GEO 4800 - Sustainable Energy: Myth or Reality - a Capstone Experience

Can a society replace fossil fuels in our energy economy? Needing numbers, rather than guesses or emotional statements pro and con, we will make a rigorous analysis of energy consumption will include car travel, jet flights, heating and cooling, lights, gadgets, food and fertilizer, and manufacturing "stuff" (raw materials, production, use, disposal); on the energy production side we will consider wind, solar heating, solar photovoltaics, geothermal, hydro, and biomass. Student groups will develop the balance sheets, applying logic and techniques in recently published analysis for Britain to make an independent analysis for the State of Utah. The expected outcome is an answer to our leading questions applied to Utah.