HONORS 366 / LGU 366
Earth, Wind and Fire:
Climate Change and Sustainable Energy Resources
Middelgrunden, March 8, 2009
Instructor: William A. Price, Ph.D.
215-951-1261
price@lasalle.edu
Books:
1) Friedman, Thomas L.; Hot, Flat and Crowded: Why We Need a Green Revolution - And How it Can Renew America, Farrar, Straus and Giroux, New York, 2008. ISBN: 978-0-374-16685-4
2) Pearce, Fred; With Speed and Violence: Why Scientists Fear a Tipping Point in Climate Change, Beacon Press, Boston, 2007. ISBN: 978-0-8070-8577-6
3) Crichton, Michael; State of Fear, Harper-Collins, New York, 2005. ISBN: 0-06-621431-1
Course Description and Objectives:
The chemistry of our atmosphere has changed dramatically in the last 100 years due in most part to the burning of fossil fuels. As such, we are experiencing climate changes that will have (are having) an impact on a global level. This course will focus on the science of climate change, and how it ties together with population growth, energy production, development, agriculture, and fresh water availability. A more complete understanding of these issues will offer a foundation and hopefully a sense of urgency for us to study realistic, sustainable energy alternatives. Several guest experts will contribute to the class as well.
The students will have a thorough understanding and appreciation of the complexities of climate change. They will have an understanding of the global nature of this issue and will be able to intelligently discuss the positive and negative aspects in alternative energy sources. Ideally, students will come out of this course empowered and confident that changes in human behavior can have an enormous impact on the environment, climate and energy utilization. They will also see how, with some sacrifice, certain countries in Europe are successfully moving toward sustainability. Indeed, some areas are already there.
_________________________
From our wetpaint blog
"Give a short description of the highlight(s) of the trip to Denmark and Sweden. What aspect of the trip do you think will be most beneficial to you? to La Salle?" Here is what we said...
Academy of Natural Sciences - Urban Sustainability Forums and Town Squares The Dominant Animal: Human Evolution and the Environment in the Obama Administration - Paul Ehrlich: Bing Professor of Population Studies, Stanford University; Thursday, February 5, 5:30-7 pm - directions
Rationale for Course:
This is a topic that is timely, important and appeals to a broad spectrum of people. The relevance of this course will only become more apparent as we move further into the 21 st century. We live in a country (world) addicted to fossil fuels and it is no longer up for debate as to whether our climate is changing. Whether climate change and fossil fuels are some part of the same equation remains to be seen; the fact is that fossil fuels are a declining resource and alternative sources will be relied upon on the decades to come.
Travel:
The global leaders in the area of sustainability and energy alternatives are found in Denmark and Sweden. In Scandinavia, they have incentives to conserve and to harvest energy from renewable sources. Currently, 25% of Denmark's electricity is generated from solar and wind power. We will visit these two Scandinavian countries and connect with experts (through the Ministry of Climate and Energy) in generating energy from wind, solar and biomass. Our home base will be Copenhagen, Denmark. We will visit a wind farm in the south of Denmark (in the Baltic Sea) and meet with professors and students in the Environmental Sustainability Institute at the University of Goteborg, Sweden. We will also visit Malmo Sweden, arguably the greenest city in the world. With this visit, it is hoped that the students will come away with a blueprint for sustainability and interestingly, at the same time, a stronger economy.
Flight and Hotel Itinerary for travel to and from Copenhagen, Denmark / Expectations and FAQ's from EF tours / travelling and packing tips
Joerg Zenker is our tour director! He was born and raised in the U.S. and currently lives in Munich. He makes a living as an artist and a tour director. He will meet us at the Copenhagen airport and accompany us for the 9 days. Map of Scandinavia / Map of Denmark
COP stands for Conference of the Parties. It is the highest body of the United Nations Climate Change Convention and consists of environment ministers who meet once a year to discuss the convention's developments. COP15 will be one of the biggest UN conferences ever to be held outside New York and Geneva. This year, the meeting is in Copenhagen, December 7-18, 2009.
Middelgrunden Wind Turbine Cooperative
The 40 MW Middelgrunden Wind Farm is located 3 km offshore the Port of Copenhagen. We will tour the facility on Sunday March 8.
Green Roof - Augustenborg's Botanical Roof Garden - Ecological Solutions for the Modern City. This is a place for beauty, inspiration, education and research. On top of industrial and office buildings belonging toMalmö City, there is a botanical garden in a place where you wouldn`t have thought there was room for a park! We will visit this facilitiy on Monday, March 9.
