Globalization is bringing to light numerous social and environmental problems that require resolving within the span of the lifetime of the next generation (1). The rate of social and technological change has accelerated creating significant global challenges as well as opportunities. Issues such as global warming, wealth disparities within and between nations, food production and distribution, regional conflicts spreading through terrorism, and many others threaten world peace and development as never before in history.
It is clear that a key component, though by no means a sufficient one, in solving many problems will be the appropriate use of new and developing technologies such as information (computing and communications), non-hydrocarbon based energy, bioengineering, robotics and nanotechnology (2, esp. Chapter 9, p. 151). Many technologies must, and will be brought to bear in finding ways to solve these problems. For example a critical piece of reducing anthropogenic greenhouse gasses is likely to involve the use of hydrogen fuel cells to reduce burning fossil fuels. But, ironically, hydrogen can only be obtained by processing fossil fuels, which produces CO2, or by the electrolysis of water, which requires electrical energy. Both processes take additional energy and may have undesirable side effects. It is important for citizens of the modern world to understand the implications of proposed technologies (especially those on which tax dollars are to be spent). Every citizen should be able to apply critical thinking, based on basic understanding of the science and technologies involved in proposed solutions. There should be a healthy amount of skepticism that not all technologies will necessarily provide solutions to problems or that there are no hidden costs to take into account.
In this seminar we will choose one globally important problem for which technological solutions have been proposed or might be feasible in the near future (e.g., global warming). We will analyze the nature of the problem, with particular interest in the root causes, from a scientific, political and social perspective (e.g., burning fossil fuels). We will then investigate the science and engineering aspects of the technologies that might be brought to bear, looking, in particular, at the side effects, hidden and external costs and long-range implications. We will bring in speakers, either familiar with the problem domain or the technology (or both) and we will conduct open discussion of the issues. Though we will be discussing science and technology to a deeper degree than one usually sees in media reports, we will do this with minimal math requirements. We will attempt to make the issues accessible to anyone who has had algebra. Our objective is to gain a deeper understanding of the nature of the problem and the technologies, especially the costs, benefits and trade-offs. Armed with this understanding we will apply critical analysis to the policy environment that will affect the development and deployment of the technology.
Public policies, such as tax incentives, research investment and support for education in science and engineering, will determine how we actually solve these problems. As an example of a policy decision effect on technology, the current administration decided that it would not sign the Kyoto Protocol or support the efforts, which has subsequently put a damper on federal spending on emissions research.
Learning Objectives:
At the outset of the seminar we will examine the nature of a problem or issue of major scope. The problem will be described based on the relevant science. For example, global warming will be examined through articles that have appeared in Scientific American or the Perspectives section of Science. These articles require no significant mathematical background beyond algebra, and are generally accessible to any college student with at least one science course. In-seminar explanations for aspects of the science not understood by the general audience will be provided as needed. In addition, hints of the methods and uses of higher math, such as calculus (and/or statistics), will be introduced to give the student a better appreciation for such math and its role in the sciences. The student will learn the details of the problem domain in sufficient depth so as to be able to engage in a meaningful discussion/debate of the causes and implications.
One does not need to be a computer scientist in order to understand the basic notions of data processing to produce information, or to understand the applications of the World Wide Web to social change. But one does need to have a sense of what is possible and what isn’t in order to make critical judgments about the uses of technology in solving important problems.
When we investigate both the issues and the technological aspects of solutions we will not just look at the surface of these subjects. A central objective of this seminar is to develop a deeper, better understanding of technologies (and science behind them), how they work, what they can and what they cannot do. Some of this understanding can come from looking at the historical context of technologies (c.f. 3, for an approach to looking at the social, economic and political histories embedding technological developments).
The popular science press is currently full of unfounded or hyped expectations for how many technologies will be the salvation of civilization. For example, genetic engineering will give us all the food we need; hydrogen technology (or solar) will provide boundless energy. By having a deeper understanding of how various technologies actually work, by looking at some of the science behind the technologies, you will be able to more critically judge the claims made.
Understanding the nature of the technology, including the costs/benefits and externalities, will also put the student in a position to critique and even develop public policy proposals that would have the intent of stimulating research and development of needed technologies (or thwarting development of undesirable ones). The last part of the seminar examines some policy issues, both at the nation state level and the international (e.g., United Nations) level, that influence the development and deployment of technology (e.g., the Cap-and-Trade proposals that limit CO2 emissions but allow variances across emitters - what effect will this have on CO2 scrubbing/sequestering technology?).
