Archive for the 'What should we do?' Category
Stanford’s Green Dorm
July 26th, 2007 in Home, Making more efficient use of energy, Controlling carbon emissions, Energy technology: fuel cells, What's going on in California?, What should we do?, Renewable energy resource: geothermal and Renewable Energy Resource: solar. 1 Comment
Download MP4
A few facts: in the U.S., residential and commercial space accounts for 40 percent of our primary energy consumption and 38 percent of CO2 emissions are from operating buildings. Why, then, is so little attention paid to building energy efficient offices and residences? Prof. Gil Masters from Stanford University wants to change that. His dream to build a student dorm that is green and clean is being realized: the Green Dorm project at Stanford is under way.
My students talked to him about this project, which includes the use of geothermal heat pumps, solar heating and fuel cells. Now, if Gil got his way, the dorm would have one or more pluggable hybrids also…
Silicon Valley: the epicenter of solar power and clean technologies?
July 17th, 2007 in Home, Decision makers and funders, Controlling carbon emissions, What's going on in California?, What should we do? and Renewable Energy Resource: solar. 0 Comments
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On June 1, Silicon Valley profiled itself as the future epicenter of solar power, energy efficiency and clean technologies at the Energy Summit 2007. Jacob and Desirae, two of my students at Stanford, attended to see with Silicon Valley’s leaders were up to. They report on the conference in this video, so in case you missed it, this is a chance to catch up and listen to what’s cooking and what’s not in the Bay Area.
Carbon sequestration: Can we bury just the harmful carbon dioxide?
June 29th, 2007 in Home, Controlling carbon emissions, Young talent and What should we do?. 0 Comments
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In this first in a series of discussons on carbon sequestration, we meet Marc Hesse, an aspiring graduate student at Stanford, who studies the physical processes that govern the movement of carbon dioxide once injected into the ground. Will it stay down? Will carbon sequestration really help in reducing the harmful effects of increased CO2 concentrations in the atmosphere? Marc makes a start in the debate on this issue.
View From the Top: Shell Oil President John Hofmeister
June 27th, 2007 in Home, Decision makers and funders, Controlling carbon emissions, The world's energy systems and What should we do?. 0 Comments
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John Hofmeister, Shell Oil president, sees an important role for his company in supplying the world’s energy in the future. Petroleum (oil and gas) will remain, at least for the near to medium future, the most important energy resource. Shell is also investing, as are many other energy companies, in renewable energy (wind, solar, biofuels) as well as so-called clean coal. Hear John Hofmeister’s views on Shell’s future directions and current energy policies.
Changing the world’s energy systems
April 6th, 2007 in Home, Controlling carbon emissions, The world's energy systems and What should we do?. 0 Comments
download mp4
Global warming is happening, and one of the culprits is likely increased emission levels of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases as a result of our energy usage. Lynn Orr is director of the Global Climate and Energy Project and one of the world’s leading experts on global warming and CO2 emissions. He says we need to take urgent action now to reduce the risk of a global catastrophe, by increasing energy efficiency, investing in energy resources such as wind and solar with low emissions, and researching potential carbon dioxide sequestration processes.
This talk was part of the “End of Oil” debate, at Stanford University in March 2006.
Related Stories: End Of Oil
Choosing Renewables: Wind and Solar
April 6th, 2007 in Home, Controlling carbon emissions, The world's energy systems and What should we do?. 0 Comments
mp4
Alternatives can help create a sustainable energy future. The most promising long-term alternative energy sources are wind and solar: there is plenty of it, greenhouse gas emissions are low, and the required surface area is relatively small — especially when compared to biomass. In this talk, SmartEnergy’s Margot Gerritsen says we also can’t afford to dismiss nuclear energy if we want to lower harmful emissions.
This talk was part of the “End of Oil” depate, at Stanford University in March 2006.
Related Stories: End Of Oil
Geothermal energy: The little known resource
April 6th, 2007 in Home, The world's energy systems, What should we do? and Renewable energy resource: geothermal. 0 Comments
In Iceland and a few other countries, geothermal energy delivers a large part of the energy used for heating or cooling, through geothermal heat pumps. You may be surprised to hear that there are hundreds of thousands of buildings in the U.S. that are also hooked up to such systems. Geothermal energy is also applied at larger scales for electricity generation in various countries. Roland Horne, who leads the geothermal institute at Stanford University, gives an overview of existing and future geothermal energy systems. In future podcasts, we’ll take a closer look at the interesting Enhanced Geothermal Systems, aka Hot Dry Rock, which Roland discusses as a potentially important future energy source.
