Energy Use, Climate Change, and Our Engineered Infrastructure

Catalog description

Massive changes to our personal consumption patterns and civil infrastructure systems are needed to decrease CO2 emissions and minimize the impacts of climate change. In this course we will quantify energy use; study how much energy, water, and food we use in our daily lives; and determine how much CO2 gets emitted from these personal activities and by components of our public infrastructure (including buildings, electric power industries, food systems, and transportation). We will evaluate how design choices in our homes, buildings, agricultural systems, and transportation infrastructure can be modified to reduce energy consumption and carbon emissions. Greenhouse gases that cause climate change include more than just carbon from fossil fuels; we will therefore also discuss sources of other greenhouse gases and natural and engineered strategies to mitigate and reduce their emissions. Other topics include modeling rates of renewable energy growth, energy storage, climate science, infrastructure's role in environmental and climate justice, and the economic aspects of climate solutions.