GEO 5368 - Energy Choices for the 21st Century

Meets with ENVST 3368, GEOG 3368 and GEO 3368. Graduate students should enroll in GEOG 5368 or GEO 5368 and will be held to higher standards and/or more work. This class is designed to give students an introduction to the critical energy issues facing our planet, with a focus on controversial topics and issues in Utah. These will include: hydraulic fracking (fracking), offshore oil and gas development, oil shale and tar sand development, nuclear energy (with particular regard to the proposed Blue Castle nuclear plant in Green River and storage of radioactive waste in Utah), wind, solar and geothermal energy (again, with emphasis on Utah), other renewable technologies, the Smartgrid difficulties in commercializing new energy technologies, air pollution, transportation choices, energy policy development, and global issues including population dynamics, climate change, carbon management, water resources, the Law of Unintended Consequences, and tipping points. A number of outstanding guest lecturers will provide expertise in their respective fields.