Centre for the Environment and Sustainability, GMV In 2001 Chalmers University of Technology and University of Gothenburg started a co-operation platform for sustainable development and environmental research projects - the GMV Centre for Environment and Sustainability. GMV involves all faculties and departments at both universities as it is now widely realized that co-operation between different research areas is needed for universities seeking to contribute to sustainable development. The traditional end-of-pipe solutions to environmental problems are no longer sufficient in the face of global challenges such as climate change, food supply and increased energy demand. Presentation Topics
Chalmers Students for Sustainability - CSS - Out of Goteborg, Sweden. Chalmers Students for Sustainability (CSS) was initiated in 2001 at Chalmers, with the underlined purpose of engaging Chalmers students in issues related to sustainability, thereby enhancing Chalmers' impact on the field of sustainability through student contributions. We will visit with students from CSS at GMV on Tuesday afternoon and Wednesday, March 10 and 11.
World Student Community for Sustainable Development - With over 2000 memebers from 39 countries, they work fundamentally with launching student innovation relevant to sustainable development. Headquartered in Zurich, Switzerland. CSS works under this umbrella organization. It is our hope to learn more so that La Salle University can become a member institution.
Haldor Topsøe is a market leader in heterogeneous catalysis and supplies catalysts and process design for oil refineries, chemical plants and the energy sector. The environment plays an important role in Topsøe's research and production, and through the introduction of new catalysts and technologies the company supports a more sustainable use of the world's resources. We will visit their facilities on Thursday, March 12.
Nysted Offshore Wind Farm a film showing how the farm was constructed
Wind Farm Tour videoclip from a tour
Climate Change and its Global Impact
Powered By Coal Coal is America's most abundant and cheapest fossil fuel. Is it feasible to capture the carbon dioxide? 60 Minutes, April 26, 2009
The Bici-lavadora A Peruvian green approach to washing clothes makes sense in so many ways. CBS News, April 22, 2009
Prioritizing Climate Solutions radio piece from Living on Earth, NPR
More than Junk Science Cold Fusion making a comeback? 60 Minutes, April 19, 2009.
Austrailia's Dry Run a seven-year draught, from National Geographic, April, 2009
Changing Rains - Outlook Extreme As the planet warms, look for more floods where it's already wet and deeper drought where water is scarce, from National Geographic, April, 2009
Svalbard (Norway) Ice Paradise The rich life of Svalbard, Norway's Arctic archipelago, faces a creeping thaw, from National Geographic, April, 2009
Scraping Bottom - Canada's Oil Boom Alberta is squeezing oil from tar sands, from National Geographic, March, 2009
Extreme Ice An acclaimed National Geographic photographer teams up with scientists to document the runaway melting of arctic glaciers. Nova presentation 3/24/09
The Bell Tolls on a Brighter Energy Future in a Place Called Wyandotte from YourEnergyForum.com
Yes They Could. So They Did. Op-ed from Thomas Friedman (NYT) Feb. 15, 2009
The Island in the Wind A Danish community's victory over carbon emissions, from The New Yorker, July 7, 2008
Big Science Role is Seen in Global Warming Cure from New York Times, Feb. 12, 2009
Obama on Energy Policy video of a short speach on energy policy Feb. 8, 2009
The Power and the Glory from The Economist, A special report on the future of energy, June 21-27, 2008
The Perfect Storm - slides from a post-Katrina talk on climate change
Presentations Slides from IPCC - Evaluation of Climate Models, Attribution of Climate Change
10 Big Energy Myths: The myths are abundant and grow like vegetables in a greenhouse. From Michael von Bülow
Dr. John P. Holdren President of Woods Hole Reasearch Center,talks climate change with David Letterman
Africa - Up In Smoke 2 : Too much or too little rain can be a matter of life and death in Africa
The Big Thaw : The world is losing ice faster than anyone thought possible - National Geographic
Is the Planet's Carbon Sink Getting Too Full? : From NPR
Causes of Climate Change: From NPR, a 5 part cartoon series that gets to the heart of the matter
Will Tivalu Disappear Beneath the Sea? Global Warming Threatens to Swamp an Island Nation: from Aug. 2004 Smithsonian Magazine by Leslie Allen (pdf)
Climate Change Resources from AAAS: American Association for the Advancement of Science
AAAS Board Statement on Climate Change released in February, 2007
Climate Change 2007: The Synthesis Report : An executive summary of the latest report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). (November 2007)
Woods Hole Research Center: The Warming of the Earth: A guide to understanding the issue of global warming
