Can America Go Green?

Part 1: The Addiction To Oil: The United States of America produces one quarter of the world's carbon dioxide emissions. Part one looks at how the US could retreat from its role as the biggest polluter on the planet. The BBC’s Laura Trevelyan visits the New York Motor Show to report on moves among the big three US car makers to kick the oil habit and 'green' their industry. Author of Lives Per Gallon, Terry Tamminen, who is also green advisor to California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, and Bob Semple of The New York Times talk about how vested interests killed off electric cars in California. Laura considers viable alternative technologies and predicates a mobile but "carbon limited" future. Other contributors to the programmes include former US Vice President Al Gore, Presidential candidate Hillary Clinton, Professor of Environmental Law and host of a weekly green radio show Robert F Kennedy Jr and film directors Chris Paine and Robert Greenwald.

Part 3: How Green Is Your Valley? The United States of America produces one quarter of the world's carbon dioxide emissions. The BBC’s Laura Trevelyan explores the degree to which Americans are speaking out and altering their lifestyles in the face of global warming. She considers the size of the US's carbon footprint in relation to urban sprawl and the work of the "New Urbanists" to create greener places for Americans to live in. She also looks at the grass-roots activism of California's Sierra Club, which successfully fought the huge polluting Port of Long Beach, south of Los Angeles. Laura will also be assessing the perceived failure of the media to keep Americans well informed on green issues and looking at the growth of interest in Hollywood among documentary makers and celebrities