SYLLABUS
PS 399 (CRN 35652): Peak Oil & The
Politics of the 21st Century
Spring 2009 (4
credits)
Mon & Wed 4-5:20pm, 123 Pacific
Instructor: Tamas Golya
Office: 823 PLC
Office Hours: Mon & Wed 1:30-3pm
Email: tgolya@uoregon.edu
“The
Dick Cheney, Former
“The species Homo sapiens is not going to become extinct.
But the subspecies Petroleum Man most certainly is.”
Colin Campbell, Founder of the Association for the Study of Peak Oil
Course Description
Peak Oil is a term used by
geologists to describe the point in time at which the world’s annual oil
production reaches a maximum after which it inevitably declines. Recent
evidence suggests we are about to reach this peak, possibly over the next 5 years.
In a broader sense, Peak Oil also stands for the economic, political, and
societal effects of a dramatically changing energy supply. These effects will
in many ways create unprecedented problems, risks and opportunities for policy
makers as well as for consumers and citizens. In part due to higher oil prices,
the
This class explores the events that may be ahead of us, and what they mean. We will evaluate different policy options, including support for alternative energies. Which ones are short-term fixes, what are long-term solutions? Are resource wars around the corner? Have they already begun?
We’ll find out about the vital
role petroleum has played in the last 100 years for modern economies and in
foreign policy. We will understand why the
I strongly believe that the subject matter of this class will only become more relevant over the coming years. For this and other reasons, this class will be just as valuable to students of social sciences, geography, or business, as indeed to anyone interested in his or her future.
Required:
Richard Heinberg: The
Party's Over: Oil, War, and the Fate of Industrial Societies, 2nd edition
2005, New Society;
James Howard Kunstler: The Long Emergency: Surviving the End of Oil, Climate Change,
and Other Converging Catastrophes of
the Twenty-First Century, Paperback edition
2006, Grove Press;
Daniel Lerch: Post Carbon Cities: Planning for Energy and Climate Uncertainty, 2007, Post
Carbon Press;
Recommended:
Colin J. Campbell: The Availability of Non-Conventional Oil
and Gas, ASPO
Department of Trade and Industry, 2006, available online:
http://www.relocalize.net/files/UK_CJCampbell_report2006_ASPOIreland.pdf
Robert L. Hirsch, Roger Bezdek, Robert Wendling: Peaking of World Oil Production:
Impacts, Mitigation & Risk Management (“Hirsch Report”), SAIC / US Department
of Energy, 2005, available online:
http://www.pppl.gov/publications/pics/Oil_Peaking_1205.pdf
City of
from Oil and Natural Gas (“Portland Peak Oil Report”), 2007, available online:
http://www.portlandonline.com/osd/index.cfm?c=42894&a=145732
Various short readings and sound files will be available online or posted on Blackboard
Recommended Websites:
The internet is particularly useful for this topic, in part because it is more up-to-date than any book can be, and because the mainstream (in the media as well as in academia) is only slowly catching up to Peak Oil. The following websites are great for a first look at the subject matter (several provide excellent introductions or primers). But they will also provide quality material for take-home exercises and the optional paper, as well as keeping the lecture and in-class discussion up-to-date.
Some Interesting Websites on Peak Oil and its Effects
http://www.energybulletin.net/
http://lifeaftertheoilcrash.net/
http://www.peakoil.com/index.php
http://peakoildebunked.blogspot.com/
The Best Discussion Forum on Peak Oil. Thought-Provoking and Diverse!
Websites Accompanying the Required
http://www.richardheinberg.com/
http://www.postcarboncities.net/
Assignments and Grading
Midterm (25%)
The 50-minute midterm exam will take place on Wednesday of Week Five (4/29). It will be roughly equally divided into a multiple choice part and an essay part that tests your understanding of the material covered in the required readings AND in lecture. No open books or notes are allowed.
Tips regarding the multiple choice part: There’s always only ONE correct answer. If you have no clue, take a guess. Read carefully!
Tips regarding the essay part: Read extra carefully! Try to take every word of the question into account while writing your answer. Construct a logically coherent argument (e.g. define and describe a theoretical concept before you apply it to a case). Discuss counterarguments too. Provide examples.
Final (35%)
Same deal as midterm, only longer. In both exams, you will be given a choice of essay topics. The final will be held on Tuesday, 6/9, between 3:15 and 5:15 pm in 123 Pacific.
Take-Home and
In-Class Exercises (40%)
There will be six short exercises out of which your top four scores count.
The in-class exercises also effectively measure your attendance and will not be announced beforehand.
Optional Paper (up to
10 BONUS points)
If you are particularly interested to learn more about a topic connected to Peak Oil, you can write a short paper (8-12 pages). The paper assignment sheet on Blackboard will list available topics. The paper is due on Monday of Week 10 (6/1). You will receive feedback on your paper draft, but only if emailed to tgolya@uoregon.edu by Friday, 5/22. I do not grade on a curve. Therefore, not submitting a paper will not hurt your grade.
Class Policies
Late Work/Make Ups
There is no make-up and no graded late work for the exercises or the optional paper. In fact, the additional exercise scores that will get dropped can be seen as make-up opportunities. Only a written note (e.g. from a doctor) exempts you from having to take either exam at the assigned date. However, you need to contact me about such issues by the day of the exam, at the latest. Student-athletes should contact me as early as possible (i.e., at the beginning of the term) regarding excused days of absence and with relevant contact information for proctoring exams on the road etc.
Incompletes
Incompletes will only be granted in exceptional emergency situations (death in the immediate family, serious illness etc.). In all other cases the grade will be based upon the work completed by the end of the class, which may result in a failing grade. The grade “I” for Incomplete will be assigned only after the instructor and the student have completed and signed a Contract for Grade of Incomplete, which is available on the Political Science Department Website at http://polisci.uoregon.edu/acrobat/IncompleteContract.pdf
Plagiarism
Plagiarism is using someone else’s ideas and presenting them as your own. Just don’t do it!
If you are caught doing this you risk failing the class – even if it only applied to the optional paper. Contact me if you have any questions. Also, take a look at the following UO website for clarification and guidance: http://libweb.uoregon.edu/guides/plagiarism/students/
The
Disabilities
Students with disabilities will be accommodated. Please
contact Disability Services, 164
The #1 Class Policy
Have fun – with the assignments, the readings, the web surfing, and, hopefully, in class!
This point is especially important in light of some of the more depressing sides of the subject matter. The future depends on how each one of us will deal with the bad news. Creativity will be one important asset; the others will be optimism and the framing of problems as opportunities. You are encouraged to think outside the box. I will leave room for plenty of discussion time. Take advantage of that…
Course Outline
(A detailed reading schedule on Blackboard will show what to read when)
3/30 Introduction; “Petroleum Man”
3/30-4/1 DVD “The End of Suburbia”
4/6-4/8 Hubbert’s Peak; Peak Oil Critics; EROEI
4/13-4/15 Alternative Energies
4/20 Conservation and Mitigation
4/22-4/27 Peak
Oil and the
4/29 MIDTERM
5/4-5/11 Peak Oil and International Relations
5/13-5/18 The End of Growth? Economics vs. Ecology; Sustainability
5/20 The Psychology of Peak Oil; Religion & Class; Intergenerational Justice
5/25 No class (Memorial Day)
5/27-6/3 Solutions (OPTIONAL PAPER DUE on 6/1)
6/9 FINAL 3:15-5:15pm