<Narrator> Support for "Reconnecting Roots" is provided by the following: RPC.

♪ gentle acoustic guitar ♪ "Plain Values," a magazine on a mission to find joy in the simple things.

Muletown Coffee Roasters is all about slowing things down, digging into community, and encouraging good for goodness sake.

Taylor Stitch is responsibly built for the long haul and is proud to partner with brands that inspire hope for a more sustainable future.

Sharing a common passion for music and community in beautiful Paradise Valley, Music Ranch Montana's mission to support musicians and provide a place to enjoy it together is reflected in "Reconnecting Roots."

At TowHaul.

We value the creativity and hard work that built this country and improves our lives by supporting education towards careers in manufacturing and the trades.

TowHaul, proud sponsor of "Reconnecting Roots" and public television.

♪ <singer> ♪ I got the power ♪ <Gabe> From fuel the fuse box, we're exploring the most transformational current event in history.

<Tom> It's the most advanced and complex manufacturing process.

<Gabe> With great power comes great responsibility.

<Michael> Photovoltaics reduces emissions.

Photosynthetic begins to remove carbon from our atmosphere, <Gabe> How a network of power transformed daily life in America and what it takes to energize a nation.

<singer> ♪ I got the power ♪ ♪ opening music ♪ I'm Gabe McCauley.

Join me as we explore the greatness of America.

♪ Beautiful, for spacious skies ♪ ♪ Amber waves of grain ♪ ♪ Purple mountains majesties ♪ ♪ On the fruited plains ♪ ♪ We're home ♪ ♪ There's no place like home ♪ ♪ ♪ Home ♪ ♪ Home ♪ Tracing the roots of progress from then to now and how.

This is "Reconnecting Roots."

♪ We're home.

We're home.

♪ ♪ dramatic music ♪ <Gabe> These environmentalists are risking their lives to save the whales.

A movement that started in the 1960s, as the toll of commercial whaling was driving many species of whale to extinction.

Public interest led to an international moratorium on whaling that went into effect in 1986, allowing these majestic sea creatures to repopulate oceanic ecosystems.

But it wasn't the first time in history that somebody had to save the whales.

In the mid 19th century before big oil, there was big blubber.

The whaling industry processed whale fat into lamp oil, the preferred lighting technology of the day for its clean, low odor burn.

♪ folk music ♪ At peak whale, 10 to 15 million gallons of oil were produced annually with a fleet of over 700 ships barely meeting the demand of the US market.

Sperm whales and right whales were hit particularly hard, and estimates of whale populations were now alarmingly low, but then something unexpected happened.

An ecological disaster was avoided with the aid of an environmental pollutant for black gold, Texas tea, et cetera, et cetera.

The invention of kerosene, a cheaper, superior product refined from petroleum, saved the whales from mass extinction virtually overnight.

Today, crude oil is just one energy source we rely on to drive our industrialized world.

The world also powered by coal, natural gas, atomic fission, and renewable resources, all of which help to operate the nation's power grid.

While it may seem like electricity travels faster than the speed of a light switch, that's because a steady stream is always being provided whether you use it or not.

Electricity flows by a combination of pressure, current, and resistance, and must continually be generated to be ready to use whenever we tap into the grid to power our homes.

But what powers the grid?

♪ upbeat music ♪ ♪ <Tom King> So we are setting up three different microgrid pods that our utility partner will be able to then implement in their operations in the grid.

<Gabe> Over the course of a year, American utilities will produce around 4 trillion kilowatt hours of electricity, a number that keeps growing along with the population.

Here at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, energy is a major focus.

And Tom King leads their research on today's grid.

<Gabe> All right, Tom, speaking of the grid.

<Tom> Yeah.

<Gabe> What is it?

How does it work?

>> It's the most advanced and complex, just in time manufacturing process that we have.

So you have generators that create electricity.

You have a way to distribute that electricity through our transmission and distribution network, and then you have the consumers and end use, and that right there is the entire grid.

<Gabe> The average daily consumption of energy in the US is around 100 quadrillion BTUs, with about a third of that coming from generated electricity alone.

<Tom> If we look at the traditional home, typically you have 30 kilowatt hours per day.

Since 1980 to where we are today, that number has dropped about 33%, and so you look at wow, significant decreases.

