EPISODE 3

Workforce Rising

The rapid advancement of electric vehicles is disrupting numerous industries and workforces, and the lack of charging infrastructure and grid capacity is lagging behind advances in automotive technology. The already-passed Bipartisan Infrastructure Bill provides the greatest opportunity to accelerate the transition, as long as the money is spent quickly and wisely.

Learn More and Take Action Through our Partners:

Watch The Film

EPISODE 2

Nation in Transition

 

Nation in Transition explores the coal-to-renewables transition on the Navajo Nation and across northern Arizona through the stories of workers, their families and communities, business and tribal leaders, utility executives, policy makers and environmental activists. The film offers a roadmap for accelerating and navigating just energy transitions for workers and communities everywhere.

Watch The Film

“The shift to clean energy and electric vehicles is already happening—and it’s happening faster than anyone expected. Now our task is to manage the transition to ensure it’s both just and sustainable.”
— Paul Hirt, Emeritus Professor of Environmental History and Sustainability, Arizona State University
 

Purchase or License

License the film for teach-ins, symposiums, conferences, curricula and more.

 

EPISODE 1

The Transformation Cannot Be Stopped

 

American Resilience Project’s new film series and associated outreach campaigns tackles the challenge of how the utility, auto, tech, and defense industries can help modernize the aging power grid to make it more secure and responsive to the needs of its users while enhancing environmental performance. With a focus on national security, economic prosperity, and environmental justice, the films, and campaigns will show how the nation can embrace smart policies and investments that support grid modernization through distributed renewable energy generation and the development of an electric vehicle infrastructure.

Watch the Film

For decades, the utility industry has been a driving engine of the U.S. economy, contributing significantly to our progress and standard of living with a business model that focused on centralized generation. But now, because of reduced demand from a number of factors, including more efficient energy systems, power companies face a crisis that requires them to capture new market share to survive in the 21st century. The industry has its sights on the transportation sector, which means a chance to catalyze the electric vehicle industry, but which also sets it on a collision course with major petroleum interests. And with the need for a smart, cyber-secure grid, the tech and defense industries also have critical roles to play.

Through interviews, observational and archival footage with top executives, military personnel, utility workers, elected officials, and others -- from substations to gas stations, board rooms to military bases -- the film tells the story of a towering American industry on the brink of massive change. Whether it fails, prevails, or adapts, the outcome will profoundly affect us all.

 

Purchase or License

License the film for teach-ins, symposiums, conferences, curricula and more.


“American Resilience Project is a powerful mechanism for change at the nexus of storytelling, political action, and economic opportunity. ARP is providing a vital public service that helps unite a fractious nation around common values.”
— Vice Admiral Dennis McGinn, USN (ret.) & ARP Board Member
 

TAKE ACTION

Learn More

 

Related Podcasts

Featured
Episode #10 - Richard Keiser, CEO and Founder of Common Energy
Episode #10 - Richard Keiser, CEO and Founder of Common Energy

Common Energy CEO Richard Keiser argues that the absolute best climate solution we can implement now is using federal land to accelerate the transition to clean electricity generation and transmission. Richard offers an engaging historical perspective on how we got to the point of having such an unwieldy national power system, and how we can actually create the amount of clean electricity needed to limit the worst effects of the climate crisis.

Episode #5 - Wahleah Johns, Director of the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Indian Energy Policy and Programs
Episode #5 - Wahleah Johns, Director of the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Indian Energy Policy and Programs

Wahleah Johns is responsible for upholding and advancing the Office of Indian Energy’s mission to maximize the development and deployment of energy solutions for the benefit of American Indians and Alaska Natives. Johns is a member of the Navajo (Diné) tribe and comes from northeastern Arizona. Her background is in renewable energy and community organizing, having co-founded Native Renewables, a nonprofit that builds renewable energy tribal capacity while addressing energy access. 

Episode #1 - Rev. Dr. Gerald Durley, Pastor Emeritus, Providence Missionary Baptist Church
Episode #1 - Rev. Dr. Gerald Durley, Pastor Emeritus, Providence Missionary Baptist Church

Rev. Dr. Durley talks about the energy transition, climate justice, politics, morality, finding hope and strength, and adapting to the climate crisis.

