Climate Justice: Ethics, Energy, and Public Policy

Climate Justice: Ethics, Energy, and Public Policy Study Guide

Chapter 2, Conventional Energy Options

Possible discussion questions:

1. This chapter uses the four ecojustice norms and the twelve energy policy guidelines to conduct an ethical assessment of conventional U.S. energy options (coal, oil, natural gas, and nuclear power). According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration: a) What percent of the nation’s primary energy consumption is provided by these four sources, b) which fuel is the largest source of the U.S. primary energy supply, and c) which sector consumes the most primary energy in the U.S.? 2. Coal: Given the summary in this chapter, how likely do you think it is that carbon capture and sequestration will prolong the use of coal as a primary energy source? Do you agree with the author that “the ecojustice norms of sustainability and solidarity justify a moratorium on all new coal-fired power plants”? (pg. 52) 3. Oil: To what extent is the United States dependent on imported oil? What are the economic ramifications of peak global oil production? In what ways does the author argue that “U.S. dependence on oil from the Middle East in particular is ironic, self-defeating, and counterproductive”? (pg. 56) 4. Natural Gas: How and why have natural gas prices oscillated recently? What is hydraulic fracturing, how is it impacting U.S. natural gas inventories, and what concerns are being raised about this practice? Do you agree with the author that natural gas resources should be viewed “as a bridge to a future in which fossil fuels play a diminishing role”? (pg. 61) 5. Nuclear Power: To what extent does the United States rely on nuclear power? How much high level nuclear waste has the United States produced and where do things stand regarding disposal of this waste? In what ways is cost the main obstacle facing the nuclear power industry? Do you agree with the author that the ecojustice norms and energy guidelines justify bringing intense scrutiny to bear on proposals to relicense existing reactors and that a moratorium should be placed on the construction of new reactors?

For further reading:

American Petroleum Institute. Measuring the Economic and Energy Impacts of Proposals to Regulate Hydraulic Fracturing, June 2009. See http://api.org/ policy/exploration/hydraulicfracturing/upload/IHS-GI-Hydraulic-Fracturing-Natl- impacts.pdf Inslee, Jay and Hicks, Bracken. Apollo’s Fire: Reigniting America’s Clean-Energy Economy, (Washington, DC: Island Press, 2008). Klare, Michael T. Blood and Oil: The Dangers and Consequences of America’s Growing Petroleum Dependency, (New York: Metropolitan Books, 2004). Massachusetts Institute of Technology. The Future of Coal: Options for A Carbon Constrained World, 2007. See http://web.mit.edu/coal/The_Future_of_Coal.pdf. Pew Center on Global Climate Change, “Coal and Climate Change Facts.” See http://www.pewclimate.org/global-warming-basics/coalfacts.cfm. U.S. Energy Information Administration, Annual Energy Review. See http://www.eia. doe.gov/aer/pdf/aer.pdf. U.S. Department of Energy. The Report to the President and the Congress by the Secretary of Energy on the Need for a Second Repository, (Washington, DC: Office of Civilian Radioactive Waste Management, December 2008). See http://www.ocrwm.doe.gov/uploads/1/Second_Repository_Rpt_120908.pdf. von Hippel, Frank N. “Nuclear Fuel Recycling: More Trouble Than It’s Worth,” Scientific American, May 2008. See http://www.scientificamerican.com/ article.cfm?id=rethinking-nuclear-fuel-recycling Yergin, Daniel. The Prize: The Epic Quest for Oil, Money, and Power, (New York: Simon & Schuster, 1991.