sum sums summertime

What a whirlwind of a month.  I wrapped up finals, wrapped up life at Hatelberg (my home for my first year at NHH) and made my way back (taking the long way due to volcanos and hurricanes) to sunny San Diego for the summer time.  And, since returning home, I've been keeping busy.  But, for those of you who know me, I'm sure that's not a big surprise :)  Now that I'm settled back into life in SD, I'm looking forward to blogging much more regularly.  There's so much I want to share! Just so little time to sit down and gather my thoughts.  

Let me start with my super last weekend in Norway.  My birthday was May 20th and my dear friends Bea (Germany), Vale (Italy) and Martha (Norway) organized a fantastic weekend to Stavanger and hiking Preikestolen (or the 'Pulpit' rock.... you will see why below).  We are a little posse (all ENE majors) and have a great time together causing trouble..... but mostly being nerds.  Martha's bday was May 16th and this was our last weekend together until next spring.  It was the perfect wrap up to our year together.

We didn't take this photo but just to give you a different perspective

my BV gals!

Isn't Norway beautiful?!  I really loved all of the outdoor activities this past year and I'm looking forward to more hiking this fall. 

I also wanted to share a neat graphic I came across at the end of the semester.  I think this is a great visual of something one of my classes looked at this semester- potential energy from natural resources.  The amazing thing is how much energy the sun gives us- really enough to cover the energy we consume it's just a matter of harnessing the power (goodness that sounds like a bad movie line).    Check it out:

Some interesting numbers I just saw from the EIA (source EIA) on electricity generation numbers over last year in the US:

solar generation in march 2011 up 37% over march 2010

wind generation in march 2011 up 20% over march 2010

hydro generation in march 2011 up 52.2% over march 2010 (and up 28.9% from Feb 2011)

natural gas generation in march 2011 up 5% over March 2010 (up 0.5% from Feb 2011)

nuclear generation in march 2011 up 1.6% over March 2010 (up 1.3% from Feb 2011)

Next up I'll write a little about what I've been learning about being back in SD.  Hello algal biofuels!  Also, I've been enlisted to help on my parents kitchen remodel and I might end up teaching surfing?  Ahhhh, never a dull moment.  Oh yes, and last Monday I ran up to LA to play a show at The Mint.  All good things.  I'm grateful for my opportunities.

Heading off to the San Diego Wind Energy Symposium tomorrow.

hugs from sunny (with some June gloom popping up) So Cal,
lisa

beeeeeeeveeeeeee

the social network

I'm relatively new to twitter and sometimes feel it's a bit decadent (does every intimate detail of someone's life really need to be broadcast?).  But, it is a fun way to keep up with people while being abroad as well as let people in to funny random things that happen on a daily basis in Norway.  And, a feature I do like is being able to subscribe to what is essentially a news feed from some different sources like Paste Magazine (Music), The Economist, NPR News and the EIA (U.S. Energy Information Administration).  Not to long after writing my post a, b, c's, these updates filled my twitter feed.....

Ouch.  Almost $1 up in both gas and diesel from a year ago. People have to be feeling this on their budgets.  Gas is a relatively inelastic good in the short run (I know, I'm getting all economics-y on ya) meaning peoples behavior doesn't change much.  The bigger question will be the effect higher prices have on the long run.  Do we start getting serious about smaller cars?  Or investing better in usable public transportation?    The probability this stimulates important R&D in alternatives is good.  And, the future will remain to be scene.  But, I have an idea.  Instead of moaning about how high gas prices are (which, might I remind us, the rest of the world laughs at because we have some of the lowest gas prices), let's use that good old American ingenuity and figure out some new and better solutions.  We've always been pioneers, why not keep exploring new territory?

And, what the hey... click here if you want to follow me on twitter ;)

socially yours and studying for finals,
lisa liv

a, b, c's

Hello Hello!  So, i've decided.  It is time.  While it's fun to post about my trips and goings on, part of my intention for this blog is to share what I'm learning in my program.  There's so many exciting things going on and energy is of the utmost importance- starting now.  I'm really pleased with what I'm studying and feel it's important to help spread information.

I'm stating with some information presented by the head of micro-economic analysis of petroleum for Nordea Bank who presented on campus last week.  This is something we've been covering in class but it really hit me in her presentation.  Below is information from the EIA (U.S. Energy Information Administration) on the top 15 oil exporting nations from 2009 (generally the same today):

Don't worry about the barrels so much.  Take a good look down the list of countries.  I'd venture to say Norway and Canada are the only two really 'stable' countries on that list.  2 out of 15, hmmmmm.

And, guess who the biggest oil importer is?  You got it, the good old U.S of A.  I'm sure I will preach the need to reduce our use of fossil fuels somewhere along the way.  But, today, this post is to simply make the point, we are relying on unstable sources for the lifeblood of our daily functioning.  Does this concern anyone else?!  You might have heard the term 'energy security' being thrown around.  This is exactly what it means- having stable sources supplying our energy needs.

So, what do we do?  Do we drill more of our own domestic petroleum supply?  Well, let's be honest, it's all finite (ok, maybe not in our generation, but, come on, we are smart people, we can do this!).  Do we keep ourselves reliant on oil?  I believe it's time to start getting more aggressive about other options and I hope this blog will now start building a good case for why and how.

As for oil, EIA predicts gas prices will remain high through the summer months, around $3.71 a gallon (click here for article).  I know y'all don't like the sound of that (or maybe you do because you know high gas prices are the one thing to make people really start looking at the severity of the issue).  But, as some perspective, gas in Norway is typically over $9 a gallon.  Perhaps that would change car purchase decisions and driving decisions?  Just saying.

Mom and I were just visiting friends in Copenhagen and our friends just got a new Skoda 'GreenLine' car.  The car averages 68.9 miles per gallon... holy wow!  Ok, ok, it lacks a little pickup some people might want, but still- impressive!

this is not their Skoda but gives you the idea

I leave you with one last thing for today- the US Department of Energy Solar Decathlon.  This competition challenges 20 collegiate teams to design, build and operate solar-powered houses that are cost effective, energy efficient and attractive.  I love this!  Brilliant for the government to involve young smart minds in this way.  Here's an entertaining little piece about Ohio States team getting ready.  They came in 10th last year and are looking to win.  Oh the drama!

Off to do some reading about hydro as a good energy storage device especially when integrating more wind power into the electricity grid system.

energetically yours,
lisa liv