In the News

Blog Posts

Podcasts

Scholarly Research

Toolkits

Educational Toolkit

For educators seeking to use the film and incorporate energy transition topics into their classrooms this toolkit provides lesson plan ideas, key terms, suggested readings, discussion questions, and more. The resources are geared for a variety of primary, secondary, and post-secondary classrooms. Educations institutions can purchase and license to the use the film. (Under-resourced schools can request a fee waiver.)

Business and Workforce Toolkit

Coming Soon!
For businesses and groups looking for workforce development wanting to learn and disseminate more information on the coming energy transition and what that will mean for businesses large and small as well as the employees who will be affected and those powering the change.

Policy Toolkit

Coming Soon!
For the general public, students and researchers, utilities, developers, regulators, and policy-makers. This guide is for anyone interested in the policy aspects of a Just Transition and what policy corridors in the past and going forward may make this transition not just possible, but successful.

Get Involved!

Non-Profit Organizations and NGOs

Center for Resources Solutions

The Center for Resources Solutions is dedicated to promoting renewable energy and economic and environmental sustainability. CRS administers programs to protect the environment through the design of sustainable energy strategies and technologies, and certifies clean power products through the nationally-recognized Green-e™ Renewable Electricity Certification Program.

Ceres

Ceres is focused on tackling the world’s biggest sustainability challenges. Among other programs, Ceres works with investors and companies to “advance leading practices that ramp up investments in clean energy” and to mobilize corporate leaders to advocate for stronger renewable energy policies at the state and federal level.

Clean Energy States Alliance

The Clean Energy States Alliance works with state leaders, federal agencies, industry representatives, and other stakeholders to develop clean energy programs and inclusive renewable energy markets. CESA members—mostly state agencies—include many of the most innovative, successful, and influential public funders of clean energy initiatives in the country.

Climate Justice Alliance

Just Transition strategies were first forged by labor unions and environmental justice groups, rooted in low-income communities of color, who saw the need to phase out the industries that were harming workers, community health and the planet; and at the same time provide just pathways for workers to transition to other jobs. The Climate Justice Alliance approaches production and consumption cycles holistically and waste-free.

ClimateWorks

The ClimateWorks team is on a mission to end the climate crisis by amplifying the power of philanthropy. Over the past decade, ClimateWorks has built a global platform for philanthropy to innovate and accelerate climate solutions that scale. ClimateWorks’ global programs and services equip philanthropy with knowledge, networks, and solutions to drive climate progress. Since 2008, ClimateWorks has granted over $1 billion to more than 500 grantees in over 40 countries.

Energy Foundation

Energy Foundation supports education and analysis to promote non-partisan policy solutions that advance renewable energy and energy efficiency while opening doors to greater innovation and productivity—growing the economy with dramatically less pollution. For nearly 30 years, Energy Foundation has supported grantees to help educate policymakers and the general public about the benefits of a clean energy economy. Our grantees include business, health, environmental, labor, equity, community, faith, and consumer groups, as well as policy experts, think tanks, universities, and more.

Environmental Defense Fund

The Environmental Defense Fund has been driving research, policy, and environmental activism for over 50 years and provides resources on a range of topics including the transition to clean energy.

Environmental Entrepreneurs (E2)

The Environmental Entrepreneurs is a national, nonpartisan group of business leaders, investors, and professionals from every sector of the economy who advocate for smart policies that are good for the economy and good for the environment. E2 members have founded or funded more than 2,500 companies, created more than 600,000 jobs, and manage more than $100 billion in venture and private equity capital.

Global Green

Global Green works in cooperation with individuals, industry, and government to foster a global value shift toward a sustainable and secure future. They particularly focus on promoting livable, resilient, sustainable cities and neighborhoods.

GreenPeace

GreenPeace supports the energy revolution in the U.S. by challenging the biggest companies in the world to commit to powering their operations with 100 percent renewable energy, and pressuring electric utility companies to embrace innovation or get out of the way.