Some of that is going to be tied to the lighting, and we've gone from incandescent bulbs to now LED lights, and on top of that, appliances are becoming much more efficient and becoming much smarter, and so the, the quality of life continues to get better with these advances.

♪ <Gabe> To demonstrate the way an energized power grid transformed American life, all it takes is 70 years.

(air whooshing) ♪ lively music ♪ It's getting dark in here.

(newspaper rustling) (Gabe yelps) What is this place?

♪ playful music ♪ The average person from the 2010s would be pretty much right at home in the typical 1940s household, (Gabe sighs) just without the wi-fi.

But if the average American of the 1940s went back another 70 years, the lifestyle would be unrecognizable.

(metal clanging) (Gabe gasps) >> How could, how could you live like this?

Savage.

There's no coffee pot.

♪ No hot water?

You want water?

Go down the creek and get it, and be sure you don't dip into the cesspool.

You'll be sitting on that bucket for days.

♪ (Gabe gasps) (metal clanging) I think I'm going to faint.

(Gabe exhales) I need a cold compress.

Where's the ice box?

♪ <Gabe> Since the power grid was developed in America, the standard of living increased so rapidly that the average lifespan of Americans shot up an additional 31 years.

Quality of life improvements yielded more time for recreation, study, and arts by less time doing the drudgery of everyday chores.

(light switch clicking) (Gabe gasps) ♪ playful music ♪ (light switch clicking) ♪ I saw the light, I saw the light ♪ (Gabe laughs) ♪ No more darkness ♪ In 1880, Thomas Edison's Illuminating Company formed for the purpose of distributing electricity for their light bulbs utilizing direct current, which had one inherent flaw.

It could only be utilized over short distances before losing voltage, but the solution came not from within Edison's company, but from one of his former employees.

♪ energetic rock music ♪ A European inventor named Nikola Tesla, whose breakthrough alternating current motor paved the road to the modern power grids of today.

He devised a plan for continuous current made by hydroelectric generators, also pioneering clean energy, but it was George Westinghouse that hired Tesla to help build an AC network to sell his electric machines, giving rise to the war of currents.

♪ playful music ♪ (bell ringing) (thumping) While Edison and Westinghouse were duking it out over the best current to build out the grid, the transportation industry was fielding its options for fuel.

The first electric car was conceived and built in the 1880s, along with other electric vehicles such as boats and trains, but despite efforts by such luminaries as Edison and Ford, electric transportation was held back by factors such as limited range, insufficient battery supplies, and restricted power access, which effectively killed any chance of electric vehicles gaining traction with the public.

Internal combustion left the electric car in the dust, especially once engines were optimized for gasoline, and given that gasoline is a byproduct of the process of refining kerosene, and up to this point in time considered waste, meant that this new fuel was both cheap and abundant, but petroleum products also found a way to power electric equipment, making oil a critical source of energy for rural development off-grid.

♪ energetic music ♪ Over time, electrical power expanded to cover the continent with 2.7 million miles of power line operated by over 3000 utilities, distributing electricity generated by over 6,000 power plants at an average annual rate of 3 billion 700 million kilowatt hours to American citizens.

(Gabe huffing) (electricity whirring) That sentence took a lot of energy.

♪ (Gabe exhales) (machine whirring) And it takes a lot of energy to continually provide consistent voltage to an expanding network of consumers concentrated in cities and stretched across remote rural areas.

♪ (Gabe exhaling) (electricity whirring) I can't do this alone.

(tape whirring) Song plays: Electric Avenue: Eddy Grant, ♪ Boy ♪ ♪ ♪ Boy ♪ ♪ ♪ Now in the street there is violence ♪ ♪ And, and a lots of work to be done ♪ ♪ No place to hang out our washing ♪ ♪ And, and I can't blame all on the sun ♪ ♪ Oh no!

We gonna rock down to electric avenue ♪ ♪ And then we'll take it higher ♪ ♪ Oh!

We gonna rock down to electric avenue ♪ ♪ And then we'll take it higher ♪ ♪ Working so hard like a soldier ♪ ♪ Can't afford a thing on TV ♪ ♪ Deep in my heart I abhor ya ♪ ♪ Can't get food for them kid ♪ ♪ Good God!

