Abstract For three years, I have taught a new course titled. “Energy and the Environment” mainly to students in either Mechanical Engineering or Environmental Quality Engineering and Science. The former have strong backgrounds in applied mathematics and fluids and thermodynamics. The latter have good backgrounds in environmental issues hut may not have had much exposure to fluid mechanics and thermodynamics. The challenge is to proceed initially at an appropriate level for those familiar with thermodynamics while not discouraging those with weaker backgrounds in engineering fundamentals. The net result is that for several of the initial lectures I end up excusing those familiar with thermodynamics early while I cover some first and second law basics. Plus, I assign extra reading to help some of the Environmental Science students fill in gaps in their knowledge base. Similarly, for some of the students who have already taken some Environmental Quality Engineering courses, I allow them to leave the lecture early when we cover some basic environmental quality concepts. The topics covered start with a general introduction to the major issues, a brief review of energy systems analysis, and a summary of air and water pollution control technology. Without using tables of thermodynamic properties, we cover some basic first and second law applications including power plants and refrigeration cycles. The emphasis here is on problem solving and engineering analysis including learning how to calculate the production of CO2 from combustion processes and how improved efficiencies can lessen the net CO2 flux into the atmosphere. We then consider other air pollutants such as CO, NOx, and SO2 associated with the production of energy and how their outputs can be reduced through both control technology and process modification. There is special emphasis here on the use of renewable technology to reduce adverse environmental impacts plus discussion on the current and projected economic realities. We discuss both problems specific to northern climates such as Fairbanks and global issues. The former include the desire for the cogencration of heat and electricity and strategies for reducing ambient air CO levels. The latter together with the existence of ice fog are largely associated with operating motor vehicles in the wintertime during periods of very stable atmospheric conditions. We generalize the discussion of motor vehicles by examining the “true cost” of driving in which appropriate external costs are included. The global issues addressed include global warming, acid rain, stratospheric ozone depletion, and population/resource concerns. We examine the association of each of these with our uses of energy.
Ron Johnson (Sun,) studied this question.