Rohit Rants: Lessons from the 2011 BERC Energy Symposium

I usually have a very dreary view of the future, especially with regards to climate change and the ecological crisis. But now, after having attended the 2011 BERC Energy Symposium, my view on the future is far brighter than it has ever been before.

BERC stands for the Berkeley Energy and Resources Collaborative, and in its own words, BERC “…is a is a multidisciplinary network of UC Berkeley students, alumni, faculty, industry professionals, and advisors who seek to turn world-leading research into world-changing solutions by tackling tough and timely energy and environmental challenges.” And with over 3,000 members, you can be sure that the organization lives up to its description pretty damn well.

The annual energy symposium took place this year on October 20^th and 21^st, and is BERC’s flagship event and the “…largest student-run energy conference on the west coast.” This year, it brought more than five hundred of the world’s most brilliant minds together to have discussion and collaboration on the booming clean-tech industry and the methods by which businesses, universities, government, and industry could further coordinate the push for a clean and green future. The panels covered a variety of issues in the field of new energy, such as the expansion of solar power in the United States, the role of nuclear power in a green-energy landscape, the impact globalization has had on renewable energy development, and many, many other issues.

There is simply too much to write about with respect to the conference, so I will focus in on one aspect—the speech given by Arun Majumdar, the Director of ARPA-E. ARPA-E stands for Advanced Research Projects Agency—Energy, and is involved in scientific research and development that borders on the science fiction. An example of a project is PETRO, an ARPA project that seeks to genetically engineer algae and tobacco into one super-plant that can be processed into bio-fuel for vehicles. If the project succeeds, it would make bio-fuels as cheap as oil, making energy independence a reality and strike a major blow at the profits of one of the most monopolistic and corrupt industries in history.

But the point of the speech was not to harp on about advanced scientific research, but to emphasize the magnitude, urgency, and process by which society must overcome the environmental and energy challenges today—arguably the most significant challenge humanity has ever faced. And while the political climate of Congress is little more than a fiasco, such facts should not blind us to the positive realities that the private sector and the universities around the nation and the globe are not waiting on policies in order to innovate and take risks—and indeed, the very existence of ARPA-E is a sign that there is at least some level of foresight in the White House with regards to the coming energy crunch. And although the Western economies appear to be in a death spiral, the energy sector has never been more robust and prosperous. Things are bad, yes—but the bright spots of society are not only still alive, but are growing brighter by the day.

Still, more needs to be done—more innovation, more research, more collaboration, and more hard work. And so, I’ll end this post with the same quote by Martin Luther King, Jr. that Majumdar ended his speech with:

We are now faced with the fact that tomorrow is today. We are confronted with the fierce urgency of now. In this unfolding conundrum of life and history there is such a thing as being too late. 

Come work in the energy sector, folks. The world needs you.