We gonna rock down to electric avenue ♪ ♪ And then we'll take it higher ♪ ♪ Oh we gonna rock down to electric avenue ♪ ♪ And then we'll take it higher ♪ ♪ Oh no ♪ ♪ ♪ Oh no ♪ ♪ ♪ Oh no ♪ ♪ ♪ Oh no ♪ ♪ ♪ Oh no, we gonna rock down to electric avenue ♪ ♪ Oh yeah And then we'll take it higher ♪ ♪ Rock it in the daytime ♪ ♪ We gonna rock down to ♪ ♪ Electric avenue ♪ ♪ Rock it in the night ♪ ♪ And then we'll take it higher, electric avenue ♪ ♪ Rock it in Miami mama, meh ♪ ♪ We gonna rock down to ♪ ♪ Electric avenue ♪ ♪ dramatic music ♪ <Gabe> The grid was now in place across the country.

Except it never really was a grid, but several smaller grids.

Utility companies eventually joined forces to buy and sell excess power to each other to ensure that the supply to consumers remain consistent, especially during peak usage hours, and to offset the effects of storms and other natural disruptions.

(lightning crackling) Where many vertical monopolies naturally were formed to create local and regional power grids, most have been broken up to allow an expanding number of producers and distributors access to the network of high voltage transmission.

This allows competition and innovation to keep prices lower and equipment up to date.

Better yet, the modernized grid can include electricity derived from many types of energy sources.

♪ Organic matter stores up naturally created energy, mostly from the sun.

In fact, this ice cream cone contains enough energy to light a 100 watt light bulb for about three and a half hours.

Mmm.

Doesn't taste anything like light ice cream.

(chimes tinkling) Most generators use turbines or steam engines to crank out electricity.

For most parts of the country, this requires some type of carbon-based fuel to burn, releasing its stored energy and converting it into motion to generate electrical current.

(electricity whirring) ♪ eerie music ♪ The problem is in the amount of carbon being burned, sending pollution into our air and taking a toll on the environment from mining.

It's a problem that government, scientists, and innovators have had to address over the years with challenging but favorable results, such as the clean coal process, higher fuel efficiency standards, reduced emissions, and finding alternatives to simply burning fossil fuels.

♪ Of all our mineral-based fuel sources, nothing else comes near the level of efficiency achieved by nuclear energy.

In order to match the energy output of a typical six grand pellet of enriched uranium, it would take one ton of coal, 120 gallons of oil, or 17,000 cubic feet of natural gas.

Nuclear power is the most tightly controlled process in the country and has an environmental impact that leads to a lot of public apprehension.

♪ (air whooshing) ♪ lively music ♪ <Show Host> The atomic age is an era of modern wonders like the two speed electric toothbrush, instantaneous meals ready at the push of a button, and intercontinental ballistic missiles tipped with nuclear powered warhead.

(explosion booming) <Character> Yikes, that sounds incredibly dangerous.

Shouldn't we harness nuclear energy for more positive uses?

<Show Host> Hold on there.

Don't get too excited.

Let's see what our friend, Bartholomew Duck, has to say about that.

Take it away.

♪ There was a duckling named Bartholomew ♪ ♪ He always knew just what to do ♪ ♪ When complicated elephants are in the room ♪ ♪ You duck ♪ (duck quacking) ♪ the question ♪ (duck quacks) <Character> No, seriously.

Nuclear power basically emits zero greenhouse gases.

So shouldn't we be using it more, especially if the low amount of pollution it creates is highly controlled?

I'm just asking.

(eyes tinkling) (tone chiming) ♪ Nuclear nuclear greenhouse emission ♪ ♪ Gander over here to deflect your attention ♪ ♪ When you don't have an answer ♪ ♪ Here's a suggestion ♪ ♪ duck the question ♪ (duck quacking) <Show Host> Well, we've taken up nearly the entire half-life of this reel, so that's all the time we have for questions.

<Character> Hang on a sec, if spent uranium can be reprocessed doesn't that make nuclear fuel a renewable source?

<Show Host> Young man, I think you misunderstand the destructive potential of nuclear energy.

Its place in our world is for international detente.

(duck gulps) <Character> Look, I...

Wait, what's a detente?

I know the effects of a meltdown are devastating, but have been statistically minuscule due to a highly regulated system of oversight.

So what is it we should truly be afraid of?

