`Do we need a blue book for tomorrow?

- she didnt say

anything so Im assuming no

-I found a quizlet online from 2010 with some of the same questions that are on
this review sheet, and also hacked into a courehero document with similar
information. I copy and pasted the answers (youll find the quizlet answers in
a different font and light grey color with bullets and the coursehero answers in
this color) they are not all very in-depth and god knows how these students
did on the exam so lets please either replace or supplement them with our
own information from our notes/readings. - Tim

- In one of the first classes, Nader said to make note of examples in the reader,
so maybe for each term or question we can throw in an example. - tim

-In one lecture Nader noticed not many people were taking notes and she said
we should write this down, so I added here to promote a way of thinking about
the content - Tim
Assumptions to watch out for:
- change means maintaining status quo
- that progress is equal to growth
- the GNP is equal to growth
- energy growth is equal to human welfare
- energy growth means more economic growth
- more energy expenditure does not change lifetstyle while less does
- societies only change from top down
- techinical fixes can solve human problems and forestall crises
- solving a problem on paper is equal to solving one in real life
- that numbers are real
- that future can be planned as if there would be no surprises
- that conservation is oppressive and that austerity is oppressive
- bigger is always better
- you grow or you die
- externalities are an illusion

Define:

steady state - stationary, no-growth economy. in this state, a steady GNP
does not feed a higher standard of living (which contributes to the depletion of
resources and pollution of spaces), goods in this state will be more durable,
there will be minimized production and low consumption (which will offset
each other), commodities will be recycled to create new ones (low waste),
there will be low birthrates and death rates, and because of greater durability
of goods there will be more time for leisure and less time spent on production.
the question posed here is what institutions will provide the necessary control
for this? how do we get here with minimum sacrifice to individual freedom?
energy mix - the particular energy sources available/ what resources
humans exploit for their survival (oil/gas, solar, wind, nuclear, etc). this
concerns idea of future availability, pollution, and social or political power (for
example the oil crisis)
nuclear renaissance - a nuclear industry revival- with industry trying to
get hands on government money for the construction of new reactors (since
they can not get private funding). in the reader activist Wasserman says they
have been stopped 3 times from getting money from the govt and these
efforts have been slowed by activism over past 30/40 years (someone please
elaborate if you can), produces huge radioactive waste, so risky that banks
dont invest in nuclear and they rely on government subsidies and insurance,
the industry cant get private finance to build new plants, they cant get
insurance after the 3 mile island incident, and now theres no where for them
to place the radioactive waste
externalities -Incidental cost of business. Effects of an industry which are not
accounted for or directly involved in the transaction. Prices do not reflect the
full costs of these externalities in production or consumption. Native lands
with cancer. Industry leaves, destroys livelihood of people there, public
safety. The person or group receiving the externality takes on the whole price
of the externality, and thus benefits the company. Difficulty of valuing life. Air
and water pollution can be assigned a numeric value
environmental racism - Sometimes people can only afford to live in certain
areas, and those areas have oil/coal refineries in them, so then the people
are forced to live in polluted areas despite the known dangers. Easy to take
advantage of minority communities, third world companies. Navajo Indians
and uranium. Animals deemed good for Indians to eat, but not for everyone
else. Takes 10 years to begin cleanup of nuclear contamination on Indian
land. Workers not informed of risks of nuclear radiation, rights after they
became sick, how to access social service benefits.
collapse - broad but could include the collapse of ecosystems due to our our
