Wide Angle: The Smart Grid

On Feb. 17, 2009, President Obama signed the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act into law. Of the $787 billion intended to stimulate the economy, $43 billion will be spent directly on energy-related matters. And a big piece of the energy pie will be devoted to the power grid, which works about the same way it did when Thomas Edison conceived of it. Find out what needs fixing and why in this Wide Angle series: The Smart Grid..

• My Take: Weak Security Will Doom the Smart Grid

• Video: Smart Grid Makes Fridges Smarter

• Top 10: 10 Dumb Things About the Power Grid

• Podcast: Smarter Meters for a Smarter Grid

• News: Community Genome Could Produce Biofuels

• Feature: Moving Toward a Renewables-Friendly Grid

• Feature: How Smart Can the Grid Get?

• Puzzle: Plugging Into the Smart Grid

• Blog: Micro-Curtailment to Curb AC Use

• HowStuffWorks: How Power Grids Work

• HowStuffWorks: How Demand Response Works

• Planet Green: How to Choose a Home Energy Monitor

• Tree Hugger: Boulder, Colo.: First to Have a Smart Grid?

• Tree Hugger: Smart Grids Can Cut CO2 Emissions by 15 Percent.

• Tree Hugger: Will Smart Grid Corps Be As Shady As Big Oil?