Green Buildings
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Energy for Sustainability: Technologies and Policies for Climate Stabilization and Energy Security
Sunday, September 7 - Friday, September 12, 2008
No fee
APPLICATION DEADLINE - May 15, 2008
Organizing Faculty: Gil Masters, Civil and Environmental Engineering
To avoid potentially disastrous global climate change, the latest IPCC report (November, 2007) states that the world must stabilize emissions of greenhouse gases (GHGs) by 2015, begin to reduce them shortly thereafter, and largely free itself of carbon-emitting technologies by mid-century. Climate change has been described as the “defining challenge of our age.” If that isn’t enough for your generation to worry about, consider the looming dangers associated with oil, which is the most important global energy resource. Most of the world’s oil reserves are located in the least stable parts of the globe, demand is growing faster than new supplies are being brought on line, and oil is getting more expensive—having quadrupled since the invasion of Iraq just five years ago, which threatens economies around the world.
There are no magic, silver bullets that will “solve” these problems. But, we do have a number of sharp arrows in our quiver. We know how to design better buildings, which, in the U.S. account for almost half of our carbon emissions. We have a new generation of electric-drive vehicles that can help reduce imported oil and increase energy security. And, renewable energy systems, primarily solar and wind, can help cut both carbon emissions and oil dependency. While these are the technologies that we will focus on, we will also briefly touch on others that may (or may not!) help.
Having a portfolio of green technologies is a necessary, but not sufficient, prerequisite to addressing these pressing problems. Without aggressive government policies and a business community committed to finding ways to make profits from these technologies, we face the prospect of an energy and climate future that will no longer be under our control.
In this course, we will combine lectures, discussions, field trips, group projects, and some hands-on experimentation to explore the future of green technology. Guest speakers will come from a variety of backgrounds, including business, engineering, NGOs, and government agencies.