CACOR Live | Patrick Chuang | What is and is not possible in a fossil-fuel free world? | 4 Feb 2026 at 16:00 EST

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Speaker: Patrick Chuang

Subject: What is and is not possible in a fossil-fuel free world?

Time: 4 February, 2026 13:30 Eastern Time (US and Canada)

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Summary:

A world whose energy mix excludes fossil fuels is highly desirable as it can stabilize climate.  Many carbon-free energy sources, such as solar and wind, have the advantage that the “fuel” is free, as it is present-day sunlight. However, capturing, transforming, transporting and storing this energy is not free, and requires society to invest materials and energy into maintaining this energy infrastructure of, e.g., solar panels, a power grid, and batteries, which can be viewed as an “overhead” on modern society. In this talk, I will explore the material and energy constraints of a fossil-fuel free world, focusing on what these constraints imply for a society that is built upon this foundation.

Biography:

Dr. Patrick Chuang is a professor in the Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences at the University of California Santa Cruz. He is an atmospheric scientist who primarily studies clouds, usually from research aircraft, and their impacts on climate, in addition to more recently doing research on the implications of a green energy transition.  He has a B.Sc. in Chemical Engineering from the University of Alberta, and a Ph.D. in Environmental Engineering Science from the California Institute of Technology.

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