emissions. 1215 00:55:26,000 --> 00:55:27,958 It actually emits over 400 thousand tons 1216 00:55:28,000 --> 00:55:30,666 per year of carbon dioxide. 1217 00:55:30,708 --> 00:55:33,250 "Oh, but once we cut 'em, they'll grow back." 1218 00:55:33,291 --> 00:55:36,958 They'll grow back over a period of decades to centuries 1219 00:55:37,000 --> 00:55:38,916 but if we cut every tree in the United States, 1220 00:55:38,958 --> 00:55:41,750 it would be able to power the country for a year. 1221 00:55:41,791 --> 00:55:44,625 Then what happens when, you know, those trees are gone? 1222 00:55:47,166 --> 00:55:49,875 [wind blowing] 1223 00:55:51,166 --> 00:55:52,875 - [Jeff] I discovered biomass plants 1224 00:55:52,916 --> 00:55:55,208 were not even always biomass plants. 1225 00:55:56,166 --> 00:55:58,458 - This is actually a solid waste incinerator 1226 00:55:58,500 --> 00:56:00,583 that's posing as a biomass plant. 1227 00:56:00,625 --> 00:56:04,916 The impact in this community is severe. 1228 00:56:04,958 --> 00:56:09,125 The plant is right next to a Head Start school 1229 00:56:09,166 --> 00:56:10,750 for preschool kids. 1230 00:56:10,791 --> 00:56:12,750 There is Green Hill Manor and 1231 00:56:12,791 --> 00:56:16,750 that's an assisted living senior residence. 1232 00:56:16,791 --> 00:56:20,083 And there's also a Catholic elementary school 1233 00:56:20,125 --> 00:56:21,833 right next door. 1234 00:56:22,958 --> 00:56:23,875 - [Jeff] How do you know they're polluting? 1235 00:56:23,916 --> 00:56:24,916 Can you see it ever? 1236 00:56:24,958 --> 00:56:25,916 - We can see it. 1237 00:56:25,958 --> 00:56:28,041 The snow at the elementary school 1238 00:56:28,083 --> 00:56:32,875 and at the preschool is covered with black, 1239 00:56:32,916 --> 00:56:34,791 some kind of black soot. 1240 00:56:34,833 --> 00:56:36,250 We just had it analyzed 1241 00:56:36,291 --> 00:56:41,833 and it came back as mostly tire chips. 1242 00:56:41,875 --> 00:56:45,000 They have to add tire-derived fuel 1243 00:56:45,041 --> 00:56:47,250 to raise the temperature of the fire, 1244 00:56:47,291 --> 00:56:50,875 because anybody who's tried to burn green wood or wet wood, 1245 00:56:50,916 --> 00:56:52,833 knows that it doesn't burn very well. 1246 00:56:54,000 --> 00:56:55,375 - [Jeff] But this biomass plant had 1247 00:56:55,416 --> 00:56:56,833 yet another surprise. 1248 00:56:58,208 --> 00:57:01,833 - They admit that they burn 20.1 tons per hour 1249 00:57:01,875 --> 00:57:04,250 of creosote treated railroad ties. 1250 00:57:04,291 --> 00:57:09,250 Besides that, they are allowed to burn 500 pounds per hour 1251 00:57:09,291 --> 00:57:13,125 of PCP treated railroad ties. 1252 00:57:13,166 --> 00:57:15,000 These are shipped in from Canada. 1253 00:57:16,166 --> 00:57:20,166 It's not green, it's not renewable, it's 1254 00:57:20,208 --> 00:57:22,500 it's not anything that they claim it to be. 1255 00:57:22,541 --> 00:57:26,166 Yet, they got $11.5 million grant 1256 00:57:26,208 --> 00:57:28,875 because it was classified as renewable. 1257 00:57:29,958 --> 00:57:31,500 The plant owner told us 1258 00:57:31,541 --> 00:57:36,166 that they were having trouble getting enough wood chips. 1259 00:57:36,208 --> 00:57:39,916 And he even asked us if we had any scrap wood 1260 00:57:39,958 --> 00:57:42,833 where we lived, would we call the plant 1261 00:57:42,875 --> 00:57:45,708 and let them know so they could come up and pick it up. 1262 00:57:45,750 --> 00:57:46,583 - [Jeff] We're not talking 1263 00:57:46,625 --> 00:57:48,791 about some old industrial site, 1264 00:57:48,833 --> 00:57:50,208 we're next to one of the most beautiful places in the world. 1265 00:57:50,250 --> 00:57:52,916 - We're next to Lake Superior, this is Keweenaw B... 1266 00:57:52,958 --> 00:57:56,125 this is actually L'Anse Bay, it's part of Keweenaw Bay. 1267 00:57:57,458 --> 00:58:03,250 It's Lake Superior, our lake. [voice breaking] 1268 00:58:03,291 --> 00:58:06,625 So, it's a very sacred place to many people. 1269 00:58:09,875 --> 00:58:11,833 [clopping horse feet] 1270 00:58:11,875 --> 00:58:13,125 - Are you with the news? 1271 00:58:13,166 --> 00:58:14,000 - [Jeff] No, there's supposed 1272 00:58:14,041 --> 00:58:14,833 to be a climate change rally. 1273 00:58:14,875 --> 00:58:16,625 - Oh. 1274 00:58:16,666 --> 00:58:19,541 - [group chanting] 1275 00:58:20,458 --> 00:58:22,750 - [Jeff] Michigan State University students, 1276 00:58:22,791 --> 00:58:26,166 inspired by 350.org, were holding a rally 1277 00:58:26,208 --> 00:58:29,125 for the clean energy future they'd been promised. 1278 00:58:29,166 --> 00:58:33,166 - [crowd shouting and cheering] 1279 00:58:34,416 --> 00:58:35,958 - Imagine when I found out 1280 00:58:36,000 --> 00:58:39,583 that it is the largest on-campus coal plant in the nation. 1281 00:58:39,625 --> 00:58:42,041 The goal is to get the whole world moving 1282 00:58:42,083 --> 00:58:43,500 beyond fossil fuels. 1283 00:58:43,541 --> 00:58:45,500 [crowd cheering and clapping] 1284 00:58:45,541 --> 00:58:49,916 - [Student] Who wants to do a 350 sign on the steps? 1285 00:58:49,958 --> 00:58:51,833 - [Jeff] But it turned out Michigan State had a form 1286 00:58:51,875 --> 00:58:54,958 of green energy in mind the students did not support. 1287 00:58:56,041 --> 00:58:57,375 - The university contracted 1288 00:58:57,416 --> 00:59:00,208 with an energy contracting company. 1289 00:59:00,250 --> 00:59:01,875 They put together a modeling tool. 1290 00:59:01,916 --> 00:59:03,416 The first two or three months 1291 00:59:03,458 --> 00:59:06,458 that the steering committee was using this modeling tool, 1292 00:59:06,500 --> 00:59:09,125 it didn't even contain data for wind or solar. 1293 00:59:09,166 --> 00:59:10,375 So there was [voice fading out] 1294 00:59:10,416 --> 00:59:11,708 - [Jeff] Adam told me they were planning on 1295 00:59:11,750 --> 00:59:14,375 substituting coal burning with biomass burning. 1296 00:59:14,416 --> 00:59:16,333 - But the permit that is currently being considered 1297 00:59:16,375 --> 00:59:20,875 by the state is a permit for 24,000 tons of biomass, 1298 00:59:22,916 --> 00:59:24,208 I think per year. 1299 00:59:24,250 --> 00:59:26,458 And the plan is to do that in all four boilers. 1300 00:59:26,500 --> 00:59:28,083 Unfortunately, the steering committee considers 1301 00:59:28,125 --> 00:59:30,333 biomass renewable at the moment, 1302 00:59:30,375 --> 00:59:32,875 which we're not happy with. 1303 00:59:32,916 --> 00:59:34,875 [students laughing] 1304 00:59:34,916 --> 00:59:36,958 - [Jeff] Michigan State wasn't the only university 1305 00:59:37,000 --> 00:59:37,833 to go green. 1306 00:59:39,250 --> 00:59:41,666 - I'm happy to announce that Carolina will be going 1307 00:59:41,708 --> 00:59:44,791 beyond coal in the next decade. 1308 00:59:44,833 --> 00:59:48,125 Now, as we begin to wean ourselves on coal, we are about 1309 00:59:48,166 --> 00:59:52,000 to try another alternative energy source, biomass. 1310 00:59:52,916 --> 00:59:54,125 - [Jeff] And who was here 1311 00:59:54,166 --> 00:59:55,291 to help the University of North Carolina switch 1312 00:59:55,333 --> 00:59:57,500 from burning coal to burning trees? 