BEYOND THE LIGHT SWITCH

• April 15, 2011

Tuesdays, April 19 and 26 at 9 p.m.

Get the Flash Player to see the wordTube Media Player.

Comprehensive and timely, BEYOND THE LIGHT SWITCH adds a much-needed and balanced perspective to a national energy debate that will surely become more heated and more critical than anything since health care.

By 2050 America must completely transform its entire electrical infrastructure, a challenge equal to the mobilization efforts for World War II.

To do this, we must rebuild most of our existing electric power plant infrastructure, cut carbon dioxide emissions by 80%, and completely update our power grid — while simultaneously accommodating an expected thirty percent increase in demand. Our modern lives depend upon electricity. But what is the answer? Renewables? Coal? Natural gas? Nuclear? A super grid? It’s a complicated and confusing issue for almost everyone.

Hosted by Scientific American Magazine’s David Biello, and guided by an independent advisory panel, BEYOND THE LIGHT SWITCH lays out the energy facts and conundrums facing all of us.

Shot on location throughout the US and featuring interviews with government leaders, industry experts, researchers, innovators, environmentalists, utilities, journalists, and authors, BEYOND THE LIGHT SWITCH thoughtfully explores the trade-offs of carbon capture and storage, hydraulic fracturing for natural gas, a nuclear renaissance, the costs of solar power, the sprawl of wind power, and the feasibility of a super grid.

BEYOND THE LIGHT SWITCH is a production of Detroit Public Television. Ed Moore is producer, director, and writer, Jordan Wingrove is editor, Bill Kubota is co-producer and director of photography, and Genevieve Savage is co-producer. The executive producer is Jeff Forster.