Ethanol: Irrational Exuberance?
April 6th, 2007 in Home, Renewable Energy Resource: biomass and What should we do?. 0 Comments
There’s a lot of enthusiasm right now around ethanol as a potential solution to our oil addiction. Not everyone shares that enthusiasm, though. Margot Gerritsen speaks with UC Berkeley Professor Tad Patzek for a different perspective. Patzek is certain that corn ethanol and/or cellulosic ethanol (produced by specialized biomass crops) is not the silver bullet that so many people - from NGOs to government agencies - believe it to be. He says that, contrary to popular belief, it won’t secure energy security, it won’t lead to significantly lower carbon emissions, and it will negatively affect our water and food security, all the while harming our environment.
Photo Credit: Seth Anderson via Creative Commons
Alternative Energy Options
April 6th, 2007 in Controlling carbon emissions, The world's energy systems and What should we do?. 0 Comments
Mark Jacobson is a world expert in wind energy and air pollution. He sees wind and solar power — not biomass — as the most optimal energy sources. He says that the increased use of ethanol will not improve the quality of the air we breathe. Mark also strongly believes that nuclear energy is not a viable alternative because of environmental and proliferation reasons.
Related Stories: MarkJacobson
Photovoltaic Photo Credit: Schwarzerkater via Creative Commons
A closer look at wind energy
April 6th, 2007 in Controlling carbon emissions, The world's energy systems, What should we do? and Renewable energy resource: wind. 0 Comments
Wind energy is a very attractive [tag]energy[/tag] source with very low emissions and low space requirements (especially when compared to biomass crops). My colleague, [tag]Mark Jacobson[/tag], has done extensive research into available wind resources in the U.S. and abroad. He’s one of the world’s leading experts in the field. FInd out why he’s also a strong supporter of wind energy, and why he hopes that we will invest heavily in this alternative energy source.
Related Stories: [tag]MarkJacobson[/tag]
Windmill photo credit: Eliya, via Creative Commons
Stanford’s Green Dorm
July 26th, 2007 in Home, Making more efficient use of energy, Controlling carbon emissions, Energy technology: fuel cells, What's going on in California?, What should we do?, Renewable energy resource: geothermal and Renewable Energy Resource: solar. 1 Comment
Download MP4
A few facts: in the U.S., residential and commercial space accounts for 40 percent of our primary energy consumption and 38 percent of CO2 emissions are from operating buildings. Why, then, is so little attention paid to building energy efficient offices and residences? Prof. Gil Masters from Stanford University wants to change that. His dream to build a student dorm that is green and clean is being realized: the Green Dorm project at Stanford is under way.
My students talked to him about this project, which includes the use of geothermal heat pumps, solar heating and fuel cells. Now, if Gil got his way, the dorm would have one or more pluggable hybrids also…
Silicon Valley: the epicenter of solar power and clean technologies?
July 17th, 2007 in Home, Decision makers and funders, Controlling carbon emissions, What's going on in California?, What should we do? and Renewable Energy Resource: solar. 0 Comments
Download MP4
On June 1, Silicon Valley profiled itself as the future epicenter of solar power, energy efficiency and clean technologies at the Energy Summit 2007. Jacob and Desirae, two of my students at Stanford, attended to see with Silicon Valley’s leaders were up to. They report on the conference in this video, so in case you missed it, this is a chance to catch up and listen to what’s cooking and what’s not in the Bay Area.
Carbon sequestration: Can we bury just the harmful carbon dioxide?
June 29th, 2007 in Home, Controlling carbon emissions, Young talent and What should we do?. 0 Comments
Download MP4
In this first in a series of discussons on carbon sequestration, we meet Marc Hesse, an aspiring graduate student at Stanford, who studies the physical processes that govern the movement of carbon dioxide once injected into the ground. Will it stay down? Will carbon sequestration really help in reducing the harmful effects of increased CO2 concentrations in the atmosphere? Marc makes a start in the debate on this issue.