1313 00:59:58,791 --> 01:00:01,416 - So, it is a great pleasure to be here today 1314 01:00:01,458 --> 01:00:03,333 to celebrate the remarkable step 1315 01:00:03,375 --> 01:00:05,833 that the university is taking to say, 1316 01:00:05,875 --> 01:00:07,750 "We're gonna do our part." 1317 01:00:07,791 --> 01:00:08,833 [solemn music] 1318 01:00:08,875 --> 01:00:10,583 - [Jeff] A remarkable step, indeed. 1319 01:00:11,875 --> 01:00:13,583 We're to do our part by getting out 1320 01:00:13,625 --> 01:00:15,750 of bed with coal companies 1321 01:00:15,791 --> 01:00:17,875 and into bed with logging companies? 1322 01:00:19,791 --> 01:00:21,875 Where did the idea of colleges going green 1323 01:00:21,916 --> 01:00:23,958 by burning trees come from, anyway? 1324 01:00:25,166 --> 01:00:28,916 A little college called Middlebury in the heart of Vermont. 1325 01:00:30,583 --> 01:00:32,875 - Welcome to the celebration of the opening 1326 01:00:32,916 --> 01:00:36,625 of Middlebury's new biomass gasification system. 1327 01:00:36,666 --> 01:00:38,833 It's now my great pleasure to introduce 1328 01:00:38,875 --> 01:00:40,875 this afternoon's speaker, Bill McKibben. 1329 01:00:40,916 --> 01:00:42,750 [audience clapping] 1330 01:00:42,791 --> 01:00:45,541 - What powers a learning community? 1331 01:00:45,583 --> 01:00:48,333 And as of this afternoon, the easy answer 1332 01:00:48,375 --> 01:00:50,916 to that is wood chips. 1333 01:00:50,958 --> 01:00:53,958 It's incredibly beautiful to stand over there 1334 01:00:54,000 --> 01:00:57,000 and see that big bunker full of wood chips. 1335 01:00:57,041 --> 01:00:59,875 You can put any kind of wood in, oak, willow, 1336 01:00:59,916 --> 01:01:01,291 whatever you want. 1337 01:01:01,333 --> 01:01:03,750 Pretty much anything that burns we can toss in there 1338 01:01:03,791 --> 01:01:06,041 if we can chip it down to the right size. 1339 01:01:06,083 --> 01:01:08,791 And there are very few similar cases anyplace 1340 01:01:08,833 --> 01:01:12,291 in this country of that kind of change over that scale. 1341 01:01:12,333 --> 01:01:13,958 But it shows it could happen anywhere 1342 01:01:14,000 --> 01:01:15,625 and it should happen anywhere. 1343 01:01:15,666 --> 01:01:18,875 In fact, it must happen everywhere. 1344 01:01:18,916 --> 01:01:21,083 - [Jeff] It must happen everywhere. 1345 01:01:22,833 --> 01:01:24,000 [dramatic piano music] 1346 01:01:24,041 --> 01:01:25,791 And now it's time for a nature break, 1347 01:01:25,833 --> 01:01:28,916 enjoying our sustainably managed Michigan forests. 1348 01:01:28,958 --> 01:01:30,583 [classical piano music] 1349 01:01:30,625 --> 01:01:31,791 - If you walk through here and you look, 1350 01:01:31,833 --> 01:01:34,333 there's virtually nothing growing. 1351 01:01:34,375 --> 01:01:36,875 A little bit of grass occasionally. 1352 01:01:36,916 --> 01:01:38,500 [increasing classical music] 1353 01:01:38,541 --> 01:01:40,541 - [Jeff] And it seemed that biomass plants, indeed, 1354 01:01:40,583 --> 01:01:41,916 were suddenly everywhere, 1355 01:01:42,875 --> 01:01:44,833 like this one in Cadillac, Michigan. 1356 01:01:44,875 --> 01:01:47,750 [truck engine rumbling] 1357 01:01:47,791 --> 01:01:49,125 In Detroit, an incinerator 1358 01:01:49,166 --> 01:01:51,500 that burned garbage was considered green. 1359 01:01:51,541 --> 01:01:53,041 [classical piano music] 1360 01:01:53,083 --> 01:01:56,125 - The Detroit incinerator is known to emit horrible smells 1361 01:01:56,166 --> 01:01:58,833 and pollutants that neighbors say make them feel sick 1362 01:01:58,875 --> 01:02:00,000 and put their health at risk. 1363 01:02:00,041 --> 01:02:03,208 - It's a stink, it's a horrendous stink. 1364 01:02:03,250 --> 01:02:04,750 - [Jeff] A proposed biofuel plant 1365 01:02:04,791 --> 01:02:07,750 for the Upper Peninsula of Michigan would consume trees 1366 01:02:07,791 --> 01:02:10,458 from tens of thousands of square miles. 1367 01:02:10,500 --> 01:02:13,416 - In order to create 40 million gallons of ethanol, 1368 01:02:13,458 --> 01:02:15,458 they were going to have to use up 1369 01:02:15,500 --> 01:02:17,541 over a million tons of green wood. 1370 01:02:17,583 --> 01:02:19,083 We pointed out that they were gonna be using 1371 01:02:19,125 --> 01:02:22,250 more natural gas than they were gonna be creating ethanol 1372 01:02:22,291 --> 01:02:23,875 to displace the natural gas. 1373 01:02:23,916 --> 01:02:24,958 If you continue to do this, 1374 01:02:25,000 --> 01:02:26,791 you're gonna be fertilizing the forests. 1375 01:02:26,833 --> 01:02:28,958 - [Jeff] Fertilizing forests with? 1376 01:02:29,000 --> 01:02:29,833 Fossil fuels? - Fossil fuel 1377 01:02:29,875 --> 01:02:31,416 based fertilizers. 1378 01:02:31,458 --> 01:02:32,208 - [Jeff] Made from natural gas? 1379 01:02:32,250 --> 01:02:33,000 - Yeah. 1380 01:02:33,041 --> 01:02:34,166 [frenzied piano music] 1381 01:02:34,208 --> 01:02:35,708 [Jeff] Then came a ballot proposal backed 1382 01:02:35,750 --> 01:02:39,750 by Bill McKibben and nearly every major environmental group, 1383 01:02:39,791 --> 01:02:43,375 requiring Michigan to get 25% of its electricity 1384 01:02:43,416 --> 01:02:46,625 from renewable sources by the year 2025. 1385 01:02:46,666 --> 01:02:49,333 - [Announcer] This year, Michigan voters have a choice: 1386 01:02:49,375 --> 01:02:52,416 keep burning dirty coal and oil, or move Michigan 1387 01:02:52,458 --> 01:02:55,625 to clean, renewable energy like wind and solar. 1388 01:02:55,666 --> 01:02:57,875 Vote 'Yes' on Proposal 3. 1389 01:02:57,916 --> 01:02:59,708 - [Jeff] Surprisingly, Proposal 3, 1390 01:02:59,750 --> 01:03:04,125 also known as 25 by '25, was the brain child 1391 01:03:04,166 --> 01:03:09,083 of an organization that was 100% biofuels and biomass. 1392 01:03:09,125 --> 01:03:11,750 - Allowing America's farms, ranches and forest lands 1393 01:03:11,791 --> 01:03:14,291 to be active participants in contributing 1394 01:03:14,333 --> 01:03:16,333 to America's energy future. 1395 01:03:16,375 --> 01:03:17,750 - [Jeff] These are the biomass 1396 01:03:17,791 --> 01:03:20,333 and biofuel plants across the U.S. 1397 01:03:20,375 --> 01:03:22,583 [popping] 1398 01:03:26,125 --> 01:03:27,125 How did this happen? 1399 01:03:28,916 --> 01:03:30,958 And it wasn't just the U.S.A., 1400 01:03:31,000 --> 01:03:33,333 it was all around the world. 1401 01:03:33,375 --> 01:03:37,625 Wood chips, which is just a euphemism for trees, 1402 01:03:37,666 --> 01:03:40,375 are being exported to Europe from America, 1403 01:03:40,416 --> 01:03:44,416 British Columbia, Brazil, and Indonesia. 1404 01:03:44,458 --> 01:03:46,583 Wherever they can get them from. 1405 01:03:46,625 --> 01:03:47,791 [classical piano music] 1406 01:03:47,833 --> 01:03:50,708 Biomass, especially when you add in biofuels, 1407 01:03:50,750 --> 01:03:54,166 is by far the largest portion of green energy 1408 01:03:54,208 --> 01:03:56,958 around the world, even in Germany, 1409 01:03:57,000 --> 01:03:59,041 source of the solar miracle. 1410 01:03:59,083 --> 01:04:01,833 [classical piano music] 1411 01:04:01,875 --> 01:04:03,791 But maybe I was missing something. 1412 01:04:03,833 --> 01:04:05,583 Maybe I had it all wrong. 1413 01:04:05,625 --> 01:04:07,083 [woman's voice on loudspeaker] 1414 01:04:07,125 --> 01:04:10,500 I decided to ask people protesting fossil fuels 1415 01:04:10,541 --> 01:04:14,833 how they felt about biomass and biofuels as green energy. 