2. New Spring Course! GEOGRAPHY 470 ENERGY, ENVIRONMENT & SOCIETY
Some Key Issues:
-Is Al Gore’s plan for 100% renewable electricity “pie in the sky” or possible?
-What type of solar energy conversion is already cost effective in Western Oregon, without government subsidies?
-Why risks of global warming may not be the most compelling reason to shift to a different energy economy.
-How could existing technologies be utilized to run your next car on solar-based electricity, at a lower energy cost per mile than $2 gasoline?
-Why was the Trojan nuclear plant north of Portland removed?
-Why some scientists see nuclear power as “safer” than coal-fired plants.
-Why the energy sector has persisted as the most technologically stagnant of all major industries.
-Are “zero energy” homes affordable & realistic?
-Why some biofuels cause hunger and greenhouse gas emissions.
-Why mass production of electric cars has been “less than a decade away” for the past century.
Instructor: Michael McGlade, Professor of Geography