Chautauqua Course DAY-19
Energy
Sustainability: What Every Faculty Member Should Know
ROBERT J. BRECHA, Department of Physics,
May
17-19, 2010 in
Note: This course has course fee of $195 (in
addition to the $100 application fee), which covers course-related
expenses. Optional reduced rate lodging
will be available to early applicants. Also see the course on Climate Change just after this one.
We believe that the topic of Energy and
Sustainability is of vital importance to everyone in our country. An
effective way to ensure a well-informed citizenry is through a knowledgeable
faculty presenting material in appropriate courses.
One definition of sustainability is that we learn to
meet the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future
generations to meet their own needs. Given that economic growth and technical progress in our society is based to a large extent on
the use of finite supplies of fossil fuels, a natural question arises as to how
standards of living can be maintained in the face of future scarcity of those resources. In this course we will examine theories of fossil fuel
depletion, look at both geological and economic indicators of fossil-fuel
scarcity, and discuss non-conventional fossil-fuel resources and the concept of
net energy.
An important part of the course will be to
investigate the potential for renewable and non-fossil energy sources. What might be required of our energy system
in the future if concerns about climate change result in a shift to non-carbon
energy sources? Are electric or plug-in
hybrid vehicles really a solution to our energy problems? Where is most of our
energy used, and what are the most effective ways of reducing carbon emissions
and fossil-fuel consumption? How much
can the capacity of renewable energy realistically be expanded? These and other questions will lead to lively
discussions and new insights.
For college
teachers of:
all disciplines. Prerequisites: none.
Presentations will assume basic science, and will not assume specific
topic information.
Costs for 2010
Application fee: $100
Course fee: $195 [Due in March
2010]
Optional campus lodging: $58 per
person per night in a single
Dr. Brecha is Professor of Physics and
Electro-optics at the