Panelists envision sustainable future

Chu

Steven Chu ’70, director of the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, has very strong opinions about global warming and the search for sustainable energy sources: “Failure is not an option. We have to figure this one out.”

Chu is one of four panelists who will talk about the growing worldwide demand for oil and the search for energy alternatives during the Presidential Symposium on Great Issues of the 21st Century on Saturday, October 7. The talk will address energy sustainability and increasing concerns that fossil fuel consumption is paving the way for an environmental catastrophe. Other panelists include Zhou Dadi, director general of China’s Energy Research Institute; John Holdren, director of the Woods Hole Research Center, the Teresa and John Heinz Professor of Environmental Policy at Harvard, and current president of the American Association for the Advancement of Science; and Susan Tierney, former assistant secretary for policy at the U.S. Department of Energy and a consultant on energy and environmental economics and policy.

Chu hopes the discussion will excite and challenge scientists to develop new solutions. He says efficiency and conservation alone are not the answers.

“How do you actually get to where you want to get? You can’t conserve your way to a final solution. With oil production expected to peak in this century, it is important that we act now to develop new alternatives and to ensure a place in the world for our children and grandchildren.”

While discussions such as these can help draw attention to the issue, noted economist Mark Zupan, dean of the Simon School, says that rising fuel costs may actually help drive development of sustainable energy sources and open the doors for entrepreneurs and innovators.

“Incentives matter and higher fuel prices encourage consumers to find ways to be more mindful of their energy consumption patterns while encouraging the development of substitute sources of energy on the supply side. In fact, one of the biggest challenges that OPEC has faced over the years is not to restrict crude oil output to such an extent that the resulting higher prices of crude oil provide sufficient incentive for innovators to develop alternative energy sources that ultimately put OPEC out of business.”

Zupan says he has seen a growing interest among business students to address the need for innovative responses. “Nearly half of the graduates of the Simon School are involved in an entrepreneurial venture 10 or more years post graduation. Developing alternative energy sources as well as mechanisms to conserve on energy usage are just some of the highly promising entrepreneurial opportunities for our graduates to explore these days—all on account of the rise in energy prices over the last five years.”

The issue of sustainability and how it fits into the University’s overall mission has garnered increasing attention from students groups and from faculty and staff. Student-driven initiatives have led recently to changes in facilities operations, residential life, and in dining services. As a result, recycling and other conservation programs have expanded and many dining locations on campus now offer fair-trade coffees, certified-organic products, and locally grown produce.

In response to this growing interest, a discussion group called the Roundtable on Sustainability formed in late spring to serve as a forum for covering sustainability-related issues. Led by James Allen, professor of linguistics, the group holds monthly meetings where all members of the University community are invited to voice concerns and share ideas.

This summer, five students were selected to serve as sustainability interns and to look at ways sustainability can be incorporated in the University’s academic mission. The group is scheduled to release a final report this fall and to offer recommendations, such as creating a sustainability institute at the University that will serve as a central hub for related work and developing incentives that will encourage faculty to integrate sustainability into their courses and their research efforts.

During Meliora Weekend, campus and regional leaders will take part in the Second Annual Student-Sponsored Symposium titled “Building Community Leadership: Integrating Sustainability into the Student Experience.” Panelists include Jody Asbury, dean of students; Joni Monroe, executive director of the Rochester Regional Community Design Center, and Peter Bardaglio, provost of Ithaca College. Paul Tankel, the University architect, will moderate the event. He has been active in the sustainability movement locally and nationally for years and says the changes happening on campus are very exciting.

“The student work is great. I so applaud them, that they just carry on,” says Tankel. “I’ve been focusing on sustainability for the past several years, but the students have been pushing, too. Because, actually, it’s about their future, everybody’s future. We have to look ahead and take a holistic approach. Sustainability is really a part of everything we do here, from education to medicine to research.”