Evaluation:
Every participant will be expected to do a substantial research project covering some particular aspect of the problem domain being studied in a particular quarter, proposed technologies needed to solve the problem and public policies, in place or proposed, that will further or inhibit the development of the technologies in question. The project will be broken down into the following phases (with associated percentages of final grade):
1. Topic selection and project proposal - a one to two page proposal detailing what aspect of the problem/technology the student would like to research. The proposal should include a discussion of why this aspect is important, methodology to be used and expected outcome. The coordinator will provide an extensive bibliography providing background information that will allow the student to develop this proposal. (10%)
2. Annotated bibliography - submit a list of references to be used in the research/paper with working notes. This bibliography is to be composed of new references in addition to any obtained in (1) above. (30%)
3. Paper - a final research paper. The format will be given by the seminar coordinator. (40%)
4. Presentation - presenting the paper to the seminar class. (20%)
As an example of a global problem that will surely require technological advances, as part of the solution, consider global warming, for which there is an acknowledged consensus among scientists (4) that the problem is real and is most likely of human cause (anthropogenic). This seminar will examine the science behind greenhouse effects, the heat budget of the planet and climate effects. We will review the two major approaches to determining the veracity of the thesis – computer modeling and empirical research. We will look at the relative strengths and weaknesses of these approaches. Then we will turn our attention to various technologically based approaches to solutions.
Specifically, this quarter, we will take a close look at the proposed hydrogen economy. This proposal suggests that hydrogen may replace hydrocarbon fuels in mobile and stationary applications (cars and houses). This proposal is currently being favored by the current administration, however there are serious questions of feasibility which have yet to be answered before we can make a national commitment to fund development of this technology and its infrastructure.
Obviously the seminar cannot cover all aspects of the problem or even the proposed technological solution. However with adequate narrowing of the scope and content, the student should complete this course with a much better understanding of the complexities of technologically based solutions and experience in deep critical thinking about such issues.
You will then prepare a one to two page proposal specifying the topic area and the major questions you would like to find answers to. For example, if your area of interest were fuel cell economics you might want to know how much it costs to manufacture a system for automotive applications. This would have implications for either the cost of automobiles or the cost to taxpayers in subsidies that would be required to encourage a market for hydrogen-powered automobiles. The proposal should be typed, double-spaced with adequate margins for notes from the coordinator. The coordinator will assign the due date for the proposal.
1. Rischard, J. F., (2002). High Noon: 20 Global Problems, 20 Years to Solve Them, Basic Books, New York.
2. Brown, L. R.,
(2003). Plan B: Rescuing a Planet under Stress and a Civilization in Trouble,
Earth Policy Institute, W. W. Norton & Company, New York. Also online at:
http://www.earth-policy.org/Books/PlanB_contents.htm.
3. Burke, J., (1978). Connections, Little Brown, Boston. (Also available in original video production).
4. THE STATE OF CLIMATE
SCIENCE: OCTOBER 2003, An open letter to the Senate of the United States
of America sponsored by the Union of Concerned Scientists. Available at:
http://www.ucsusa.org/global_environment/global_warming/page.cfm?pageID=1264
Resources:
Weekday KUOW - 2/7/2005 10:00 am
Studying Arctic Warming
Listen to RealAudio
Listen to MP3
Scientists are concerned with thawing peatlands in western Siberia. The peatlands normally absorb carbon dioxide. When they thaw, the peatlands release carbon dioxide and methane gasses into the atmosphere. What does this mean for global warming? What is the cause for the warming? We'll talk with researchers studying the peatlands and arctic climate conditions on Weekday.
Guests:
Ron Lindsay meteorologist with the Applied Physics Laboratory at the
University of Washington
Larry Smith Department of Geography and Department of Earth &
Space Sciences, UCLA
Living on Earth (heard on NPR)
Entire
Show
Air Date: August 20, 2004
The Hydrogen Horizon / Cynthia Graber
Part One: In this Living on Earth special "The Promise of Hydrogen," reporter Cynthia Graber visits Iceland, a country with an ambitious mission: to convert all buses, cars, and fishing boats and trawlers to running off hydrogen. The reporter visits with the President, the visionary who proposed this transition, and with the man who’s implementing this international program.
Part Two: Reporter Cynthia Graber continues "The Promise of Hydrogen" with a visit to Icelandic scientists who are attempting to solve one of the major roadblocks to replacing fossil fuels with hydrogen, and explores the challenges to converting all the fleets to hydrogen even in Iceland, a country blessed with the natural resources that could make this promise a reality. (29:45)
Host Steve Curwood talks with Amory Lovins of the Rocky Mountain Institute in Colorado about the challenges of implementing a hydrogen economy in the United States. (16:30)
Talk of the Nation, Science Friday - NPR. Host Ira Flatow
Talk of the Nation, February 25, 2005 · Though the Kyoto Protocol went into effect last week, it won't be a quick fix: global temperatures are predicted to rise well into this century. We look at some technologies -- from wind power to hydrogen fuel cells -- that could curb climate change.
Guests:
Peter Schwartz, coauthor, The Long Boom: A Vision for the Coming Age of
Prosperity. Chairman and cofounder, Global Business Network
Jennifer Morgan, director, International Climate Change Program, World
Wildlife Fund, Bonn, Germany
RealAudio