GEOG 352: Day 10 Energy (cont’d)

Housekeeping Items I will collect the outlines. “The Clean Bin Project” is showing at Worldbridger tonight at 7 in 356, Room 109, by donation. A reminder that we have a field trip on Tuesday to Nanaimo Foodshare (a few folks from the Campus Food Movement are welcome to come). Please show up by the lower entrance to 370 at just before 10 a.m. We will leave at 10 sharp. And will be back by 11:20. I believe Emmanuel is presenting next Thursday. I will show a couple of short films on energy (Sarah has one too), and we will have some discussion.

Housekeeping Items Did you know that there is funding available at VIU for students to participate at a conference, workshop or a scholarly event? This funding is available through the Student Travel and Conference Fund and/or the Jessica Wilde Conference Participation Fund. To be considered for funding students must submit a proposal to Kathryn Jepson at the Research & Scholarly Activity Office by the specified deadlines: Thursday, October 30, 2014 Thursday, February 5, 2015 For details about the funding criteria, eligibility and instructions on how to apply please see the funding opportunity web page: opportunities/studenttravelandconference.asp. opportunities/studenttravelandconference.asp

The Fork In the Energy Road We are at a crossroads. One faction wants to go full speed ahead with exploiting the remaining oil, gas, and coal resources. The other wants to see a radical shift towards renewable energy. The institutional weight, corporate and political – at least in Canada – is most on the side of the fossil fuel strategy. What are the barriers preventing us from changing course and what can be done about it?

The Fork In the Energy Road There are some positive examples of change occurring in Europe. We heard about one – Kristianstadt – and will see others profiled in the short videos. As a recent article in the New York Times notes, “Germans will soon be getting 30 percent of their power from renewable energy resources. Many smaller countries are beating that, but Germany is by far the laregest industrial power to reach that level in the modern era…. By creating huge demand for wind turbines and especially for solar panels, it has [also] helped lure big Chinese manufacturers into the market, and that combination is driving down costs faster than almost anyone though possible just a few years ago. The Germans call this “energiewende, the energy transition.” Others call it a revolution!

The Fork In the Energy Road The ‘revolution’ is spilling over into the American market as new homes are being built in traditionally conservative Orange County with solar panels because it’s so easy to sell homeowners on their financial advantages. And American states, frustrated by legislative gridlock in Washington, are taking steps on their own to replicate Germany’s achievements. Utilities are worried as renewables are denting their profits from shaving prices due to reduced to peak period utilization. Some are trying to hamstring the renewable industry; others are trying to get in on the action.

The Fork In the Energy Road It’s costly for Germany to make the transition, but they can afford to. Canada potentially could also, but it seems to have become a “petro- state.” In the U.S., industry and the right-wing peddles the notion that climate change is “junk science” and a conspiracy involving a variety of organizations. Nonetheless, jurisdictions are shutting down down fracking sites (California), Or creating a moratorium (Newfoundland, Nova Scotia, & Quebec). Even China’s coal consumption has dropped for the first time in a century. See also “Energy Wise” in VIU Library