tonight on "worldfocus." on this special edition of "worldfocus" wlook at the global environment. how one country is leading the way in renewable energy. we'll see how denmark has greatly reduced its dependence on fossil fuels while creating jobs at the same time. denmark is also the world leader in wind power. we'll show you how it got to that position. if you'd like to reduce your energy costs, you will like to see what one community is doing. then we'll take you to an island where they actually produce all their own power with energy to spare. from the different perspectives of reporters and analysts around the globe, this is "worldfocus." major support for "worldfocus" has been provided by -- rosalind p. walter and the peter g. peterson foundation, dedicated to promoting fiscal responsibility and addressing key economic challenges facing america's future. and additional funding is provided by the following supporters. good evening. i'm martin savidge. thank you for joining us. throughout the last year as the united states has struggled with the recession, president obama has said that a move toward a green economy could help this country recover from hard times. indeed, when comes to the global environment, the u.s. has lagged behind some others. in moving toward a more sustainable model. by contrast, denmark is among those leading the way. tonight a look at what we're calling the new denmark and what we might learn from its experience. late last year "worldfocus" special correspondent john larson went to denmark to have an extensive look at its energy revolution. we begin with how denmark has reduced its dependence on oil and created thousands of new jobs. >> reporter: perhaps denmark's most famous landmark, the little mermaid, looks toward the sea in this country's maritime past. but if these tourists came to see a symbol of the new denmark, they're looking in the wrong direction. clean, renewable wind power is arguably the new symbol of denmark, now a world leader in alternative energy. in denmark, you'll find the world's most efficient power plants running increasingly on biomass from fields, forests, even garbage. >> thousands of degrees inside the furnace. >> reporter: but the story of how denmark has changed the way it uses energy is best told at home. most mornings, lizbeth ebbinghouse leaves her husband and two children and commutes to work on her bicycle, a four-mile trip. >> and now we're halfway. whew! >> reporter: lizbeth is not alone. more danes bicycle to work per capita than anyone in the world. >> 25 minute ride to work every morning. >> not bad. >> reporter: recent polls show danes are not only willing to conserve energy and promote renewable energy, they're willing to pay for it. lizbeth's husband, john, is american. >> when i came here, i was encouraged by my new wife, oh, don't take too long a shower because we pay for that. okay. and every time you left a room, you'd turn the light off. >> reporter: the family saves water while waiting for their showers. they catch rain off their roof to help water the garden. they bought a super efficient clothes washer, too, and dry their clothes outside even in the wintertime. it's a practice by itself that saves upr of their energy bill. lizbeth works for the power company. >> there's nothing like getting into a bed that's just been washed -- the sheets have been washed outside and come in and it's fresh. it's really fresh. >> reporter: they heat with natural gas, but they use their wood stove to keep costs down. and they are now insulating to the highest standards. >> yeah. i look forward to seeing this entire area blanketed with this stuff. >> reporter: the proof is in their bills. despite living in a cold country with high government energy taxes, this family of four spends only $160 a month on gas to heat their home, hot water and for cooking. in fact, the average danish family consumes less than one half the energy of the average american family. why do they do it? >> we were so dependent on oil from the middle east and then when the first oil crisis came in the beginning of the '70s, then we was very hit. >> reporter: this man, a senior member of the danish parliament, says following the opec oil embargo of 1973 the government began heavily taxing petroleum in an effort to decrease its dependence on foreign oil. they purposely made gasoline expensive by taxing it. it's now about $6 a gallon. as for their cars, this new ford focus costs $51,000 in denmark. $34,000 of that is tax. yet most danes like this retired baker buying a car, understand the benefits of that. >> translator: yes, i think so. it's a tax our state needs for financing a lot of different things, so it's fine. >> in the '80s the danish government tightened the belt and they tightened it until it hurt. and people got very used to turning the thermostat down and putting a lower wattage bulb in and riding your bicycle to work because everything was taxed to the maximum. >> reporter: many here will tell you when the danish government began heavily taxing oil and autos and energy consumption, it wasn't because it was wonderfully far-sighted. rather, it just wanted more money and higher taxes. but regardless of the motivation, look what happened. 