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Class Information & Resources:

News

Final Considerations: Sam's final powerpoint.




Special Project on Japan's Energy Future: Here are the materials.


Class Lectures

Sams's Powerpoint® presentation for the first class is here. View a PDF here. See below for readings.

Sams's Powerpoint® presentation for the second class is here. View a PDF here

Sams's Powerpoint® presentation for the third class is here. View a PDF here

Sams's Powerpoint® presentation for the fourth class is here. View a PDF here

Sams's Powerpoint® presentation for the fifth class is here. View a PDF here

Ruaridh Macdonald's Powerpoint® Crash course in nuclear power generation is here. View a PDF here

Lecture for September 22 is here. View a PDF here

Hal Gustin's Powerpoint® is here. View a PDF here



PDFs: Class Readings

Class readings for week 1 are Tragedy of the Commons and Extensions of Tragedy of the Commons by Garrett Hardin, as well as Kay's The Ultimate Tragedy of the Commons and Resilience by Marq de Villiers.

Class readings for week 2
- Revisiting the Commons: Local Lessons, Global Challenges
- Localization
- Tragedy of the Commons Encyclopedia
- Greenhouse gases, climate change and the transition from coal to low-carbon electricity
- Energy studies need social science
- Probabilistic cost estimates for climate change mitigation
- Global Energy Assessment
- Energy from biomass: the size of the global resource
- Planetary Opportunities: A Social Contract for Global Change Science to Contribute to a Sustainable Future
- What is the global potential for renewable energy?

Class readings for week 3
- Carbon Dioxide concentration surges
- A NYT article entitled Fixing Climate Change May Add No Costs, Report Says summarizes the New Climate Economy Report. Be sure to check them both out.
- Here's another nice summary of the World Meteorological Organization Report.

Class readings for week 4
- Here's a PDF of the IMF report on How Much Carbon Pricing is in Countries’ Own Interests? The Critical Role of Co-Benefits. There's a summary here.
- The world's population is soaring and might reach 12 billion by 2010. Check out this short article.
- Greenland's snow is exceptionally dark. Read why it should worry you.
- Mohamed Al Hammadi, explains why the UAE has chosen to develop nuclear energy in an interesting interview.
- More press about the low relative cost of climate solutions, but as usual the Push for New Pact on Climate Change Is Plagued by Old Divide of Wealth.
- Then there's China.
- Learn more about hydro power.
- CEO of Allegheny Conference wants to shore up our energy grid, but as usual it's all about the money because when the grid is overworked, traders profit.
- Engineers in the US have invented a battery, made of three molten metals, which could help smooth the
power supply from renewable energy sources. See the MIT announcement.

Class readings for November
- U.N. Panel Warns of Dire Effects From Lack of Action Over Global Warming
- Groundwater depletion the world over poses a far greater threat to global water security than is currently acknowledged. Check this article on the global groundwater crisis.
- In the past there have been several reasons for not fuelling large scale power plants with biomass instead of fossil fuels, but read this study of three large scale biomass combustion plants in the UK, this assessment of the reduction of carbon dioxide emissions through the use of biomass co-combustion, and this review of the barriers of commercial power generation using biomass gasification gas.


PDFs: General Readings

Get MIT's Joint Program on the Science and Policy of Global Change here , the data tables here and the executive summary here.

Here's an analysis of The Impact of Exelon’s Nuclear Fleet on the Illinois Economy by the Nuclear Energy Institute.

Here is a UN report about strategies to close the emissions gap by 2020. (The emissions gap is the difference between projected greenhouse gas emissions, and those needed to stabilize mean global temperature at <1.5-2 C above pre-industrial levels).



PDFs: Climate Change

Acid Oceans Could Deal Heavy Blow to Fishing-Dependant Nations. Check this summary here

The oceans are facing major threats due to rising levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. Here's an updated synthesis of the impacts of ocean acidification on marine biodiversity.





News of Interest




Web Sites of Interest

World Bank energy site is a good source for mainstream thought on energy issues.

Many bird species are threatened by climate change. Learn more here and here.

Visit MIT Energy Initiative! http://mitei.mit.edu/about or http://mitei.mit.edu/.
A very important resource of information and potential contacts


4 minute video on climate change and extinction.



From Sam's Bookshelf








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