Colloquium: Sustainable Energy by 2040

Dr. James Conca Director, Center for Laboratory Sciences, RJ Lee Group

On Wednesday, August 8, from 3:00-5:00 pm at the Illinois Institute of Technology, Dr. James Conca will present The GeoPolitics of Energy: Achieving a Just and Sustainable Energy Distribution by 2040. Conca's talk is based on a book by the same title co-authored with Judith Wright.

Key discussion points

• The amount of electricity needed to lift a person out of poverty is 3,000 kilowatt hours per year-this will increase life span, decrease population growth, and decrease terrorism and war.

• Worldwide, countries must develop alternatives to fossil fuels. Developing these alternatives requires long-term planning, resource allocation, and international cooperation to a degree unknown in history.

• A rational and achievable mix of energy sources must be achieved by 2040. This mix should be about 1/3-fossil fuels, 1/3-renewable fuels, and 1/3 nuclear, with each source generating over 10 terrawatt hours per year-the amount being generated by all fossil fuels in the world today.

• The technical and distribution hurdles for renewables will be overcome if serious resources are committed to development.

• Nuclear reactors can immediately begin replacing coal by using Gen III+ reactor designs and non-proliferation strategies. World fuel banks, waste take-back programs, and regional disposal facilities that limit proliferation pathways and optimize costs should be employed.

• Because of false comparisons with nuclear weapons, the public is unaware that nuclear energy is by far the cleanest, safest, most effective producer of electricity-even in light of Fukushima and Chernobyl-and has the smallest environmental footprint of any sources, including renewables.

• This 1/3, 1/3, 1/3 energy source mix keeps atmospheric CO2 levels below 450 ppm, costs about 20 percent less than the baseline mix and can be achieved in about 30 years-in barely enough time to avert collapse of most planetary ecosystems as the population peaks close to 10 billion by mid-century.

All those interested in nuclear and other sustainable energy, global energy development, and related environmental and human welfare considerations are cordially invited to attend at Room LS111, Life Sciences Building,

3101 S. Dearborn St., Chicago, IL, Wednesday, August 8 at 3:00 pm.

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