I'm William Brangham and this is Horizons. As the impact from the war in Iran grinds on,

Americans are feeling it in their wallets at the gas station. Evangelists for clean energy say this sudden oil shock is an opportunity,

once again to embrace the transition to renewable power, like wind and solar. With energy prices on the rise,

our Americans open to a new way of powering our world. Coming up next.

Welcome to Horizons from PBS News.

As I came into work today, I passed a few gas stations.

Regular unleaded is now well over $4 a gallon here in the D.C. area.

Diesel is pushing $6. America's and Israel's attacks on Iran have driven

up the cost of energy globally, and it is taking a big chunk out of American wallets. For years,

the environmental and climate movement has been trying to convince people that renewable energy

is the future. The kind of power we can get

mostly for free by angling a sheet of glass and aluminum at the sun or building a big windmill

and standing it up in the breeze. They argued that the cost of air pollution and climate change

with its myriad natural disasters and disruptions was reason enough to stop

burning so much coal and oil and gas. But now, with the additional cost of those fuels becoming

clear to everyone, they argue it is even more important to make this energy transition. So we want to talk today with two clean

energy evangelists about this moment that we are in and whether this country will embrace the future

they argue we so desperately need. Bill McKibbin is one of the country's leading environmental

activists. He's co-founder of the 350.org global environmental campaign,

and third act, an organization that helps older Americans get involved in climate work.

McKibben is also a prolific writer and the author most recently of Here Comes the Sun,

a last chance for the climate and a fresh chance for civilization.

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