1416 01:04:14,875 --> 01:04:16,583 Would you say we don't need to do biofuels 1417 01:04:16,625 --> 01:04:18,375 and food and forests for energy? 1418 01:04:18,416 --> 01:04:19,916 - No, no, definitely not. 1419 01:04:19,958 --> 01:04:21,916 Of course not, of course not. 1420 01:04:21,958 --> 01:04:23,625 - Burning biomass, any kind of combustion, 1421 01:04:23,666 --> 01:04:25,875 is something we just need to move away from. 1422 01:04:25,916 --> 01:04:27,291 - The more trees we have, the better. 1423 01:04:27,333 --> 01:04:28,666 - A lot of that didn't grow overnight. 1424 01:04:28,708 --> 01:04:30,833 If we cut it down, we don't know the impact of that. 1425 01:04:30,875 --> 01:04:31,875 - [Jeff] You're here as an oak tree? 1426 01:04:31,916 --> 01:04:32,583 - Yes. 1427 01:04:32,625 --> 01:04:33,833 - If I had a chainsaw, 1428 01:04:33,875 --> 01:04:34,541 that wouldn't be saving the planet, would it? 1429 01:04:34,583 --> 01:04:35,333 - No, it's a painful, 1430 01:04:35,375 --> 01:04:36,208 it's a painful way to go. 1431 01:04:36,250 --> 01:04:37,958 I can tell you that right now. 1432 01:04:38,000 --> 01:04:39,041 - [Jeff] It would take you a while to regrow. 1433 01:04:39,083 --> 01:04:39,833 [laughing] 1434 01:04:39,875 --> 01:04:41,083 - Yeah, oh yeah. 1435 01:04:41,125 --> 01:04:43,791 And it wouldn't be me, it'd be an off-spring. 1436 01:04:43,833 --> 01:04:46,625 - With so many people doing it on such a massive scale, 1437 01:04:46,666 --> 01:04:50,750 all of a sudden at once, that's pretty serious. 1438 01:04:50,791 --> 01:04:52,791 - No, I think we should not be burning trees. 1439 01:04:52,833 --> 01:04:54,166 - [Group] No, no. 1440 01:04:54,208 --> 01:04:55,958 - Why would we cut down trees? 1441 01:04:56,000 --> 01:04:58,250 - We shouldn't replace one terrible way of getting energy 1442 01:04:58,291 --> 01:04:59,750 with another terrible way of getting energy. 1443 01:04:59,791 --> 01:05:01,500 Because it's one thing. 1444 01:05:01,541 --> 01:05:02,708 [girl's voice fading] 1445 01:05:02,750 --> 01:05:05,000 - [Jeff] Clearly, most citizens are opposed 1446 01:05:05,041 --> 01:05:06,750 to biomass and biofuels. 1447 01:05:06,791 --> 01:05:08,625 [calming guitar music] 1448 01:05:08,666 --> 01:05:11,291 But what about environmental leaders? 1449 01:05:11,333 --> 01:05:15,916 At times, they have promoted biomass but other times, 1450 01:05:15,958 --> 01:05:18,125 they sound like they are against biomass. 1451 01:05:19,250 --> 01:05:21,458 Like this Sierra Club policy, 1452 01:05:21,500 --> 01:05:23,833 "We are deeply concerned about the implications 1453 01:05:23,875 --> 01:05:27,125 of wood-to-energy for native forests." 1454 01:05:27,166 --> 01:05:30,791 Or this statement signed on by 75 environmental groups, 1455 01:05:30,833 --> 01:05:33,250 "Burning forests for energy will destroy one 1456 01:05:33,291 --> 01:05:36,666 of our best defenses against climate change." 1457 01:05:36,708 --> 01:05:39,916 But then again, their language leaves loopholes 1458 01:05:39,958 --> 01:05:41,833 that enable biomass. 1459 01:05:41,875 --> 01:05:45,875 The NRDC says you must use the "right types of biomass." 1460 01:05:46,750 --> 01:05:47,750 The Dogwood Alliance says 1461 01:05:47,791 --> 01:05:50,416 maybe small biomass plants are okay. 1462 01:05:51,791 --> 01:05:53,916 And the Sierra Club flat out states, 1463 01:05:53,958 --> 01:05:56,166 "biomass can be sustainable." 1464 01:05:56,208 --> 01:05:57,916 [pensive guitar music] 1465 01:05:57,958 --> 01:05:59,666 Which side are they really on? 1466 01:06:01,541 --> 01:06:03,250 I thought for sure with the camera rolling, 1467 01:06:03,291 --> 01:06:05,750 environmental leaders would speak for the trees. 1468 01:06:05,791 --> 01:06:08,333 - [Group] No frackin' way. 1469 01:06:08,375 --> 01:06:10,333 - Where's the science, where's the science? 1470 01:06:12,625 --> 01:06:15,958 - We're here to tell a story about what the forests 1471 01:06:16,000 --> 01:06:20,041 of this state, of our commonwealth, mean to us. 1472 01:06:20,083 --> 01:06:22,500 - [Jeff] Does your organization have any stance on that? 1473 01:06:22,541 --> 01:06:24,833 - I'm not sure I would say we support it as much 1474 01:06:24,875 --> 01:06:27,666 as we can wrap our heads around it. 1475 01:06:27,708 --> 01:06:30,208 We've almost made a peace with the timber industry. 1476 01:06:30,250 --> 01:06:32,000 - [Jeff] I'm just curious, what's your group stance 1477 01:06:32,041 --> 01:06:34,916 on using forests for biomass? 1478 01:06:34,958 --> 01:06:40,583 - Biomass is renewable, biomass is sustainable. 1479 01:06:40,625 --> 01:06:43,833 - And I'm with Clean Water Action, 1480 01:06:44,791 --> 01:06:47,041 we don't really have a stand on it. 1481 01:06:47,083 --> 01:06:49,750 If the director of the Sierra Club was here, 1482 01:06:49,791 --> 01:06:53,666 she'd be able to talk your ear off about it. 1483 01:06:53,708 --> 01:06:56,833 - I'm the director for the Sierra Club in Pennsylvania. 1484 01:06:56,875 --> 01:06:57,958 - [Jeff] Does the Sierra Club support 1485 01:06:58,000 --> 01:06:59,833 or not support biomass? 1486 01:07:02,791 --> 01:07:04,416 - Um... I'm not totally prepared to talk 1487 01:07:04,458 --> 01:07:06,375 about our policy on biomass today. 1488 01:07:06,416 --> 01:07:08,916 Our position is somewhat nuanced, 1489 01:07:08,958 --> 01:07:11,833 so I just want to be careful not to... 1490 01:07:11,875 --> 01:07:14,375 [crowd talking] 1491 01:07:14,416 --> 01:07:15,416 - [Jeff] So, you're with 350? 1492 01:07:15,458 --> 01:07:16,458 - I am. 1493 01:07:16,500 --> 01:07:17,875 - Do 350 have a position on biomass 1494 01:07:17,916 --> 01:07:18,958 'cause I'm kind of actually-- 1495 01:07:19,000 --> 01:07:21,250 - I can't really speak for 350. 1496 01:07:21,291 --> 01:07:22,916 - Do you personally have an opinion about 1497 01:07:22,958 --> 01:07:26,125 whether we should be burning trees for green energy? 1498 01:07:26,166 --> 01:07:28,041 - No, I don't have an opinion on that. 1499 01:07:29,166 --> 01:07:31,333 I like a fire. [laughing] 1500 01:07:31,375 --> 01:07:32,875 - [Jeff] One of my biggest concerns 1501 01:07:32,916 --> 01:07:34,458 as an environmentalist is that we're trying to burn trees, 1502 01:07:34,500 --> 01:07:36,458 there are tree burning power plants. 1503 01:07:36,500 --> 01:07:38,625 Are you aware of the problems with biomass or biofuels? 1504 01:07:38,666 --> 01:07:41,791 - Yeah, yeah, I'm not as aware of that 1505 01:07:41,833 --> 01:07:43,583 as I could be or I should be. 1506 01:07:43,625 --> 01:07:45,583 - Jeff Gibbs, working on a documentary. 1507 01:07:45,625 --> 01:07:47,000 In Michigan where I live, where I'm from, 1508 01:07:47,041 --> 01:07:49,875 there's large plants that burn trees for energy 1509 01:07:49,916 --> 01:07:51,208 and pretty much whole trees chipped up. 1510 01:07:51,250 --> 01:07:52,500 Do you have a thought about whether 1511 01:07:52,541 --> 01:07:55,208 that should be a part of green energy or not? 1512 01:07:55,250 --> 01:07:57,000 - The great thing about green energy is 1513 01:07:57,041 --> 01:07:58,791 you don't have to pick a favorite. 1514 01:07:58,833 --> 01:07:59,583 - Jeff Gibbs. 