80% of denmark's electricity used to be dependent on imported oil. now denmark is a net exporter of energy. the danish company vestas is now the largest windmill company in the world. wind alone has created 30,000 new jobs. >> now today we are running 20% on wind power in denmark and the ambition of nt is to at least double this as we go forward for the next ten years. >> reporter: and if there's a danish miracle, it's this. while energy use in the united states has skyrocketed for 30 straight years, denmark's energy use has not grown at all. in 20 years, its economy has grown 78% while cutting its carbon emissions in half. >> many people have said that is impossible, that cannot be done. but we have done it. >> reporter: taxing energy, subsidizing alternative technologies has not only reduced denmark's dependency on oil. it's created thousands of new jobs. and left john ebbinghouse feeling a bit more danish every year. >> i feel privileged to know how i can make less of an energy footprint than your average person. and i'm the one who gets to reap the benefits of that. >> reporter: for "worldfocus," john larson in copenhagen. as we continue our look at the new denmark, let's look more specifically now at where that country is cutting harmful emissions. decades ago, denmark became a pioneer, a pioneer in wind power which now accounts for fully 20% of its energy production. denmark is in fact a world leader in wind power which, as you'll see in john larson's next report, has gone far beyond a government program and become a centerpiece in the lives of those who have embraced it and invested in it. >> reporter: we've come to this wind-swept corner of denmark to ask a question. what can one danish art dealer -- >> reporter: -- one danish farmer -- >> too good to tear down. >> reporter: -- and two pigs tell us about how denmark became the world leader in renewable wind power? but first, think back to the oil opec embargo of the late 1970s. >> at that time we realized as a society if you don't change our habit of being dependent on foreign oil, then we will have a major problem in our economy as we go forward. >> reporter: so the danish government began taxing oil and subsidizing alternative energy like wind. over the next 30 years in assembly plants like this one outside the town of ringkobing the danish company vestas grew from a handful of friends to the largest windmill company in the world, creating 30,000 new jobs -- welders, machinists, painters and programmers. to get a sense of just how heady these times are for vestas, we went straight to the top. >> it's a beautiful view from here. >> reporter: ollie engard, married father of two, used to be a volkswagen accountant. >> it's a wonderful job -- >> reporter: ollie and his partner hans are not working on just any windmill but the one at the copenhagen convention center, the one that will power the entire global climate change summit by itself. >> now, you know you have to get that windmill fixed by the time they have the international conference here? >> yeah. that's no problem. >> reporter: but the story of what denmark has done with its wind is not one story of a giant corporation or government incentives. it's many stories. and most of them begin and end with people. >> i think it was too good to tear down. >> reporter: remember the farmer? well, years ago, a group of men approached henning dahl to lease his land for a windmill. said the wind was good. that wasn't really true. it was great. henning borrowed and invested a million dollars and put the mill up himself. >> here's the ladder. >> reporter: henning's only climbed to the top three times. in fact, he rarely visits his mill. >> the wind speed is here. >> reporter: because he tracks its success on the web. everything from daily wind speed and direction to oil pressure and profit. >> i didn't think i was really smart, but i just saw that there was a possibility of making some money. >> reporter: how much money? he paid off his one million dollar investment in three years. and you don't have to water it? >> no. >> reporter: or fertilize? >> just wait for it. >> reporter: standing on henning's farm, you can learn one of the most important things about how denmark came to lead the world in wind power. so there's no big corporation that owns any of this? >> no. >> reporter: the mill right behind henning's is owned by a married couple. the one right behind that by the goodness of disabled people. >> it's a little family. >> reporter: as the caretaker explained, it's a home for developmentally disabled adults. mike heinrich here, who raised sheep and the two pigs we mentioned. they sell organic produce to their neighbors and live lives largely funded by the profits of their windmill. >> the four generators you see on the horizon -- >> reporter: and the four on the horizon, that's where the art dealer comes in. >> it was a kind of protest when we started. >> reporter: back in the early '80s hans madsen had long hair. even was carrying a protest sign. >> yes, that's right. >> reporter: signs that said ban the nukes in danish? >> yes, we were a little against that. >> reporter: the government wanted to build a nuclear power plant here on that wind-swept coastline we told you about. hans and his neighbors stopped it. they formed an association, raised money and built windmills instead, nine of them. hans is the association chairman. and as chairman of this consortium now, how much is your salary? >> i don't get any salary. >> reporter: nothing? >> no, never. >> reporter: it's