consmption of almost every major ecosystem on earth. Jared Diamonds
book Collapse gives various examples of what caused past societies in
history to fail, collapse defined as a drastic decrease in human population
size and political/economic/social complexity over a considerable area for a
considerable time for example because of damage to ecosystems, climate
change, hostile neighbors, and how they respond to crises, socio-political
instability. basically, we should the right decisions and protect our
environment and change our core values and beliefs with the help of
education, inspired leadership and the will to go against the established
order of things
progress trap - uncritical use of the the comforts of growth. by overusing
energy and resources, we will fall into decline and lead to the extinction of
species
decoupling ideas - things that are thought to go together but not necessarily.
ie, increase in energy= increase in quality of life. ie, WSJ article Richest
country, saddest country about US.
people problem - The people problem is the perspectives of the people
who are doing energy research. Research is not free from the effects of
people's perspectives. They are social and cultural problems.
1. Credible vs. noncredible
2. institutional constraints vs. individual freedom
3. Tangible vs. abstract
o difficult to implement the more holistic approaches to energy bc they are
more abstract and maybe not reliable...abstract is not concrete thinking
4. Specialist vs. generalist
The idea that technology is designed without the consideration that people make
mistakes, no room for human error. Candles in nuclear power plants. Binary
opposition, institutional constraints vs. freedom, credible vs. non credible, tangible
vs. abstract, restrictive vs. global time perspective, specialist vs. general, voluntary vs.
involuntary, progress vs. status quo. Beyond education.
centralized-decentralized energy systems- Centralized Energy Systems
PG&E Large production of energy for a lot of people Nuclear Hard paths
Decentralized Energy Systems Doesnt put all eggs in one basket, not a
terrorism risk. More local energy production Energy production by one city
Soft paths- Assumption less dangerous than centralized
holistic perspective - Looking at the entire context of a situation, benefits,
disadvantages, costs
growth models - Projection of energy use and growth of progress,
population, technology
life-style - Increased energy improves lifestyle is an assumption. Lifestyle
values embedded within our culture more, more, more. Bush we will not let
others change our lifestyle. Using less energy is not a failure of prosperity
sustainability - Using things that are renewable, have little environmental
impact
mind-sets - Ideas about energy that we are trained to have, such as about
quality of life
quality of life - Idea that increased energy will improve quality of life
myths - Things that corporations, the government influence people to believe
that arent true
- ie,
conservation - Not using as much of a resource
energy efficiency - Using energy in the most efficient way possible
latency period - the period of time between being exposed to a hazard and
the impacts of the exposure being evident. ie, the latency period between
navajo miners being exposed to uranium dust in mines and the respiratory
illnesses they experienced later in life. fiercely resisted and ridiculed in face of
strong evidence that incidence of disease can be measured in decades not
days and weeks.
Three Mile Island - nuclear reactor near Harrisburg PA where in 1979 the
cooling system malfunctioned , resulting in a meltdown and release of
radioactivity. the government said that no one was hurt but anti nuclear
activists claim that there have been adverse health effects (cancer, still births,
birth defects, hair loss, unexplained lesions,etc) and even death since. the
govt says that not enough radiation was released to cause any harm but the
nuclear regulatory commision even admitted that they dont know how much
radiation was released let alone where it went. more than 2400 families have
signed onto a class action lawsuit that has yet to see its day in court.
resource wars
o And as armies throughout the world define resource security as a
primary objective, widespread instability is bound to follow, especially
in those areas where competition for essential materials overlaps with
long-standing territorial and religious disputes.
economics