1515 01:07:59,625 --> 01:08:01,041 - Oh, hello. 1516 01:08:01,083 --> 01:08:02,875 - My biggest concern is that in Germany, for instance, 1517 01:08:02,916 --> 01:08:04,708 they're moving towards solar and wind 1518 01:08:04,750 --> 01:08:07,958 but 60% of their actual energy is coming from biomass. 1519 01:08:08,000 --> 01:08:10,375 60% of what's considered renewable energy. 1520 01:08:10,416 --> 01:08:11,708 Burning trees for energy? 1521 01:08:11,750 --> 01:08:13,500 - I don't know the details out of Germany. 1522 01:08:13,541 --> 01:08:15,250 What Germany's really doing is a lot 1523 01:08:15,291 --> 01:08:17,958 of sun and wind and that's really powerful to see. 1524 01:08:18,000 --> 01:08:19,083 - [Jeff] I'd like to see us come out 1525 01:08:19,125 --> 01:08:20,208 against any burning of trees- 1526 01:08:20,250 --> 01:08:21,000 - All right, well go ahead and do it. 1527 01:08:21,041 --> 01:08:21,875 - [Jeff] for clean energy. 1528 01:08:21,916 --> 01:08:23,125 Would you- 1529 01:08:23,166 --> 01:08:25,875 - Although I confess I stoke my wood stove 1530 01:08:25,916 --> 01:08:27,083 almost every night of the winter, 1531 01:08:27,125 --> 01:08:28,333 so I'm not really the right person to ask. 1532 01:08:28,375 --> 01:08:30,291 - But designating green energy for power plants? 1533 01:08:30,333 --> 01:08:32,958 - Yeah, yeah, I don't know. 1534 01:08:33,000 --> 01:08:34,833 It's not what this day's about. 1535 01:08:34,875 --> 01:08:36,458 - [Jeff] But if we're burning trees 1536 01:08:36,500 --> 01:08:38,500 instead of fossil fuels. 1537 01:08:39,833 --> 01:08:40,875 - [crowd drowns out] from Taiwan. 1538 01:08:40,916 --> 01:08:42,333 - Oh, good. 1539 01:08:42,375 --> 01:08:45,291 - We're wondering what role do you want 1540 01:08:45,333 --> 01:08:46,916 to play in this [voice fading out]? 1541 01:08:46,958 --> 01:08:48,916 - [Jeff] I think the biomass question's a non-starter. 1542 01:08:52,291 --> 01:08:54,125 [somber music] 1543 01:08:54,166 --> 01:08:56,375 I found only one environmental leader willing 1544 01:08:56,416 --> 01:08:58,791 to reject biomass and biofuels. 1545 01:09:00,416 --> 01:09:01,458 - So we are talking 1546 01:09:01,500 --> 01:09:05,666 of the old oil economy trying 1547 01:09:05,708 --> 01:09:07,500 to maintain itself now 1548 01:09:07,541 --> 01:09:11,541 through another raw material, the green planet. 1549 01:09:11,583 --> 01:09:15,250 The only reason corn and soy has been planted for biofuel 1550 01:09:15,291 --> 01:09:18,041 in this country is the subsidies make it profitable. 1551 01:09:18,083 --> 01:09:20,791 I think the big crisis of our times is 1552 01:09:21,791 --> 01:09:25,750 our minds have been manipulated to give power to illusions. 1553 01:09:25,791 --> 01:09:28,208 We shifted to measuring growth, 1554 01:09:28,250 --> 01:09:32,375 not in terms of how life is enriched 1555 01:09:32,416 --> 01:09:34,958 but in terms of how life is destroyed. 1556 01:09:35,000 --> 01:09:37,000 [peaceful guitar] 1557 01:09:37,041 --> 01:09:38,791 - [Jeff] Her honesty was refreshing. 1558 01:09:40,875 --> 01:09:43,708 But as for the rest of them, I wondered, 1559 01:09:45,875 --> 01:09:47,000 what are they hiding? 1560 01:09:48,708 --> 01:09:49,916 And why are they hiding it? 1561 01:09:52,208 --> 01:09:53,375 Is it their ignorance? 1562 01:09:55,541 --> 01:09:57,041 Or is it something else? 1563 01:09:57,083 --> 01:09:59,000 [music increasing in tempo] 1564 01:09:59,041 --> 01:10:01,958 What if they, themselves, had become misguided? 1565 01:10:02,000 --> 01:10:03,833 [intensifying dramatic music] 1566 01:10:03,875 --> 01:10:05,750 What if they've made some kind of deal 1567 01:10:05,791 --> 01:10:06,833 they shouldn't have made, 1568 01:10:08,958 --> 01:10:12,250 and are leading us all off the cliff? 1569 01:10:17,000 --> 01:10:20,750 [light upbeat music] 1570 01:10:20,791 --> 01:10:22,500 It was long past time for me to come to grips 1571 01:10:22,541 --> 01:10:24,833 with the other elephant in the living room. 1572 01:10:25,875 --> 01:10:26,791 The profit motive. 1573 01:10:29,125 --> 01:10:31,125 The only reason we've been force-fed the story, 1574 01:10:31,166 --> 01:10:35,416 climate change plus renewables equals "we're saved!", 1575 01:10:35,458 --> 01:10:37,333 is because billionaires, bankers, 1576 01:10:37,375 --> 01:10:39,458 and corporations profit from it. 1577 01:10:40,833 --> 01:10:43,833 And the reason we're not talking about over-population, 1578 01:10:43,875 --> 01:10:47,541 consumption, and the suicide of economic growth is 1579 01:10:49,000 --> 01:10:51,666 that would be bad for business. 1580 01:10:51,708 --> 01:10:53,791 Especially the cancerous form of capitalism 1581 01:10:53,833 --> 01:10:55,750 that rules the world, 1582 01:10:55,791 --> 01:10:58,500 now hiding under a cover of green. 1583 01:10:58,541 --> 01:11:00,208 - Today Bloomberg Philanthropies is making, 1584 01:11:00,250 --> 01:11:02,833 I'm happy to announce, a new investment 1585 01:11:02,875 --> 01:11:06,250 of $30 million in the Beyond Coal campaign. 1586 01:11:06,291 --> 01:11:09,000 [crowd cheering and clapping] 1587 01:11:09,041 --> 01:11:09,791 We have more. 1588 01:11:09,833 --> 01:11:11,041 I'm glad to say that more 1589 01:11:11,083 --> 01:11:13,333 than a dozen additional funders have committed 1590 01:11:13,375 --> 01:11:15,291 to match that $30 million. 1591 01:11:15,333 --> 01:11:18,041 [clapping and cheering] 1592 01:11:18,083 --> 01:11:20,125 - [Jeff] And who were these new partners? 1593 01:11:20,166 --> 01:11:21,916 One of them was Jeremy Grantham. 1594 01:11:21,958 --> 01:11:25,750 Billionaire, world's leading timber investment advisor. 1595 01:11:25,791 --> 01:11:27,208 [man speaking in background] 1596 01:11:27,250 --> 01:11:28,958 They were not investing in trees 1597 01:11:29,000 --> 01:11:30,833 to turn them into nature preserves. 1598 01:11:32,166 --> 01:11:33,791 Which might answer another riddle, 1599 01:11:35,583 --> 01:11:38,708 why is this name redacted on the Sierra Club's tax return? 1600 01:11:39,875 --> 01:11:42,750 Would they be embarrassed to take three million dollars 1601 01:11:42,791 --> 01:11:44,875 from a man who made his living selling the forests 1602 01:11:44,916 --> 01:11:45,958 of the world? 1603 01:11:47,708 --> 01:11:50,625 Bloomberg, bringing a timber investment billionaire 1604 01:11:50,666 --> 01:11:53,625 to the party, was no coincidence. 1605 01:11:53,666 --> 01:11:56,083 Bloomberg sponsored a U.N. climate session 1606 01:11:56,125 --> 01:11:57,750 to discuss ramping up biomass 1607 01:11:57,791 --> 01:11:59,541 and biofuels around the world. 1608 01:12:01,958 --> 01:12:04,208 Billionaires were in love with the idea of turning 1609 01:12:04,250 --> 01:12:06,833 what was left of nature into green profits. 1610 01:12:08,666 --> 01:12:10,791 Remember when Al Gore had gotten Richard Branson 1611 01:12:10,833 --> 01:12:13,625 to invest billions into saving the planet? 1612 01:12:13,666 --> 01:12:16,125 - [News Anchor] Richard Branson, founder of Virgin Atlantic, 1613 01:12:16,166 --> 01:12:19,416 powered a Boeing 747 from London to Amsterdam 1614 01:12:19,458 --> 01:12:22,125 on a coconut oil mixture to highlight the potential 1615 01:12:22,166 --> 01:12:24,958 of this amazing oil as a clean energy biofuel. 