Energy Law
Introduction
Fall 2014
First Class – 26 Aug 14
Prof. Alan Palmiter
Wikibook sources
Energy
sources


Energy
use
2
5
8
3
10
6
1 7
4
9
http://www.eia.gov/totalenergy/
Pop Quiz
Energy Sources/Uses
1. True or false? The largest
energy source in the United
States is petroleum, which
comes 90% from international
sources.
2. Which is true in the United
States –
a.
b.
c.
d.
Coal is a larger source of energy
than natural gas
Renewable energy is a larger
source than nuclear power
Fossil fuels represent about 50% of
all US energy sources
Transportation uses more energy
than industrial
3. Which is false in the United
States -a. Coal is mostly used in electric
power generation
b. Industry uses more natural gas
than petroleum
c. Transportation uses most of the
petroleum
d. Energy constitutes about 20%
of GDP. EIA
4. True or false? The largest
energy sector is electric power,
which is generated mostly using
coal. EIA data / EIA predictions.
Answers: 1-F (<50%) / 2-C (75%) / 3-D (10%) / 4-T
/www.eia.gov/totalenergy/data/monthly/pdf/flow/css_2012_energy.pdf
Energy Sources
http://www.eia.gov/totalenergy/data/annual/perspectives.cfm
Energy Consumption Over Time
http://www.eia.gov/totalenergy/
Energy Use Over Time
http://www.eia.gov/totalenergy/
Federal energy regulation - timeline
1920
1940
1980
2000
2020
Pop quiz
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
DOE
EPA
EISA
FERC
FPA
FPC
NGA
NGPA
PURPA
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
1920
1935
1938
1977
1978
1982
1992
2005
2007
Climate change
Elizabeth Kolbert - author of
New Yorker series “Climate of
Man” (2005) and awardwinning book Field Notes from
a Catastrophe (2006):
“It may seem impossible
to imagine that a
technologically advanced
society could choose, in
essence, to destroy itself,
but that is what we are now
in the process of doing.”
Carbon dioxide …
Gulf stream …
Geo-engineering …
Pop quiz
Carbon stuff
1. Americans emit how much
carbon into the atmosphere?
a. 4 tons per person
b. 10 tons per person
c. 20 tons per person
2. Which statement is true of
carbon use –
a. 4 tons of carbon = 15,000 miles
at 45 mpg
b. 4 tons of carbon = 400 kwh
(coal generated)
c. 4 tons of carbon = 15,000 miles
air travel (economy)
3. Geo-engineering means :
a. Solar reflectors in space
above Earth
b. Planting desert with plants
(new animal husbandry)
c. Shooting sulfites into the
upper atmosphere
d. Fertilize oceans to create
carbon-eating algae
4. True or false? Today 800
million people are high carbon
emitters. By 2030, this
number will grow to 1.2
billion.
Answers: 1-C (Avg=4) / 2-ALL / 3-ALL / 4-T
“We already have the technology we
need to take the world off the path
toward dramatic climate change.”
Robert Socolow and Stephen Pacala,
Stabilization Wedges (2004)
Carbon Mitigation Initiative
Bill McKibben
“That’s the task for our generation”
http://cmi.princeton.edu/wedges/intro.php
http://cmi.princeton.edu/wedges/intro.php
The end
The end
Tragedy of
commons?
•
•
•
•
•
Antitrust law
Public utility law
Environmental law
Market-traded caps
Taxes