Harvard-Radcliffe: “Harnessing the Sun & Wind: Opportunities & Obstacles”
November 2023
My talk and presentation were part of an online alumni paneI titled “Classmates Who Are Making a Difference on Climate Change.” I was joined by two fellow Class of ‘77 alumni: poet Molly Fisk, author of California Fire & Water: A Climate Crisis Anthology, and Bill Chapman, founder of the Sound Greenway Trust outside Seattle. Here’s a link to the presentations.
Boston University: “Building Solar Justice: Opportunities & Obstacles”
April 2022
Lecture hosted by the BU Institute for Sustainable Energy (now the Institute for Global Sustainability).
Boston College: “Tapping the Sun, Calming the Skies, & Greening US Mobility in the Post-Pandemic Era”
October 2020
Guest lecture in “Planet in Peril: The History and Future of Human Impacts on the Planet,” taught by Profs. Juliet Schor & Prasannan Parthasarathi.
Tufts University: “With or Without Nuclear Power? Two Pathways to Carbon Neutrality”
October 2019
Guest lecture in undergraduate course on civic science taught by Prof. Jonathan Garlick.
Boston College: “A Tale of Two Americas: Renewable Energy Pioneering in the 21st Century”
April 2019
Guest lecture in “Planet in Peril: The History and Future of Human Impacts on the Planet,” taught by Profs. Juliet Schor & Prasannan Parthasarathi.
Boston University: “Renewable Electricity in the Trump Era – The Role of Federal, State & Local Policies”
April 2017
Hosted by BU’s Institute for Sustainable Energy, where I am a Non-Resident Senior Fellow.
Tel Aviv University: Porter School of Environmental Studies: “From Rooftops to Brownfields: Solar Power’s Growing U.S. Role as an Urban Energy Resource” & “Wind & Sun: America’s Quest for a Renewable Energy Future”
March 2017
Hosted by the Porter School of Environmental Studies..
Boston College: “Harness the Sun: America’s Quest for a Solar-Powered Future”
October 2016
Guest lecture in “Planet in Peril: The History and Future of Human Impacts on the Planet,” taught by Profs. Juliet Schor & Prasannan Parthasarathi.
Brown University: “From the Sidelines to Center-Stage – Opportunities & Challenges Facing Solar Power in America”
September 2016
Co-hosted by the Institute for Molecular and Nanoscale Innovation, the National Science Foundation & the Watson Institute for International & Public Affairs.
George Washington University:– “Harness the Sun, Energize Action”
March 2016
Co-hosted by the GW Office of Sustainability and the GW Solar Institute.
Tufts University School of Engineering: “Renewable Energy Policies: From Our World to Your Town”
March 2016
Lecture to engineering students in Prof. Robert Hannemann’scourse, “Power Generation Systems.”
Duke University School of Law: “Beyond Fossil Fuels – Renewable Electricity in America’s Future”
February 2016
Hosted by the Duke Energy Law Society and the Undergraduate Energy Club.
University of California Santa Barbara: “Harness the Sun – America’s Quest for a Solar-Powered Future”
January 2016
Part of UC Santa Barbara’s Energy Leadership Lecture series. You can watch the lecture here.
Miami Book Fair: “Harness the Sun” Book Talk
November 2015
Part of a session called “Global Environmental Challenges: New Nonfiction,”
Bates College: “Solar at the Civic Forum”
November 2015
Part of the college’s Civic Forum Series.
U. of Wisconsin: “Solar Power’s Prospects & Pitfalls”
October 2015
Hosted by the Nelson Institute for Environmental Studies.
Google – Cambridge MA: “Harness the Sun” Book Talk
October 2015
This Authors@Google event can be viewed on YouTube.
Smith College: “Bucking Political Stereotypes – A New England Environmental Advocate Looks at Wind Power’s Ascent in the American Heartland”
October 2015
Sponsored by the college’s Center for the Environment, Ecological Design and Sustainability.
Kellogg School of Management – Northwestern U.: “Mainstreaming the Sun”
October 2015
Hosted by the Kellogg School of Management Energy Club, as the kick-off to its Energy Careers Bootcamp.
Environmental Law & Policy Center – Chicago: Solar Book Talk at “ELPC Thinks”
October 2015
Hosted by the Environmental Law and Policy Center, the Midwest’s leading environmental advocacy group.
Chicago Ideas Week: “Can the World Run on Batteries?”
October 2015
On this panel, I joined high-tech entrepreneurs to explore transformations in our energy sector. Here’s a video link to the talk.
Town Hall Seattle: “Realizing the Dream of a Solar-Powered Future”
September 2015
In this spirited venue for public dialogue, I was interviewed by my friend and longtime environmental hero Denis Hayes. It can be viewed on CSPAN.
Talks at Google – Kirkland WA: “Harness the Sun” Book Talk
September 2015
Part of the Talks at Google series.
National Press Club – Washington, DC: ELI-Hosted Book Launch for “Harness the Sun”
September 2015
Hosted by the Environmental Law Institute, where I worked from 1989 to 1997.
Williams College: “Harness the Sun – America’s Quest for a Solar-Powered Future”
February 2015
Part of the college’s Log Lunch lecture series.
University of South Dakota: Renewable Energy Symposium
October 2014
Talk sponsored by the National Science Foundation.
Middlebury College: “Harvest the Wind: An American Clean-Energy Resource Comes of Age”
April 2014
Public lecture sponsored by the Howard E. Woodin Colloquium Series, focusing on conservation and environmental topics.
San Carlos Apache Energy Summit: “Wind Power’s Opportunities & Challenges”
December 2013
Lecture hosted by the San Carlos Apache Tribe at the Apache Gold Casino in San Carlos, Arizona.
University of Michigan: “Wind Power at a Crossroads – Sustainable Systems Forum”
October 2013
Guest lecture sponsored by the Center for Sustainable Systems, within the School of Natural Resources and Environment.
Iowa State University: “Wind Power’s Human Landscape”
July 2013
Featured talk at the Workshop on Energy, Transportation, and Water Infrastructure: Policy and Social Perspectives, sponsored by the National Science Foundation’s Office of Emerging Frontiers in Research and Innovation.
Munroe Amphiteater at Lincoln Center: “Cape Spin! An American Power Struggle”
May 2013
Commentator at multiple screenings of a film exploring America’s most hotly contested offshore wind proposal, Cape Wind.
University of Rhode Island: “Wind Power in America’s Future”
March 2013
Public lecture sponsored by the Metcalf Institute for Marine & Environmental Reporting, within the Graduate School of Oceanography..
Town Hall Seattle: Harvest the Wind Book Talk
December 2012
This book talk was taped for airing on a number of Seattle-area cable TV stations.
Chicago Ideas Week: “Wind Power in America’s Future”
October 2012
My TED-style talk was part of a session on “Energy: Scalable Solutions.” It appears on my website’s homepage and can be accessed online.
Concordia, Kansas: Harvest the Wind book talk
July 2012
This book event took me back to Cloud County, where my book research for Harvest the Wind began in the spring of 2009. It was sponsored by EDP Renewables North America LLC, owner of Cloud County’s Meridian Way Wind Farm, and was held at Cloud County Community College in Concordia, home to one of America’s most innovative and successful wind technology training programs.
Elk River Wind Farm, Beaumont KS