Event name: Energy Geotechnology Seminar
Event time and place: 10/22/2025
Dr. Santamaria first introduced graphs showing a correlation between energy usage and child mortality rate as well as life expectancy. He illustrated periods such as the industrial revolution and the world wars that have caused major changes in the graphs, rapid increases in the case of the industrial revolution and rapid drops in during the world wars. After going through the past of energy usage, he talks about the present, and introduces a new concept where we assign value to energy production. By thinking about it this way, we can compare different sources of energy production economically and make more objective policy decisions. Dr. Santamaria then went through a few different energy sources, like natural gas, wind, nuclear, and talked about their benefits and drawbacks. He highlighted the vulnerabilities of certain renewable energy sources like wind and solar that could be vulnerable to seasonal changes, necessitating the usage of non-renewable resources like coal to supplement the drops in energy production.
Dr. Santamarina made many points that I found convincing, such as assigning values to units of energy. This makes a lot of sense, as our society revolves around the transfer of wealth around the globe, and energy is a commodity that, like everyday goods, could be traded. I am, however, doubtful of whether we can assign values to units of energy so easily, as actually producing energy is just the first step. We will also need to take into account the land (certain climates will affect certain energy sources) as well as the infrastructure needed to transmit the energy to where it needs to go. If we assign a value to the carbon consumed during the construction as well, we will also need to take that into account. This method of assigning values to units of energy will indeed help with compare different sources of energy production economically and make more objective policy decisions, but there are still many factors that need to be taken into consideration. Dr. Santamarina’s point about a direct correlation between energy access and life expectancy was very convincing, as the link is well established and taught in many classes.