Nuclear Power, Cooking for the Global PoorBack to PSC 320 Main Website
Monday’s Class :
Before Class:
- Please see the video about Nuclear Power
- See the video: How about the nuclear power we have yet to control: Fusion
- Please see the slides if you like.
- Please see this video / read the article. Subramanian The numbers in this paper are important. Please know them.
- Thanks for feedback – see statements on main class website
- Please read through the self intervention of the other students, for discussion today.
- Please read through PS#5: Due This Friday it is crucially important for class discussion. Besides, it’s way short, and way fun. It’s a website that calculates your carbon footprint. I’ll count it as a video watching.
- I’ve changed the midterm schedule around so we can have a field trip to my house next Friday. MT#2 will be Wednesday, Feb. 21 in our classroom. Yes, I’ll make it shorter.
During Class
After Class
Wednesday’s Class
Before Class
- No office hour at 3:00 PM. I’m sorry I won’t be available today at 3:00. However, you should still meet there to talk about problems if you can.
- MT#1 solutions posted.
- Bring bills for electricity, natural gas, and anything else energy related.
- Please see video Nuclear Safety
- Please see slides for videos on nuclear.
- MUST READ! this short article from Forbes about deaths per unit of electricity generated. Which technology is the least, the most dangerous? Where do deaths from rooftop solar come from?
- Please see video about Nuclear Waste, Cost
- Read about the latest and perhaps last (?) US nuclear reactor to be built.
- Haas publication of fracking and learn by doing This is a learning curve article (how things get cheaper with increased practice), but also mentions the future of nuclear.
- Rural Electrification in Malawi? Please consider coming to this talk tomorrow during UU hour.
- Please do PS#5: Due This Friday it is crucially important for class discussion. Besides, it’s way short, and way fun. It’s a website that calculates your carbon footprint. I’ll count it as a video watching.
- Please take a look at PS #6 as well having to do with nuclear and cooking.
During Class
- Debate – Pro or Anti Nuke? Please come prepared to defend your point of view.
- What’s a Delay Neutron? What are they good? Bad? important?
After Activity
Friday’s Class: Meet at 2:00 for class. At 3:00, we go to PCV to tour the Cogeneration Plant
Before Class
- Please finish PS #5, due today!
- Hey guys, there’s something important about nuclear proliferation – that is when nuclear electricity generation facility materials gives rise to widespread development of nuclear weapons… in particular in the hands of people who will use them! I think that it is imperative that the US preaches what it practices… that is as world leader, if we are to use nuclear, we should feel compelled to bring it to the world. Even if we are able to use nuclear safely and inexpensively inside of the USA, I’d (personally) be concerned to bring this technology to all people. This may be a point of discussion sometime if you like. … see you in class. If you love technology development, it may be very interesting to be on a project that explores Thorium cycles for new reactors, even if they are not likely to be used…. This would probably be more basic science… but still much more applied than neutrino research! Check wikipedia for more about Thorium Reactors if you like.
- Please read Kirk Smith’s short paper: What’s Cooking? There’s an amazing amount of attention about how poor people cook. Please come to class to answer the question “WHY do we care so much (about how poor people cook)?”. Also come prepared to ask or answer the questions: What’s the Carbon Market? What’s the Clean Development Mechanism? Why do we care about how poor people cook?
- Please see this video about our project developing an improved cookstove for implementation in Uganda. If you are interested to know more, you can read the entire scientific paper here.
- Chris Read the new SLO sustainability Czar will be here to talk to us at 4:00 PM. Please read the following to prepare:
- Diablo Findings – exciting 60 page document, but you can just read the findings and conclusion, starting on page 57.
- The Climate Action Plan for San Luis Obispo, authored by a group of Cal Poly Students with Professor Adrienne Grieve in CRP. At least read the executive summary.
- Renewable Portfolio Standard: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?).
- Demand response (demand side management or shedding or shifting load) This is a good start: https://www.caiso.com/1893/1893e350393b0.html
- Please read just the summary from this article by Christopher Weare to understand the cause of the Cal Electricity Crisis and how to prevent it.
- Please know what Community Choice Aggregation is when you come into class. You can read about it on Wikipedia, or see Lean Energy’s Description.
During Class
After Class
- Start your second self intervention: Empathy Self-Intervention. Recognize when you’ve “otherized” someone – established them as “the other” and see how this gives you the ability to dismiss the validity of their perspective. Then endeavor to “walk a mile in their shoes”, see their behavior as something that you do, see the world through their eyes. Recognize how they are the same as you, or where you have similarities.