1. List 3 components of an anthropological perspective on energy
1. Longview
o expanded time perspective (1,000's of years)
o long duree
o recognition of cumulative knowledge, knowledges gathered in real life conditions
2. Social and Cultural Emphasis vs. Technological
o social= relationships between the people, energy companies, and government
o culture= values, beliefs, ideas, and mindsets of the population of people
3. Holism
o seeing the big picture point of view
o thinking in terms of the whole system
2. From readings and handouts on energy myths, list 3 ways in which our
current energy systems could be optimized (Casten and Ayres, Lovins)
Lovins- we can make social changes like carpooling, bicycles,
dressing to suit the weather, recycling etc to use smaller quantity of outputs.
or make technical fixes like thermal insulation, heat pumps, more efficient
furnaces and car engines, less overlighting and overventilation in commercial
buildings.
Lovins- there are lavish subsidies and regulatory shortcuts given to
favored technologies that can not compete unaided so the best way govt can
help is to get out of the way
Recycling of industrial waste energy Generation of power locally Implement technical
fixes to do more with less energy, by using thriftier technologies and plugging design
and management leaks
3. Choose one documentary from 137 and write a review for the SF
Chronicle
4. From guest lecture and readings, list two examples of environmental
racism (Johnston, LaDuke, Hesinger)
-Extreme Oil film- texaco exploits Ecuadorian land and people in the name of profit
-Johnsons lecture on dam building displacing millions of people, mostly ethnic
minorities (someone please elaborate)
Navajo Indians and uranium mining: werent informed of the dangers of mining,
werent helped when they got sick, no ceremonies exist to heal them physically and
symbolically, sacredness of the land, and then forced to destroy it to maintain
livelihood or watched others destroy it. Conflict between residential sense of
exposure and public scientific depiction, institutions support infallible scientific truth.
Language barrier.
5. Name 4 externalities associated with coal, with nuclear
Nuclear: health of miners of nuclear material, leaks and pollution of nearby areas,
deformed babies, polluted food, environmental change, economic devastation when
plants/mines leave Coal: black lung/cancer/disease, collapse of land above the
hollow mines, death of miners because of mine collapse/falling rocks, pollution to
rivers, air, climate change
Coal
Air and water pollution (emissions of toxic sulfates, nitrates, and carbon
dioxide) global warming
The expenses related to strip mining
Dumping unclean coal into water reservoirs
Underground coal fires, resulting in carbon monoxide emissions, and
subsidence (sinking of the ground as a result of extensive underground
mining)
Mercury poisoning
Air pollution
Soil erosion
Water pollution
Black lung disease
Nuclear
Ecological damage (contaminated water, radioactive sediment)
Civil liberties may be impinged upon due to policing of nuclear
Health hazards posed by radiation exposure for indigenous uranium miners
and their families
Faulty or nonexistent safety inspections at nuclear reactors
Water pollution, air pollution, cancer, deformities
6. What are some barriers to thinking new about energy?
- certain pressures from labs that encourage people to think similarly and to punish
deviant thinking. (standardized thinking)
- lack of respect for diversity; taboo on word solar
- top down thinking
- people in technical areas work with objects or numbers not with human beings so
emphasis put on tables, not on prose. nader asks, how do you talk about freedom in
tables? how do you talk about democracy in tables? how do you talk about most of
the things we care about in a table? people become objects, or the X in an
equation.
- science is a boys club where they vie with one another. bigger is better, hazardous
is interesting and intriguing. conservation is considered feminine.
- self interest, ie, changing building codes to promote sustainability = architects see
as hindrance to creativity, inspectors are already overworked and understaffed,
realtors dont care cause they already do well, bureaucrats are constrained by
mandates
- THE ENERGY PROBLEM IS NOT A TECHNICAL PROBLEM, ITS A SOCIAL
PROBLEM.
- the coal, oil, nuclear industries have strong lobbies in washington. its power, not
rational planning that is at the heart of the congressional debates.

