On Tuesday, April 8, Former Colorado Governor and Director of the Center for the New Energy Economy at Colorado State University Bill Ritter sat down with the College of Engineering Dean, Joseph Hughes, for a Q&A about America’s transition to a clean-energy economy. The conversation, the first in a series organized by the A.J. Drexel Institute for Energy and the Environment (IExE) focused on solutions that will create clean, sustainable energy in America and globally.
In preparation for the discussion, Dean Hughes collected a variety of questions from both students and faculty in order to address certain theories and concerns about policies, energy efficiency and the future of environmentally- friendly energy. Severable notable topics were brought up throughout this discussion, including the application of solar energy, domestic fuel, and carbon sequestration. Hydraulic fracturing, or “fracking,” was also mentioned, as well as the development of a new economic model in which jobs would be created with new energy options.
Other noteworthy topics included energy efficiency mortgages for middle class Americans, a strategy being considered to get the everyday person thinking about energy, China’s massive yearly consumption of peat coal and America’s “big bet” on solving the energy crisis with natural gas as a primary form of energy.
After the Q&A, students and faculty were invited to ask Ritter questions directly. Ritter encouraged students to pursue careers in finding environmentally- sustainable energy solutions to combat an energy crisis, considered one of the greatest global challenges of the 21st century, and stressed that this energy crisis requires a technical solution that can only be achieved with a combination of policy, technology and science.
To learn more about the IExE and the inaugural speaker series, please visit the official website by clicking here.