Minor in Energy Science, Systems,
and Policy
Offered by the Institute of
Technology
Author: George Mobus,
Associate Professor, CSS
This program gives students the scientific training necessary to understand the fundamentals of energy production, distribution and regulation.
Justification
The role of energy in society is finally becoming one of the most important issues facing civilization. Energy issues are at the heart of many other global and national challenges. For example, the production of usable energy (e.g. electricity) involving the burning of fossil fuels, is now linked with the emission of carbon dioxide, a greenhouse gas, and the warming of the atmosphere and acidification of the oceans. Energy is the underlying true currency of the economy, in that it takes energy to do economic work. The last oil price shocks (spring and summer, 2008) made everyone painfully aware of just how important energy is to the global economy. Now evidence that we may be at or rapidly approaching a global peak of production for oil and fossil fuels in general has made it clear that we are facing an energy revolution on a par with the industrial revolution. As fossil fuel energies become scarce, society is going to have to become far more understanding of energy as a scarce resource.
This minor seeks to provide all students with a basic understanding of energy’s role in society and the environment. It covers the fundamentals of energy physics in a qualitative manner, accessible to non-science majors. It covers issues related to energy from sources and production, through economic impacts, to political and social aspects so that the student can understand what is happening in the world today.
An informed citizenry will be called upon to help establish and critique policies that will have long-term implications for society, indeed the future of our civilization. This minor will provide students with the basic knowledge they will need to guide them in their understanding of energy issues as well as the critical thinking skills needed to assess energy related policy proposals.
Moreover, since energy issues are coming to the forefront of the world of commerce and organizational operations, students taking this minor are likely to find important vocations where energy knowledge is essential. This minor will position students to work on energy issues in a wide range of occupations. For example, in the near future accountants will have to be concerned with tracking energy units as much as dollar units. Managers at all levels will need to understand energy audits and plan operations based on energy concerns. Engineers will most certainly be concerned with energy efficiency in designs of new products. Architects and builders will be front and center in the implementation of energy saving building designs, along with local alternative energy production. It is not inconceivable that most professions will become oriented to energy issues.
It is recognized that deeper understanding of energy and the economic/political issues surrounding its acquisition and use is not widely held in our society, which is why there it is so difficult to have a national or global democratic dialog leading to rational policies. In general there is a great deal of ignorance about energy matters. This minor seeks to provide a beginning to overcoming this situation. Depending on its success as a minor, it is possible that the curriculum could be a basis for a major in the future.
Contribution to Mission of
the University and the Institute of Technology
This minor offers an opportunity for unprecedented levels of interdisciplinary study with a clear and substantive practical purpose for students. It is designed to be open to all students (access) who meet the basic university admission requirements (math, science, and communications) yet will provide a motivating framework for gaining deeper appreciation for those requirements while expanding the boundaries of knowledge and skill in them. Operated as a cohort or learning community it will strengthen the sense of a community of learners and problem solvers. Finally, with an emphasis on outcomes and high standards for accomplishment (using Bloom’s Taxonomy in developing assessment – see below) this minor will contribute to UWT’s and the Institutes reputation for excellence in education.
This minor will provide a basis for expanding the Institute’s programs, especially in the field of energy management, in a fully interdisciplinary way. Eventually the minor could be expanded to a BS with more emphasis on quantitative approaches to energy systems. The existence of this program would further support the Institute’s strategic objective to broaden its technical offerings by providing a working base for developing energy systems engineering degrees. This minor, like the Applied Computing Minor, will strengthen the Institute’s relations with the other programs at UWT.
Overview of the Minor
The objective of this minor is to provide all students with fundamental understanding of energy in three important ways:
The courses outlined below provide a coherent, comprehensive exposure to these topical areas to any student from any discipline. The only quantitative requirement is that students have completed their math requirements (algebra at a minimum). It does not depend on any prior knowledge of physics, chemistry or biology. Students possessing more advanced math and science will have an opportunity to use that knowledge in research projects, however. The subjects are all treated from a qualitative point of view but content will include pointers to deeper scientific material for those with more depth of understanding.