all volunteers? >> it's all volunteers, yes. that's the idea of it. >> reporter: 476 friends, neighbors and investors all earning 12% a year on an investment for 30 years. and what's the name of this cooperative? [ speaking foreign language ] let's just call it ssv. so what began as government policy became a world leading industry driven as much by everyday danish people as by the unlimited power directly over their heads. in denmark, john larson for "worldfocus." next from denmark we look at how that country's green revolution has led to great energy efficiency. denmark leads the world in many energy-saving categories -- the most efficient power plants, the most windmills, even the most bicycle riders per capita. and now it's trying to become the most energy efficient in its homes. john larson went to one danish town leading the way. a place where residents are using remarkably little energy. if you'd like to lower your home heating bill, take a look at what they're doing in denmark. >> reporter: in a field 20 miles from copenhagen is stenlose, the largest low energy development in europe. complete with an energy efficient school -- >> hi. >> reporter: stenlose plans 750. super efficient private homes and 65 apartments. imagine winter heating bills lower than $15 a month. so how energy efficient are these homes? homeowner bo anderson. >> there's more insulation in the floor and the attic and also in the walls. what you'll notice is the walls are slightly thicker than in an ordinary house to give room for more insulation. and, also, the windows are special. they have three layers of glass with argon gas in between for better insulation. >> reporter: an engineer he used to live in new jersey, in an average american home. so energy inefficient he can still scarcely believe it. >> there was absolutely no -- next to none. >> reporter: the andersons now heat their new home with four heat pumps. what are heat pumps? well, in this house under construction, you can see the exposed tubing which pumps liquid from under the floors to under the backyard. these pipes which run throughout the entire foundation of the house take advantage of the natural temperature of the earth. they circulate fluid about a yard beneath the earth's surface out and then back in, which helps cool the house in the summer and heat the house in the winter. >> the efficiency is about a factor of four to five, which means that compared to the electricity you put into running the pumps, you get four to five times the amount of energy out of the heat pump. >> reporter: the homes here can also conserve in other ways. while his drinking water comes from the city, all other water is rainwater captured on the roof, channeled down and then out into his backyard, where it is stored in an underground tank. solar panels back up on the roof will also heat that water when it's needed. all the extra energy-saving technology costs bo less than 10% of his total building costs $60,000, which he calculates will pay itself offn ten years. >> once it's all installed, i guess it's just like an ordinary house. so you don't have to think about it. you can just smile whenever the heating bills come in. >> in february, we turn the heating off even though it was frost outside. we didn't need it. >> reporter: retired chef and nearby apartment dweller eric holmen also smiles. >> reporter: the apartments, prefabricated and assembled onsite are super insulated. >> there is two foot of insulation in the house. so you don't lose any heat at all. >> reporter: while the recession has slowed building here, developers project that this project could save 630 tons of co2 every year. now they await completion of a power plant which will run on solar and biomass. biomass includes rape seed, that yellow plant you see growing all around stenlose. but just 60 miles away, soeren jensen's home is even more efficient. his secret begins on the barn roof. >> just don't fall down. >> reporter: the solar panels you see on top heat his water. the photo voltaic panels beneath them make electricity. soeren only needs a few more panels and his home will be energy plus, meaning that every year it will create more energy than it consumes. >> my power meter which runs backward right now. the sun is shining so right now i am selling electricity to the net, through a grid. i have the heating pump for the ground heating. i have heating of the house. beside that i have solar heating for hot water. this is my rainwater system. it supplies my toilets and my laundry. >> reporter: the four-bedroom, 2400 square foot home saves nearly $6,000 a year on energy costs. soeren expects to pay off all of the home's additional eco-energy expenses in nine years. and from then on, it's pure profit. >> put extra money in my pocket every year. it's a good thing to do. i like that. >> reporter: and so do an increasing number of danes. while danes may lead the world in the use of alternative fuels like wind energy, perhaps their greatest accomplishment is their willingness to conserve. as many here put it, going green begins at home. for "worldfocus," john larson, copenhagen. finally tonight, we conclude this special edition of "worldfocus" by taking you to an island in denmark that's become a symbol for what is possible as communities strive to overcome their dependence on fossil fuels by turning to renewable energy. it's called samso