At the first Carbon Management Technology Conference last year, a speaker on an electric vehicles panel contended that “electrons don’t come from heaven.” His point was that EVs still contribute to pollution because somewhere along the line carbon is burned to produce electricity.
Dr. Saifur Rahman, an EV and Smart Grid expert, had a friendly retort for his fellow panelist: “What about lightning?”
The sparks are sure to be flying again when CMTC is held in the Washington, D.C., area in October. Conference organizers are accepting abstracts until 15 April.
CMTC is designed to share the latest research and practices in reducing the greenhouse gas emissions believed responsible for accelerating adverse climate change. The focus will be on technologies, strategies, management systems, metrics and public policies that can address key issues, including adaptation to a changing climate. It is sponsored by eight engineering societies, including IEEE-USA.
Dr. Veronika Rabl joined Rahman on the EV panel. She discussed reasons for electrifying the transportation system, including decarbonization, oil displacement, increased energy efficiency and reduced environmental impact.
Rahman, an IEEE fellow and a professor of electrical and computer engineering at Virginia Tech, talked about the impact and challenges of large-scale EV penetration at the transmission and distribution level.
Rabl and Rahman are IEEE-USA’s lead technical representatives on the CMTC executive committee. This year’s event is set for the Hilton Alexandria Old Town in Alexandria, Va., 21-23 October.
“This conference is part of a unique collaborative project of several engineering societies,” said Rabl, vice chair of the IEEE-USA Energy Policy Committee. “As such, the program brings together perspectives from different disciplines and reflects practitioners’ experience and expertise. Participants should expect unbiased views of the status, barriers and prospects for carbon management technology aimed at the needs of decision-makers.”
Technical abstracts for presentation at CMTC 2013 are sought in the following areas:
- Carbon capture, utilization & storage
- Carbon management pathways from electricity generation to end use
- Potentially game-changing technology & evaluation
- Engineering challenges & solutions for adaptation to climate change
Click here for more information and instructions on submitting an abstract.
Greenhouse gas emissions are produced primarily by the burning of fossil fuels, namely oil, gasoline, coal and natural gas. According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, “When sunlight strikes the Earth’s surface, some of it is reflected back towards space as infrared radiation (heat). Greenhouse gases absorb this infrared radiation and trap the heat in the atmosphere.”
Over time, the earth’s temperature rises, thus changing the climate on earth. Most atmospheric scientists agree that human activity is responsible for most of this change, which could have negative consequences for life on earth. The planet’s temperature also fluctuates naturally.
About 300 people from around the world attended the first CMTC in Orlando, Fla., in February 2012. More than 200 technical and panel presentations were offered by technologists, professors and engineers. Jim Howard, 2012 IEEE-USA president, participated in the opening plenary session. This year, he is providing overall guidance to IEEE-USA’s participation.
————————————————————–
Chris McManes is IEEE-USA’s public relations manager and a liaison to its Energy Policy Committee. He was co-moderator of the electric vehicles panel at CMTC 2012.
