Abstract
We currently are seeing an unprecedented global effort to reduce carbon dioxide in our atmosphere and oceans and combat global warming. Even in these times of significant change, many don’t truly understand the sources of their energy or the environmental and economic benefits (and downsides) of the alternatives. Coal, for example, is a vital source of energy for the world’s electricity (50% in America and 70% in China), yet it contributes 40% of the world’s carbon dioxide. This lecture will review the fundamentals of global warming and explore the strengths and weaknesses of alternative energy sources, including solar, wind and nuclear.
Biography
Mel Manalis is a Research Physicist and Senior Lecturer for the Environmental Studies Program at UC Santa Barbara and a member of the Institute for Energy Efficiency’s Economics and Policy Solutions Group. His research interests surround the development of quantifiable sustainability measures. Manalis has taught at UCSB for 35 years and has developed courses related to energy. During the 1980’s, he led a seminal delegation of wind energy experts to advise the Chinese government on how to initialize a large-scale wind energy effort that has become a major underpinning of today’s rapid advance in China’s wind power development. He conducted the first wind energy study of Vandenberg Air Force Base in Lompoc California and the nascent study of solar energy applications for the California Energy Commission following the 1973 oil embargo. Manalis received his Ph.D. from UC Santa Barbara in 1970.