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Energy Transition Talk

By: University of Southern California | Ershaghi Center for Energy Transition
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  • Summary

  • Welcome to the Energy Transition Talk, the podcast that explores the challenges and opportunities of transitioning to a low-carbon future. Join hosts Jim, Justine, and Paulina as they chat with professors, industry experts, researchers, and students to unpack some of the most pressing issues involved in the energy transition and how they affect us. By featuring diverse perspectives, we hope to inspire you to make the best and most informed decisions for your communities—because ultimately, the energy transition depends on each one of us.
    University of Southern California | Ershaghi Center for Energy Transition
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Episodes
  • Ep 14 | Are We Ready for the Energy Transition?

    Ep 14 | Are We Ready for the Energy Transition?
    Apr 22 2024
    In our final episode (!!) of Season One of Energy Transition Talk, we look back at how far we’ve come, and look forward to where we hope to go from here. We start by chatting with Dr. Scott Tinker, a geology professor at UT Austin and the State Geologist of Texas. He is also a documentary filmmaker, host of the energy and climate talk show Energy Switch, and host of the radio program Earth Date. We chat about how he got into filmmaking and the importance of media in informing and inspiring the public about energy; the global challenges we face regarding the energy transition and how we can carve a “Radical Middle” path forward; and what inspires him about the future of the energy transition. We then bring back 3 guests who we’ve had on previous episodes: Dr. Don Paul, engineering professor at USC and Executive Director of the USC Energy Institute (see Episode 3); Dr. Iraj Ershaghi, Director of the Ershaghi Center for Energy Transition (E-CET) and petroleum engineering professor at USC (see Episode 1), and Michael Edwards, an energy consultant and visionary leader in social change, digital transformation, and the energy transition (see Episode 6). We ask each of them to comment on various aspects of the question: are we ready for the energy transition? Finally, we end by summarizing Season One of the podcast and reflecting on our key takeaways from all the conversations we’ve had with our amazing guests! 02:16 Interview with Dr. Tinker 28:20 Panel with Dr. Ershaghi and Dr. Paul 52:40 Interview with Michael Edwards 01:11:10 Reflection and Concluding Remarks Thank you so much for coming along on this journey with us! We hope you enjoyed listening to these conversations and learned a thing or two about the energy transition that you can share with a friend. And we hope that you will continue to stay involved in the energy transition, whatever that looks like for you, because the energy transition is up to you and me. Don’t forget to subscribe to our podcast so you can automatically get access to our new episodes – you can find us on Apple, Spotify, YouTube, or wherever you get your podcasts. And we would appreciate it so much if you could leave a rating and review, and let us know what you thought about this episode, as well as any suggestions you have for future seasons of the podcast. Special thanks to all of our amazing guests and as always, to Abhi, our technical guru. This podcast is sponsored by the USC Ershaghi Center for Energy Transition. For more of Dr. Tinker’s work, check out these resources! Switch Energy Alliance: nonprofit whose vision is to inspire an energy-educated future through film Switch International Energy Case Competition (SIECC) Documentary films: Switch and Switch On PBS, Energy Switch: The Energy and Climate talk show Earth Date: Public service radio program TEDx talk: The Dual Challenge: Energy and Environment (May 9, 2022) Fortune: Reducing energy options doesn’t work. Just ask Europe—and the U.S. states where gas prices are rising (Oct. 18, 2022) Scientific American: Carbon Pricing Is Not a Fix for Climate Change (Aug. 16, 2019) Forbes: Why “Keep It In The Ground” Is Not Necessarily Green (Aug. 10, 2017) Talk: An Honest & Sensible Conversation about Global Energy (Nov. 8, 2023) Additional reading: World Resources Institute, Unpacking COP28: Key Outcomes from the Dubai Climate Talks, and What Comes Next, Dec. 17, 2023. Reuters, New COP28 draft deal stops short of fossil fuel 'phase out’, Dec. 12, 2023 WSJ, China Files WTO Complaint Against U.S. Over Electric-Vehicle Subsidies, Mar. 26, 2024 NYTimes, U.S. and China on Climate: How the World’s Two Largest Polluters Stack Up, July 19, 2023 Bloomberg, How China Beat Everyone to Be World Leader in Electric Vehicles, July 17, 2023 Disclaimer: The views, information, or opinions expressed during the Energy Transition Talk series are solely those of the individuals involved and do not necessarily represent those of the Ershaghi Center for Energy Transition (E-CET) or the producers of this podcast.
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    1 hr and 19 mins
  • Ep 13 | Where Will The Future Generation of Energy Workers Come From?

    Ep 13 | Where Will The Future Generation of Energy Workers Come From?
    Apr 1 2024

    In this episode of Energy Transition Talk, we talk about the future of the energy workforce and how we can recruit and prepare the next generation energy workforce for the energy transition.


    The International Energy Agency (IEA) anticipates that adopting clean energy technologies will create 14 million jobs by 2030. However, many students, concerned about the fossil fuel industry’s role in climate change and its job security risks, are turning away from careers traditionally associated with the fossil fuel industry, like petroleum engineering and mining. This can create a shortage of positions needed for the energy transition. The energy transition will depend on engineers, electricians, plumbers, and mechanics—just to name a few—to build the infrastructure needed for the energy transition (think power lines, heat pumps, and wind turbines). So if you’re thinking about pursuing a career in STEM or energy more broadly – we need you!


