Dear colleagues,
I write to invite you to the next presentation in the 2021-22 CAS Interdisciplinary Research Talk series. Much of our teaching and research in the liberal arts is multidisciplinary and collaborative. The talks are meant to encourage conversation, interest, and understanding across divisional lines in the college. To further emphasize the interdisciplinary aspect of these talks, we are very excited to have presenters from different disciplines for this year’s series of talks.
Unintended Consequences of Energy Transitions
Richard York, Professor, Sociology and Environmental Studies
Leigh Johnson, Assistant Professor, Geography
Monday, February 14, 3:30-5:00
Location: Zoom link
The CAS IR Talks are approximately 35-45 minutes followed by a question-and-answer session.
Richard York is an environmental sociologist whose work combines human ecology and political economy. He is both a theorist and an empirical researcher, who primarily uses quantitative methods. One focus of his research is on how the structural characteristics of societies, including demographic, economic, and technological factors, influence levels of resource consumption and pollution emissions.
Leigh Johnson is a human geographer focusing on the intersection of disaster and climate risk, vulnerability, labor, and finance. Her research investigates how configurations of public and private sector actors and financial arrangements shape disaster vulnerability and influence people’s everyday socioecological reproduction.
Abstract: Transitioning away from fossil fuels requires the production of energy from non-fossil sources. However, quantitative analyses and historical assessments of previous shifts in energy use indicate that the expansion of non-fossil energy sources – in the absence of direct efforts to suppress fossil fuel extraction and challenge the power of the fossil fuel industry – may not appreciably contribute to a decline in fossil fuel use and may have a variety of unintended consequences. These analyses suggest that a full energy transition to cleaner energy sources requires not only technological developments but changes in economic structures and political power relationships.
I hope you can join us for this important and time-critical talk. Please see the list below for planned talks and visit the new CAS Interdisciplinary Research Talks webpage for talk details as well as video recordings of previous talks.
Best regards,
Bruce
Bruce Blonigen
Tykeson Dean
*************************************************************************************
CAS Interdisciplinary Research Talks
2021-2022
All talks are from 3:30 – 5:00
FALL
November 29 Melissa Baese-Berk, Associate Professor, Linguistics
Santiago Jaramillo, Associate Professor, Biology
What mouse brains can tell us about second language learning
Visit CAS IR Talks webpage for link to recorded talk
WINTER
January 21 Leif Karlstrom, Assistant Professor, Earth Sciences
Jeffrey Stolet, Professor, Music Technology
The Volcano Listening Project
Recorded talk posted soon!
February 14 Richard York, Professor, Sociology and Environmental Studies
Leigh Johnson, Assistant Professor, Geography
Unintended Consequences of Energy Transitions
SPRING
TBD Barbara Muraca, Associate Professor, Philosophy
Trudy Cameron, Professor Emerita, Economics
TBD Mark Carey, Professor, Environmental Studies
Casey Shoop, Senior Instructor of Literature, CHC
Dave Sutherland, Associate Professor, Earth Sciences
TBD Stacy Alaimo, Professor, English
Svetlana Maslakova, Associate Professor, Biology