Energy Seekers

[music] [music] >> The sun, radiant source of wind and weather, and all the energy stored [music] in plants and fossil fuels. In the next few [music] weeks, the sun will shower us with more energy than is contained in all the Earth's coal, gas, and oil [music] combined. We speak of finding new energy, but mostly what we're seeking are more ways to tap the same enduring source. >> [music] [music] >> The problem is critical. Our jobs, our homes, our daily lives have been dependent upon the availability of cheap energy. There is no such thing anymore. Dependence upon unstable sources of energy from abroad endangers our future. Somehow, we have to find additional energy. Some energy seekers are determined to harvest the wind. >> Is it going to work? >> Just a minute. Don't hook it up yet. >> They foresee acres of whirling blades on future wind farms. The twin 100-ft blades of this wind-powered mill generate enough electricity to supply 500 homes. >> This 10-story steel giant may be a forerunner of the future. But today, more than 99% [music] of our usable energy comes from fossil fuels, nuclear power, and hydroelectric plants like this one. And unfortunately, for years to come, other resources can only supplement them. At present, nuclear energy is created by the fission or splitting of atoms. Experimenters are working on the problems of fusion or joining of hydrogen atoms. Using forms of hydrogen taken from seawater, fusion would mean an inexhaustible energy source. We depend so much upon oil that new sources of liquid fuel are high on the search list. We know how to liquefy coal, which we have in abundance. Researchers envision these chunks of coal turned into flowing streams of synthetic oil, or converted to pipelines of gas. More plants for such conversion are being built. Getting oil from rocks is feasible. Major projects are underway to extract the oil locked in Rocky Mountain shale. >> [music] >> Some forms of vegetation yield more oil than others. Various oil weeds are being tested. Someday, farmers may be planting weeds and harvesting an oil crop. Already, Midwest corn and other grains are being distilled into ethyl alcohol and mixed with gasoline to create gasohol. In the tar sands area of Canada, they're literally scooping oil from the ground. The tar or bitumen is separated from the sand and refined into oil at the rate of more than 100,000 barrels a day. Several tar sand areas exist in the United States. Crude oil is still our major source [music] of usable energy. Today's oil rigs are marvels of engineering. Build and supply them is a job for the stouthearted. But they get it done. >> [music] [music] >> In places, the hot interior of the earth visibly yields its energy in the form of steam. The Geysers area of northern California is one of nature's own steam power plants. >> [music] >> This geothermal site will generate enough electricity to meet [music] the needs of more than a million people. Vast hot rock areas underlie other parts of the country. And numerous experiments are aimed at tapping the furnace that lies beneath our feet. >> [music] >> What about the dream of car engines that run on water? It's a reality. Or almost. Water, >> [music] >> H2O, is 2/3 hydrogen. And cars like this can operate on hydrogen. The same fuel that launched spacecraft to the moon. If the energy hunters succeed in licking the high cost of separating the hydrogen, well, there are oceans of it out there. Living plants have the same hydrocarbons as coal and oil, though not in such concentrated form. Some see the fallen timber lying in our great forests [music] as a substantial source of fuel. Others are looking to fast-growing species of trees as a possible fuel crop. Till recently, garbage was strictly a disposal problem. And one of the nuisances it produced was methane gas. Here in New Jersey, pipes buried in the landfill now gather that methane gas as a resource. Piped to a nearby steel mill, the garbage gas is used to warm the ladles that receive the molten steel, reducing dependence on natural gas. Meanwhile, other researchers are finding more natural gas by drilling deeper than ever before. And by cracking deep sand formations where gas is locked in. Pipelines are being rushed to completion to get this new gas to towns and cities. Above all, shine is the ultimate dream, energy directly from the sun. Sun energy is diffused over wide areas, but even non-scientists can observe the considerable heat produced over a distance of 5 ft 4 and 1/2 in. That That same heat pouring into a building designed for a greenhouse effect can reduce [music] winter fuel bills. Indirect systems can be added to existing buildings. The heat trapped in solar panels heats water which is then stored for use. >> [music] >> A modern vehicle repair building heated by solar energy. Its walls insulated with earth and grass. Heat doesn't [music] travel well. Electricity does. So others are working on methods of turning sunlight directly into electricity. High hopes are held for photovoltaic cells, the expensive solar batteries of space satellites. >> [music] >> The silicon chips chemically transform sunlight directly into electrical current. >> [music] >> Some envision huge solar collectors in the clearer atmosphere of space beaming energy to Earth. In laboratories, investigators are seeking ways to produce these solar cells at lower cost. Others are working with lenses which focus more sunshine on the cells to increase power output. >> [music] [music] >> Near Tucson, this bank of photovoltaic cells supplies all the electricity for a nearby Indian community. In other experiments, solar thermal power systems focus the sun to turn water to steam. This one can concentrate the sun's heat 1,000 times. >> [music] >> The power tower is a large-scale version of the solar thermal system. Guided mirrors follow the sun and concentrate [music] a single 5 million watt beam of solar radiation to a receiver atop the tower. The beam instantly vaporizes flowing water into high-pressure steam, which then powers a turbine generator and produces electricity. There may be energy for the future if we are ingenious enough to make use of it [music] and wise enough to conserve it. Any widespread conservation practice adds up enormously. If Americans lower thermostats, use a little less electricity, hot water, and obey the 55 mile speed limit, the saved energy will amount to more than a million barrels of oil per day. There is not one solution, but many possibilities as a new breed of energy pioneers [music] engage the problem on many fronts. >> [music] >> Okay, let the wind have her. >> [music] [music] >> All right. >> [music]