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 1. Catalog
 2. 
 3. Environmental Studies Courses

 1. Environmental Studies Courses





ENERGY WITHIN ENVIRONMENTAL CONSTRAINTS

A quantitative introduction to the energy system and its environmental impacts.

... show all
Watch the video
Play Video for Energy Within Environmental Constraints
Play Video for Energy Within Environmental Constraints


THERE IS ONE SESSION AVAILABLE:

129,407 already enrolled!
Starts Apr 3
Ends Aug 23
Enroll
I would like to receive email from HarvardX and learn about other offerings
related to Energy Within Environmental Constraints.
About this course

What you'll learn

Instructors

Frequently Asked Questions

Ways to take this course

Share this course

edX For Business

 1. Catalog
 2. 
 3. Environmental Studies Courses

 1. Environmental Studies Courses





ENERGY WITHIN ENVIRONMENTAL CONSTRAINTS

A quantitative introduction to the energy system and its environmental impacts.

Watch the video
Play Video for Energy Within Environmental Constraints
Play Video for Energy Within Environmental Constraints
10 weeks
3–5 hours per week
Self-paced
Progress at your own speed
Free
Optional upgrade available



THERE IS ONE SESSION AVAILABLE:

129,407 already enrolled! After a course session ends, it will be archivedOpens
in a new tab.
Starts Apr 3
Ends Aug 23
Enroll
I would like to receive email from HarvardX and learn about other offerings
related to Energy Within Environmental Constraints.

ENERGY WITHIN ENVIRONMENTAL CONSTRAINTS

About
 * About
 * What you'll learn
 * Syllabus
 * Instructors
 * FAQs
 * Ways to enroll

ENROLL NOW

Starts Apr 3


ABOUT THIS COURSE

Skip About this course

Humanity faces an immense challenge: providing abundant energy to everyone
without wrecking the planet. If we want a high-energy future while protecting
the natural world for our children, we must consider the environmental
consequences of energy production and use. But money matters too: energy
solutions that ignore economic costs are not realistic, particularly in a world
where billions of people currently can’t afford access to basic energy services.
How can we proceed?

Energy Within Environmental Constraints won’t give you the answer. Instead, we
will teach you how to ask the right questions and estimate the consequences of
different choices.

This course isrich in details of real devices and light on theory. You won’t
find any electrodynamics here, but you will find enough about modern commercial
solar panels to estimate if they would be profitable to install in a given
location. We emphasizes costs: the cascade of capital and operating costs from
energy extraction all the way through end uses. We also emphasize quantitative
comparisons and tradeoffs: how much more expensive is electricity from solar
panels than from coal plants, and how much pollution does it prevent? Is solar
power as cost-effective an environmental investment as nuclear power or energy
efficiency? And how do we include considerations other than cost?

This course is intended for a diverse audience. Whether you are a student, an
activist, a policymaker, a business owner, or a concerned citizen, this course
will help you start to think carefully about our current energy system and how
we can improve its environmental performance.

Photo credits:

Solar Farm CC-BY Michael Mees on flickr
Smokestack CC-BY Patrick on flickr

Show more


AT A GLANCE

 * Institution: HarvardX
 * Subject: Environmental Studies
 * Level: Introductory
 * Prerequisites:
   
   Certificate-earners will need chemistry and physics at the high school level,
   as well as basic algebra. However, the majority of the course is accessible
   to anyone.

 * Language: English
 * Video Transcript: English


WHAT YOU'LL LEARN

Skip What you'll learn
 * The basic engineering, environmental science, and economics of our energy
   system.
 * Aworking understanding of energy technologies.
 * Environmental impacts of the energy system, focusing on air pollution,
   climate change, and land use.
 * Techniques for estimating monetary costs andcarbon impacts.

Show more


SYLLABUS

Skip Syllabus

Week 1: Introduction
Meet the instructors and learn what the course is all about. Learn where you’re
strongest and weakest, and if you have any commonly-held misconceptions.

Week 2: Energy Overview
Forms of energy and common units of measurement. How energy flows through modern
and historical economies, including the composition of energy supply, common
energy transformations, and which sources are used for which purposes. Prices
for energy around the world.

Week 3: Estimating Costs
The quantitative techniques at the heart of the course: levelized cost and cost
of mitigation. We’ll apply these techniques to energy systems and also to
everyday life.

Week 4: Environmental Impacts
How severe are air pollution, climate change, and land use impact today, and how
severe are they likely to be in the future? How do they affect human health,
GDP, and the natural world?

Week 5: Fossil Fuels
An abbreviated section focused on the abundance of fossil fuels. Spoiler alert:
we won’t run out any time soon.

Week 6: The Electric Grid
A brief overview of modern electric grids including major technologies they use,
how remarkably reliable and efficient they are, how they’re planned and
regulated, and how they’re starting to change.

Week 7: Solar Power
What solar power technologies dominate today and which have a chance to in the
near future. How to estimate the cost of solar power in different regions, how
it compares to other options, and the remarkable decline in its cost in the past
5 years. How we can cope with the intermittent nature of the solar resource. How
solar power is regulated and subsidized today.

Week 8: Nuclear Power
How nuclear fission works and how it’s harnessed in modern nuclear plants. How
much nuclear power costs and how much it’s used, including the stagnation in its
use since the 1990’s and the prospects for its revival. Details on the hazards
and costs of nuclear waste and power plant accidents. The connection between
nuclear power and nuclear weapons.

Week 9: Demand Reduction and Efficiency
Reducing energy demand, by changing behavior or making devices more efficient,
can reduce environmental harms – sometimes while saving money! But are there
limits to this strategy? Can humanity reduce demand and aim towards a
lower-energy future?

Week 10: Conclusion
Wrap-up and review.Wrap-up and review.

Show more


LEARNER TESTIMONIALS

Skip Learner testimonials

"A very enjoyable course, andthe Community TAs made sure that the more
challenging parts of it were only challenging, and not frustrating. Thanks!"

"A truly remarkable and world class course. I thank everyone who created this
course and the community members and peers who helped with questions and
queries. You all rock!"

"I think this has been one of the best courses available on this platform. Truly
insightful and illuminating."

Show more


ABOUT THE INSTRUCTORS


DAVID KEITH

Gordon McKay Professor of Applied
Physics, John A. Paulson School of
Engineering and Applied Sciences • H……


DANIEL THORPE

Research Fellow, Energy and
Environment • Harvard University…


FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

Skip Frequently Asked Questions

Q: How is this course related to the previous version of Energy Within
Environmental Constraints?
A: This is a re-run of the original course with minimal alterations.

Q: Are there topics you don't cover in this course?
A: Yes: details on fossil fuels and the electric grid; details on end uses
(transportation, buildings, industry); carbon capture and storage; biofuels; and
renewables other than solar (wind, hydro…).We hope to cover many of these in a
future, expanded version of the course.

Show more


WAYS TO TAKE THIS COURSE

Choose your path when you enroll.

ENROLL NOW

Starts Apr 3
Verified Track
Audit Track

PRICE

€128

Free

ACCESS TO COURSE MATERIALS

Unlimited



Limited



Expires on Jun 12

WORLD CLASS INSTITUTIONS AND UNIVERSITIES

EDX SUPPORT

SHAREABLE CERTIFICATE UPON COMPLETION

GRADED ASSIGNMENTS AND EXAMS

Read our FAQsin a new tab about frequently asked questions on these tracks.


SHARE THIS COURSE

 * Share this course on facebook
 * Share this course on twitter
 * Share this course on LinkedIn
 * Share this course via email


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