THE NEXT FRONTIER: Engineering the Golden Age of Green

DOCUMENTARY SUMMARY

Host Becky Worley, Technology Reporter for ABC-TV, charmingly guides us through this upbeat exploration of potential solutions to the problem of reducing carbon dioxide emissions, aimed at enabling us to stave off the worst effects of climate change.

The fast-paced documentary presents innovative solutions from around the world, providing clear explanations of the various technologies involved: wind power, solar power (photovoltaics and thermal), tidal power, geothermal power. It also touches on carbon capture and storage, a technology in its infancy, and mentions nuclear fission (which it deems too expensive) and conservation, aptly described as the low-hanging fruit which for a relatively low cost could give us 80 to 90 percent savings in many cases — if we only got moving. National energy policy, or rather the lack of one, is also discussed.

Sponsored by Professional Engineers in California Government, the documentary focuses on the Golden State. A highlight is a tour of the Sierra Nevada Brewery (the nation's fifth largest) where an integrated energy system cuts the plant's outside power consumption by more than four-fifths. But the focus is not exclusively on California. Worley travels to Greenburg, KS, where the citizens rebuilt their town around green energy after a tornado destroyed it in May 2007, and to Samsø, Denmark, an island running entirely on wind power and biomass.

"This could be one of those doom-and-gloom environmental documentaries filled with burning rain forests and devastating hurricanes. But, it's not. This could be one of those educational science videos where experts debate the causes of climate change from the safety of their offices high above the flood plain. Or even more experts debating whether global warming or climate change is the right way to talk about what's goin' on. Nope. If your house is burning, you don't argue about who started it or whether it's called a blaze or an inferno — you put out the fire!"

Capsule review: Plenty of documentaries tell us how bad things are going to get, or could possibly get, because of climate change. This one tells us how we can improve things, are already improving things today — and without enormous cost or privation. It's a must-see. After watching it, you will understand that we can do this thing.