Energy and Resources Group

Dick Norgaard is recognized within the field of economics (Who’s Who in Economics, Millennium Edition, and The Changing Face of Economics: Conversations with Cutting Edge Economists) for both his critiques of and contributions to economics. He is one of the founders of the field of ecological economics. His recent research addresses how environmental problems challenge scientific understanding and the policy process, how ecologists and economists understand systems differently, and how globalization affects environmental governance. He has over 100 publications spanning the fields of environment and development, tropical forestry and agriculture, environmental epistemology, energy economics, and ecological economics. He is author of the book Development Betrayed: The End of Progress and a Coevolutionary Revisioning of the Future (Routeldege, 1994).

Professor Nazaroff's research group aims to understand the physical and chemical processes that govern air pollutant concentrations and fates. The goal is to develop the information needed to assess and control human health effects from air pollutant exposures. Nazaroff's research is conducted through laboratory-scale experiments plus numerical and analytical modeling. The following topics are being addressed: (a) interactions between pollutants and surface materials; (b) air movement and pollutant dispersion in indoor environments; and (c) characterization and control of air pollutant exposures. Dr. Nazaroff's students work closely with research staff of the Indoor Environment Department at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory.

Harte’s research focuses on the effects of human actions on, and the linkages among, biodiversity, ecosystem structure and function, and climate. His work spans a range of scales, from plot to landscape to global, and utilizes field manipulation experiments, the study of patterns in nature, and mathematical modeling. Two specific goals are to understand the nature and causes of patterns in the distribution and abundance of species and to understand the extent to which ecosystem responses to climate change may result in feedbacks to climate that can either ameliorate or exacerbate global warming. An overarching goal of his research is to understand the interdependence of human well-being and the health of ecosystems.

Alex Farrell’s research and accomplishments span the arenas of transportation policy, the electric power sector, risk mitigation, and climate change. Along with several students in the Energy and Resources Group and Professor Kammen, Farrell recently led an initiative to quantify the energy and environmental implications of ethanol as a vehicular fuel. The paper was published in Science in February 2006. Also in early 2006, Farrell co-edited the definitive study of greenhouse gas mitigation strategies for the state of California as part of Governor Schwarzenegger’s plan to dramatically reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The study shows that employing a mix of existing technologies investment in energy technologies provide a net gain to California’s economy. Further improvements could lead to dramatic cost savings in both the near and long term. This is a follow up study to the 2004 seminal paper in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences on expected climate changes in California over the next century.

Dan Kammen founded and directs the unique Renewable and Appropriate Energy Laboratory, cited by many as the only ‘one stop’ site for energy science and engineering projects that are merged with energy finance and economics, sociology, market, and environmental impact studies. Recent RAEL contributions include: (i) significantly supporting and strengthening the burgeoning solar photovoltaic industries in East Africa, that have become the free-market model for a large number of nations; (ii) bringing the potential of continent-wide sustainable biofuel industries with major energy and health impacts to the attention of world leaders; (iii) highlighting the job benefits of clean energy investments, a story that became central to the adoption of clean energy standards in a number of states as well as a focal point of several national election campaigns; and (iv) focusing national attention on the federal under-investment in energy research, development, and deployment. He is co-author of Should We Risk It? Exploring Environmental, Health and Technological Problem Solving (Princeton University Press, 1999) and over 100 technical and refereed publications.