For the past three decades, U.S. per capita energy consumption has steadily risen at about the same rate as the greenhouse gases currently threatening the Earth. There is, however, one surprising exception to this dangerous trend: the sprawling, car-crazy, conspicuous consumption land known as California. Are these just smoke and mirrors energy numbers, or does California know something about energy the rest of the nation does not? On January 20, 2009 NOVA will premiere The Big Energy Gamble, a film looking at Californias role in the future of energy at 8pm ET/PT on PBS (check local listings).

One-way California is looking to lower its energy consumption is by cutting down on C02 emissions from cars. NOVA invites you to create your own videos using the open content on our Car of the Future website. Open content is video material that anyone can use. Visitors to the NOVA site will have access to more than 230 clips, over seven hours of footage gathered during the making of the NOVA documentary Car of the Future, to create your own videos about the future of transportation and the environment. http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/car/open/.

If you choose to share your creations online, NOVA will select some to post on our website, Facebook and YouTube channel.

Additionally, the NOVA website will provide teachers with ideas on how to integrate the open content into their curriculum and tips for how to help students make their videos. A resource for educators, NOVA's Teachers website offers curriculum materials for educators to use in the classroom on an ongoing basis. For more information http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/teachers/activities/3507_car.html