In China, we meet a modern-day Thomas Edison who helped give birth to the country's "knockoff" electric car industry. Chinese consumers in second-tier cities can't get enough of these small, cheap electric cars that require 6 hours of charging to go 75 miles -- at a maximum of 35 mph. Video journalist Jimmy Wang produced the video for TIME and the Asia Society.

John Larson travels to Denmark's Samso Island to report on its efforts to eliminate fossil fuel use. In 1998, Samso, population 4,000, devised a bold plan to completely switch to renewable energy. Today, the island is 100% carbon-neutral.

Last week, we showed you how everyday Danes profit from pioneering wind power. But there's a challenge -- how to store that power when the wind isn't blowing. John Larson reports on how Denmark is searching for answers, including building Europe's first "hydrogen neighborhood" -- homes that are powered and heated with the help of hydrogen fuel cells.

Long ago, Denmark pioneered wind power, which now accounts for 20 percent of its energy production. Everyday Danish citizens -- from farmers to art dealers -- invested in windmills. John Larson reports on how Danish citizens are capturing windfall profits.

Some don't think tidal power, a form of alternative energy, is as "green" as it is being made out to be. Michael Novacek of the American Museum of Natural History weighs the downsides and benefits of tidal power.