Earth: The Operators Manual

An operators' manual helps keep your car or computer running at peak performance. Earth science can do the same for the planet. Join host Richard Alley – registered Republican, geologist, former oil company employee and expert on climate change and renewable energy — on a high-definition trip around the globe to learn the story of Earth's climate history and our relationship with fossil fuels. In Spain, Brazil, China and Texas, as well as at the U.S. Army's Fort Irwin and the U.S. Marine Corps' Camp Pendleton, a diverse cast of Earth "operators" are proving that when the Earth's bounty meets human ingenuity, there are many reasons to be optimistic about our energy future. As Alley says, if enough of us get involved, "we can avoid climate catastrophes, improve energy security, and make millions of good jobs."

Get an eye-opening look at some of the world's most important case studies in smart energy decisions. In Spain and Morocco, large-scale solar farms and individual photovoltaic panels atop tents in the Sahara are beginning to bring the sun's vast potential down to Earth. In Brazil, abundant natural resources (sun, rain and sugar cane) are transformed into efficient, sustainable biofuel. In Samsø, Denmark, and West Texas, citizens have taken sustainability, and economic realities, into their own hands by becoming stakeholders in wind turbines. In China, a full-throttle approach to multiple sustainable energy technologies is giving rise to a "new empire of clean tech." Great nations and small communities alike are finding sustainable solutions that provide for people and protect the Earth. But what about America — are we making the right decisions for our country's energy future?

Visit five very different American communities where citizens are making smart energy choices based on economics and the environment. In Kansas, communities compete for $100,000 cash prizes in an energy conservation contest. In Baltimore, Md., the Neighborhood Energy Challenge is enabling low-income homeowners to save as much as $1,300 a year through simple measures like weather-stripping and reduced water use. In oil-rich Alaska, renewables are becoming an increasingly important part of the power portfolio. In Fort Worth, Texas, fracking has led to an economic and employment boom, even as citizens continue to pursue what they call "cowboy sustainability." And in Portland, Ore., forward-thinking decisions made decades ago have given rise to a vibrant economy and turned the city into one of the nation's greenest. In a political climate in which "going green" is often associated with a liberal agenda, Energy Quest USA sends the message that we need to get back to the all-American values of saving a buck, tackling problems head-on, working together in our communities, and looking out for the future of our kids and our country.