1616 01:12:26,750 --> 01:12:29,958 - [Jeff] Branson had actually invested in biofuels. 1617 01:12:30,000 --> 01:12:31,666 He was attempting to replace the jet fuel 1618 01:12:31,708 --> 01:12:33,916 damaging the planet with biofuels 1619 01:12:33,958 --> 01:12:36,416 that required the consumption of the living planet. 1620 01:12:37,875 --> 01:12:40,500 And it was game-on for the airline industry. 1621 01:12:40,541 --> 01:12:41,583 - [News Anchor] Dozens of researchers 1622 01:12:41,625 --> 01:12:42,916 from all over the northwest gathered 1623 01:12:42,958 --> 01:12:44,958 in Missoula the past two days to explore the idea 1624 01:12:45,000 --> 01:12:46,833 of converting the region's mass of reserves 1625 01:12:46,875 --> 01:12:48,500 of wood into jet fuel. 1626 01:12:48,541 --> 01:12:50,833 Especially with the demand for aircraft fuel expected 1627 01:12:50,875 --> 01:12:53,750 to grow by a billion gallons in the northwest alone. 1628 01:12:53,791 --> 01:12:56,583 - [News Anchor] United Airlines will buy a $30 million stake 1629 01:12:56,625 --> 01:12:59,083 in biofuel company, Fulcrum BioEnergy. 1630 01:12:59,125 --> 01:13:04,083 The airline used 3.9 billion gallons of fuel last year. 1631 01:13:04,125 --> 01:13:07,541 - [Jeff] What technology was Silicon Valley billionaire 1632 01:13:07,583 --> 01:13:10,375 Vinod Khosla hoping to profit from? 1633 01:13:10,416 --> 01:13:14,333 - Nature takes a million years to produce our crude oil. 1634 01:13:14,375 --> 01:13:16,916 KiOR can produce it in seconds. 1635 01:13:16,958 --> 01:13:19,375 - [Lesley] The company took over this old paper mill 1636 01:13:19,416 --> 01:13:22,625 where logs are picked up by a giant claw, 1637 01:13:22,666 --> 01:13:26,625 dropped into a shredder and pulverized into wood chips. 1638 01:13:26,666 --> 01:13:27,666 Clean gasoline? 1639 01:13:27,708 --> 01:13:29,458 - Clean, green gasoline. 1640 01:13:29,500 --> 01:13:31,041 - There must be a downside. 1641 01:13:31,083 --> 01:13:32,791 - There is no downside. 1642 01:13:33,875 --> 01:13:35,708 - [Jeff] The bank that crashed the economy, 1643 01:13:35,750 --> 01:13:38,416 ruined millions of lives and has their tentacles 1644 01:13:38,458 --> 01:13:40,500 on the levers of power, 1645 01:13:40,541 --> 01:13:43,458 what would their favorite form of green energy be? 1646 01:13:43,500 --> 01:13:44,916 - One of the very interesting markets 1647 01:13:44,958 --> 01:13:46,625 that we deal with is Brazil. 1648 01:13:46,666 --> 01:13:49,500 It's unlike any other market in that today, 1649 01:13:49,541 --> 01:13:51,583 alternative energy isn't really alternative energy. 1650 01:13:51,625 --> 01:13:54,791 It's so much a part of the fabric of the society. 1651 01:13:54,833 --> 01:13:58,333 The country began to utilize its vast resources 1652 01:13:58,375 --> 01:14:00,041 of sugarcane to produce ethanol. 1653 01:14:01,291 --> 01:14:03,125 - [Jeff] There was a man from Goldman Sachs 1654 01:14:03,166 --> 01:14:05,000 who was particularly in love 1655 01:14:05,041 --> 01:14:07,875 with turning forests into profits. 1656 01:14:07,916 --> 01:14:10,000 - Has everybody got enough coffee? 1657 01:14:10,916 --> 01:14:12,791 Might want to get some more. 1658 01:14:12,833 --> 01:14:15,000 - [Jeff] Meet David Blood, former CEO 1659 01:14:15,041 --> 01:14:17,791 of Asset Management for Goldman Sachs. 1660 01:14:18,833 --> 01:14:20,791 How much money did Mr. Blood believe should 1661 01:14:20,833 --> 01:14:22,583 be invested in green energy? 1662 01:14:22,625 --> 01:14:25,708 - A natural alignment for something in the order 1663 01:14:25,750 --> 01:14:29,041 of $40-50 trillion worth of capital. 1664 01:14:29,083 --> 01:14:30,541 - [Jeff] $40-50 trillion. 1665 01:14:32,250 --> 01:14:35,708 And who was going to help the man from Goldman Sachs, 1666 01:14:35,750 --> 01:14:38,208 help him raise that astronomical amount of money? 1667 01:14:39,291 --> 01:14:41,375 - A gentleman some of you may recognize 1668 01:14:41,416 --> 01:14:43,833 and know, Bill McKibben. 1669 01:14:43,875 --> 01:14:46,500 - It's entirely dependent on what kind 1670 01:14:46,541 --> 01:14:48,416 of political will we can muster. 1671 01:14:48,458 --> 01:14:51,916 And if we do not get this done very fast, 1672 01:14:51,958 --> 01:14:53,791 then we're not gonna get it done. 1673 01:14:54,916 --> 01:14:57,000 - [Jeff] And so Bill McKibben went forth 1674 01:14:57,041 --> 01:14:59,666 to generate the political will for trillions 1675 01:14:59,708 --> 01:15:01,541 of dollars in green investments. 1676 01:15:02,416 --> 01:15:03,625 - Our next guest has been called 1677 01:15:03,666 --> 01:15:05,875 our nation's leading environmentalist. 1678 01:15:05,916 --> 01:15:07,125 - And you are, in some sense, 1679 01:15:07,166 --> 01:15:09,958 the Grand Poobah of the environmental movement. 1680 01:15:10,000 --> 01:15:14,083 - My guest tonight is on a global crusade. 1681 01:15:14,125 --> 01:15:16,583 - [Jeff] On a global crusade for what? 1682 01:15:16,625 --> 01:15:18,708 - Commit to divesting from fossil fuels. 1683 01:15:18,750 --> 01:15:21,875 We can't justify investing our money in companies 1684 01:15:21,916 --> 01:15:24,666 that are basically running Genesis backward. 1685 01:15:24,708 --> 01:15:27,416 - [Jeff] So when you divest from fossil fuels, 1686 01:15:27,458 --> 01:15:31,000 and invest in green funds, what are you investing in? 1687 01:15:31,875 --> 01:15:34,333 I took a deep dive into Securities 1688 01:15:34,375 --> 01:15:37,291 and Exchange Commission filings to find out. 1689 01:15:38,166 --> 01:15:41,000 For instance, in the Green Century Funds, 1690 01:15:41,041 --> 01:15:45,250 recommended by 350.org and Bill McKibben, 1691 01:15:45,291 --> 01:15:48,375 I found less than one percent solar and wind 1692 01:15:48,416 --> 01:15:51,750 and 99% things like mining, 1693 01:15:51,791 --> 01:15:55,625 [increasing dramatic music] 1694 01:15:56,958 --> 01:15:59,416 oil and gas infrastructure companies, 1695 01:15:59,458 --> 01:16:00,833 [dramatic music] 1696 01:16:00,875 --> 01:16:03,041 including a tar sands exploiter, 1697 01:16:04,500 --> 01:16:07,666 McDonald's, one of the companies driving meat consumption 1698 01:16:07,708 --> 01:16:08,791 across the planet, 1699 01:16:10,375 --> 01:16:11,875 Archer Daniels Midland, 1700 01:16:11,916 --> 01:16:14,791 one of the world's largest producers of biofuel, 1701 01:16:16,125 --> 01:16:18,791 Coca Cola, the largest creator 1702 01:16:18,833 --> 01:16:20,291 of plastic pollution on earth, 1703 01:16:21,791 --> 01:16:24,833 logging and paper companies including one 1704 01:16:24,875 --> 01:16:29,875 that brags about biomass burning. And banks. 1705 01:16:29,916 --> 01:16:31,958 [dramatic music] 1706 01:16:32,000 --> 01:16:33,125 Lots of banks - 1707 01:16:33,166 --> 01:16:35,875 [dramatic music] 1708 01:16:35,916 --> 01:16:39,041 including BlackRock, the largest financer 1709 01:16:39,083 --> 01:16:40,958 of deforestation on earth. 1710 01:16:42,083 --> 01:16:44,500 - The business that they're engaged in 1711 01:16:44,541 --> 01:16:47,875 is actually destroying our life support system. 1712 01:16:47,916 --> 01:16:49,625 [dramatic music] 1713 01:16:49,666 --> 01:16:51,333 - [Jeff] The Sierra Club, also partners 1714 01:16:51,375 --> 01:16:53,791 with a green fund called Aspiration. 