FRONTLINE Heat is a global report on what is being done by the world’s largest corporations and governments to respond to the challenges posed by climate change and to the call for reductions in carbon emissions. The program takes viewers to the world’s largest coal mine, oil refinery, and off-shore oil rig as well as America’s biggest utility companies and car manufacturers to explore the technological, political, and economic challenges facing global corporations.

In this video case study and corresponding business module, students are asked to consider how industries and governments are responding to climate change through a set of key themes, discussion questions and a classroom exercises. Students will present solutions to the challenging problems posed in the module.

In Wind: Investing in Carbon-Free Power, we examine how leadership on renewable energy has come from Europe and from Japan. American business leaders are banking on big government in carbon-free power in the U.S. One of the strongest proponents of these investments is billionaire oilman T. Boone Pickens who has taken on the challenge of wind power because he believes it has the capacity to produce the energy the U.S. needs. However, he feels the lack of subsidies and incentives from the government disincentivize entrepreneurs from entering the clean tech arena.

Key Video Segment Themes:

• Pickens is financing the development of America’s largest wind farm and expects government to support him with tax credits so that he can make a profit from the venture.
• Wind power construction projects are based on decisions in Washington regarding subsidies. These subsidies have been extremely inconsistent.
• T .Boone Pickens has made over $2 billion “second guessing big oil companies.” He’s currently planning to build the world’s biggest wind farm in Texas.
• Pickens says he went into wind to make money and is committing to $2 billion in turbines and plans to install 2500 turbines to generate 4000 Megawatts of electricity.
• Pickens expects production tax credits to make the wind power he produces cost-competitive and he needs the government to open up corridors for transmission lines.