Interactive Script

Here you can view each chapter of Kilowatt Ours while reading the accompanying script. We've also included links to the sources of information used in the film.

Introduction to Kilowatt Ours

“What if, every time we flipped a light switch at home, a mountain exploded in West Virginia, or every time we turned on the air conditioner in summer, a child suffered an asthma attack, or when we turned up the heat, the entire planet was warming… and what if, instead of all that, we had a choice of something, better? What choice would you make?”Watch the Intro and read the script

Chapter 1: Mountain Top Removal

Mountain Top Removal is a hideous practice of removing vast amounts of earth to extract small amounts of coal. The removed earth and rock is dozed over the edge into the valley floor below covering native streams and destroying forever the streams ecosystem.Watch Chapter 1 and read the script

Chapter 2: Five Tons of Coal Per Year

Do you know where your electicity comes from? Most people don't realize that half of thier electricity comes from burning coal, and lots of it. America burns 1 billion tons of coal each year which is about 5 tons of coal for each household.Watch Chapter 2 and read the script

Chapter 3: Our Planet is Warming

Mountain top removal mining, air pollution, haze in Great Smoky Mountains National Park, methylmercury contamination of newborns, childhood asthma and global warming ALL stem from the same root cause.Watch Chapter 3 and read the script

Chapter 4: Altering an Eco-System

“Our nation’s greatest natural treasures are suffering the consequences from our extreme use of energy.  Great Smoky Mountains National Park is the most frequently visited park in America – 10 million visitors per year… and it’s the most polluted.” Watch Chapter 4 and read the script

Chapter 5: Poisioning Our Grandchildren

“Burning coal releases mercury into the atmosphere. We ingest this dangerous neurotoxin when we eat fish from polluted waters.  More than 45 states now post statewide mercury advisories.  According to the Centers for Disease Control, nearly one in ten women of childbearing age in America carry unsafe levels of mercury in their bodies.” Watch Chapter 5 and read the script

Chapter 6: Changing Our Direction

Buildings in America consume nearly 2/3 of all the energy we use. The typical American home emits twice the annual global warming emissions compared the typical car. So, if we can make our buildings Net Zero buildings, the benefits to the environment and our quality of life will be profound.Watch Chapter 6 and read the script

Chapter 7: In Search of Savings

Look at all the places we found where energy can be saved using technologies that we have available today. All we need to do is make use of them.Watch Chapter 7 and read the script

Chapter 8a: Conservation Power Plant

If we find a way to generate the electricity we need by other means, we could minimize our use of coal to generate electricity. Austin, Texas has spent the last 30 years building a "conservation power plant" to eliminate the need for an entire coal-fired power plant.Watch Chapter 8a and read the script

Chapter 8b: Alternative Energy Solutions

Being one of the most energy efficient states in the nation over the past thirty years, California has a lot to show the rest of the nation about how to mine for energy in all the right places. Their demand for electricity is nearly the same as it was thirty years ago while the rest of the nation's demand for electricity has been growing at about 2% per year.Watch Chapter 8b and read the script

Chapter 9: Net-Zero Energy

Being one of the most energy efficient states in the nation over the past thirty years, California has a lot to show the rest of the nation about how to mine for energy in all the right places. Their demand for electricity is nearly the same as it was thirty years ago while the rest of the nation's demand for electricity has been growing at about 2% per year.Watch Chapter 9 and read the script

Chapter 10: Take the Kilowatt Ours Challenge!

Being one of the most energy efficient states in the nation over the past thirty years, California has a lot to show the rest of the nation about how to mine for energy in all the right places. Their demand for electricity is nearly the same as it was thirty years ago while the rest of the nation's demand for electricity has been growing at about 2% per year.Watch Chapter 10 and read the script

Watch Additional Video Footage

• Only short quotes from all the interviews found their way into the movie. You can see and hear the interviews in their entirety to get every piece of information from these world reknown experts in their fields.
• Interviews with other experts that did not make it into the film but had great things to say on their subject matter.

Special Thanks to

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