EPS 239: The Consequences of Energy Systems

Graduate course (Half course, fall semester. Course meeting time M 1:00-3:30, in Haller Hall)

Prerequisites: One full year of college-level physics and familiarity with chemistry at the high school advanced placement level. Enrollment restricted to graduate students. 

This course provides an introduction to the physical and chemical impacts of energy choices on human society and natural ecosystems. Topics will include the carbon cycle, climate, air and water pollution, impacts of energy systems on health, land use consequences of energy technologies, and nuclear waste and proliferation. This course is a requirement for the Graduate Consortium on Energy and Environment. Students not enrolled in the Consortium may enroll with permission of the instructor.

September 2 (Monday schedule): Organizational meeting, course overview

September 7 - Labor Day - no class

September 14 - Carbon Cycle I: alkalinity, pH, air-sea gas exchange, carbonate chemistry and carbonate compensation, organic carbon, stable isotopes, radiocarbon.

September 21 - Carbon Cycle II: Keeling curves, missing sinks, biological and ocean uptakes in the present and future, anthropogenic inventories, ocean acidification, methane cycle.

September 28: (Note: we will try to reschedule class because of Yom Kippur)
Climate I: a brief history of climate on many timescales, CO2 and albedo, feedbacks, introduction to General Circulation Models.

October 5 - Columbus Day - no class

October 12 - Climate II: Anthropogenic Climate Change: observations, models, fingerprinting, uncertainties, climate sensitivity.

October 19 - Climate III: Climate Change Impacts

October 26 - Climate IV: Climate adaptation and mitigation, carbon offsets, geoengineering, timescale of climate change.

November 2 - Air and Water Pollution: Sulfur, Mercury, Ozone, NOx, lead, organics.

November 9 -Energy and Health I: guest lecture

November 16 - Energy and Health II: guest lecture

November 23 - Nuclear Energy - waste, nuclear accidents, proliferation.

November 30 - Energy and Land Use: from coal mines to biofuels.

Requirements: problem sets, term paper, carbon emissions modeling project.