Fall 2010 Course Information

ER C100– ENERGY AND SOCIETY – undergraduate course (room share with ER C200 and cross-listed with Pub Pol C184/C284)

In this course, you will develop an understanding – and a real working knowledge – of our energy technologies, policies and options.  This will include analysis of the different opportunities and impacts of energy systems that exist within and between groups defined by national, regional, household, ethnic, and gender distinctions.  Analysis of the range of current and future energy choices will be stressed, as well as the role of energy in determining local environmental conditions and the global climate.

>Lecture Schedule

ER 101 – ECOLOGY AND SOCIETY

Three hours of lecture per week. Prerequisites: One college level course, or high school Advanced Placement, in either physics or biology; introductory calculus. This course introduces students to the many ways in which our lives are intertwined with the ecosystems around us. Topics will include ecological limits to growth, climate change and other threats to biodiversity, the value of ecosystem goods and services, the ecology of disease, ecotoxicology, the evolution of cooperation in ecosystems, industrial ecology, and the epistemology of ecology.

ER 175 – WATER AND DEVELOPMENT (room share with ER 275)

Three hours of seminar per week plus one hour of discussion. Prerequisites: Upper division standing or consent of instructor.

This course introduces students to water policy in developing countries.  It is a course motivated by the fact that over one billion people in developing countries have no access to safe drinking water, three billion do not have sanitation facilities, and many millions of farmers do not have reliable water supplies to ensure a healthy crop.  Readings and discussions will cover: the problems of water access and use in developing countries; the potential for technological, social, and economic solutions to these problems; the role of institutions in access to water and sanitation; and the pitfalls of the assumptions behind some of today’s popular “solutions.”

ER198  – Directed Group Study (TOOLS OF THE TRADE) – ERG students only

Quantitative methods for energy and resource analysis.  Topics include linear algebra, differential equations, statistical methods, chemical equilibrium theory, and thermodynamics.

ER C200 – INTERDISCIPLINARY ENERGY ANALYSIS (room share with ER C100 and cross-listed with Public Policy C184/C284)

Four hours of lecture per week. Energy sources, uses, and impacts: an introduction to the technology, politics, economics, and environmental effects of energy in contemporary society. Energy and well-being: energy international perspective, origins, and character of the energy crisis. 

ER 201 – INTERDISCIPLINARY ANALYSIS IN ENERGY AND RESOURCES

Introduction to interdisciplinary analysis as it is practiced in the Energy and Resources Group (ERG).  Most of the course consists of important perspectives on energy and resources issues introduced through a particularly influential book or set of papers.  The course also provides an introduction to the current research activities of the ERG faculty and practical knowledge and skills necessary to successfully complete graduate school in an interdisciplinary program.

ER 275 – WATER AND DEVELOPMENT (Roomshare with ER175: Discussion separate)

Three hours of lecture per week and one hour of discussion per week. This class is an interdisciplinary graduate seminar for students of water policy in developing countries.  It is not a seminar on theories and practices of development through the “lens” of water. Rather, it is a seminar motivated by the fact that over 1 billion people in developing countries have no access to safe drinking water, 3 billion don’t have sanitation facilities and many millions of small farmers do not have reliable water supplies to ensure a healthy crop.  Readings and discussions will cover: the problems of water access and use in developing countries; the potential for technological, social, and economic solutions to these problems; the role of institutions in access to water and sanitation; and the pitfalls of and assumptions behind some of today’s popular “solutions.”

ER 290-002 RELIGION, SCIENCE, AND THE ECOLOGICAL CRISIS IN POSTMODERN AMERICA

Religious fundamentalism is on the rise; science is being ignored and denigrated by political leaders; democracy is threatened by crony capitalism and free market fundamentalism.  Meanwhile we face climate change, continued ecosystem transformation, and biodiversity loss.  This course addresses the historic and now shifting ground between science, religion, and environmental governance with the aim of re-establishing constructive relationships.

ER 290-003 ENERGY EFFICIENCY TECHNOLOGY IN BUILDINGS: FROM FUNDAMENTALS TO SYSTEMS

This course has three objectives. The first is to build up a foundation of the principles behind energy efficiency (EE) in buildings, including: convective, conductive and radiative heat transfer; fluid flow and fan laws; control systems; psychrometrics; and vapor compression cycles. The second objective is to understand these principles in the context of building systems, examining the state-of-the art with respect to energy efficiency as well as the major aspects of energy audits. The third objective is to examine how these building-level concepts scale up to understanding the national and global potential of EE as a resource. Work load will be a mixture of problem sets, reading, class presentations and a final group project, but the course will be run as an informal seminar. There are no firm prerequisites, but experience with math-based problem sets is a must.

ER 291-002 – TRANSPORTATION SUSTAINABILITY (co-listed with CEE256) – ERG students only

As a major user of fossil fuels, the transportation sector in the  U.S. is becoming increasingly unsustainable and is a leading  contributor to the atmosphere of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gas emissions from human activity. Transportation accounts for approximately 14 percent of total anthropogenic  greenhouse gas emissions globally, 27 percent in the U.S., and 40 percent in California. The U.S. uses approximately 25 percent of  the petroleum used in the world but only has about five percent of the world's population. Transportation technologies, demand management, and land use strategies are emerging that can help to meet the climate and energy security challenges.

This multi-disciplinary course is intended to introduce students to the fundamentals of sustainable transportation, with an emphasis on: 1) current trends, climate and energy science, and the policy context; 2) methodological and analysis techniques; 3) vehicle technology, fuels, and intelligent transportation systems (ITS) solutions (supply side); and 4) land use, public transportation, and demand management. The key question motivating  this course is how to address auto and oil dependency in light of resource constraints and growing evidence of climate change.

It is a graded course. The course is open to graduate students or by consent of instructor. ER 100/200 (also listed as Pub Pol 184/284) is recommended prior to taking this course.

ER 292D – MASTER’S SEMINAR (for ERG students only)

Required of second-year Energy and Resources Master’s candidates.  Topics include the adoption of a research project, research design, presentation of work, statistical analyses.  Students will apply the interdisciplinary methods, approaches and perspectives learned in the core curriculum. Sequence begins spring each year. Credit and grade to be awarded upon completion of the full sequence. 

ER 295 - COLLOQUIUM 

Presentations of research in energy issues by faculty, students, and visiting lecturers. Master's degree students required to enroll for three semesters.

Check ERG website for Colloquium dates.

ER296 - PhD SEMINAR

ER299 – INDIVIDUAL RESEARCH – variable 1-12 units

ER 301 – GRADUATE STUDENT INSTRUCTOR PRACTICUM (ERG Students Only)

ER 602 – INDEPENDENT STUDY DOCTORAL STUDENTS – variable 1-8 units

To be used by those preparing for qualifying exams.