7. What are 2 implications of the latency period between human energy-
use decisions and consequences in industrial societies?
Takes a long time for human body to show effects of exposure to pollution/nuclear,
so people can be in denial of consequences. Measured in decades, not days.
1. You can do things that you couldn't have done with a shorter period of time or an
immediate consequence
o uranium takes many years for the effects of uranium to show up
2. Long term health effects of exposure to low levels of radiation
3. Global warming
8. How does amount of energy expenditures relate to quality of life? What
cultural assumptions are implicit?
It doesnt necessarily. But, society has caused us to believe that the greater the
energy expenditure, the greater the quality of life, to maintain civilization as we know
it we need more energy
9. What is special to an energy policy for democratic societies as versus
dictatorships? How is the energy problem a social problem primarily?
Democracies require energy use that allows for input from citizens. This is generally
more difficult with centralized systems.
Energy policies of democratic societies will be influence by politics. Nuclear is not
compatible with a decentralized society because nuclear must be centralize because it
relies on government funding and a place and people to run it to service a large area.
But in a dictatorship the government can make the Nuclear decision for the entire
country. Nuclear energy would have to be government sponsored because no banks
would back it. Democracy matters when people choose to participate
10. What do we mean when we talk about the politics of energy? Be
specific.
11. What is the difference between renewables and non-renewables?
Renewables are forms of energy that can be used without fear of
depletion, like solar, hydropower, wind. Non Renewables are forms of energy
of which there is a finite amount, ie coal, oil, nuclear (need to mine
plutonium). Sources can not be replenished as fast as they are being
depleted.
12. What is mountain top removal? Clean coal?
Related to strip mining. Take a strip off mountain, take out coal, leave everything
else behind. Damages surrounding habitat. Capture and store carbon burned when
producing energy in coal power plants
13. How does pessimism or optimism enter into the energy debates?
When people question and are critical of the new technologies such as nuclear, they
are viewed as pessimists. However, if one is content and are happy with the
progressive technologies in power, they can be referred to as optimists.
Nuclear naysayers are called pessimists because they take into account health and
safety, cost, impact on society. They also are, energy companies try to stay optimistic
about their energy options. Realism is important to the energy debate. Atom and Eve
movie. Defense mechanism against people who are not pronuclear, tell them they are
pessimists, discredit them
14. What does the term nuclear legacies mean? How does it relate with the
concept of a long latency period?
15. What are resource wars?
16. What was Henry Ford, Sr.s objection to the ways corporations went
about building automobiles?
People at the time saw cars as big fast toys, and automobile
corporations were only interested in getting the largest price possible for each
car- main idea was to get the money. they gave a lot of attention to finance
and small attention to service. they were indifferent to better methods of
manufacture as long as what was being done made money, for example
changes were not made because of how it could serve the public or satisfy
the consumer- to sell was enough. a dissatisfied customer was not someone
whose trust had been violated, but a nuisance, or a possible source of more
money in fixing the work that should have been done correctly in the first
place. He also talks about financing coming to companies before profits are
even made (believes it should be the other way around), and an emphasis
was put on interest rates for investors- he found this not to be the way to
make money, but rather the way to make money was to have a business
foundation based on service.
17. What does Amory Lovins mean when he says Energy is a means to
social ends, not an end in itself?
Commentary on the fact we shouldnt be making energy for the sake of making
energy. We need to think about energy as a way to meet out social needs, instead of
just getting stuck in the same way of making energy because that is how it is done.
Energy choices should not be made on basis of social criteria. Failing to use more
energy is not a failure of prosperity (Bush and lifestyle). No one can make a value
free analysis, but we should try to be objective
18. What is a growth model? What is an indefinite timeline?
Energy theorists of cultural evolution have held that human societies and cultures
become larger and more complex as a function of the increasing amounts of energy
they harness. This, in conjunction with the idea of progress, constitute a growth
model. The indefinite timeline supposed by cultural evolutionists suggests that
humans will continually expand indefinitely.
So the timeline is the growth over an unspecified period of time spanning the entire
history of humans. We can try to map and predict this with a growth model
19. What is the central issue regarding nuclear waste? And what has
Fukushima, Hanford, and Carlsbad taught us?
Storage of the waste, no solution found yet.
Nuclear waste is dangerous unless it's disposed of safely or recycles. Additionally,
nuclear waste can lead o a need for policing that can impinge on civil liberties
20. How are native peoples impacted by energy decisions? Name 3
consequences.
1) When uranium deposits were found on Navajo land, the sites were sold by
the US govt to private industry and Navajo people were employed as miners,
millers, etc. They were exposed to uranium radiation on the job site through direct
contact with uranium dust (no ventilation in the mines) or drinking water, and
exposed family and community members with residue on their clothing because
there were no changing stations at the job sites. Although the government was
aware of the hazards, the native people were not informed (even Navajo supervisors
were told not to tell them), resulting in death and illness. Studies were done by the
government to find out of the health impacts but doctors were told not to tell the
patients that these illness were related to their work in the mines. the mines were
also used as playgrounds for children and as grazing areas for livestock (livestock
was found to be highly radioactive and the govt told them it was still safe for them to
eat but not safe for non-natives in NY and london, so they werent able to make a
living selling their meat). The ecological impacts of the uranium mining were not
addressed until years later, creating further health hazards and little financial
compensation has been made to these people. the navajo are still experiencing a
health crisis of epidemic proportions.
Natives generally have little power over energy decisions or their consequences, the
dominant culture usually reaps the benefits of energy decisions at the expense of
native peoples
Natives suffer from physical diseases, mental problems, contaminated
environments, and scarred communities
21. What might a long time perspective consider according to
anthropologists?
The long term consequences and sustainability of energy decisions. Long term
means thinking thousands or millions of years in the future, not just 50 years
o Nuclear waste will be radioactive and dangerous for hundreds of thousands of
years in the future
o There are long-term environmental, health, and social consequences of uranium,
coal, and oil mining and dependence
22. What does nuclear power have to do with nuclear weapons
proliferation?

