Tag Archives: Net-Zero

Campus as a Lab: Part 1

Source: Rutgers Living Laboratories Campus as a lab (CAL) is becoming a teaching and organizational tool across campuses. I am including a schematic diagram of the dynamics of the concept, taken from the Rutgers University site, above. If you Google … Continue reading

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Electric Utilities Through the Lens of the IPAT Identity

The last two blogs focused on applying the IPAT identity to sub-country organizations. For obvious reasons, I started this analysis with a focus on oil companies and their supposed commitments to net-zero carbon emissions in the “near” (mid-century) future. One … Continue reading

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Incorporating Carbon Capture into the IPAT Identity

Figure 1 – An artist’s depiction of carbon capture (Credit: Walter Newton) Last week, I opened the discussion about what it takes for oil companies to change their business model and fulfill the commitments that some of them are making … Continue reading

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The Role of Oil Companies in the Energy Transition

In last week’s blog, I included a citation from Nicholas Kusnetz’s article, “What Does Net Zero Emissions Mean for Big Oil?” which pointed out: Most glaring is that none of the companies has committed to cut its oil and gas … Continue reading

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Confusions: From Ukraine to Oil Companies

Last week’s blog focused on globalization. Per definition, we are part of the global picture and from this perspective, we have a direct interest in whatever global conflict emerges. Two of our present global conflicts can serve as guides: the … Continue reading

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The Math of the American Commitment

A short entry appeared in the Scientific American journal in the middle of the COP26 meeting: “Doing the Math on Biden’s Climate Pledge.” The author was trying to explain how the Biden administration—only three months after assuming control from an … Continue reading

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Conclusions From COP26

This semester, I am teaching two courses directly related to climate change. I start both with an exploration of the basic science involved. It’s a multidisciplinary topic that requires using first principles to address the overlap of the physical, natural, … Continue reading

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Earth Day 2021

Earth Day is in two days. It’s a big day. Among other distinctions, it is both my wife’s birthday and that of this blog (this is now 9 years!). From a climate change perspective, this year’s celebration is special because … Continue reading

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Energy Saving on Specific Campuses

There are two branches to making campuses more sustainable: reducing carbon emissions (with the objective of zero carbon by mid-century) and increasing resiliency in the energy supply. We have dealt with both objectives throughout this blog. One campus’ conversion to … Continue reading

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Wisdom from Germany: How to Transition Away From Coal

This is the end of my series about my summer trip and the lessons I learned when I visited Germany. In last week’s blog, I promised to finish up my examination by comparing Germany’s energy transition efforts with those of … Continue reading

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