Nova: Power Surge - Are We Finally on the Brink of a Clean Energy Revolution?

"Power Surge" is an absolutely outstanding program! It is both informative and entertaining. Not only does it deal with our rising demand for energy in a very positive, intelligent way, it also provides solutions! In my estimation, it is one of the best programs that PBS has ever produced! I highly recommend this program. Everyone in America should see this!

Each gives a different perspective on what is goingon with the energy crisis and different solutions to it.But each stated that is up to us to do our part in solvingthe problem.

Great video. I teach high school and this video is perfect for my freshman exploratory science class. It nicely describes the problem of moving away from a fossil fuel powered world and discusses not only alternative energy but also the benefits of energy efficiency.

A must see for all conserned people of all the US. Watch and pass around to all your friends I did.

In the first two minutes of the presentation Jim Rogers, CEO of Duke Energy discredits all that is to come with the ridiculous statement to prove his opening point - saying that "In the average home in America in 1980 there were [only] three electronic devices. Today there are over 25."The video also emphasis this by showing such necessities as a cellphone, clothes washer, vacuum cleaner and DVD player.So he expects his audience (I suppose many of whom were born after 1980) to believe that their parent's home had only three or four of the following items in 1980:A cameraA telephoneAnswering machineA televisionOne radio or one StereoOne turntable, 8-track, cassette player or /CD playerA vacuum cleaner or one Dust busterSewing machineFridgeFreezerMicrowaveElectric mixerA CuisinartBlenderDishwasherClothes washerClothes dryerElectric Space HeaterElectric BlanketElectric Hair dryerElectric ToothbrushHearing aidElectric garage door openerFurnaceElectric water heaterOne A/C unitDehumidifierHumidifierAn electric light bulb (delete)An electric doorbell (delete)One flashlight (delete)Electric can opener (delete)Electric Fan (maybe delete)Exhaust fan for the stove (maybe delete)Stove/Oven (maybe delete)One Electric Drill, or Jig Saw, or Circular Saw (maybe delete)One Hedge Trimmer (maybe delete)In 1980 my home had all the above (except the hearing aid), and for many of them I had several of each!Get real Jim Rogers. No one who can remember 1980 should ever accept your history revisionist policy here. I contend that virtually every home in America was filled with such devices not only in 1980 but for many, many years prior.Wondering how could an intelligent CEO take to revising history to such an extreme I did a little Google searching for Mr Rogers and quickly saw that he appears to be a political zealot with a liberal slant. I see that in 2011 Duke shareholders have voiced concern over Rogers "spending Duke Energy money on Pres. Obama's energy policies" and for "using the company financial resources to back the 2012 Democratic Nat'l Convention."As a result, I believe that this NOVA video is totally discredited, political propaganda.UPDATE: I agree to an extent with the thoughtful people who took the time to comment. I did misuse the term "electric light bulb" to represent an electronic device in general use in 1980 and I was wrong. I stand corrected.The definition of an electronic device is "Having, or operating with the aid of, many small components, esp. microchips and transistors, that control and direct an electric current: 'an electronic calculator'". And therefore a 1980's style incandescent light bulb does not belong in my list (above).And perhaps a few others in 1980 were not really "electronic" either, including perhaps most (but not all) flashlights, electric drills and jig saws and can openers and many electric fans too. So I'll concede that perhaps up to a dozen of the items on my list perhaps could be widely found in non-electronic use in 1980, rather they were simply running on straight electricity without the use of microchips, capacitors, diodes, transistors and so on.I am correcting this because leaving these few questionable items on my list was distracting from making my point - that the video is biased. Eliminate up to the dozen possible "electric" items from my list and still, clearly it reminds us that homes in the USA in 1980 had far more the 3 or 4 electronic devices in use. Jim Rogers is wildly rewriting history to make his case, and as such, I stand by my observation that this discredits the whole video and being a propaganda piece.

This is a wonderful documentary on how one nuclear power plant is equal to square miles of solar panels and3000 turbines. They show an improved power plant with water coolant system attached...like nothing could gowrong here. It is an informative, quality program. Global warming is so dire that the nuclear risk is said to beworth it. However, they are forever improving of solar to make it less expensive and more efficient. There is oneman who has perfected a very narrow line placement on the panels that enable the electrons to travel a shorter distance.

CMC's review is pretty nutty. The line that is being discussed is part of a teaser before the program begins. I agree that the specific comment doesn't make much sense . . . but the larger point is dead on. If Jim Rodgers had said: "today's home has 5 times as many electronic devices as an average home did 50 years ago." it would work better. Clearly we are consuming much more energy today (pre capita) than people were in 1980.To suggest that this one error (which has little impact on the rest of the program) "discredits" the rest of the program is illogical. "Power Surge" is actually a pretty moderate view of ways that we can reduce CO2 emmissions. The experts (a number of people are interviewed) are discussing ways to quickly improve the environment without giving up our entire way of life. If one instance of hyperbole is enough to dismiss the whole argument, than Rush Limbaugh must be completely discredited by now :-)If the program has any weakness (in my mind) it would be that it isn't radical enough. Limping along with minor reductions in CO2 emmissions isn't likely to reverse our current path toward ecological disaster.

A very informative yet approachable science documentary, which is what you expect from the PBS NOVA series.Some environmentalists discount the possibility of technological solutions to climate change, but this video gives a more hopeful perspective. I really liked the "pieces of the pie" analogy. This illustrates that if we make do-able changes in several areas, we can really mitigate climate change.The science is settled, the evidence is overwhelming: 97% of climate scientists have concluded that humans are causing climate change. It appears to me it may well be too late to stop all climate change, but we can certainly slow it down, to give us time to adapt and implement solutions. Hopefully then we can avoid hitting any of the several climate "tipping points" scientists worry about. But we have to start right now.This video shows us what to do.