Essentials of Energy06

Essentials of Energy
The Evergreen State College
Spring, 2006
Howard Schwartz
Thursdays, 6-10 PM, SEM 2 E2107
4 Credits

Syllabus

Required Texts (at bookstore):

Energy at the Crossroads: Global Perspectives by Vaclav Smil
The MIT Press (April 1, 2005)

Energy Revolution: Policies for a Sustainable Future by Howard S. Geller            
Island Press (November 2002)

 

List of Supplementary Readings and Sources
(More will be added)

EIA Annual Energy Outlook 206, http://www.eia.doe.gov/oiaf/aeo/index.html
Energy Policy Act of 2005, http://energycommerce.house.gov/108/energy_pdfs_2.htm
5th Northwest Power Plan, http://www.nwcouncil.org/energy/powerplan/plan/Default.htm
Lovins, Amory, “More Profit with Less Carbon,” Scientific American, September, 2005
Lovins, Amory, et al., Winning the Oil Endgame, 2004, http://www.oilendgame.com
Romm, Joseph and Andrew Frank, “Hybrid Vehicles Gain Traction,” Scientific American, April, 2006
Maass, Peter, “The Breaking Point,” New York Times Magazine, 8/21/2005
Maass, Peter, “The Price of Oil,” New York Times Magazine, 12/18/2005
Peak Oil Websites: http://www.peakoil.net/;  http://www.peakoil.org/;  http://www.peakoil.com/

Course Overview

We will spend the first few weeks of the course learning about the energy resources that are currently available.  These include, oil, natural gas, coal, nuclear, renewables, etc.  We will study their availability (how much is there? how is it obtained? What does it cost?), their advantages and disadvantages, and their environmental consequences.  Most of the reading will be from Smil, Energy at the Crossroads, but we’ll also look at other writings from various points of view.  These will be available either as handouts, web assignments or will be posted on the class website.

We will then be in position to spend a few weeks studying policy: what mix of energy resources should we have.   While we will glance at the energy policies of selected other countries, our focus will be current US policies and how to evaluate options for change. Our readings for this part of the course will be mostly from Geller, Energy Revolution, but we will consult the 5th Northwest Power Plan and writings from such analysts as Amory Lovins.

Since Policy is created and implemented through politics we will then spend the remainder of the class looking at how political and governmental institutions (and the cultures they are embedded in) produce energy policies.  For the United States, our texts will be recent legislation and analyses of it. We will focus on the Energy Policy Act of 2005 and the 2006 Washington State Legislature.  Internationally, we will look at various examples of the “oil curse,” why countries that are rich in oil find it hard to use that wealth to modernize their economies or raise their citizens out of poverty, as well as other topics of mutual interest.

The course will conclude with an evening or two of student presentations of their final projects.

Assignments

2-3 quizzes (in-class and take-homes)
Final project:
5 page paper plus presentation to the class
Analysis of a problem and possible solutions 
List of possible topics will be made available

Communications

The best way to contact me is by e-mail.  Phone may also work.  Here are some options
           

Place\Options	E-mail	Phone	Notes
Evergreen	Schwarth@evergreen.edu	360-867-6588 (EWS office)	Best e-mail Worst phone
CTED/NWPCC	HowardS@cted.wa.gov	360-956-2009	Best phone Worst e-mail
Home	Howsch1@comcast.net	360-357-7772	2nd choice for each

                 
Schedule of Classes and Assignments
(Subject to Change as needed)

Week/Date	Topics	Readings  and Assignments	Activities
1   April 6	Overview of Course; Understanding
2   April 13	Energy and its role in Modern Society; Types of Energy Resources	Smil, chapters 1,2	Lecture Workshop/Seminar
3   April 20	Oil and its Future	Smil, Chapters, 3,4 Maass, “Breaking Point,” Peak Oil websites, etc.	Possible Guest Speaker Workshop/Seminar
4   April 27	Renewables: Hydro, Wind, Solar	Smil, chapter 5	Quiz I  Lecture Workshop/Seminar
5   May 4	Conservation and Efficiency	Smil, chapter 6, Geller, Intro 5th NW Power Plan	Lecture Workshop/Seminar
6   May 11	Policy I: Activism, Economics, Markets, Regulation	Geller, chapters 2-4	Guest Speaker (Liz Klumpp) Workshop/Seminar
7   May 18	Policy II: Environmental Issues: Air Quality; climate change	Supplementary Readings, Lovins, “More Profit/Less Carbon,” others,  TBA	Quiz II Guest Speaker (Tony Usibelli) Workshop/Seminar
8   May 25	Politics I: American Institutions and Interests	Geller, Chapters 5-6 EPACT ‘05 2006 WA legislation	Guest speaker (TBA) Workshop/Seminar
9   June 1	Politics II: International Politics and Interests	Geller, Chapters 7-8 Supplementary Readings about the international politics of oil: Maas, “Price of Oil,” others TBA	Workshop/Seminar Possible Guest Speaker
10  June 8	Student Presentations		Student Presentations; All written work due
Evaluation Week: June 12-16   Optional conferences by appointment