I should read PS#1 and take out a lot of the words… too much talk.
Climate Change will Relax if we Stop Emitting
Read this MIT Article about Climate Tipping Point
This NPR Article of generating electricity from a methane biodigester.
See this article that Greta is Time Magazine’s Person of the Year
Read NPR: Collapse of CC talks
add yourself to the EEECE News.
First three reading assignments:
https://thetyee.ca/Analysis/2019/11/11/Climate-Change-Realist-Face-Facts/
https://thetyee.ca/Analysis/2019/11/12/Climate-Crisis-Realist-Memo/
and for a real depressing read:
https://thetyee.ca/Analysis/2019/09/18/Climate-Crisis-Wipe-Out/
How can Saudi Arabia pump oil so cheap…. $2.80 per barrell: https://www.npr.org/2019/11/03/775878235/saudi-aramco-worlds-most-profitable-company-will-make-first-public-offering
Diet that is healthy for you is also healthy for the environment: https://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/2019/10/28/774205027/is-a-diet-thats-healthy-for-us-also-better-for-the-planet-most-of-the-time-yes
Article on load matching difficulties with increasing components of renewable energy in the LATimes.
For 310, I should require student groups to create deadlines for the project.
For 392, if we have just three midterms, then we should have them equally weighted.
Projects for PHYS 310:
a) Transparent nonmixing water input to keep water stratified… measuring with 1st hour test.
b) Electrification and decarbonizing.
c) Designing the sustainability game.
I need to make solving a technical calculation a central part of class during week 1 if I’m to keep quantitative problems on PS#1.
Sea Ice declining at record rate.
Trump drops coal emissions requirement
Direct CO2 extraction from atmosphere
US still negotiates in COP24
Read this article in the Guardian, $5 T in FF subsidies.
Maybe start the class with Bill McKibben’s Article in New Yorker
Trump and how CC is lined to air pollution
4th USA analysis lists costs of climate change.
UK’s energy use drops as GDP increases.
NYTimes: what’s being done to combat climate change.
Over 1/3 of US Americans struggle to pay energy bills.
Watch how electricity use changes over three decades.
Innovations in PV don’t include improving the manufacturing process.
Fracking is getting thirstier APS article.
The cost of parking lots.
it seems that US total energy consumption has been flat for close to 2 decades. Please see the graph below from this document.My guess is that California is also flat because we’ve more proactively improved efficiency, but our population has grown more rapidly.
Total US CO2 emissions have been decreasing over the past decade.
In the USA, total electricity consumption per capita has decreased, and total electricity consumption is flat as demonstrated by this graph.
North Carolina turns Hog Waste into Natural Gas.
Add this article on Climate Change Risk Consultants.
After final presentation/potluck, we discussed and I collected these notes.
Subsidies for the fossil fuel industry and how we can remedy it.
I need to make a new introductory video, chopping off the part that I don’t want the students to see.
Winter 2018 above this line
How Canada and the US are dealing very differently with the collapse of the coal industry.
Damn low renewable electricity price contracts in Mexico.
Read about recent increase in CO2 emissions APS.
Have students read the XL pipeline story from Max Auffhammer
Skunk Bear on carbon footprint of a sandwich
NPR Pollution kills 9 million annually
Spring Class, 2017
Rand Corporation on Getting solar Right:
http://www.rand.org/blog/2017/07/getting-solar-electricity-pricing-right.html
For transportation, include this:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kb3OmhO7_ao
After presentations/potluck, students seemed to strongly agree that we should keep the projects in the future. They want more structure, but recognize that this is an open-ended and somewhat emergent project. They also expressed frustration at not having communication from their partners. We arrived that it may be a good idea for the project groups to set their own goals after a week or so, and I can vet the goals.
Student Evals were pretty critical: There was a common thread of requesting more structure for the projects. I don’t know how to do this, but will wrestle with it. I’ve got two years to figure it out.
I think the most relevant comment dealt with truth in advertising. I should spend more time on the first day making clear what the course is and what the course is not, including the way that you will be graded.
Add this link by Max Auffhammer about the costs of coal.
SEcond week of class, I removed this:
“Learning in a “flipped” classroom where most of the material is introduced via videos outside of class. This leaves class time for special guests, activities, discussion about energy policies, and group work.
In order to receive credit for watching videos, you will enroll in PlayPosit.com, which is free and should happen automatically when you click on the first video link.”
March 20, 2017, I collected feedback on “final feedback”.
Add:
http://www.npr.org/sections/goatsandsoda/2017/03/20/520859626/global-ranking-of-happiness-has-happy-news-for-norway-and-nicaragua
to happiness equation.
March 21, 2017, Students don’t understand the meaning of “negative feedback” from “positive feedback”, in particular wrt radiative forcing.
August 24, 2015,
Add this to the timeline for smart grid:
https://energyathaas.wordpress.com/2015/08/24/the-decline-of-sloppy-electricity-rate-making/?utm_source=Blog+for+Aug+24%2C+2015&utm_campaign=blog+re+61&utm_medium=email
June 11, 2015,
I think we should have an assignment about externalities and subsidies that’s more explicit to their experience. I foresee a question that asks, “what would you do differently if a gallon of gas costed $15/gallon?
WRT CCE and CAC, we should introduce a simple payback time without interest, and then with estimated interest.
Videos – We need to figure out a way to get the videos in sooner so we can post them for the students to read. Some were really good and should have been posted for the students.
Also, the final exam’s essay questions were likely too open ended and I should reign them in so I can actually have some expectation of the students’ knowledge.