1715 01:16:54,958 --> 01:16:58,958 Aspiration also includes dozens of companies profiting 1716 01:16:59,000 --> 01:17:00,666 from the destruction of the planet, 1717 01:17:02,750 --> 01:17:08,458 including Chevron, ExxonMobil, Chesapeake Energy. 1718 01:17:08,500 --> 01:17:10,833 - [Announcer] In order to maximize the 1719 01:17:10,875 --> 01:17:12,208 of the well, 1720 01:17:12,250 --> 01:17:14,916 the shale formation will be hydraulically fractured. 1721 01:17:14,958 --> 01:17:17,541 - [Jeff] The Russian gas giant, Gazprom. 1722 01:17:18,416 --> 01:17:20,208 - [Announcer] Gazprom owns the world's largest 1723 01:17:20,250 --> 01:17:24,291 explored gas reserves, 36 trillion cubic meters. 1724 01:17:25,250 --> 01:17:28,166 - [Jeff] And in perhaps the most bizarre twist of all, 1725 01:17:28,208 --> 01:17:32,708 the Sierra Club's green fund's biggest holding is in Enviva, 1726 01:17:32,750 --> 01:17:35,041 the world's largest consumer of forests, 1727 01:17:35,083 --> 01:17:37,791 to be incinerated in green energy biomass plants. 1728 01:17:39,583 --> 01:17:42,708 [somber piano music] 1729 01:17:44,916 --> 01:17:47,791 Of course, one investment option is a green fund, 1730 01:17:47,833 --> 01:17:50,166 run by Bill McKibben's buddy, David Blood. 1731 01:17:51,125 --> 01:17:53,375 And who was the chairman of this fund? 1732 01:17:54,541 --> 01:17:56,166 Someone familiar. 1733 01:17:56,208 --> 01:17:59,208 - Use capitalism, it gives incentives 1734 01:17:59,250 --> 01:18:02,166 for people to do their best. 1735 01:18:02,208 --> 01:18:04,541 - [Jeff] Al Gore and David Blood partnered 1736 01:18:04,583 --> 01:18:07,416 to form a company called Blood and Gore. 1737 01:18:09,166 --> 01:18:13,250 No, scratch that, Generation Investment Management. 1738 01:18:14,166 --> 01:18:16,791 And within this fund, Blood and Gore designated 1739 01:18:16,833 --> 01:18:21,958 a special investment category targeting $650 million 1740 01:18:22,000 --> 01:18:24,000 of biomass and biofuels. 1741 01:18:25,000 --> 01:18:26,916 Funny thing was, they partnered 1742 01:18:26,958 --> 01:18:29,041 before Al Gore's film came out. 1743 01:18:29,083 --> 01:18:30,916 [dramatic music] 1744 01:18:30,958 --> 01:18:35,791 Was that movie just about climate change 1745 01:18:35,833 --> 01:18:39,041 - On one side, we have gold bars. 1746 01:18:39,083 --> 01:18:43,125 Mm, mm, mm. [audience laughing] 1747 01:18:43,166 --> 01:18:44,500 Don't they look good? 1748 01:18:44,541 --> 01:18:47,083 I'd just like to have some of those gold bars. 1749 01:18:47,125 --> 01:18:51,333 On the other side of the scales, the entire planet. 1750 01:18:51,375 --> 01:18:53,500 [audience laughing] 1751 01:18:53,541 --> 01:18:55,166 If we do the right thing, 1752 01:18:55,208 --> 01:18:57,291 then we're gonna create a lot of wealth. 1753 01:18:58,333 --> 01:18:59,916 - [Jeff] And when it came time for Al Gore 1754 01:18:59,958 --> 01:19:04,833 to choose between the entire planet and getting him some 1755 01:19:04,875 --> 01:19:08,958 of them gold bars, what choice did he make? 1756 01:19:09,000 --> 01:19:11,750 Here's Al Gore earning his keep by pretending to care 1757 01:19:11,791 --> 01:19:14,166 about the rain forest while lobbying Congress 1758 01:19:14,208 --> 01:19:17,375 on behalf of the sugarcane ethanol industry. 1759 01:19:18,291 --> 01:19:19,916 - Let me come in on the Brazilian effort here 1760 01:19:19,958 --> 01:19:22,125 with the issue of the possibility of expanding into 1761 01:19:22,166 --> 01:19:25,458 that Amazon River basin with further deforestation 1762 01:19:25,500 --> 01:19:27,666 to produce more ethanol out of sugarcane is a worry. 1763 01:19:27,708 --> 01:19:29,666 And apparently you're not as concerned about that. 1764 01:19:29,708 --> 01:19:32,583 - No, no, I am, I simply forgot. 1765 01:19:32,625 --> 01:19:33,750 [helicopter roaring] 1766 01:19:33,791 --> 01:19:36,750 [children screaming & crying] 1767 01:19:36,791 --> 01:19:41,541 What's been going on there, it is really very troubling. 1768 01:19:46,875 --> 01:19:49,458 And with your permission, I'll show you a very quick example 1769 01:19:49,500 --> 01:19:52,750 of it over a period of 25 years. 1770 01:19:52,791 --> 01:19:55,541 [loud tapping] 1771 01:19:56,833 --> 01:19:58,750 - [Announcer] The invasion of sugarcane monocultures 1772 01:19:58,791 --> 01:20:00,250 in the region clashes 1773 01:20:00,291 --> 01:20:03,208 with the indigenous people's right to land. 1774 01:20:03,250 --> 01:20:05,791 These are images of a last ditch attempt 1775 01:20:05,833 --> 01:20:08,625 by the Guarani-Kaiowá to resist eviction. 1776 01:20:08,666 --> 01:20:11,333 - Important to note that the exploitation 1777 01:20:11,375 --> 01:20:16,625 of the sugarcane growing areas in Brazil does not have 1778 01:20:16,666 --> 01:20:20,500 to inevitably have the knock-on consequence 1779 01:20:20,541 --> 01:20:24,833 of causing destruction in the Amazon. 1780 01:20:26,416 --> 01:20:28,541 - Sugarcane fields are burning. 1781 01:20:28,583 --> 01:20:30,541 They're set alight before the harvest 1782 01:20:30,583 --> 01:20:32,791 to eliminate the leaves and tops of the plant, 1783 01:20:32,833 --> 01:20:34,958 which makes cutting more efficient. 1784 01:20:35,000 --> 01:20:36,958 [somber music] 1785 01:20:37,000 --> 01:20:38,916 Environmentalists blame the seemingly 1786 01:20:38,958 --> 01:20:42,500 endless sugarcane fields for air and water pollution 1787 01:20:42,541 --> 01:20:44,250 on an epic scale. 1788 01:20:44,291 --> 01:20:47,333 And along with deforestation, the threat it poses 1789 01:20:47,375 --> 01:20:49,833 to the environment is becoming clear. 1790 01:20:49,875 --> 01:20:51,291 [dramatic music] 1791 01:20:51,333 --> 01:20:53,958 Once the indigenous families were expelled, 1792 01:20:54,000 --> 01:20:57,000 the land owners set their homes on fire. 1793 01:20:58,916 --> 01:21:01,833 [dramatic music] 1794 01:21:04,125 --> 01:21:05,958 - [Jeff] Is there anything too terrible 1795 01:21:06,000 --> 01:21:07,375 to qualify as green energy? 1796 01:21:09,833 --> 01:21:12,666 - Thank you very much Secretary Mabus, and the U.S. Navy for 1797 01:21:12,708 --> 01:21:14,916 once again, inviting me to speak with you today. 1798 01:21:14,958 --> 01:21:16,625 The Navy's work to help launch 1799 01:21:16,666 --> 01:21:19,875 this new fuels industry is invaluable. 1800 01:21:19,916 --> 01:21:22,541 [roaring plane engine] 1801 01:21:22,583 --> 01:21:24,541 - [Announcer] The U.S. Navy has a special message 1802 01:21:24,583 --> 01:21:25,333 this year. 1803 01:21:25,375 --> 01:21:27,500 It is time to turn green. 1804 01:21:27,541 --> 01:21:29,958 Joining the vessels is what the U.S. Navy calls, 1805 01:21:30,000 --> 01:21:31,750 it's great green fleet of warships, 1806 01:21:31,791 --> 01:21:34,958 powered by fuel from renewable sources like algae, 1807 01:21:35,000 --> 01:21:36,958 grass and animal fat. 1808 01:21:37,000 --> 01:21:38,833 - [Jeff] Animal fat? 1809 01:21:40,125 --> 01:21:43,541 [thudding and pounding] 1810 01:21:46,375 --> 01:21:47,958 - The next time you fill up 1811 01:21:48,000 --> 01:21:49,750 at your neighborhood gas station, 1812 01:21:49,791 --> 01:21:52,833 you might find yourself pumping a little alligator 1813 01:21:52,875 --> 01:21:54,000 into your tank. 1814 01:21:54,041 --> 01:21:55,791 That's right, U.L. Lafayette researchers 1815 01:21:55,833 --> 01:21:57,458 have developed alligator fat 1816 01:21:57,500 --> 01:22:00,125 into a renewable source for biofuels. 