(electricity whirring) (playful music) ♪ Duck the question ♪ ♪ ♪ Duck the question ♪ (door creaks) (upbeat music) <Gabe> We've also had to learn a few things about our energy usage.

Like how we kinda get spoiled and keep the lights on when we leave the room or crank up the AC so we can dress in layers or crank up the heat so we can walk around the house naked.

♪ (door clanging) All that changed when a conflict in the Middle East led to an oil embargo that led to an oil shortage, crippling the supply of oil coming into America and causing prices to double then quadruple within weeks.

♪ We're low on heat 'n' all ♪ ♪ We're low on gas ♪ ♪ And I'm so cold I'm about to freeze myself ♪ ♪ We got the crude oil blues ♪ <Gabe> It wasn't just long lights at the gas pump either.

Heating oil for home furnaces became scarce too.

The effects were wide reaching, as household energy costs across the board began to spike.

It was a wake up call for America.

<President Carter> We must face the fact that the energy shortage is permanent.

All of us must learn to waste less energy.

♪ electronic music ♪ <Gabe> We have come to rely on so many common, everyday machines and devices, it's easy to take for granted our over-reliance.

And we keep adding more electronic conveniences and users, which causes a strain to the system, and strains can cause brownouts.

They seem like no big deal, except the swings and voltage can wreck all the electronics you've invested in.

(machine whirring) (eyes tinkling) Of course, blackouts are no fun either.

(eyes tinkling) Scheduled blackouts have practically become routine in certain areas where systems risk operating beyond maximum capacity during peak hours.

This can be especially dangerous in extreme weather swings as we've seen recently, as grid failures expose an unpreparedness for the harsh realities of life and an overdependence on the cheap comforts the grid provides.

Another major drawback of our energy complex is that it isn't geared towards saving the power generated nor conserving the resources spent.

Electricity must be continually produced in order to work.

All of these problems demonstrate an economic principle known as the Law of the Commons, where the uncoordinated efforts of different people acting on their own self-interest quickly deplete common resources, whether it's electricity, gas, or the raw minerals used to produce and store our energy or even destroying the environment in the process.

♪ ♪ dramatic music ♪ Back in 2011 when Volkswagen opened a factory here in Chattanooga, Tennessee, they wanted to offset the fossil fuel usage that comes with manufacturing fossil fuel vehicles, which led to the creation of this solar farm tucked nearby.

While four parking lots worth of solar panels isn't an option for most of us, Silicon Ranch makes full use of this space by blending new tech, ancient practices, and star power.

The sun is the original source of...energy and power.

<Nick> It's been around for a while, isn't it?

<Gabe> Tell me about the actual power.

Like what happens here?

How much can these guys generate?

>> So this is a photovoltaic, solar photovoltaic, power plant and we harvest the sunlight and turn the sunlight directly into electricity as opposed to hot water or something that was thermal.

<Gabe> Is that what that word means?

Photo-?

<Nick> Photovoltaic is <Gabe> Yeah.

the, you know, like photosynthesis.

<Gabe> Sure.

<Nick> Or photovoltaic is like taking photons and turning it into electrons.

<Gabe> Oh wow!.

Okay.

<Nick> Yeah.

So this power plant is about nine and a half megawatts of power.

<Gabe> And they're getting about 12% offset <Nick> That's right.

That's right.

<Gabe> So what's, in general, what's the goal of putting in a solar plant like this?

<Nick> Generally people are wanting more of it.

They want renewable, reliant, and cost effective energy, and solar power <Gabe> Yeah.

<Nick> has really, really fit that bill here for the past decade.

<Gabe> How would this compare to today if you were gonna do the same installation?

<Nick> If I was to use what I do today and redesign this.

<Gabe> Yeah.

<Nick> I would probably use a third, one third less of the land.

So each solar panel <Gabe> Oh, really?

<Nick> may be the same size, but it can produce more power.

<Gabe> Wow!

<Nick> Than it did just last year or the year before.

<Gabe> Yeah.

So the technology's improving that fast.

The big problem with solar is the big footprint, but if you look between the rows, you'll see how that's being changed by hundreds of teeny hoof prints.

There's no gasoline fumes out here.

There's no noise pollution.

You know, I'm not hearing this mower going.

I'm just hearing the -a sheep bellow, which is pretty nice.

Yeah, pretty serene.

