Download An Introductory-Level Energy Course that Combines Geology

An Evolving Introductory-Level
Energy Course that Combines
Geology, Physics, and Public
Policy
Tim Schroeder
Bennington College
History of the Course…..
1st Iteration
Eastern Connecticut State University, Environmental Earth
Science 205, Energy and the Environment
• Developed by Fred Loxsom as the gateway into a Sustainable Energy
Studies (SES) minor program
• I taught it later and added geology content, including:
• Fossil fuel formation, extraction and impacts
• Importance of glacial geology and geochemical cycles to climate
change
1st Iteration:
Environmental Earth Sciences 205, Energy and the Environment
• Focus was dominantly on science of energy
History of the Course…..
1st Iteration:
How it fit into the curriculum:
• Students from many majors took EES 205 to fulfill a gen-ed.
requirement; Several of these continued with the SES minor
• Several EES majors took the course and then added SES minor
• EES department is adding SES track to its major
Requirements for
ECSU’s Sustainable
Energy Studies Minor
History of the Course…..
2nd Iteration:
Eastern Connecticut State University, First Year
Colloquium; “Energy in the 21st Century”
• I adapted EES 205 content to meet goals of the First Year Colloquium
course required of all 2nd term freshmen
• Class format changed to discussion-based (with some lectures)
• Content focused more on policy, less on science
History of the Course…..
2nd Iteration: First Year Colloquium; “Energy in the 21st
Century”
History of the Course…..
Things that I learned in Iterations #1 and #2:
• Students need to understand science of energy to
meaningfully discuss energy policy
• Physics and geology are both required to understand
energy science
• A full understanding of energy and climate problems
(both scientific and policy) is required to properly
address solutions
• This does not leave time in a semester to fully cover
both problems and solutions
The Current Course
3rd Iteration:
Bennington College
Energy and the Environment; What lies Ahead?
• Part of Bennington’s new Environmental Studies Program
• Focus a mixture of science (done with lectures) and policy (done
with discussion
• I base discussions on assigned readings with specific questions
• The course is now based largely on the problems; This frustrates
students
The Current Course
3rd Iteration: Energy and the Environment; What lies Ahead?
The Current Course
3rd Iteration: Bennington College
Energy and the Environment; What lies Ahead?
Course Goals:
1. Understand links between daily life in industrial society and
energy/climate problems
Understanding personal
responsibility:
A good exercise:
The ecological footprint –
quiz that determines how
many biologically
productive earth’s would be
required to support your
lifestyle (if everyone lived
as you did)
What I want to get across:
“Its not just the oil
company’s fault”
Screen capture from www.myfootprint.org
The Current Course
3rd Iteration: Bennington College
Energy and the Environment; What lies Ahead?
Course Goals:
1. Understand links between daily life in industrial society and
energy/climate problems
2. Understand that solutions will not be quick and easy –
rebuilding energy infrastructure will take a lot of time and
money
Understanding the full
scope of the problems:
One thing I do:
Watch the movie “The End
of Suburbia”, which
presents a very apocalyptic
view of Peak Oil
I want the students to stop
saying things like:
“we should just…” or
“why don’t we just run all of
our cars on biodiesel?”
http://www.endofsuburbia.com/index.htm
The Current Course
3rd Iteration: Bennington College
Energy and the Environment; What lies Ahead?
Course Goals:
1. Understand links between daily life in industrial society and
energy/climate problems
2. Understand that solutions will not be quick and easy – rebuilding
energy infrastructure will take a lot of time and money
3. Understand what climate change is, why it is a problem, and
that energy and climate are linked problems
Understanding climate change:
Things I do:
Web-based climate
modeling exercises:
http://www.sciencecourseware.co
m/eec/GlobalWarming/
This “Future Climate Change”
applet is a good exercise that
allows users to analyze
prediction scenarios from the
previous IPCC report
Screen capture from sciencecourseware.com
Understanding climate change:
Things I do:
Web-based climate modeling
exercises:
The Java Climate Model:
http://chooseclimate.org/jcm/jcm4/
Allows users to manipulate
climate model input and see
effects
Screen capture from chooseclimate.org
Understanding climate change:
Things I do:
Discuss in depth how
issues such as per-capita
carbon emissions and
energy intensity will
influence international
climate agreements
Do mock climate
agreement negotiation
summit where students
take the roles of various
nations
The Current Course
3rd Iteration: Bennington College
Energy and the Environment; What lies Ahead?
Course Goals:
1. Understand links between daily life in industrial society and
energy/climate problems
2. Understand that solutions will not be quick and easy – rebuilding
energy infrastructure will take a lot of time and money
3. Understand what climate change is, why it is a problem, and that
energy and climate are linked problems
4. Develop the view that the US should lead by example, and
start now
Develop a strategy for action:
Things I do:
Exercise with the “climate
wedge model”
Guide to activities available at:
http://www.princeton.edu/~cmi/r
esources/stabwedge.htm
Ideas are also detailed in the
Sept. 2006 issue of Scientific
American
Image from the Sept. 2006 Scientific American, “A
Plan to Keep Carbon in Check”
The Current Course
3rd Iteration: Bennington College
Energy and the Environment; What lies Ahead?
How does this Class Fit into Bennington’s Curriculum?
• What Bennington Curriculum?
• No Departments
• No Majors
• Students each plan his/her own course of study
• Many of our students are budding activists; most want to work with
NGO’s and non-profits
• This course allows students to actually understand the full nature and
scope of the problems that they want to solve (or so I like to think)
The Next Course
Because the course is now focused on the problems, my students
want a course on solutions:
This fall I’m teaching “Climate and Energy Solution Analysis”
• Will be based on campus Greenhouse Gas Audit currently
being performed
• Will be project based; Each student will develop and analyze a
project to address one part of the greenhouse gas audit
• Students will be required to do cost benefit analysis and life
cycle cost analysis of their proposed ideas