Axiverse Cosmology and the Energy Scale of Inflation

Ultra-light axions (m_a
I will also present preliminary results of constraints to this model using up-to-date cosmological observations, which verify the above picture. The parameter space is interesting to explore due to a strongly mass dependent covariance matrix, motivating comparisons between Metropolis-Hastings and nested sampling. Finally I discuss fine-tuning and naturalness in these models.

Energy and the Environment - What Physicists Can Do

The global warming
crisis is part of a bigger transformation in which humanity realizes that the
Earth is a finite system and that our population, energy usage, and the like
cannot continue to grow exponentially. While politics and economics pose the
biggest challenges, physicists are in a good position to help make this
transition a bit easier. After a quick review of the problems, we discuss a few
ways physicists can help. 


Energy: The Problem To Solve on TVO's The Agenda with Steve Paikin

How hopeful can we be about new technologies paving a path away from our
current reliance on oil-based energy? Energy experts investigate the
alternatives in a moderated discussion presented live on TVO’s The Agenda with Steve Paikin. Speakers include: Barry Brook, Walt Patterson, Tom Rand, Zoë Caron, and Jatin Nathwani

Energy: The Way We Share on TVO's The Agenda with Steve Paikin

As the world’s population inches toward the 8 billion mark, energy
experts look at how supply and demand of energy will affect global
economics and politics in a moderated discussion on TVO’s The Agenda with Steve Paikin. Speakers include: Jason Blackstock, Jian hua Ding, Velma McColl, Vagish Sharma, and Jose Maria Valenzuela

Energy: The Way We Live on TVO's The Agenda with Steve Paikin

From the buildings we live in to the places we work — we use a lot of
energy to keep our habitats lit, warm and efficient. Is there a better
way? Energy experts participate in a moderated discussion presented live
on TVO’s The Agenda with Steve Paikin. Speakers include: Cathy Foley, Maria Skyllas-Kazacos, David Keith, Jatin Nathwani, and Terri Meyer Boake

Energy: The Way We Move on TVO's The Agenda with Steve Paikin

Trains, planes and automobiles — what are we doing to find new resources
and modes of transportation? And will it lead us to rethink how we
live? Energy experts participate in a moderated discussion presented
live on TVO’s The Agenda with Steve Paikin. Speakers include: David Keith, Greg Naterer, Maria Skyllas-Kazacos, Aaron Leopold, and Jeff Casello

Energy: The Problem We've Created on TVO's The Agenda with Steve Paikin

What happens when we run out of cheap energy and what lessons are we
learning along the way? Energy experts participate in a moderated
discussion presented live on TVO’s The Agenda with Steve Paikin. Speakers include: Vaclav Smil, Zoë Caron, Marlo Raynolds, Robin Batterham, and Alán Aspuru-Guzik

Technology, Energy and Nature - Human Values and Open Choices

As humans, we have developed technologies to control energy
transformations from agriculture to nuclear weapons. Increasing
technological ability has co-evolved with increasing intensity of energy
use and growing complexity of our civilization. These forces have
shaped our environmental footprint and our very conception of nature.
It's tempting to believe that physical limits constrain our energy
and environmental choices as never before; but Dr. Keith argues
precisely the opposite: our growing technological leverage makes access

Civilization Far From Equilibrium - Energy, Complexity, and Human Survival

Human societies use complexity – within their institutions and
technologies – to address their various problems, and they need
high-quality energy to create and sustain this complexity. But now
greater complexity is producing diminishing returns in wellbeing, while
the energetic cost of key sources of energy is rising fast.
Simultaneously, humankind’s problems are becoming vastly harder, which
requires societies to deliver yet more complexity and thus consume yet
more energy. Resolving this paradox is the central challenge of the 21st

Energy Transitions

Energy transitions: a future without fossil energies is desirable,
and it is eventually inevitable, but the road from today's
overwhelmingly fossil-fueled civilization to a new global energy system
based on efficient conversions of renewable flows will be neither fast
nor cheap.
Distinguished Professor and author Vaclav Smil explores technological
transitions of past, present and future that are critical for
understanding how to shift to a low carbon future.