The courses form a chain from concrete energy physics, chemistry, and biology, to the technological aspects of energy production for human use, to more complex and abstract energy economics (biophysical economics), to political and social issues arising from energy flow and its future possible constraints. The core courses are, therefore, meant to be taken in sequence.
Students are required to take four core courses (20 credit hours) and either two electives (10 hours) or one elective (5 hours) and a capstone project or internship course (5 hours).
Core Courses:
TINST 240 –
Introduction to Energy Systems
The qualitative science of energy; general definition of energy and its various units; the science of thermodynamics and why it is important to understand the principles; energy sources and production; energy flow in systems; energy and society.
TINST 250 – Energy
Flows in the Natural and Human World
Covers the biology of energy production – photosynthesis and primary production; agriculture and its energy inputs; resource extraction and the uses of energy; pollution and energy needed for mitigation; rates of extraction and pollution relative to sustainability. The technology of production of usable energy; machines, primary movers and heaters; measures of efficiency; energy return on energy invested (EROEI); the net energy available to do useful work principle.
TINST 340 –
Biophysical Economics: Energy and Economic Work
Surveys useful economic work; the energy pyramid and trophic flows in a complex energy web – from agriculture to finance; relationships between money and energy; the economy as a subset of global ecology.
TINST 440 – Global
Energy Challenges and Public Policy
Investigates the nature of sustainable energy production; the phenomenon of ‘Peak Oil’ and its consequences; geopolitics of fossil fuels; alternative (to fossil fuel) energy sources, their promises and problems; CO2 and other greenhouse gas emissions and the threat of global climate disruptions; carbon footprint approaches to understanding human impact on the earth. Reviews and analyzes science-guided policy formation; real politics; social awareness of challenges; price signals and market-based policies; regulation and controls; energy equity; geo-energetics and geopolitics – what will the world look like in the future?
Potential textbooks
to be used:
Bent, Robert; Orr, Lloyd & Baker, Randall, eds (2002). Energy: Science, Policy, and the Pursuit of Sustainability, Island Press.
Crosby, Alfred (2006), Children of the Sun: A History of Humanity's Unappeasable Appetite for Energy, W. W. Norton.
Costanza, R., Cumberland, J., Daly, H., Goodland, R., and Norgaard, R. (1997). An Introduction to Ecological Economics, CRC Press.
Daly, Herman, (1996). Beyond Growth: The Economics of Sustainable Development, Beacon Press.
Goodstein, David, (2004). Out of Gas: The End of the Age of Oil, W.W. Norton & Company.
Heinberg, Richard, (2007). Peak Everything: Waking Up to the Century of Declines, New Society Publishers, Gabriola Island, BC, Canada.
McKibben, Bill, (2007). Deep Economy: The Wealth of Communities and the Durable Future, Times Books.
Smil, Vaclav, (2008). Energy in Nature and Society: General Energetics of Complex Systems, The MIT Press.
Smil, Vaclav, (2006). Energy: A Beginner’s Guide, Oneworld Publications.
Additional timely readings from the primary literature will be used.
Electives:
Students may take ten credit hours of electives or five hours of elective and five hours of a capstone project (see below). Electives may be chosen from the following:
TESC 211 The Science of
Environmental Sustainability (5) NW
Introduces students to the science of sustainability. Commencing with an
overview of the origins of the concept of environmental sustainability and the
development of sustainability science as an independent discipline, the course
then, through relevant case studies, investigates the methodologies used by
scientists to develop sustainable systems.
TESC 341 Climate Change (5) NW
Provides students with a scientific
background to climate change. Current global warming will be emphasized with
context provided by examples of climate change from the geological record. The
impact of global warming together with policies and practices that address
issues of global warming will also be considered.
TESC
343 The Atmosphere and Air Pollution (6) NW
Explores processes determining weather and climate and investigates how these
phenomena relate to air pollution. Presents and applies meteorological
principles to understanding global/local air pollution issues. Required lab
section: hands-on activities, computer simulations, discussion and student
presentations and/or field trips.
TEST 332 A
Natural History of Garbage (5) NW
Examines past and present practices of disposing of civilization's detritus. Uses methods of historical inquiry and environmental studies to get
at the roots of one of the fundamental issues confronting the industrialized
world: the disposal of waste. Research-based and includes field work.
