Topics Discussed: Areas of focus, Caltech, the best fifth of MIT, BP’s chief scientist for 5 years, Why every scientist should work in the private sector, 4 percent of the world uses 20 percent of the power, Promising future beyond petroleum, Biofuels, competition of farmland for fuel or food, Instability in Europe, the problem with renewables, Reliable, affordable, clean, Parallel power?, Cobalt and cost, The perfect storm in Germany, Polling terror and pandering, Techno-economic realities, 6.5 billion need fossil fuels , The argument for mass suffering, Malthus, population and extinction, IPCC Reports, the summary, and the summary of the summary, 97 percent of scientists agree? , Devils advocate, since 1980 the world has greened 40 percent, Suspicious predictions, climate and the stock market, Climate models: assumptions, averages, and vertical movement, Nuclear power, economics and genuine emissions reduction, The politicians scream apocalypse, the science whispers optimism, Attention to loss over gains, Sustained imagination, America’s obsession with short term results, Obesity is a bigger threat than starvation, Credible advocates in the political sphere, Cowardice in the face of cancellation, The issue with the term “climate scientist”, Depressing and demoralizing the next generation, Public opinion, ignorant discourse, Telling young people that political activism is a means of morality, Critical thinking and a basis of respect.
Dr. Steven Koonin
Steven Koonin is an American theoretical physicist and former director of the Center for Urban Science and Progress at New York University. He is also a professor in the Department of Civil and Urban Engineering at NYU's Tandon School of Engineering. From 2004 to 2009, Koonin was employed by BP as the oil and gas company’s Chief Scientist. From 2009 to 2011, he was Under Secretary for Science, Department of Energy, in the Obama administration.
