Instructor:  Prof. Tad W. Patzek, patzek@ce.berkeley.edu

When and Where : Wednesdays: 532 Davis, 3-4 p.m.

How much: One hour of discussion/~2 hours of work in teams.

What to bring to class: Good spirit and  will to work with others

Grading: Pass/Fail based on attendance and participation

Brief Course Description: Ethanol is touted as a renewable clean fuel for the future.  But is it?  In small groups, we will investigate the amount of energy put into ethanol production from corn (fertilizers, fuel, fermentation, distillation, etc.)  We will also investigate the environmental impacts of ethanol production, who is behind the pro-ethanol propaganda, and who stands to gain the most.  Each group will report in a sequence to be determined later by you. Together we will write an investigative report and send it to New York Times, or a similarly important newspaper.  If our findings are sufficiently deep and interesting, one of you will deliver the paper at a future conference, all expenses paid and my help included.  The class will pick the lucky winner.  This class may be of interest to civil, mechanical, chemical and bioengineers, and the undeclared majors.

Sponsoring Department: Civil and Environmental Engineering

Required text: None, I will bring several texts for you to use