Pictures of the Future Spring 2008
Energy for Everyone – Interview
Prescriptions for a Threatened Planet
Interview with Steven Chu
Dr. Steven Chu has been director of the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory in Berkeley, California since 2004. He is also Professor of Physics and of Molecular and Cell Biology at UC, Berkeley. While at Stanford University his work led to the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1997. Dr. Chu is active in energy questions and is co-chair of an international InterAcademy Council (IAC) study entitled, "Lighting the way: Toward a Sustainable Energy Future; Transitioning to Sustainable Energy."
Are we on the edge of a climate crisis?
Chu: Climate change is a real threat to our long-term future. The issue is, what will happen if temperatures go up two degrees, four degrees, 6 °C and so on? A 6 °C reduction in average global temperature is the difference between what we have today and what was experienced during the Ice Age. And 6 °C on the plus side would also be a very different world. The glaciers on Greenland would have a good chance of melting away. Parts of Antarctica would melt. If these things happen, sea levels would increase by seven to ten meters. Bangladesh would be half underwater. What’s more, the glacial watershed storage systems that our economies are based on will be threatened. There will be increased species extinction. And there are other things that we can’t really measure at this point. For instance, we don’t know what the tipping point is for the release of the CO2 that is locked in the tundra of Siberia and Canada. This is actually a biological question because there are bacteria in the tundra that will become active at a certain temperature. But we don’t know what temperature. When they come back to life they will release methane and CO2 in such quantities that it will dwarf the amount of greenhouse gases that humans are putting out now.
What can we do to avert global warming?
Chu: I think the single most important thing we can do is to put a price on carbon. This can be a cap and trade system, a tax or whatever. But it has to be a very clear signal, and it needs to be implemented without loopholes. If the next U.S. president makes energy and climate change an initiative the way Kennedy made it an initiative to reach the moon, this would go a long way to solving these problems.
What other steps should be taken?
Chu: First of all, we should mandate efficiencies in things like computers and consumer appliances. Second, we should require that before a house can be sold or even rented, the owner must provide a statement from utility companies certifying gas and electricity usage for the last 12 months. This would allow buyers and renters to compare energy requirements for different buildings. Guess what this would do? It would encourage homeowners at least one year before deciding to sell or rent out their property to seal major leaks, put in more insulation, and possibly install more energy-efficient heaters, air conditioners, etc. This would also help home owners and builders to do a better initial job of making new homes energy efficient because they would appear more attractive to prospective buyers. What would this cost? Almost nothing. The utility companies already have records of electricity and gas use on every home. So why not provide this information to homeowners as a feedback mechanism?
What technologies offer the greatest hope for a sustainable energy future?
Chu: I think we should take a fresh look at geothermal from the local level with the use of better designed heat pumps, but also at the utility-generation level where you can enhance its effect by introducing a heat transfer fluid such as water or CO2. The reason for this is that anywhere you go, if you dig deep enough, you will find heat. Even if you only go down a few meters you get very stable temperatures. The earth is cooler in the summer and warmer in the winter. So you can think about heat pumps that will cool you in the summer and warm you in the winter.
I think photovoltaics, solar thermal and biofuels are also getting a new look. There are also artificial photosynthetic systems that allow you to take electricity or sunlight and make a chemical fuel. In the long term, artificial photosynthesis will supply the world’s transportation fuel needs. While we will soon develop batteries to power plug-in hybrids and all-electric vehicles, it will be a while before we get trains and trucks that work on the same principle. Hence, in the foreseeable future, we will need a high energy-density transportation fuel that can be provided by an artificial photosynthetic system that requires far less water than fuels based on growing plants or algae. This is a technology we are going to have to master.
Interview conducted by Arthur F. Pease