>> If we put cattle out here, it would literally be a bull in a China shop.

(Gabe chuckles) The integration of sheep into this, they're actually safer for the technical asset, than a mower.

<Gabe> Oh wow.

<Michael> When we send a tractor in here, oftentimes there's damage.

Yeah, the blades can kick up rocks and that turns into a projectile and could damage.

The sheep really are the most appropriate technology for this.

>> And that's the hardest part to cut.

<Gabe> Yeah.

>> I mean it's getting up, <Gabe> Right.

>> six foot and fat.

(Gabe laughs) <Tyler> And you get under there.

<Gabe> Yeah.

<Tyler> It's not easy.

<Gabe> Yeah.

<Michael> So that's the win-win we found in this.

<Gabe> Sure.

Many renewable energy systems can negatively impact the surrounding environment and wildlife, but if green energy enthusiasts ever heard about the additional effects of the regenerative program shepherded by Silicon Ranch, they may flock to the approach.

<Michael> The photovoltaics reduces emissions from other generation.

The photosynthetic begins to remove carbon from our atmosphere.

<Gabe> Huh.

<Michael> So now we're into a carbon removal process, not just a carbon reduction process.

<Gabe> Yeah.

<Michael> Now we're restoring ecosystem functionality, and that's really the key here, is this land is now becoming a functional grassland ecosystem.

We're seeing quail come back.

We're seeing pheasant come back.

We're seeing more wildlife, greater biodiversity.

You see more native bumblebees.

Of course there's milkweed on many of our properties.

So you see Monarch.

♪ uplifting music ♪ <Gabe> One thought for this resource is there's not a spot on the globe that you can't access the sun.

<Nick>The sun shines everywhere.

<Gabe> Yeah.

<Nick> It's what drives photosynthesis.

<Gabe> Yeah.

<Nick> It's...what drives photovoltaics.

It's what warms up and makes parts of the earth livable.

It's a constant in our life.

<Gabe> Sure.

<Nick> We just need to know how to use it and make the best of it.

<Gabe> Yeah.

♪ uplifting music ♪ <Gabe> Who knows what type of energy source we will discover next or how much longer our current supplies will last, but what we can see is that being connected to a grid, to a network, to each other, meets our needs and elevates the well-being of us all with a steady supply of warmth and light.

It's up to us to use it wisely with minimal impact on our environment.

♪ Thanks for watching.

♪ Some blues are just blues ♪ ♪ Mine are the miner's blues ♪ ♪ folk music ♪ ♪ ♪ Some blues are just blues ♪ ♪ Mine are the miner's blues ♪ ♪ ♪ I got coal in my hair ♪ ♪ I got coal down in my boots ♪ ♪ ♪ Out in young Wyoming ♪ ♪ 18 and 8 and 5 ♪ ♪ ♪ It was out in old Wyoming ♪ ♪ 18 and 8 and 5 ♪ ♪ ♪ I saw the Chinatown on fire ♪ ♪ Not a soul left alive ♪ ♪ ♪ Some blues are just blues ♪ ♪ Mine are the miner's blues ♪ ♪ ♪ Some blues are just blues ♪ ♪ Mine are the miner's blues ♪ ♪ ♪ I got blood in my eyes ♪ ♪ ♪ I got coal down in my boots ♪ ♪ song ends ♪ ♪ closing music ♪ ♪ <Gabe> Reconnect with us at reconnectingroots.com.

Where you can check out blogs, extra videos, behind the scenes, music, podcasts, and more.

♪ >> Support for "Reconnecting Roots" is provided by the following: RPC.

♪ gentle acoustic guitar ♪ "Plain Values," a magazine on a mission to find joy in the simple things.

♪ Muletown Coffee Roasters is all about slowing things down, digging into community, and encouraging good for goodness sake.

Taylor Stitch is responsibly built for the long haul, and is proud to partner with brands that inspire hope for a more sustainable future.

♪ Sharing a common passion for music and community in beautiful Paradise Valley, Music Ranch Montana's mission to support musicians and provide a place to enjoy it together is reflected in "Reconnecting Roots."

>> At TowHaul, we value the creativity and hard work that built this country and improves our lives by supporting education towards careers in manufacturing and the trades.

TowHaul, proud sponsor of "Reconnecting Roots" and public television.

♪ ♪