Speaker: Trish Kahle, Assistant Professor of History, Georgetown University Qatar
How much risk — bodily, environmental, economic, or political — is acceptable in a democratic energy system? And, just as importantly, who should bear that risk? These questions have been at the core of energy policy-making in the modern United States, but the answers to these questions often have uncomfortable answers.
In this talk, Kahle will consider the uncertain relationship between coal and democracy in U.S. history as miners’ democratic aspirations confronted the deadly record of the country’s coal mines. From that conflict emerged a coal-fired social contract that continues to shape the present.
The Weston Roundtable is made possible by a generous donation from Roy F. Weston, a highly accomplished UW-Madison alumnus. Designed to promote a robust understanding of sustainability science, engineering, and policy, these interactive lectures are co-sponsored by the Center for Sustainability and the Global Environment (SAGE), the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, and the Office of Sustainability.