Just Transition Fund

The Just Transition Fund Works with communities to help develop sustainable, equitable, and inclusive economic growth for the people and places hit hardest by the transition away from coal and is meant to provide information and resources for community-based nonprofits and municipal leaders who may have only recently learned that a coal asset is closing and are just starting to think about their transition planning efforts.

Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC)

Working in the United States and countries around the world, the Natural Resources Defense Council advocates for deep cuts to carbon pollution by ending our dependence on climate-warming fossil fuels. NRDC’s Climate and Clean Energy Program publishes informative reports and blogs, tracks progress in energy and transportation innovations, and lobbies state, federal, and international governments to advance clean energy policy.

RE 100

RE 100 is an association of large businesses committed to achieving 100% renewable energy for their operations. It includes some of the largest corporations in the world and helps drive support for climate and clean energy policy in the business sector.

Renewable Northwest

Founded in 1994, Renewable Northwest has grown to become one of the nation’s most impactful renewable energy advocacy organizations. Renewable Northwest’s strength comes from their members, a unique and powerful coalition of renewable energy professionals, energy buyers and marketers, ratepayer advocates, and environmental NGOs. Together, these groups contribute their respective talents towards the socially and environmentally responsible advancement of clean energy projects across our region.

Western Clean Energy Advocates

Western Clean Energy Advocates is a diverse and growing coalition working across the American West to accelerate the transition to clean energy, and away from coal and gas.It partners with clean energy companies, environmental organizations, rural community development advocates, consumer representatives and others to achieve a clean energy future, improved public health, intergenerational equity and environmental justice.

Research Institutes

Arizona State University - Institute for the Future of Innovation in Society

The Institute for the Future of Innovation in Society helps communities and organizations understand and manage the human complexity of these changes through research into the social, political, and economic drivers, dynamics, and outcomes of energy innovation.


Arizona State University - Just Energy Transition Center

The Just Energy Transition Center is committed to helping communities and organizations understand and manage the human complexity of the upcoming transformations caused by the energy transition through research into the social, political, and economic drivers, dynamics, and outcomes of energy innovation.

Boston University Institute for Sustainable Energy

The Boston University Institute for Sustainable Energy (ISE) translates sustainable energy research into urgent action. The ISE is a university-wide center dedicated to developing energy systems that will provide abundant, universally accessible, and sustainable energy sources for emerging and advanced economies.

Columbia University - Center for Environmental Eceonomics and Policy

The Center for Environmental Economics and Policy is a hub of information for the latest research into sustainable development and clean energy policy with new events, webinars, and videos available for cutting-edge information.

Environment America Clean, Green, and Renewable Energy Program

Environment America has 29 state-wide affiliates, such as Environment Arizona, that work with college campuses, cities, and states to chart a path toward 100% renewable energy. They focus on concrete steps that can be taken now and offer specific options for taking action.

IRENA International Renewable Energy Agency

The International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) is an intergovernmental organization that supports countries in their transition to a sustainable energy future, and serves as the principal platform for international cooperation, a centre of excellence, and a repository of policy, technology, resource and financial knowledge on renewable energy.

Physicians, Scientists, and Engineers for Healthy Energy

Physicians, Scientists, and Engineers (PSE) for Healthy Energy is a multidisciplinary, nonprofit research institute that studies the way energy production and use impact public health and the environment. We share our work and translate complex existing science for all audiences. Our headquarters is in Oakland, California.

Regulatory Assistance Project

The Regulatory Assistance Project's global team has first-hand knowledge of the constraints and challenges policymakers face, and applies its collective insight to anticipate what they will face in the future. Building on peer-to-peer relationships, RAP helps energy and air quality decision-makers and stakeholders navigate the complexities of power sector policy, regulation, and markets. These policymakers and stakeholders depend on RAP staff for reliable and relevant information and assistance.

Rocky Mountain Institute (RMI)

The Rocky Mountain Institute is an independent, non-partisan, non-profit organization of experts across disciplines working to accelerate the clean energy transition and improve lives. RMI decarbonizes energy systems through rapid, market-based change in the world’s most critical geographies to align with a 1.5°C future and address the climate crisis. RMI works with businesses, policymakers, communities and other organizations to identify and scale energy system interventions that will cut greenhouse gas emissions at least 50% by 2030.