Environment General Courses (ENVIRON)

graduate level, taught in Durham

298.18 Energy and the Environment

Class Description
Our modern life is based upon the availability of low cost and reliable energy products. Currently, hydrocarbons supply most of our energy needs. The “Energy Industry” finds raw hydrocarbons (exploration and production), transforms them into usable forms (refining; electricity generation), and distributes them to consumers (marketing of petroleum products, electricity distribution;). Some companies within the energy industry perform just one of these tasks, while others perform several functions under the umbrella of a single company.

Our enhanced ability to perform each of the functions in this energy chain more quickly and efficiently has given us increased access to usable energy, thus allowing industrialization, the growth of world economies, and development of a lifestyle that depends on continued access to these inexpensive and reliable energy products. This dependence puts mankind in a precarious position. In addition to this dependence, burning hydrocarbons also releases CO2 into our atmosphere, creating the additional hazard that our weather patterns, upon which we also depend on for our livelihood and our life, might drastically change.

This course will explore the possibilities for achieving a transition into an energy paradigm in which we are less dependent on hydrocarbons. In order to address this question, we will examine the following aspects of each of the steps in this energy chain:
1. The incentives or “drivers” of each of these sectors. (i.e.: economic incentives such as net income, shareholder value, market share, customer satisfaction or regulatory compliance such as allowable return on investment, reliability and customer satisfaction);
2. The “environment” within which each of these sectors functions. (i.e.: economic pressures, regulatory requirements, physical infrastructure, resources, culture, and expectations);
3. Which aspects of this “environment” are easily changed and which are not.
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Class requirements
The class will meet weekly on Wednesdays from 5:15-8 pm until the first week of March. You will be required to attend The Duke University Leadership Forum “Creating a Sustainable Energy Future” on March 8-9 (the first Monday and Tuesday of Spring Break). We will meet the week following the Forum for final discussion and questions regarding your final project, and will reserve the next two Wednesdays for presentation of final projects. Class projects addressing the “drivers” and “environment” of each of the energy segments will be presented orally and visually during class meetings in April.