Jeff Muhs' Energy Predictions

The Nature of Things 2011 lecture series kicked off
last week with Jeff Muhs, (left) director of the
Energy Dynamics Laboratory at Utah State University.

During the lecture, Jeff shared his predictions for the "energy future", and we thought you would appreciate reading them!

Jeff Muhs' Energy Predictions
Presented at The Nature of Things Lecture on 2/16/11

#1 Liquid fuels derived from renewable and unconventional sources will be the bridge to electricity in surface transportation over the next few decades.

#2 Surface transportation will be transformed by electricity when its value propositions as an energy carrier are fully realized.

#3 Wireless technology will enable significant improvements in the mobility of people and goods just as it did the mobility of information in recent decades.

#4 Because of inherent advantages, algae energy systems will gain a foothold over the next decade.

#5 In buildings, “manual, binary and reactive” energy systems will give way to those that are “automated, continually-adjustable, and intuitive”.

#6 Though hidden behind the quest for better solar cells, use of sunlight in buildings will continue as our most valuable and cost-effective use of solar energy.

#7 Increasingly, outsiders to the federal system – universities and small businesses – will be the providers of game-changing energy innovation.

These predictions are based upon the type of innovative work that the Jeff, as a USTAR professor, oversees at the Energy Dynamics Laboratory. To learn more about the focus of the EDL's work, and why Jeff's predictions are what they are, listen to the podcast of his Nature of Things lecture!

Listen to Jeff Muhs' Nature of Things Lecture

What do you think??

Climate Goals: Local Perspective Needed!

• As we gear up for the keynote lecture of The Nature of Things series, there is no better time to consider active legislation efforts regarding climate change. Next Wednesday, Fred Krupp, president of the Environmental Defense Fund, will speak to us about the EDF’s ambitious efforts toward a bright future.
  
  Until then, this article provides a list of goals that the EDF has formulated in preparation for this year's round of climate and energy legislation. At a national level, they are prolonging efforts to enact further regulations that would limit emissions, as well as defending the Environmental Protection Agency's power to regulate our air quality.
  
  Unfortunately, these are formidable challenges indeed. As we know, the fight to stop climate change, clean up our air, and implement effective alternative energy technologies on a large scale is rife with obstacles. And these issues aren't just vague entities that float around in the ether of federal legislative debate; actions must be taken on every scale, from the federal domain to the state level, right on down to the individual. This brings us to another of the EDF's goals, which involves finding messages that truly spark concern and participation among the public.
  
  So, as a respirating resident of our blue earth and red state (referring to geology, of course):
• What do you think are the most effective messages to present to both fellow citizens and policy makers?
• At what level do you think new regulations will be most effective? Surely, the big polluters will avoid cutting emissions unless faced with some serious action at the federal level, but state, local, and personal actions are also important.
• How will Utah be affected?
  
  Don't worry, you're not being graded; just join the conversation!

From Kindergarten to Carbon Clouds: Time to Reinvent Energy

Some people call me a hippie. It might be the fact that I’m an Environmental Studies major, or that I never leave the apartment without my reusable coffee mug, or that I haven’t trimmed my hair since 2009. Or that I get internships like this one, where I write blog posts about things like alternative energy and being a hippie.

But I think the heart of my identity is just the fact that I've figured out that as I get older, the world isn't getting quite as awesome as I thought it would. In 1996, my kindergarten teacher told us how to reduce, reuse and recycle, and to turn out the lights when we left a room. I did as I was told and trusted that the adults would take care of the rest.

But as I grew older, I craved the 'great outdoors' and fresh air that I'd read about, I helped preserve with every milk carton my little hands recycled, and yet I was greeted with expanses of red pine, and smog reminiscent of something that would seep out of a Stephen King novel. I felt let down, and asked a question: "What on Earth have we been doing for fifteen years?" My research on that one has produced little beyond evidence of increased dependency on carbon-based fuel, so, instead, I pose another question: "What can we do now?"

Which brings me to the aforementioned job description. As the intern for The Nature of Things 2011 lecture series, the theme of which is Reinventing Energy, I am going beyond personal usage of stainless steel mugs and dealing with UTA to getting all of you involved. Because it can't just be me that's noticed that things can change. For years now, we've been hearing about emerging renewable energy technologies, seeing windmill prototypes, and puzzling over diagrams of how photovoltaic cells work. The solutions are out there, and to use a hippie term, that's pretty rad! Now we need to quickly make the transition from talk to reality. Fifteen years is enough for me.

This year’s speakers have some answers. The series will open up with Jeff Muhs, director of USU’s Energy Dynamics Lab, who will discuss how to transform our energy system without delay. Fred Krupp, our keynote speaker, will talk about the unfair market challenges faced by clean energy, and how to fix that. Jonathan Hoekstra acknowledges the challenges of establishing clean energy infrastructure, and will teach us how to deal with it. And finally, a community panel of energy leaders will bring a local perspective to it all.

The way our energy is produced affects every single one of us. We breathe carbon emissions. We fall in love with landscapes that succumb to drills. And now we know that things can change. Join me over the next several weeks as the Utah Museum of Natural History presents some people who are making “reinventing energy” a reality. Bring your questions, tell your friends, and talk about it, because learning is the first step. Come to the lectures as a way to commit to creating a future that will not disappoint kindergarteners sitting in classrooms right now. You don’t need to be a hippie, just someone who's sick of waiting.

You can view the complete schedule for The Nature of Things 2011 on the Museum’s website and Facebook page. I invite you to follow this blog to join the conversation.