Kilowatt Ours additional interviews

These are additional interviews that did not make it into the movie for a variety of reasons. We feel they contain great content and are worth viewing so we are presenting them here.

Devra Wang - Director California Energy Program / National Defense Council

• We are always expanding the horizons of energy conservation, so we will continue to become more efficient.
• We have huge reserves of untapped energy efficiency that will save consumers billions of dollars.
• Energy efficiency is our best resource for energy and it is the cheapest resource, costing about half the cost to produce new energy.
• With energy efficiency as our number one resource for energy we can eliminate the need to build new power plants, saving the environment, saving money, and producing a stronger economy.

 

Harvard Ayres - Executive Director, Appalachian Voices

• Local power plants burn up to 180 coal car loads of West Virginia Coal per day.
• People turn on the switch and have no concept of what is being done to create the power.
• Every kilowatt hour requires one pound of coal.
• You don't think about all the people's lives that are negatively impacted, plus the pollution and forest devastation. We just don't realize all the impacts.

 

David Easterling - Chief of scientific services division at the National Climatic Data Center

• Most recent report would say that we are indeed experiencing a warming on the planet. There is increasing evidence to suggest that this warming is due to human use of fossil fuels.
• There is some evidence that we are seeing more heavy rainfalls.
• There is an increasing level of carbon dioxide in the high atmosphere.
• There is a growing body of evidence that states that we are contributing to the warming.

 

Andrew Fahlund - Senior Director of Programs - American Rivers

• Hydropower dams can be operated okay but so many are operated in such a way that the river is left in nearly a drought condition then floods the river with tremendous flows.
• Hydro will continue to be an important part of Americas mix. It needs to be run differently.
• They consume huge amounts of land especially in the southeast.
• Dams are used for water supply and flood control, but some are for hydroelectric dams on larger streams.

 

Kenneth Redfoot - Architect in Chapel Hill, NC

• Smith Middle School utilizes indirect sun lighting and PV solar panels and rain water recovery system to flush the toilets.
• When compared to a similar building that meets the minimum codes we found that we could save 30% additional by incorporating the energy savings features.
• When school systems across the country recognize the benefits that can accrue they will find that these systems pay for themselves in a very short time.

Special Thanks to

This feature on the KilowattOurs website is made possible thanks to generous inkind support from Rich Hopkins of New Dawn Productions.