Title: LEAD-IN: What's in a name?
Course: Project week - Leuphana-Copy > Section: What is renewable energy? (science focus)

In order to understand renewable energy sources, we need to establish a shared understanding of its terms and definitions. But sometimes, these meanings get lost or hijacked in different contexts and different communities.

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Task:

Here are some examples of how the word 'energy' (and related forms like 'power') is used in popular discourse. What do the speakers mean by energy? Which meanings do you find useful, which ones not? Discuss.

[fa-comments-o] You can discuss your findings in the Course Forum.

[fa-pencil] You can document your findings in the Project Journal.

Source 1

Greens warn Labor not to do clean energy deal that protects coal power

(...) With parliament due to resume on Monday, and with the Turnbull [i.e. the Australian Prime Minister] government inching closer to finally resolving and outlining its energy policy, the Greens' climate change spokesman, Adam Bandt, will bring forward a bill to prolong and expand the existing renewable energy target scheme. (...)

_— The Guardian, September 3, 2017

Source 2

Hurricane Harvey, global warming and the need for alternative energy

As Houston experiences its third “500-year” flood in three years, we must realize that alternative energy is no longer an alternative. It’s essential. The floodwaters have already claimed the lives of at least 46 people, and caused several environmental hazards. But the damage left behind by Harvey will not be isolated to southern Texas alone. (...)

_— The Denver Post, September 1, 2017

Source 3

_— Logo of the EU 'Sustainable Energy Week', June 19-25, 2017, in Brussels, Belgium, to "exchange ideas about providing secure, clean and efficient energy." http://www.eusew.eu/

Source 4

Fusion is the holy grail of energy production. And plenty of investors around the world are betting on it as the emission-free, waste-free energy of the future. There's no real proof we're there yet, but we're close.

_— Voice of America, _May 5, 2017