The Global Energy Scene: A Few Things You Might Not Read in the Times
Scott W. Tinker
Over the past few decades, a story of “good” and “bad” energy has evolved: renewable good, fossil and nuclear bad. Schoolkids are taught “facts” about energy that often violate economic and even physical principles. Passionate evangelists, Hollywood actors, activist investors, and even national newspapers present slanted “ideal world” scenarios. As the United States considers its position in energy—from climate and carbon, to poverty and immigration, to renewable energy and reregulation of electricity markets—it is vital to understand the facts, real costs and benefits, and global implications of various policies in order to minimize politics and maximize lasting impact. I’ll review a few global-energy realities that you are unlikely to read in the Times, and pose a few questions whose answers might challenge what you think. As Mark Twain is credited with saying, “It ain't what you don't know that gets you into trouble. It's what you know for sure that just ain't so.”
Biography
Dr. Scott W. Tinker is director of the Bureau of Economic Geology, the State Geologist of Texas, a professor holding the Allday Endowed Chair and acting Associate Dean of Research in the Jackson School of Geosciences at The University of Texas at Austin. Scott is past president of the American Association of Petroleum Geologists, the Association of American State Geologists, the Gulf Coast Association of Geological Societies, and the American Geosciences Institute. Scott is a Halbouty Leadership Medalist, a Boyd Medalist, and a Fellow of the Geological Society of America. He has given over 650 keynote and invited lectures to government, industry, academic, and general audiences, and visited nearly 60 countries. Tinker serves on many private, public, academic, and government boards and advisory councils and co-produced and is featured in the award-winning energy documentary film, Switch, which is on thousands of college campuses and has been seen by over 15 million people. He is working on another film project, Switch ON, focused on energy poverty.