Electric Power & Utilities/Expert Profile

Expertise

I'm a professional mechanical engineer. I can explain the economic tradeoffs of making electricity from natural gas, coal, nuclear, solar, and biomass energy sources. I have a pretty good understanding of the science on global warming and can explain how these energy conversion technologies affect that process. I can tell you why we have to build more nuclear plants, keep using coal, and cut way back on using natural gas to make elctricity. I can de-mystify the concepts of efficiency and energy conservation. But, I'm not an electrician so I don't do wiring! :-)

Past/Present Clients

EPA, DOE, USAID, World Bank, Bechtel, U.S. Generating, numerous electric utility and independent power companies, industry.

What do you like about this subject?

Energy conversion makes the world go round! Everyone is interested in energy matters, but not many are asking the kind of questions needed to make informed choices about our energy future and how it affects the environment of our planet.

What do you still hope to achieve/learn in this field?

I want to share my 40 years experience and knowledge of energy conversion with as many young people and parents of young people as possible.

Something interesting about this subject that others may not know:

The electricity consumed by an average American household in a year requires burning about 5,000 pounds of coal to produce that electricity.

Something controversial or provocative about this subject

By the time today's 1st grader graduates from an engineering college, electricity use will have increased by 50%, oil and gas will not be allowed as fuels for electricity, energy prices will have at least doubled, and the world may need to use more than twice as much coal and nuclear energy. The times are changing, and way too little public education is being provided on all of this.