UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — As the effects of a warming climate become clearer, decision-makers are turning to policy and technology to slow down global warming. The spring 2021 EESI EarthTalks series, “Energy and climate policy: How to avoid a global hothouse,” will address questions related to carbon taxes, renewable energy subsidies and the feasibility of carbon sequestration, among other topics. The seminars, which are free and open to the public, take place 4–5 p.m. on Mondays via Zoom.
The schedule is as follows:
- Jan. 25: Kerry Emanuel, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, “Overview of global change and policy options”
- Feb. 1: James Kasting, Penn State, “Global warming, human heat stress, and the prickly politics of combatting climate change”
- Feb. 8: David Keith, Harvard, “Solar geoengineering”
- Feb. 15: Rob Socolow, Princeton University, “The urgency and pitfalls of swapping the current energy system for a low-carbon one”
- Feb. 22: Kevin Smith, Lightsource BP, “Lightsource BP – Penn State solar”
- March 1: Esther Obonyo, Penn State, “Reducing the carbon footprint of the built environment”
- March 8: Amanda Johnsen, Penn State, “Future of nuclear fission for electricity generation”
- March 15: Mark Sentesy, Penn State, “Climate ethics: Social systems and human health”
- March 22: Lisa Iulo, Penn State, “Designing cities, designing buildings”
- March 29: Paul Shrivastava, Penn State, “Sustainable development”
- April 5: David Victor, University of California San Diego, “Making climate policy work”
- April 12: Jean-Paul Allain, Penn State, “Future of fusion power”
- April 19: To be announced
- April 26: Panel discussion, “Geoengineering options – The emergency break”
The EESI EarthTalks series is hosted by Penn State’s Earth and Environmental Systems Institute. For more information about the spring 2021 series, visit the EarthTalks web page.