ECON 19
From Rockefeller to Tesla, 150 Years of US Energy Disruption Winter 2020

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Class Details

In just the last two decades, the United States has gone from being the world’s largest energy importer to being close to a net energy exporter. What accounts for this remarkable and globally disruptive transformation, and what are its long-term implications? To be sure, oil shale production technology, aka “fracking,” has been a critical driver. However, alternative energy (wind, solar) and conservation have also played important parts. This course starts with a historical perspective, examining the roots of the modern energy industry via John D Rockefeller’s autobiography. We then study the evolution of global supply and demand for oil, natural gas, and alternatives, including the important role of market price signals and volatility. Which technologies, including fracking in the 2000s, have been historically the most important? More broadly, we also review how geo-politics has often been a function of geology (energy’s location). Course includes: 1) team debate where students pair-up, select a topic from current energy issues, and then be randomly assigned to defend one side of the issue; 2) 10-page paper. Adjunct Instructor Bio: James F. Clark ’84 is a Partner and Investment Committee member at Sound Shore Management, Inc., a value investment manager. Previously, Jim was at Credit Suisse First Boston where he was Managing Director, Director of Research, and the firm’s International and Domestic Oil equity research analyst. During his equity research tenure, he was selected to 14 Institutional Investor All-America research team positions, and also was a Wall Street Journal All-Star and Hall of Fame member.
The Class: Format: lecture
Limit: 16
Grading: pass/fail only
Requirements/Evaluation: final project and a 10-page paper
Prerequisites: none
Enrollment Preferences: seniors; Economics majors; History majors
Materials/Lab Fee: $30 and cost of books

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