1817 01:22:02,500 --> 01:22:06,541 - [Jeff] And once we run through the animals, what's next? 1818 01:22:06,583 --> 01:22:10,458 GE, who brings you nuclear energy and wind turbines, 1819 01:22:10,500 --> 01:22:11,750 is ready with a plan. 1820 01:22:13,083 --> 01:22:16,125 - I believe that liquid fuels, chemicals, 1821 01:22:16,166 --> 01:22:19,166 are eventually gonna have to be made 1822 01:22:20,583 --> 01:22:22,500 from sustainable raw materials. 1823 01:22:22,541 --> 01:22:24,416 We believe that seaweed is one 1824 01:22:24,458 --> 01:22:26,208 of the most attractive opportunities. 1825 01:22:27,416 --> 01:22:30,125 [majestic music] 1826 01:22:37,125 --> 01:22:38,250 - [Jeff] Better hurry. 1827 01:22:40,916 --> 01:22:45,083 One year after it was filmed, this seaweed forest was dead. 1828 01:22:47,500 --> 01:22:49,958 [somber music] 1829 01:22:53,416 --> 01:22:56,291 You might ask yourself, how could men destroy 1830 01:22:56,333 --> 01:22:59,041 what remains of nature to enrich themselves? 1831 01:23:00,416 --> 01:23:04,250 Well, that's why they're billionaires and you're not. 1832 01:23:04,291 --> 01:23:06,583 [laughing] 1833 01:23:07,833 --> 01:23:09,916 The takeover of the environmental movement 1834 01:23:09,958 --> 01:23:12,541 by capitalism is now complete. 1835 01:23:12,583 --> 01:23:14,750 Environmentalists are no longer resisting those 1836 01:23:14,791 --> 01:23:17,791 with a profit motive, but collaborating with them. 1837 01:23:18,916 --> 01:23:22,833 The Nature Conservancy is now the logging conservancy. 1838 01:23:22,875 --> 01:23:27,666 - We will capture the most important pieces biologically 1839 01:23:27,708 --> 01:23:30,750 and there will be another large block sold 1840 01:23:30,791 --> 01:23:32,916 to timber investment groups. 1841 01:23:32,958 --> 01:23:36,250 The Union of Concerned Scientists has become the union 1842 01:23:36,291 --> 01:23:39,250 of concerned salesmen, having taken millions, 1843 01:23:39,291 --> 01:23:40,666 not for science, 1844 01:23:40,708 --> 01:23:44,416 but to create markets for electric cars. 1845 01:23:46,083 --> 01:23:48,083 The Sierra Club sells electric cars 1846 01:23:48,125 --> 01:23:50,333 and solar panels right from their website. 1847 01:23:51,416 --> 01:23:52,875 - The best thing about Sungevity is 1848 01:23:52,916 --> 01:23:54,666 that they make it easy for you. 1849 01:23:54,708 --> 01:23:57,041 All that you have to do is to say yes. 1850 01:23:57,916 --> 01:24:00,791 - [Jeff] The New York Times partners with ExxonMobil 1851 01:24:00,833 --> 01:24:03,250 to bring you the good news about biofuels. 1852 01:24:03,291 --> 01:24:04,250 - [Announcer] Algae derived fuel 1853 01:24:04,291 --> 01:24:05,916 could help us meet growing demand. 1854 01:24:06,875 --> 01:24:08,875 - [Jeff] Treehugger.com, which claims 1855 01:24:08,916 --> 01:24:12,125 to be the largest single source of environmental news, 1856 01:24:12,166 --> 01:24:15,750 was founded and funded by Georgia Pacific, 1857 01:24:15,791 --> 01:24:17,541 a logging company. 1858 01:24:17,583 --> 01:24:19,041 In fact, they are neighbors. 1859 01:24:20,958 --> 01:24:24,291 Georgia Pacific is owned by our friends, the Koch brothers, 1860 01:24:24,333 --> 01:24:26,458 who are likely the largest recipient 1861 01:24:26,500 --> 01:24:29,750 of green energy biomass subsidies in the United States. 1862 01:24:29,791 --> 01:24:32,125 [somber music] 1863 01:24:32,166 --> 01:24:34,416 Yes, the merger of environmentalism 1864 01:24:34,458 --> 01:24:37,333 and capitalism is now complete. 1865 01:24:37,375 --> 01:24:39,166 But maybe it's always been complete. 1866 01:24:40,166 --> 01:24:43,000 - How is 350.org funded? 1867 01:24:43,041 --> 01:24:44,875 - Well, not very well. 1868 01:24:44,916 --> 01:24:47,250 - [laughing] Who are your funders? 1869 01:24:47,291 --> 01:24:48,875 - To the degree that we have any money at all, 1870 01:24:48,916 --> 01:24:50,958 it's come from a few foundations in Europe and U.S. 1871 01:24:51,000 --> 01:24:53,125 - [Karyn] Which ones? 1872 01:24:53,166 --> 01:24:54,625 - Ah, let's see. 1873 01:24:54,666 --> 01:24:59,416 The, uh, I'm trying to think who the biggest funders are. 1874 01:25:00,791 --> 01:25:01,791 Ah... 1875 01:25:03,958 --> 01:25:08,875 There's a foundation in, based in Sweden called, 1876 01:25:10,791 --> 01:25:13,000 I think it's called the Rasmussen Foundation 1877 01:25:14,416 --> 01:25:16,541 that I think has been the biggest funder. 1878 01:25:16,583 --> 01:25:19,000 - So you don't get money from Pew or Rockefeller 1879 01:25:19,041 --> 01:25:20,708 or any of those big foundations? 1880 01:25:20,750 --> 01:25:22,041 - [Bill] No, we did. 1881 01:25:22,083 --> 01:25:24,375 Rockefeller Brothers Fund gave us some money right 1882 01:25:24,416 --> 01:25:25,416 when we were starting out. 1883 01:25:25,458 --> 01:25:26,708 That's been useful, too. 1884 01:25:27,666 --> 01:25:29,958 - But they no longer fund you? 1885 01:25:30,000 --> 01:25:32,333 - I don't know, I don't have this sort of- 1886 01:25:32,375 --> 01:25:34,583 - [Karyn] [laughing] Really? 1887 01:25:34,625 --> 01:25:36,333 - Funders sitting in front of me. 1888 01:25:36,375 --> 01:25:38,333 - [Karyn] That's usually something that people know. 1889 01:25:38,375 --> 01:25:41,958 - Rockefeller's been one of our, is one of the, 1890 01:25:42,000 --> 01:25:44,000 is a great ally in this fight. 1891 01:25:44,541 --> 01:25:48,125 - [Interviewer] You just sold your TV network to Al Jazeera. 1892 01:25:48,166 --> 01:25:49,583 - Right. 1893 01:25:49,625 --> 01:25:51,083 - [Interviewer] And that government is basically nothing 1894 01:25:51,125 --> 01:25:52,416 but an oil producer. 1895 01:25:52,458 --> 01:25:53,958 - Gas, mainly and oil. 1896 01:25:54,000 --> 01:25:56,791 - Your take on that, about a hundred million dollars pre-tax 1897 01:25:56,833 --> 01:26:00,916 from a country that bases it's wealth on fossil fuels. 1898 01:26:00,958 --> 01:26:02,833 Isn't there a bit of hypocrisy in that? 1899 01:26:02,875 --> 01:26:05,958 - Well, I get the criticism, I just disagree with it. 1900 01:26:06,000 --> 01:26:07,791 I'm proud of the transaction. 1901 01:26:07,833 --> 01:26:10,916 - You couldn't find, for your business, 1902 01:26:10,958 --> 01:26:12,750 a more sustainable choice? 1903 01:26:12,791 --> 01:26:14,750 - What is not sustainable about it? 1904 01:26:14,791 --> 01:26:17,000 - Because it is backed by fossil fuel money. 1905 01:26:17,041 --> 01:26:19,458 - I get it, I get it, I get it. 1906 01:26:19,500 --> 01:26:20,958 - [Jeff] And so, if you got yourself 1907 01:26:21,000 --> 01:26:23,875 an environmental movement and environmental leaders, 1908 01:26:23,916 --> 01:26:26,458 why not buy the holy day itself? 1909 01:26:26,500 --> 01:26:27,750 - [Man] [crowd screaming] Happy Earth Day! 1910 01:26:31,416 --> 01:26:33,583 ♪ Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh 1911 01:26:33,625 --> 01:26:36,916 ♪ You make me want to say 1912 01:26:36,958 --> 01:26:40,416 ♪ Ah, you make me want to say 1913 01:26:40,458 --> 01:26:43,958 - Now we are facing the greatest sets of issues 1914 01:26:44,000 --> 01:26:45,958 that we've seen in my lifetime. 