    How can we manage this critical transition in the energy workforce? To talk about this challenge, Justine chats with Dr. Barbara Ransom, an internationally known geoscientist at the National Science Foundation. They discuss current trends in the energy workforce, the broad range of skills we’ll need for the energy transition, the implications of artificial intelligence (AI), and the challenges and potential solutions to increasing interest in STEM and green jobs.


    Jim then speaks with Abhinav Vishal, a petroleum engineering student at the Rajiv Gandhi Institute of Petroleum Technology in India, about the role that petroleum engineering can play in the energy transition.

    02:33 Interview with Dr. Ransom

    37:51 Interview with Abhinav Vishal

    53:57 Concluding Remarks

    Don’t forget to subscribe to our podcast so you can automatically get access to our new episodes – you can find us on Apple, Spotify, YouTube, or wherever you get your podcasts. And we would appreciate it so much if you could leave a rating and review, and let us know what you thought about this episode! Special thanks to our guests for today and Abhi, our technical guru, for his behind-the-scenes contributions to our podcast. This podcast is sponsored by the USC Ershaghi Center for Energy Transition.

    Referenced in the podcast and additional resources:

    • Wall Street Journal, Big Oil’s Talent Crisis: High Salaries Are No Longer Enough, August 6, 2023

    • New Yorker, The Great Electrician Shortage, Apr. 24, 2023

    • IEA, The reskilling challenge: How can we leave no one behind in the energy transition?, Apr. 26, 2023

    • McKinsey, Toward a more orderly US energy transition: Six key action areas, Jan. 12, 2023


    Disclaimer: The views, information, or opinions expressed during the Energy Transition Talk series are solely those of the individuals involved and do not necessarily represent those of the Ershaghi Center for Energy Transition (E-CET) or the producers of this podcast.

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    56 mins
  • Ep 12 | Electrification of Transportation and Reimagining Mobility

    Ep 12 | Electrification of Transportation and Reimagining Mobility
    Mar 15 2024
    Transportation is the largest source of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in the U.S., and makes up about a quarter of all energy-related GHG emissions in the world. Thus, we have ambitious goals when it comes to transportation, such as California’s commitment to transition fully to electric vehicle sales by 2035. The U.S. bought over 1 million EVs through the end of 2023, which made almost 8% of all vehicles sold in the U.S. and 20% of auto sales in California. Globally, 9.5 million EVs were sold in 2023, a 31% increase from the prior year. But is this progress fast enough? In today’s episode, we talk with Dr. Beia Spiller—Transportation Program Director at Resources for the Future (RFF), a nonprofit that conducts economic and policy research on topics including energy and transportation—about the current state and the future of electric transportation, the related equity and environmental justice challenges we face, and how we can rethink mobility. We then chat with Chris Merola, a film student at USC, and Beth Prakash, a new EV owner in the Bay Area (who is also a presentation designer, check out her website here!), to hear about their experiences driving an EV. You don’t want to miss these conversations! 02:36 Interview with Dr. Spiller 33:35 Interview with Chris Merola 46:43 Interview with Beth Prakash 1:00:06 Concluding Remarks If you haven’t already, please subscribe to our podcast so you can automatically get access to our new episodes – you can find us on Apple, Spotify, YouTube, or wherever you get your podcasts. And we would appreciate it so much if you could leave a rating and review. Special thanks to our guests for today and Abhi, our technical guru, for their important contributions to today’s episode. This podcast is sponsored by the USC Ershaghi Center for Energy Transition. Disclaimer: The views, information, or opinions expressed during the Energy Transition Talk series are solely those of the individuals involved and do not necessarily represent those of the Ershaghi Center for Energy Transition (E-CET) or the producers of this podcast. Referenced in this episode and additional resources: NY Times: Guide to electric vehicle tax credits NY Times, Feb. 17, 2024: The Biden Administration intends to relax limits on tailpipe emissions designed to fuel the switch to electric vehicles Career Opportunities at Resources for the Future (RFF) Green Business Impact Podcast with Beia Spiller: Electrifying Fleets: Challenges, Opportunities, and Why Transformation MUST Happen, June 8, 2023 Beia Spiller and Suzanne Russo, A Tale of Two Highway Plans: a planned renovation of the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway in New York City raises the opportunity to consider community input and environmental justice. RFF Radio: Sensing Air Pollution Exposure in New York City Schools, with Beia Spiller, July 12, 2022 RFF Report: Medium- and Heavy-Duty Vehicle Electrification: Challenges, Policy Solutions, and Open Research Questions, May 3, 2023 RFF Report: Policy Challenges for Accessing Critical Minerals to Electrify Vehicle Transport LA Times, California EV sales are falling. Is it just temporary, or a threat to state climate goals?, Feb. 15, 2024 Reuters, Global electric car sales rose 31% in 2023, Jan. 10, 2024 Cox Automotive, A Record 1.2 Million EVs Were Sold in the U.S. in 2023, Jan. 9, 2024 White House Blog, Full Charge: The Economics of Building a National EV Charging Network, Dec. 11, 2023 McKinsey, The real global EV buzz comes on two wheels, August 17, 2023 EPA, Sources of Greenhouse Gas Emissions UNEP, Transport Elizabeth Prakash Official Website - http://elizabethprakashdesignstudio.com
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    1 hr and 2 mins
Earth Sciences
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