PHYS 310 Sp19 Wk7

Monday’s Class

Before Class

  1. Log your second self intervention experience at the student participation link located on the main class website. 
  2. Please see video Efficiency and see efficiency slides
  3. Pease see Jerry Brown Speaks about Art Rosenfeld on how he changed the world toward energy efficiency. Read about it more if you like at his LBL website.
  4. Please read through the “don’t throw anything away” self interventions of your colleagues in the class. 
  5. Please see Lighting Efficiency and Slides
  6. Could it be that our electricity use is decreasing???
  7. Reading about efficiency standards in buildings: 395-405 
  8. Smart lights, are you crazy? It seems there’s good reason for them.
  9. Try again to read about NuScale Nuclear.
  10. and read this from the NewYorker: Mike Pompeo was at a meeting of the Arctic Council in Rovaniemi, Finland. And there, as representatives from the seven other member states and six indigenous organizations warned about the rapid melting of Arctic sea ice, Pompeo, instead, exulted. “The Arctic is at the forefront of opportunity and abundance,” he said. “It houses thirteen per cent of the world’s undiscovered oil, thirty per cent of its undiscovered gas, an abundance of uranium, rare-earth minerals, gold, diamonds, and millions of square miles of untapped resources, fisheries galore.” In fact, he said, it can’t melt fast enough. “Steady reductions in sea ice are opening new passageways and new opportunities for trade. This could potentially slash the time it takes to travel between Asia and the West by as much as twenty days.” That is to say, the fact that one of the world’s largest physical features is in chaotic flux is, in fact, good news, because we’ll soon be able to ship stuff from China three weeks faster.

During Class

  • Hand in PS#6

After Class

Wednesday:

Before Class

During Class

Assessment #5

After Class

  • Before Midnight, Saturday, please update your Project website. I will be looking for a well developed description of the challenge and proposed solution. Please describe the technologies involved and any related sociological, economic, or environmental concerns, opportunities, or consequences. Outline at least one mathematical analysis.

Friday

Before Class

  • Solutions posted for Assessment #5. Check them out please!
  • Deadline to log your second self intervention. Midnight Friday Night.
  • Finish your electricity power meter activity – counts for 3 videos
  • California is considering outlawing gasoline garden equipment. Please read the article on NPR. Note the last two sentences: They bring up environmental justice, and finances.
  • Please see Cool Roofs and Paradox. Slides: see the very end of efficiency slides
  • Read in DH’s Book: 314-316 on urban heat island effect.
  • The ultimate cool roofs material has just been invented. Please see from Feb. 27, Physics Today a surface coating that emits more heat than it absorbs even under strong sunlight. Is that possible?
  • Please see Wind Power and slides
  • Read in DH’s Book: 443 – 446 on wind power
  • If you like, read about a transition from rancher to wind farm technician.
  • When I was at Berkeley 2006 – 2007, we looked at Tethered Wind Energy Systems – could you fly a turbine at the end of a long kite string higher so that it received more consistently strong wind…. even up into the Jet Stream? It seems that people are working on this on a smaller scale now. Here’s an interesting short video if you’re interested.

 

What I did not assign:


!!! I just received the following from Chris:

  1. Energy profit/consumption decoupling: https://www.c2es.org/us-states-regions/policy-maps/decoupling/detail (this is as good a description as any, but googling “energy decoupling California” will give you a lot more)
  2. It would be good for students to have a sense of legislative direction re: RPS:http://www.cpuc.ca.gov/RPS_Homepage/. I encourage students to use the google machine to figure out how RPS is attached to the state’s climate goal (as codified in AB32 and SB32) and how related legislation helps (e.g., SB350) (related: should energy efficiency be counted as an energy resource?).
  3. Demand response is a bit outside what I do, but my colleagues say this is a good start:https://www.caiso.com/1893/1893e350393b0.html

From a local government perspective… the students can take a look at the County’s climate action plan (read the energy section only) so we can discuss what local governments can and can’t do (and do and don’t do well). http://www.slocounty.ca.gov/planning/CAP Please read the executive summary.