September 13, 2008

CalTech Energy Expert Says the Sun is the Answer





Lewis is the George L. Argyros Professor of Chemistry at CalTech, the California Institute of Technology. He has studied energy worldwide and recently co-authored a study on Arizona's energy future for the Communications Institute.

He speaks Wednesday at the University of Arizona as part of a lecture series on "Energy, Sustainability and the Environment."


"It depends on what you value," Lewis said.

"There is the low-cost axis, and if you value only the cost, it may not come for a very long time. There is plenty of coal - we know how to make it into liquid fuel, so even if we start to run out of crude, we have between hundreds and thousands of years."



"You're already getting electricity for a nickel a kilowatt, and I'm saying I'll get it from the sun and charge you 25 cents."



"It's more energy in one hour than we consume in a year, more in a year than in human history."

He paraphrased bank robber Willie Sutton's famous comment that he robbed banks because that's where the money is.

"Why should you get energy from the sun? That's where the energy is."

It won't be easy or cheap and it won't be quick, Lewis said, but he's beginning to think we might do something.



What: Nate Lewis, speaking on "Where in the world will our energy come from?"

When: 4 p.m. Wednesday.


Admission: Free.

Lewis' talk is part of a lecture series, "Energy, Sustainability and the Environment," presented by the UA's colleges of engineering, science, and agriculture and life sciences.


Originally published by TOM BEAL, ARIZONA DAILY STAR.
