Physics 405/505: Energy and Sustainability
SUNY Cortland
Fall 2019
Homework| Due | Reading | Problems | Posted |
| Due | Reading | Problems | Posted |
| Aug. 27 | Carbon-Free and Nuclear-Free Preface and Chapter 1 | Aug. 21 | |
| Aug. 29 | Energy Systems Engineering Chapter 1 Energy Perspectives (pdf) A graphical overview of energy history in the US. Most recent publication 2011. Annual Energy Outlook (2019, pdf) please read front matter (before table of contents) and the Key Takeaways section. | Aug. 28 | |
| Sept. 3 | Energy Systems Engineering, Chapter 3 | Aug. 28 | |
| Sept. 5 | 1st article critique due (everyone). | Aug. 28 | |
| Sept. 10 | The Concept of Environmental Sustainability | Sept. 6 | |
| Sept. 12 | Sustaintable Energy Technology , Chapter 2 | Energy Systems Engineering: 3.1, 3.2, 3.3, 3.6
(everyone) Article critique due (505 only). | Sept. 6 |
| Sept. 17 |
Summaries the IPCC Assessment report 5:
Climate
change: The Physical Science Basis (WG1) and Climate change: Impacts, Adaptations, and Vunerabilities (WG2). | Sept. 12 | |
| Sept. 19 | From the office of the President: The cost of delaying action to stem climate change -this document has been pulled by the current president's administration. An archived copy of the Archived report is here. | Article critique due (everyone). | Sept. 12 |
| Sept. 24 | Bringing Down the Mountains Chapters 3 and 6 | Sept. 12 | |
| Sept. 26 | Oil, a life cycle analysis Parts I through VII (pgs. 8-42) | Article critique (505 students) | Sept. 12 |
| Oct. 1 | Sept. 30 | ||
| Oct. 3 | Natural Gas: Greenhouse-gas footprint of shale gas, Leaking of Methane from shale gas as A bridge to nowhere, Carbon Tracker-methane, broken down by source | Article critique due (everyone). | Sept. 30 |
| Oct. 8 | Energy Systems Engineering, Ch 7-Carbon Sequestration | Oct. 7 | |
| Oct. 10 | Energy Systems Engineering, Ch 8- Nuclear Energy | Article critique (505 students) | Oct. 7 |
| Oct. 15 | Down on the River A chapter from Desert Solitare | Oct. 15 | |
| Oct. 17 | Dams and Development Chapter 3 (pg 72-93). | Article critique due (everyone). | Oct. 15 |
| Oct. 22 | Fall Break | ||
| Oct. 24 | Energy Systems Engineering (textbook) Chapter 13 -Wind | Article critique (505 students) | Oct. 18 |
| Oct. 29 | 20% wind energy by 2030 | Oct. 25 | |
| Oct. 31 | Solar. 50 states plan for New York. Solar Market Insight Report, 2018 year in review. Trends in photovoltaic applicationsRead at least chapter 1. | Article critique due (everyone). | Oct. 25 |
| Nov. 5 | Nov. 6 | ||
| Nov. 7 | geothermal (technical Ch4: pg 71-80) and ocean (technical Ch 6: pg 87-95) | vote on your project preferences (no critique due). | Nov. 6 |
| Nov. 12 | Start here with an executive summary of the NYISO 2019 grid trends, then move on to the parts of this labeled Making Policy Work (starting pg44) and grid in transition (starting pg 54). Finally for a national perpective from this DOE piece. | Nov. 11 | |
| Nov. 19 | Ethanol Part II, pages 18-33 | Nov. 15 | |
| Nov. 21 | Project work day | Article critique due (everyone). | Nov. 19 |
| Nov. 26 | Chapter 15-Transportation energy technologies. | Nov. 21 | |
| Nov. 28 | Thanksgiving Break today | ||
| Dec. 3 | Heat Pumps Heat pump overview, cost effectiveness of building efficiency, and if you have time look over Ch 12 on passive solar thermal applications. | Problem set. | Nov. 21 |
| Dec. 5 | Project workday | Final critique (505 only) | Nov. 21 |