The Office of Sustainability’s Debbie Andres hosted “The Climate Crisis: The Causes, The Solutions and What You Can Do” presentation on Tuesday afternoon.
Over Zoom, Bill DeVincenzi, SJSU's former faculty in residence for sustainability, educated students and faculty on how to be aware of climate change and how to take action.
The presentation had a scientific, non-partisan perspective, according to an SJSU webpage.
The presentation focused on technologies that are already helping the crisis and what individuals can do to mitigate effects of climate change.
DeVincenzi’s portion focused heavily on solar power.
“Enough energy from the sun hits the Earth every hour to fuel us for one year,” DeVincenzi said.
DeVincenzi said even though gas as an energy source has cost advantages over coal and nuclear energy, renewable energy sources are oftentimes cheaper.
“Renewables are set to account for over 90% of global electricity in the next 5 years,” DeVincenzi said.
DeVincenzi also said solar and wind are the cheapest forms of energy in two-thirds of the world currently, and will be the cheapest renewable resources by next year as more parts of the world gain access to it.
The Inflation Reduction Act includes clean energy, climate mitigation and resilience, agriculture and conservation-related investment programs, according to The White House website
Though the name suggests a focus on inflation, the purpose is really to lower consumer costs and drive the economy forward.
“Ninety-nine percent of all U.S. coal plants are more expensive to operate than to replace with solar or wind power,” DeVincenzi said.
Auto manufacturers moving to electric vehicles include BMW, Chevy, Ford, GM, Honda, Mercedes-Benz and more, DeVincenzi said.
DeVincenzi also said mainstream battery-electric cars are projected to achieve cost parity with efficient fossil fuel cars.
Another topic DeVincenzi acknowledged is Senate Bill 100. The bill, officially titled “The 100 Percent Clean Energy Act of 2018,” was signed into law in Sept. 2018.
It requires California, which has the world’s fifth largest economy, to have 100% of the state's electricity to be carbon-free by 2045.
DeVincenzi showed a picture of a Kentucky coal mining museum that installed solar panels to save money.
DeVincenzi said though the Trump administration pulled America out of the agreement, the U.S. rejoined 30 days after President Biden was inaugurated.
He said in total emissions, China pollutes more than the United States, but on a per-person basis, they pollute less. The statistics add up to the U.S. polluting 397 gigatons (GT) of emissions, China 214 GT and the USSR 180 GT.
The U.S., China and India are the world's lead polluters, DeVincenzi said.
In China, non-fossil fuel power sources including wind and solar power account for 50.9% of the country's total installed capacity, according to a Reuters article.
The U.S. Federal Energy Regulatory Commission’s (FERC’s) energy update for June 2023 said 34.48% of the nation’s new generating capacity came from solar, and 16.16% came from wind for a combined total of 50.64%, according to an Aug. 8 article from Electrek.
In February, India’s “renewable energy accounted for only 12.3% of the total energy”, but “solar energy generation increased 31% in India compared to the same period a year ago,” according to a mint news article.
DeVincenzi said he encourages students and faculty to install solar panels and switch to an electric vehicle.
He said if you want the biggest bang for your buck, you should install a heat pump water heater.
He also said he encourages people to vote pro-climate, become a climate activist and join an organization such as 350.org, Sierra Club, Climate Reality, Silicon Valley Youth Climate Activists and Sunrise.
DeVincenzi said he is on a first-name basis with state and federal representatives and he’s emailed, urging them to take action on the issue.
Nick Marino, who also attended the meeting, said artificial intelligence has the potential ability to optimize energy systems and make them work more efficiently.
“Google has some very interesting white papers about their efforts to achieve 24/7 Carbon Free Energy and make their computing systems more efficient,” Marino said.
