Cohousing-L Mailing List: UTAH: MAJOR ENVIRONMENTAL LECTURE

[balaji (balaji]

Dear aLL,

Next week, Professor Joseph Tainter (Chair, Department of Environment and
Society, Utah State), will present a lecture on energy and society.  Not
to exaggerate, but this, I believe, is a big deal.  Tainter is the
well-known author of "The Collapse of Complex Societies" (Cambridge
University Press) and figures very prominently in the world of energy,
environmental studies, and sustainability issues in general.  (In fact, he
recently appeared in the Leonardo Dicaprio film, "The 11th Hour.")  His
training in archaeology and cultural history gives him a unique
perspective on issues these days dominated by more political voices.  His
appearance on the BYU campus is a major opportunity for all of us to learn
more about the connections between energy and social change, and for
students, especially, to find out about careers in environmental studies.

Thanks very much!!
Charles


"Energy Gain and Future Energy: Collapse or Sustainability?"
Joseph Tainter
Lee Library, October 30th, 3PM
Brigham Young University
Provo, UT

"Energy is the key to sustainability and to our way of life.
Sustainability is a function of problem solving, and industrial societies
today have unprecedented problem-solving capacities. But those capacities
are made possible by subsidies of inexpensive energy. We see in today's
energy prices an early warning of what may become shortages and
continually increasing costs. Many people foresee a future of renewable
energy, but that too has costs and benefits. What can we expect in our
energy future? Studies of systems as diverse as fungus-arming ants and the
ancient Roman Empire give us surprising new insights into what a future of
renewable energy might be like."