Nuclear waste can be used to create
nuclear weapons, whether by
government or by terrorists
Nuclear power technology was created
from nuclear weapons technology
We have nuclear power plants to justify
why we have so many nuclear weapons

23. What does economist Boulding mean when he says Deciding under
uncertainty is bad enough, but deciding under an illusion of certainty is
catastrophic
People are not presented with correct information and so they cant make informed
decisions, which is really bad. But what is far worse is that they believe that they are
making an informed decision.
24. How recent is the idea of progress? Why has it been so powerful?
16th/17th centuries. Renaissance period. Began to rebel against
tyranny of antiquity (the greeks and romans did not believe in change or evolving
and believed in degeneration, medieval times were focused on religion and people
believed that the course of history would be satisfactorily complete if the world came
to an end in his own lifetime. Mindset shift in 16th century- began to have self
confidence in human reason, and life on this planet was recognized as possessing a
value independent of any hopes or fears connected with a life beyond the grave, and
liberation of humanity from external authority. ie, Copernicus, Bruno, Bacon.
The idea of progress is relatively recent...17th century
IT is powerful because it is a kind of optimism that everything is always getting
better, as opposed to the Greek idea that everything is decaying
o There's a certain satisfaction in knowing that mankind is at its pea and will
continue to be at its peak for all eternity. Certainly, there seems to be ample evidence
that make the case: scientific knowledge has been accumulating for hundreds of
years, technology only seems to get better, societies more complex
o Growth models assume inevitable growth and are tied together with the mindset
that humanity continues to constant grow and progress.
25. What is the 100 year war over electricity?
The concern over electricity did not begin during the mid-1900's, but rather since
the late 1880's
When the war began the issue was whether electricity would be a "commodity,"
provided by companies, or a "service," provided by the government
o This led to a lack of regulation in the electricity business that ultimately drove up
costs and hurt the consumer. The war continues between the companies and the
people.

A battle since electricity has been invented. It involves the question of whether
electricity should be a social good provided for by the state or managed by
corporations for profit
26. What does Big Oil Buys Berkeley mean? What company does Big Oil
refer to? What does BP have to do with synthetic fuels?
UC Berkeley has compromised its own academic integrity in exchange for research
funding
Research conducted in these labs must first be approved by BP officials. The
contract states that the research that is performed in these labs do not need to be
published; in essence, the University if going against the ideals "of making
knowledge public" in favor for a policy that allows knowledge to be kept hidden

BP (British Petroleum) gave money to Berkeley for Bio Fuels research. This limits
academic freedom by pushing research of synthetic fuels. It also give BP cheap labor
from grad students and cleans up their reputation. Berkeley was given $500 million.
2007
27. What does magic or religion have to do with science?

-According to anthropologist Malinowksi, all people operate within the areas of
magic, science, and religion.
-Among energy experts we find reason(science) and desire(magic) intermingled
- one of the dangers of modern science is that not only do its practitioners often fail
to distinguish magic and religion in science, but also the public is generally unaware
of the risks and uncertainties involved in their work because magic and religion are
sometimes camouflaged as science and not marked out as separate or different
activities. ie, when scientists and engineers speak of low probability of a nuclear
disaster in absence of concrete experience, they are giving us magic to soothe fears
of producers and consumers.

Science=knowledge (reason)
Magic=tradition (desire)
Religion= transcendence (humility)
Science, magic, and religion have been looked at as three different kinds of
knowledge. Scientific knowledge in western tradition is viewed as somehow being
more valid because it is "based in reality," but Professor Nader contends that there
are times when science is not rational, or when beliefs, which are really religious in
nature, masquerade as science (three cornered constellations)

Magic and reason are both beyond the rationality of science. Scientists are
participating in magical thinking by doing experimental work. Numbers dilute the
dangerous and unthinkable (like possible disaster causing death of 2% is easier to
hear than thousands of people, so are preferred when describing nuclear accidents).
Science work observed is often based on faith (unexamined assumptions including
change=maintaining status quo, progress=growth, more energy=doesnt change life
style, societies change from top down, technological fixes can solve problems and
crises). Education does little to enhance original thinking, become technicians
(specialization vs. generalization). Money and power become the end of scientific
inquiry, in sense that achievement has been linked with production and
consumption. Both hierarchy and bureaucracy get in the way of open expression.
Suffers from self censorship rather than censorship from others. Scientific research
is subject to political, financial, and entrepreneurial constraints.
28. What insights might we get from comparing non-human primates use
of energy (Prof. Milton)
The acquisition of energy is the foundation for everything
howler monkeys vs spider monkeys.
- both are same size and body weight with similar digestive tracts. howler
focus on eating leaves which takes 20.4 hours to digest, while spider focus on fruits
which is riskier and requires them to move more and rest less. spider has brain 2x
the size of howler and is similar to humans in that it takes longer to grow up while
howlder is like a dumb dog and is independent within 12 months.
We have the ability to change our systems/technologies to make use of the energy
that we have available