View From the Top: Shell Oil President John Hofmeister
June 27th, 2007 in Home, Decision makers and funders, Controlling carbon emissions, The world's energy systems and What should we do?. 0 Comments
Download MP4
John Hofmeister, Shell Oil president, sees an important role for his company in supplying the world’s energy in the future. Petroleum (oil and gas) will remain, at least for the near to medium future, the most important energy resource. Shell is also investing, as are many other energy companies, in renewable energy (wind, solar, biofuels) as well as so-called clean coal. Hear John Hofmeister’s views on Shell’s future directions and current energy policies.
Changing the world’s energy systems
April 6th, 2007 in Home, Controlling carbon emissions, The world's energy systems and What should we do?. 0 Comments
download mp4
Global warming is happening, and one of the culprits is likely increased emission levels of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases as a result of our energy usage. Lynn Orr is director of the Global Climate and Energy Project and one of the world’s leading experts on global warming and CO2 emissions. He says we need to take urgent action now to reduce the risk of a global catastrophe, by increasing energy efficiency, investing in energy resources such as wind and solar with low emissions, and researching potential carbon dioxide sequestration processes.
This talk was part of the “End of Oil” debate, at Stanford University in March 2006.
Related Stories: End Of Oil
Choosing Renewables: Wind and Solar
April 6th, 2007 in Home, Controlling carbon emissions, The world's energy systems and What should we do?. 0 Comments
mp4
Alternatives can help create a sustainable energy future. The most promising long-term alternative energy sources are wind and solar: there is plenty of it, greenhouse gas emissions are low, and the required surface area is relatively small — especially when compared to biomass. In this talk, SmartEnergy’s Margot Gerritsen says we also can’t afford to dismiss nuclear energy if we want to lower harmful emissions.
This talk was part of the “End of Oil” depate, at Stanford University in March 2006.
Related Stories: End Of Oil
Geothermal energy: The little known resource
April 6th, 2007 in Home, The world's energy systems, What should we do? and Renewable energy resource: geothermal. 0 Comments
In Iceland and a few other countries, geothermal energy delivers a large part of the energy used for heating or cooling, through geothermal heat pumps. You may be surprised to hear that there are hundreds of thousands of buildings in the U.S. that are also hooked up to such systems. Geothermal energy is also applied at larger scales for electricity generation in various countries. Roland Horne, who leads the geothermal institute at Stanford University, gives an overview of existing and future geothermal energy systems. In future podcasts, we’ll take a closer look at the interesting Enhanced Geothermal Systems, aka Hot Dry Rock, which Roland discusses as a potentially important future energy source.
Ethanol: Irrational Exuberance?
April 6th, 2007 in Home, Renewable Energy Resource: biomass and What should we do?. 0 Comments
There’s a lot of enthusiasm right now around ethanol as a potential solution to our oil addiction. Not everyone shares that enthusiasm, though. Margot Gerritsen speaks with UC Berkeley Professor Tad Patzek for a different perspective. Patzek is certain that corn ethanol and/or cellulosic ethanol (produced by specialized biomass crops) is not the silver bullet that so many people - from NGOs to government agencies - believe it to be. He says that, contrary to popular belief, it won’t secure energy security, it won’t lead to significantly lower carbon emissions, and it will negatively affect our water and food security, all the while harming our environment.
Photo Credit: Seth Anderson via Creative Commons
Alternative Energy Options
April 6th, 2007 in Controlling carbon emissions, The world's energy systems and What should we do?. 0 Comments
Mark Jacobson is a world expert in wind energy and air pollution. He sees wind and solar power — not biomass — as the most optimal energy sources. He says that the increased use of ethanol will not improve the quality of the air we breathe. Mark also strongly believes that nuclear energy is not a viable alternative because of environmental and proliferation reasons.
Related Stories: MarkJacobson
Photovoltaic Photo Credit: Schwarzerkater via Creative Commons
A closer look at wind energy
April 6th, 2007 in Controlling carbon emissions, The world's energy systems, What should we do? and Renewable energy resource: wind. 0 Comments
Wind energy is a very attractive [tag]energy[/tag] source with very low emissions and low space requirements (especially when compared to biomass crops). My colleague, [tag]Mark Jacobson[/tag], has done extensive research into available wind resources in the U.S. and abroad. He’s one of the world’s leading experts in the field. FInd out why he’s also a strong supporter of wind energy, and why he hopes that we will invest heavily in this alternative energy source.
Related Stories: [tag]MarkJacobson[/tag]
Windmill photo credit: Eliya, via Creative Commons