TSMG 312 Economics
in Modern Society (5) I&S
Offers a matter-of-fact understanding of the economic system we live in. Covers economic concepts and research on an institution of choice,
such as the commercial enterprise, banking, the new economy, the environment
and the agricultural sector, and the prison system.
TINST 350 Energy and the Economy (to be developed)
Useful economic work; the energy pyramid and trophic flows – from agriculture to finance; relationships between money and energy; ecological economics; biophysical economics.
TSMUS 421 Environmental
Policy (5) I&S/NW
Examines tradeoffs between the formal economy and the environment, and assesses
current environmental policy. Places particular emphasis on
examining and understanding local environmental issues.
TESC 345 Pollution and Public Policy (5) NW
Examines issues in environmental contamination using case studies from the
Pacific Northwest and elsewhere. Addresses relevant
scientific information as well as public perception and policy aspects.
Through written and oral assignments students gain the knowledge necessary to
act as informed public stakeholders. For non-science majors.
TEST 333 Environmental Policy
Application and Compliance (5)
Covers practical environmental regulatory compliance. Develops an understanding of the systems, procedures, and forms
required for routine environmental compliance. Explores how business,
government, and the private citizen interact with environmental regulation.
TCSIUS 438 Environmental Law
(5) I&S
Examines the historical and policy framework of major environmental laws and
regulations. Takes a case law approach to evaluate laws in biological
conservation, energy, land use, mineral rights, air and water quality, and
other complex environmental arenas, and how courts (primarily in the United States)
have interpreted such laws.
Capstone Project:
Students may choose to take an independent research, directed readings, or internship course instead of one of the electives. These courses may come from the student’s own major and be under the auspices of a major supervisor. However, capstones must receive prior approval from the Minor Coordinator (an Institute faculty member). Or, the student may take one of the TINST 49x courses for any of these with the Minor Coordinator as course supervisor.
The intent of an internship is to provide the student with actual work experience in an energy related field. Examples include working in an energy utility company, in a government agency planning energy requirements, or for a company in a department analyzing and planning energy related issues. The Institute has a facilitator for industry contacts and may be able to help students locate internship opportunities.
Learning Objectives and
Outcomes
Assessment
Evaluation of Program Educational Objectives
Surveys of graduates of the minor will be solicited three to five years after graduation to determine how well graduates of the program have met the objectives established for the program.
Employers will also be surveyed, where possible, to find out how well graduates have applied their knowledge of energy issues to solving workplace problems.
Evaluation of Educational Outcomes
The above outcomes will be assessed by homework, exams and writing assignments. Individual assignments will be evaluated using rubrics established by faculty teaching the courses. The rubrics will be published so that student know ahead of time how their work will be evaluated.
Resource Requirements
The Institute has all of the necessary physical resources for these courses. No additional resources will be need from the Library or lab space.
The four core courses will be taught by Institute faculty but may be augmented by Environmental Science faculty as the opportunity arises. The core requires 2/3rds FTE for one section each in four consecutive quarters at startup and for the first year. Depending on student demand (see below) we may need to start a second cohort and offer the courses twice a year, which means dedicating 1½ FTE and may require an additional faculty member, but no earlier than the second year of operations.
Student Demand – Need
Given that energy matters are becoming more urgent in the public discourse we anticipate that this minor will be viewed as highly desirable. In part this is because the minor is intended to provide students with capabilities that they will be able to apply to real life in their professions, their homes, and their communities. As energy issues loom larger on the economic scene we think many, perhaps most, students will perceive this as a necessary part of their complete education.
Our intention is to start with one, medium-sized cohort starting in a fall quarter. Class size will be capped at 25 due to the heavy writing evaluation demands of the courses. Class sizes and number of cohorts per academic year will be adjusted after actual experience is gained in the early years of the program.
To gauge student demand, the Institute faculty will work with the office of Institutional Research and Planning to develop a survey for current students at UWT to test the sense of current perceived desires for such a minor. Many students have approached the author at various times asking if there are some classes that provide the education they would like to have in this area. The author has referred those students to several of the courses listed in the section on electives, but with the caveat that there is no integrated, cohesive track through those courses (they represent a loose amalgam of energy/environment related topics) that will produce a holistic understanding of the issues and science.