Energy Revolution!
Science for the Public Lecture Series May 21, 2015 Robbins Library, Arlington MA
We were unable to record the lecture at the event, so Dr. Prentiss kindly recorded this studio version May 25th.
Mara Prentiss, Ph.D., Mallinckrodt Professor of Physics, Harvard University.
The Prentiss Research Group
The United States wastes two-thirds of its energy, including 80 percent of the energy used in transportation. This waste is unnecessary. As Dr. Prentiss demonstrates in Energy Revolution: The Physics and Promise of Efficient Technology, conversion to wind and solar power could generate 100 percent of the United States average total energy demand for the foreseeable future. She discusses how these technologies work and how they can be phased in quickly. Her book provides clear facts and explanations, and she makes a compelling argument for making the changes now.
Be the Change from the Prentiss website
Harvard Magazine article on Dr. Prentiss and Energy Revolution, May 2015
Nature review, Books in Brief, February 2015 Energy Revolution: Mara Prentiss Harvard University Press (2015) In this crisp, evidence-based treatise, physicist Mara Prentiss makes a remarkable assertion: that solar and wind power could supply 100% of average US energy needs for the next 50 years. Prentiss argues that a transition to renewables is probable, given that energy revolutions are a historical norm. She stacks up reams of salient data, such as the fact that US energy use per capita has remained steady since 1965, thanks to increasing fuel efficiency. Although optimistic, her analyses of energy sources, combinations, conservation and storage are compelling.
New York Times 5/19/15: Wind Power Is Poised to Spread to All States