Summary: Energy impacts every aspect of our lives – yet energy remains a vast and complex subject. For the past two years I have been filming a major documentary on global energy. Based on personal visits to many of the world’s leading energy sites and conversations with top industry, academic and government leaders, I will look inside the complex world of energy and provide a realistic and balanced view of energy supply, demand, efficiency, infrastructure, and scale. All major forms of energy will be considered. We will make several discoveries together, some anticipated and others unexpected, and in so doing attempt to simplify and unravel the energy transition.
Energy underpins modern economies and when the economy struggles, investment in the environment falters
Coal is globally abundant and, unless a price is set on carbon, relatively cheap
Conventional oil production is beginning to plateau, but not because of resource limits
Natural gas is globally abundant, versatile, and cleaner than coal
Uranium (nuclear) is globally abundant, reliable, and clean
Carbon Capture and Storage is unlikely to happen at any scale that will have an impact on climate
“Renewables” produce intermittent electricity and require significant advances in electricity storage and transmission
Energy efficiency is vital and can be improved across all consumption sectors
Energy security – available, affordable, reliable and sensible – requires a government, industry, academic partnership
Dr. Scott W. Tinker is the Director of the Bureau of Economic Geology, the State Geologist of Texas, the director of the Advanced Energy Consortium, 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 spent 17 years in the upstream oil and gas industry prior to coming to UT in 2000. Scott is past President of the American Association of Petroleum Geologists (‘08-‘09) and the Association of American State Geologists (’06-’07). Tinker was a Distinguished Lecturer for the AAPG (’97), Society of Petroleum Engineers (‘02), and Distinguished Ethics Lecturer for the AAPG (’06-’07) and has won best paper awards in two major technical journals. Tinker holds appointments on the National Petroleum Council, the Interstate Oil and Gas Compact Commission and serves on several private, professional, and academic boards. Tinker’s passion is building bridges between academia, industry and government and he has given over 400 invited and keynote lectures and visited nearly 50 countries towards this end. His latest project is a feature-length energy documentary, co-produced with award winning filmmaker Harry Lynch. Tinker’s degrees are from the University of Colorado (Ph.D.), the University of Michigan (MS), and Trinity University (BS).
« Hide
