Course

Energy Seminar

The Energy Seminar is produced by the Woods and Precourt Institutes and is comprised of an interdisciplinary series of talks primarily by Stanford experts on a broad range of energy topics.

15 Lectures

  • January 7, 2009 lecture by Lee Schipper for the Woods Energy Seminar (ENERGY301). In his talk "When the Rubber Hits the Road: The Real Story on Fuel Economy in the US and other Developed Countries, with Implications for Developing Asia," Schipper discusses better and more realistic fuel economy options in the US and other industrialized nations.

  • January 14, 2009 lecture by David Victor for the Woods Energy Seminar (ENERGY301). In his talk "New Ways to Think About Regulating Greenhouse Gasses," Victor discusses the need for an international and universal regulation on greenhouse gas emissions and he posits that the nature of the climate problem has been erroneously placed on compliance concerns rather than actual effort.

  • January 21, 2009 lecture by Ilan Kroo for the Woods Energy Seminar (ENERGY301). In his talk "Future Air Transportation and the Environment," Kroo discusses the impact of aviation on the environment and the idea of "sustainable" aviation.

  • February 11, 2009 lecture by Jefferson Tester for the Woods Energy Seminar (ENERGY301). In his talk "A Pathway for Widespread Utilization of Geothermal Energy--the Roles of Multi-scale Resource and Technology Research and Systems Analysis," Tester talks about the benefits and challenges of harnessing geothermal energy, and he asserts that it is a large resource that complements solar and wind energy and is both carbon free and scalable.

  • February 18, 2009 lecture by Brent Constanz for the Woods Energy Seminar (ENERGY301). In his talk "A Pathway for Widespread Utilization of Geothermal Energy--the Roles of Multi-scale Resource and Technology Research and Systems Analysis," Brent Constanz states that concrete is the most used product worldwide next to water and he suggests that we could safely, cheaply, and quickly store carbon dioxide in concrete at the rate of about six billion yards per year.

  • February 25, 2009 lecture by Jacques Bouchard for the Woods Energy Seminar (ENERGY301). In his talk "Can Nuclear Energy be a Sustainable Contribution to Address Climate Change Concerns? The French Experience," Jacques Bouchard gives a comprehensive overview of France's development and innovation of nuclear energy technology.

  • March 4, 2009, Richard Morse states that coal is the largest growing source of energy and that regulation and policy are beginning to play a larger role in the economy of coal power. Morse also discusses the heavy reliance on coal by developing countries and the need to understand and evaluate all mitigation options.

  • April 1, 2009 - Dan Arvizu, director of the Department of Energy's National Renewable Energy Laboratory, discusses the current state of renewable energy technology and implementation in the U.S., as well as potential advancements in the near future.

  • May 6, 2009 - Lisa Schipper, research fellow at the Stockholm Environmental Institute, discusses theories connecting climate change adaptation to international development, and how they relate to concrete changes being implemented in southeast Asia and elsewhere.