Topical E: Sustainability [CoSponsored by The Society of Chemical Engineers, Japan (SCEJ)]

Session 47 - Sustainability Plenary: the Challenge of Sustainable Energy
The objective of the session is to explore the long-term challenges of meeting the energy needs of society without serious adverse impacts on humanity and the environment. Accomplishing this goal presents two related issues: generating energy with minimal environmental impact and managing the demand for energy. The point is that the second law of thermodynamics and life-cycle assessment indicate any scheme for energy generation will have some level of impact on the environment. If the demand for energy is high enough, the resulting energy flow and resultant environmental impact can still be unacceptably high on a finite planet. Generating energy with minimal environmental impact falls within the broad scope of engineering, whereas managing the energy the demand for energy is in the realm economics and social science. We propose four invited speakers evenly divided between engineering and social science. Speakers will be by invitation only.
Chair:Heriberto Cabezas
CoChair:Urmila Diwekar
 Welcoming Remarks
 Electric Power – Sustainability Challenges
Dale Keairns
 A Road Map to the Decarbonization of the U.S. Energy MIX. - the Potential Impact of Solar Thermal Energy
Reuel Shinnar, Francesco Citro
 The Challenge of Energy Efficiency in an Uncertain Energy Price
James L. Sweeney
 Sustainability in the Chemical and Energy Industries
Jeffrey J. Siirola
 Panel Discussion
 Concluding Remarks

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