Expert to speak at UM about future of energy systems

For those folks following energy issues, I'll be moderating a tribal energy panel at the Society of Environmental Journalists Saturday, Oct. 16 at the University of Montana. Meanwhile, here's the latest energy news from the University of Montana:

MISSOULA – The next speaker in a University of Montana forum series that explores emerging issues in natural resources and environmental policy will talk about a California study that addresses the future of energy systems.Jane C.S. Long is principal associate director at large for Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory and a fellow in LLNL’s Center for Global Strategic Research. She will present “California’s Energy Future Study: Portraits of the Energy System in 2050” from noon to 1 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 20, in the UM Law Building Castles Center. The forum is free and open to the public.Long, who works on reinvention of the energy system, adaptation in response to climate change and geoengineering, will speak about a study of California’s energy system in 2050 undertaken by the California Council on Science and Technology. By executive order, the state is to reduce emissions to 80 percent below 1990 levels by 2050.The study identifies energy system descriptions, called “portraits,” from a technical perspective that would meet this standard and allow for population and economic growth. The requirement for growth means that the energy system should have nearly zero emissions.The portraits are constructed by evaluating four key questions: How much can we control demand? How much heat and transportation will be electrified? How will electricity be de-carbonized? How much sustainable biofuel could be available?Results show an energy system that is dramatically different from today’s but largely relies on existing technology.Long serves as co-chair of both the California’s Energy Future Committee and the National Commission on Energy Policy’s Task Force on Geoengineering. She also is a member of the governor’s advisory panel on adaptation.The forum is co-sponsored by the UM Center for Natural Resources and Environmental Policy and the University’s Resource Conservation Program.For more information, call Sarah Bates, senior fellow of the Center for Natural Resources and Environmental Policy, at 406-207-9071 or e-mail sarah@cnrep.org.

Jodi Rave