Excursion Report 3rd Semester

Giridhar Sawhney

Event name: Beyond Fossil Fuels: The Bumpy Transition to Clean Energy Zoom Webinar

Event time and place: September 17th, 2024, Zoom Webinar hosted by Sara Via and Kristen Goodhue on behalf of the Smithsonian, Environmental Research Center

Summary of Major Points and Concepts: Dr. Sara Via was the main speaker of this webinar as a part of the Smithsonian, Environmental Research Center. The main focus of this webinar was to discuss a transition to a world, "Beyond Fossil Fuels." Dr. Via is a professor at the University of Maryland and used this session to discuss the urgent need to shift from fossil fuels to renewable energy sources such as wind, solar, and geothermal energy. She began by explaining how fossil fuels were inefficient and provided evidence that most energy is lost during production and use. She then argues that renewable energy is not only cleaner but also more efficient as it requires less energy overall. Dr. Via emphasized the inequity present with fossil fuels and suggested that renewable energy could help with power access, especially in underdeveloped regions. She then addressed the political and economic resistance to a transition from our current primarily fossil fuel usage to clean energy. Throughout the session, she was very optimistic about highlighting technological advances, the potential of virtual power plants, and ongoing federal incentives as key drivers in accelerating the transition to renewable energy.

In Depth analysis of Major Points: I found Dr. Via's main points convincing, particularly her emphasis on the inefficiency of fossil fuels and the numerous benefits of transitioning to renewable energy. Within her presentation, she had a lot of data to back up her findings and was able to specifically cite information on the inefficiency of fossil-fuel-based electricity production. She also demonstrated that not only is renewable energy better for the environment but it is also more practical and efficient. One example of this is that solar energy is 250 times more efficient than coal. Another example that she brought up was that electric vehicles are 400% more efficient than internal combustion engines by using concrete examples and statistics. Additionally, she put a big emphasis on the political and economic resistance to a transition from fossil fuels to clean energy. She brought up the fact that fossil fuel companies often work against clean energy by lobbying against it and spreading misinformation which I found both interesting and concerning. Not only are these claims well-supported by well-known scholars, but she was very good at citing information especially when it came to the policy discussions on the influence of fossil fuel corporations.

Dr. Via was very adamant about the economic benefits of renewable energy. One thing that was very interesting to me was her display of the "S curve" which represents that change to renewable energy is not only rapid but also inevitable. She used this illustration, to show that once installed, renewable energy provides us with free power since it doesn't require continuous input of a fuel source. Similarly to her other claims, this was well supported by research within economic circles that promote clean energy to cut down on spending in the future. She also discussed virtual power plants which connect energy sources like electric vehicles and solar panels to the grid which I thought was a very innovative idea that gave hope for the future.

In reality, Dr. Via did acknowledge that the transition would have bumps along the way, such as delays in implementing federal incentives and a rising electricity demand. Additionally, she acknowledged that certain technologies are still developing and are in their early stages such as geothermal energy and battery storage. These initial stages are very sensitive and can't be rushed as they can potentially cause minor earthquakes and rely on materials like lithium which raise ethical concerns regarding mining practices.

Finally, Dr. Via's presentation was well-reasoned and supported by scientific data as she described a path toward a world where we don't rely on fossil fuels. Despite challenges, she presented a plan that can push society toward using renewable clean energy. I found her discussion of technological advancements and federal support enlightening and reassuring for the future. Unfortunately, I didn't notice any significant logical fallacies although she did discuss possible solutions to lessening the negative impact that is observed in the development of renewable energy. This webinar was not only interesting to me but it was also reflective of the type of things that we are discussing in class currently so I felt that this was very constructive.

Last modified: 3 October 2024