Thurs, 4/23, Sustainable Futures (Zoom) Presentation with Nick Lam and Peter Alstone, 5:30PM
Dear Colleagues and Friends,
We are pleased to announce Nick Lam and Peter Alstone as the next presenters in the Sustainable Futures Speaker Series. As you may know, this semester the sessions are being presented in a virtual format using the Zoom platform. Nick and Peter will speak on Thursday, April 23 at 5:30 pm (US Pacific Time). The title of their talk is, "The global burden of backup generators."
If you are interested to join, please register using the link on this page.
Between 1-2 billion people can't access a reliable power grid. In some communities, the grid is unstable, with power outages that total hundreds to thousands of hours each year. In others, the grid is unaffordable - or there is no grid at all. Many of these communities rely on diesel or gasoline backup generators, which emit greenhouse gases and particulate pollutants inside and in close proximity to homes, businesses, and community markets. In 2019, scientists at the Schatz Energy Research Center built a model to assess backup generator use around the globe. The work was carried out with support from the International Finance Corporation, and findings from the effort are available in a report titled, "The Dirty Footprint of the Broken Grid." In this talk, project leads Peter Alstone and Nicholas Lam share their recent findings about the global impacts of backup generator use on human health, economies, and the environment. The findings shed light on the opportunity for small, solar-based systems to increase energy access in underserved communities by replacing dirty backup generators.
Nicholas Lam is a research scientist at the Schatz Center. Nick's work focuses on the welfare impacts of clean energy transitions in low and middle income countries. Peter Alstone is a faculty scientist at the Schatz Center, and an assistant professor of environmental resources engineering at Cal Poly Humboldt. Peter’s research areas include distributed energy systems and energy access, for both on- and off-grid environments.
We hope that you can join us. Please pass this announcement on to others who may be interested.
Best regards,
Arne Jacobson
Schatz Energy Research Center and Environmental Resources Engineering Department
Schatz Energy Research Center and Environmental Resources Engineering Department
Mark Baker
Environment & Community Graduate Program and Politics Department
Yvonne Everett
Environment & Community Graduate Program and Environmental Science & Management Department
The series is co-organized by the Schatz Energy Research Center and the Environment & Community Graduate Program. For more information, see http://schatzcenter.org/speakers/.