island and its transformation is no of extraordinary. john larson introduces us to some of the people who made it possible, turning their island into an energy-independent community with plenty of fuel to spare. sflt name. >> the name of my island is samso. >> reporter: one of the lessons of samso island located in denmark's north sea is that if you're going to try to convince an entire population to give up fossil fuel, you better first get the cooperation of the village blacksmith. >> translator: i was a somewhat known person on the island being engaged in politics and such things. >> reporter: it was 1998. samso, population 4,000, had just won a national contest with its bold plan to completely switch to renewable energy. now all the mayor had to do was do it. >> i remember a story about him being interviewed and the journalist will ask him, how are you going to achieve these pretty extensive goals? and the silence was a little too long maybe before he answered. >> reporter: many, like this electrician, worried about cost. >> i wasn't very convinced. i was pretty skeptic about how it would be realizable in ten years. >> reporter: others like this farmer had already tried renewable energy. >> it isn't working. >> reporter: but civic leaders hit the road. and with the blacksmiths' help convinced 450 residents to invest in wind power. birgit bjoernvig was one of those leaders. >> and the farmers understood that they could make money with the conditions that they were for producing wind power. and that's not bad thing for the farmer perpt either. >> reporter: so they formed a cooperative and put up two windmills. the wind was strong. and the government's rates on power were good. private investors put up four more mills. the municipality put up another five. these first 11 mills not only produced more electricity than the entire island consumed, they paid themselves off in just a few years. and with those new profits, the islanders agreed to reinvest in more renewable energy. >> this is the district heating plant. it's based on straw. this straw comes from the farmers on the island. the straw is chopped up here and sent into the other room. >> reporter: the farmers used to burn their fields at the end of the season. now their straw helps heat the town. >> the pipes you see here is sucking in the straw that's being chopped up ithe other room. down here the straw comes and is being pushed into the oven. the straw is burned and heats up the water and the water is sent to the houses. >> reporter: the island then built this solar heating plant and a third heating plant which burns wood chips. suddenly, 75% of samso no longer needed oil for heat. >> there's no glue in it. >> reporter: remember the skeptical electrician? he began heating his home with wood pellets but then found this. >> this is my turbine and i put it up in 2007. >> reporter: he bought it used for $30,000. it now heats his home and -- >> this is my wife's electrical car. a she uses it to go to work. she used it to go to work. >> reporter: his own private windmill sells so much energy back to the grid, he'll pay it off in just five years. >> we had lots of rain, so it's good. >> reporter: and remember the farmer? well, he was convinced to heat his water with solar panels. >> 15 square meters of solar panels for heating the house. >> reporter: the water also helps heat his home. and combinedphoto voltaics, his electricity power meter now runs backward. >> today it's turning backwards because the solar panels produce more than we consume in the house. >> reporter: he also presses his own oil from rape seed, the yellow flowering plant widely used in denmark as a biofuel. you ever tasted it? >> sure. >> reporter: how is it? >> good. not very hygienic, but it tastes good. here we go. >> reporter: he runs his volkswagen on rape seed oil. >> reporter: looks like a regular old engine. >> yes, sure. it is. >> reporter: he even runs his tractor on it. do you have to be a rich man to do all this? >> no. >> reporter: the people of samso then launched their most ambitious project ever, ten offshore windmills. combined with everything else they were doing, these offshore mills produced so much power that samso was now completely carbon neutral, meaning they produced more renewable carbon-free power than they consume. >> we would much rather like to buy our energy from our neighbor, the farmer or the investor on the island than to pay to the middle east or an oil company. we just like the money to stay on the island. >> reporter: they've now built their own energy institute, where experts from around the world come to study how the people of samso achieved in less than ten years what most of the world thinks can't be done. for "worldfocus," john larson, samso island, denmark. >> that is "worldfocus" for a friday evening. a reminder there's much more news and perspective on our website worldfocus.org. i'm martin savidge in new york. as always, thank you for joining us. we'll look for you back here on monday. in the meantime, have a great weekend. -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com major support for "worldfocus" has been provided by -- rosalind p. walter and the peter g. peterson foundation, dedicated to promoting fiscal responsibility and addressing key economic challenges facing america's future. and additional funding is provided by the following supporters --