When Amory Lovins wrote about the vulnerability of the United States electric grid in his 1983 book, “The First Nuclear World War,” his warnings were dismissed by many as chicken little like. He speculated that to cause severe damage to the United States wouldn’t require a weapon of mass destruction; terrorists could cause massive damage to America using our own electric grid, gas pipelines and other facilities as a WMD.

In 2012, the tiny northern New England state of Vermont will lose two-thirds of its electric power contracts. Its hydropower contract is up for renewal, and the nuclear reactor that now provides much of the state's energy may simply be too old to continue operation. So Vermont is turning to renewable resources, and as Erika Celeste reports from Morrisville, Vermont, trash may be one of its greatest resources.