# The Power of Small:  Nano Hits the Big Time

*Published:* 2008-04-03
*Author:* 

*Richard Denison, Ph.D., is a Senior Scientist.*

Or at least the small screen. Coming to your local PBS station this month is a three-part series on nanotechnology called *[The Power of Small](http://www.powerofsmall.org/)*. The segments cover three facets of the much-needed social debate about nanotechnology: privacy issues (e.g., nano-enabled tracking devices), ethical issues (focusing on the potential to greatly extend human life expectancy), and, of course, the environmental risks and applications.

I urge you to tune in. The series’ website has a [station locator](http://www.powerofsmall.org/stationlocator.php) that can tell you where it’s playing and when (unfortunately, each station decides whether and when to show it). Or you can watch the whole series in bite-sized pieces online on the series’ website itself.

I’m telling you all this not only because I’m featured in the [environment segment](http://www.powerofsmall.org/topicpages/environment.php) (along with fellow nanobloggers [Andrew Maynard](http://community.safenano.org/blogs/andrew_maynard/archive/2008/03/28/us-town-faces-nanotechnology-crisis.aspx) and [Kristen Kulinowski](http://nanorisk.blogspot.com/) and many others), but because I think the series does a fabulous job in airing the complex social, ethical, and environmental questions society needs to address – the earlier the better – in pursuing such a transformative set of technologies.

*The Power of Small* is the latest installment of the [Fred Friendly Seminars](http://www.fredfriendly.org/) series. For you younger folks, no, [Fred Friendly](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fred_Friendly) is not a kids’ cartoon character. In the 1950s, together with Edward R. Murrow, Friendly was among the first in journalism to take on Senator Joseph McCarthy and was a staunch advocate for a strong press and unfettered public access to information. George Clooney famously brought Friendly (and that dark era) back to life by starring as him in the excellent 2005 film, [Good Night, and Good Luck](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0433383/) (which Clooney also directed and co-wrote).