1915 01:26:46,000 --> 01:26:48,500 It's time now for a new generation to jump up 1916 01:26:48,541 --> 01:26:51,416 on the stage and create a habitable country, 1917 01:26:51,458 --> 01:26:54,541 a habitable planet, that we can all enjoy. 1918 01:26:54,583 --> 01:26:56,250 Are you that generation? 1919 01:26:56,291 --> 01:26:59,375 [crowd screaming and cheering] 1920 01:26:59,416 --> 01:27:01,416 I need to thank Building Energy 1921 01:27:01,458 --> 01:27:04,291 which provided so much solar power to this 1922 01:27:04,333 --> 01:27:07,666 that we powered the entire event with solar energy. 1923 01:27:07,708 --> 01:27:11,125 [crowd cheering and screaming] 1924 01:27:11,166 --> 01:27:12,875 - [Jeff] But when I went backstage to see 1925 01:27:12,916 --> 01:27:14,208 what was really going on. 1926 01:27:15,083 --> 01:27:16,833 - It ain't running this whole thing on that, Jack. 1927 01:27:16,875 --> 01:27:17,916 I can tell you that. 1928 01:27:17,958 --> 01:27:21,750 For a toaster is 1200 watts. 1929 01:27:21,791 --> 01:27:25,125 So, that run right there could run a toaster. 1930 01:27:25,166 --> 01:27:27,375 - [Jeff] I found the installer. 1931 01:27:27,416 --> 01:27:28,875 - Hi. 1932 01:27:28,916 --> 01:27:29,875 - [Jeff] Are they running the festival 1933 01:27:29,916 --> 01:27:31,208 on these solar panels? 1934 01:27:31,250 --> 01:27:35,500 - The concert is run by diesel generation system. 1935 01:27:36,791 --> 01:27:41,500 They didn't ask us to energize the concert. 1936 01:27:41,541 --> 01:27:42,833 - [Jeff] Oh, okay. 1937 01:27:42,875 --> 01:27:44,000 - And we'd also like 1938 01:27:44,041 --> 01:27:46,166 to thank our incredible corporate sponsors 1939 01:27:46,208 --> 01:27:48,750 who've been behind the movement to end extreme poverty 1940 01:27:48,791 --> 01:27:51,333 and tackle climate change since the very beginning. 1941 01:27:51,375 --> 01:27:52,791 I want to thank Toyota. 1942 01:27:52,833 --> 01:27:55,833 [loud roaring engine] 1943 01:27:55,875 --> 01:27:56,666 Citibank. 1944 01:27:56,708 --> 01:27:59,916 [clanging bell and cheering] 1945 01:27:59,958 --> 01:28:01,791 We want to thank Caterpillar. 1946 01:28:01,833 --> 01:28:03,583 - We're standing at the construction site 1947 01:28:03,625 --> 01:28:05,750 of the Dakota Access Pipeline. 1948 01:28:05,791 --> 01:28:07,250 It looks like there are 1949 01:28:07,291 --> 01:28:11,750 at least three bulldozers actually bulldozing the land. 1950 01:28:11,791 --> 01:28:14,958 [group yelling and cheering] 1951 01:28:15,000 --> 01:28:16,625 People have gone through the fence, 1952 01:28:16,666 --> 01:28:18,333 the bulldozers are still going 1953 01:28:18,375 --> 01:28:19,791 [people screaming] 1954 01:28:19,833 --> 01:28:22,958 and they're marching over the dirt mounds. 1955 01:28:23,000 --> 01:28:24,125 [loud angry screaming] 1956 01:28:24,166 --> 01:28:25,666 - [Man In Orange Shirt] Get the fuck off! 1957 01:28:25,708 --> 01:28:27,000 Get the fuck out of here! 1958 01:28:27,041 --> 01:28:28,333 - Without these partners, it wouldn't be possible. 1959 01:28:28,375 --> 01:28:30,125 Let's give them a round of applause, everyone. 1960 01:28:30,166 --> 01:28:33,958 [crowd cheering and clapping] 1961 01:28:35,916 --> 01:28:38,916 [slow solemn music] 1962 01:28:43,166 --> 01:28:45,833 - [Jeff] Now I know this all might seem overwhelming. 1963 01:28:47,791 --> 01:28:48,958 It's a kind of thing 1964 01:28:49,000 --> 01:28:51,750 that we normally don't try and think about. 1965 01:28:51,791 --> 01:28:55,333 [slow solemn music] 1966 01:28:55,375 --> 01:28:56,916 But by not thinking about it, 1967 01:28:58,291 --> 01:29:00,458 it stands a good chance of doing us in. 1968 01:29:00,500 --> 01:29:03,041 [slow solemn music] 1969 01:29:03,083 --> 01:29:05,916 I truly believe that the path to change 1970 01:29:07,041 --> 01:29:08,833 comes from awareness. 1971 01:29:08,875 --> 01:29:10,750 [slow solemn music] 1972 01:29:10,791 --> 01:29:14,875 That awareness alone can begin to create the transformation. 1973 01:29:14,916 --> 01:29:17,916 [slow solemn music] 1974 01:29:19,708 --> 01:29:21,041 There is a way out of this. 1975 01:29:22,875 --> 01:29:26,041 We humans must accept that infinite growth 1976 01:29:26,083 --> 01:29:29,541 on a finite planet is suicide. 1977 01:29:31,083 --> 01:29:34,083 We must accept that our human presence 1978 01:29:34,125 --> 01:29:36,791 is already far beyond sustainability, 1979 01:29:38,416 --> 01:29:40,500 and all that that implies. 1980 01:29:40,541 --> 01:29:42,958 [slow solemn music] 1981 01:29:43,000 --> 01:29:46,250 We must take control of our environmental movement 1982 01:29:46,291 --> 01:29:49,791 and our future from billionaires 1983 01:29:49,833 --> 01:29:52,375 and their permanent war on Planet Earth. 1984 01:29:52,416 --> 01:29:54,208 [slow solemn music] 1985 01:29:54,250 --> 01:29:56,291 They are not our friends. 1986 01:29:56,333 --> 01:29:58,875 [slow solemn music] 1987 01:29:58,916 --> 01:30:00,791 Less must be the new more 1988 01:30:02,208 --> 01:30:04,250 and instead of climate change, 1989 01:30:04,291 --> 01:30:06,041 we must at long last accept 1990 01:30:07,291 --> 01:30:09,166 that it's not the carbon dioxide molecule 1991 01:30:09,208 --> 01:30:10,333 destroying the planet, 1992 01:30:12,125 --> 01:30:13,625 [slow solemn music] it's us. 1993 01:30:15,250 --> 01:30:17,791 [slow solemn music] 1994 01:30:17,833 --> 01:30:21,916 It's not one thing, but everything we humans are doing. 1995 01:30:23,833 --> 01:30:27,125 A human-caused apocalypse. 1996 01:30:27,166 --> 01:30:31,833 If we get ourselves under control, all 1997 01:30:31,875 --> 01:30:35,541 [slow solemn music] 1998 01:30:35,583 --> 01:30:36,500 And if we don't... 1999 01:30:37,958 --> 01:30:40,541 [ominous music] 2000 01:30:47,875 --> 01:30:50,791 [chainsaw buzzing] 2001 01:30:56,166 --> 01:30:58,875 [crashing trees] 2002 01:31:00,583 --> 01:31:03,708 [sad mournful music] 2003 01:31:04,916 --> 01:31:07,833 [trees crashing] 2004 01:31:10,791 --> 01:31:13,791 [slow solemn music] 2005 01:31:21,375 --> 01:31:24,166 [trees scrapping] 2006 01:31:25,875 --> 01:31:29,000 [orangutan chirping] 2007 01:31:30,916 --> 01:31:33,000 ♪ Ah-Ooh 2008 01:31:40,333 --> 01:31:43,916 [mournful orchestral music] 2009 01:31:58,458 --> 01:32:00,916 [music fading] 2010 01:32:06,166 --> 01:32:09,500 [snapping tree branch] 2011 01:32:11,500 --> 01:32:14,500 [slow solemn music] 2012 01:32:23,750 --> 01:32:27,000 [roaring crackling fire] 2013 01:32:29,916 --> 01:32:34,916 ♪ Ah-Ah-Ooh 2014 01:32:36,791 --> 01:32:41,791 ♪ Ooh-Ooh [increasing in intensity] ♪ 2015 01:32:43,916 --> 01:32:46,041 ♪ Ah-Ooh 2016 01:32:48,000 --> 01:32:50,833 [orangutan chirping] 2017 01:32:55,125 --> 01:32:58,958 [female singing mournfully] 2018 01:33:03,625 --> 01:33:05,125 [orangutan squealing] 2019 01:33:05,166 --> 01:33:06,875 - Yeah, yeah, yeah. 2020 01:33:08,750 --> 01:33:09,916 [low talking] 2021 01:33:09,958 --> 01:33:13,791 ♪ Ah-Ah-Ah 2022 01:33:16,166 --> 01:33:20,750 ♪ Oh-Oh-Ah 2023 01:33:20,791 --> 01:33:25,791 ♪ Ooh-Ah 2024 01:33:26,708 --> 01:33:31,416 ♪ Oh-Oh-Oh 2025 01:33:31,458 --> 01:33:33,250 ♪ Ooh 2026 01:33:52,541 --> 01:33:55,041 [somber music]