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ENV 350 Energy Policy and Environment Fall 2013

Course Syllabus
Time: Monday, 6-8 p.m.
Location: SS 2135
Instructor: Keith Stewart. Email: climatekeith [at] gmail.com
Teaching Assistant: Dave Richardson. Email: Dave.Richardson [at] mail.utoronto.ca
Pre-requisite: ENV222H1 / GGR222H1 / JGE221Y1 or permission of Undergraduate Coordinator
Course website: http://env350.wordpress.com
Description
This course explores the connections between energy and environment policy and politics including the
connections with climate change.
The patterns of energy use of individual countries and of the global system as a whole reflect the
accumulation of policy choices and have significant impacts on the environment, locally and globally.
Not the least of these impacts is the potential to disrupt the global climate system. Decisions about
energy technologies are strongly influenced by social organization, economics and politics.
The first part of the course provides a basic grounding in the physical, environmental, technological,
economic and political aspects of energy systems. The political choices embodied in different
approaches to energy policy are outlined and a framework provided for understanding the evolving
politics of energy policy.
The second part of the course explores these topics in greater detail through two contemporary case
studies. The first focuses on the struggle (primarily between non-state actors from the oil industry and
the environmental movement) over the establishment of a national energy strategy for Canada. The
second focuses on struggles over the expansion and integration of renewable energy into Ontarios
electricity system.
Assignments
There are four types of assignments by which you will be graded.
Blog entry (20%): Blogs are an increasingly important forum for policy discussion. You will be
required to write a blog entry (between 800 and 1200 words) and upload it
to http://env350.wordpress.com in order to practice this style of writing. These can be done at any
point, but must be completed no later than October 21. You must bring a hard copy of your blog to
class, so that it can be marked by the T.A.
Blog entries should be written as a commentary on a news story or blog entry from another site, while
incorporating concepts from the course readings and/or lectures in a way that demonstrates your
grasp of the concept and ability to apply it to current events and debates. You should advance a point
of view backed by evidence (i.e. it is not simply your opinion) while maintaining a thoughtful and
respectful tone. Examples are available on the course website.
Blog commentary (10%): As it is difficult to engage all students in class discussion in a large
lecture setting, we will be moving some of this discussion on-line by having students comment on
each others blogs. You should feel free to agree with you colleagues and offer further evidence or
examples, or to challenge them and offer alternative analysis or explanation. In either case, the tone
should be thoughtful and respectful, with the intent of furthering the discussion rather than scoring
debating points or engaging in personal attacks. Students will not be graded on their individual
comments, but the class as a whole will receive a grade based on the quality of on-line discussion.
Term Test (20%): An in-class term test will be held on November 4. Students will be examined on
material covered in the lectures and the required readings. Students will not be examined on
recommended readings.
Essay (50%): The major paper will involve an in-depth analysis of one of the two case studies
(Ontario electricity policy or the development of a national energy strategy). Additional guidance will
be given prior to the mid-term break. The essay is due on December 2.
Evaluation criteria:
The primary criteria used in evaluating written work will be:
1. Mechanics: Your work must be completely free of grammatical errors, spelling errors or major
factual errors. References can be in any style but the same format must be used consistently
and they must be accurate.
2. Writing style: Your papers should be written in a clear and unambiguous style which assists,
rather than impedes, communication with the reader.
3. Structure: Your written work should have a clear focus and a structure which logically flows
from that focus.
4. Analysis: Your analysis should display understanding of the topic and, based on that
understanding, originality of thought.
Required readings
Required readings can be found in ENV 350 coursepack (available at U of T Bookstore).
Note that for the duration of the course, students will be expected to follow, at a minimum, the
following news sources:
Articles by Shawn McCarthy and Jeff Jones in The Globe and Mail
Articles by John Spears in The Toronto Star
The Tyee Energy File: http://thetyee.ca/Topic/Energy/
The course instructor will also tweet relevant material, using the hashtag #env350. Students are
welcome to tweet using this hashtag as well.

September 9: Course Overview and Intro to Energy Policy
Monica Gattinger (2012). Canada-United States Energy Relations: Making a MESS of Energy
Policy. The American Review of Canadian Studies, 42(4), 460-473.
Bill McKibben (August 3, 2012). Global Warmings Terrifying New Math. Rolling Stone Magazine.
Joe Oliver (June/July 2013). Dispelling the Myths about Canadas Energy Future.Policy: Canadian
Politics and Public Policy. Vol. 1, No. 2.

September 16: Energy and Climate: An Overview
Bruce Podobnik (2006). Chapter 1: Global Energy Shifts in World Historical Perspective. Global
Energy Shifts: Fostering Sustainability in a Turbulent Age. Philadelphia: Temple University
Press. pp. 1-17.
David Keith (2009). Dangerous Abundance in Thomas Homer-Dixon (ed) Carbon Shift: How Peak Oil
and the Climate Crisis will Change Canada (and our lives). Random House of Canada.
International Energy Agency (2012). Executive Summary. World Energy Outlook 2012.
Recommended:
International Energy Agency. Key World Energy Statistics 2011.
Web:http://www.iea.org/publications/free_new_desc.asp?pubs_ID=1199
BP Statistical Review of World Energy 2011.
Web:http://www.bp.com/assets/bp_internet/globalbp/globalbp_uk_english/reports_and_publi
cations/statistical_energy_review_2011/STAGING/local_assets/pdf/statistical_review_of_world
_energy_full_report_2011.pdf
National Energy Board (July 2011). Canadas Energy Overview 2010 Briefing Note.
Web: http://www.neb-
one.gc.ca/clfnsi/rnrgynfmtn/nrgyrprt/nrgyvrvw/cndnnrgyvrvw2010/cndnnrgyvrvw2010-
eng.pdf

September 23: Energy Paths: Soft vs Hard
Amory Lovins (November 1978). Energy strategy: the road not taken? Foreign Affairs, pp. 66-96.
Science Council of Canada (1977), Canada as a Conserver Society, pp. 10 15.
Doug Macdonald (2012). State interest as an explanatory factor in the failure of the soft-path energy
vision. Energy Policy, 43, 92-101.
Recommended:
Ursula Franklin (1999). The Real World of Technology. (Toronto: Anansi Press).
National Energy Board. 2009 Reference Scenario: Canadian Energy Supply and Demand to 2020.
Web: http://www.neb.gc.ca/clf-nsi/rnrgynfmtn/nrgyrprt/nrgyftr/2009/rfrnccsscnr2009-eng.pdf

September 30: Renewable Energy and Public Policy
Elliott, David (1997). Chapter 3: Sustainable Technology. Energy, Society and Environment. New
York: Routledge. pp. 35-46.
Mallon, Karl (2006). Chapter 2: Myths, Pitfalls and Oversights. Renewable Energy Policy and Politics:
A Handbook for Decision-Making. Earthscan. pp. 5-33.
Ian H. Rowlands (2009). Renewable Electricity: The Prospects for Innovation and Integration in
Provincial Policies, in Debora L. VanNijnatten and Robert Boardman (eds), Canadian
Environmental Policy and Politics: Prospects for Leadership and Innovation, Third Edition.
Oxford University Press, pp. 167-82.
Recommended
International Panel on Climate Change (2011). Special Report Renewable Energy Sources (SRREN)
Summary for Policymakers.
Peter Fox-Penner (1997). How Power Systems Work in Electric Utility Restructuring; A Guide to the
Competitive Era, Public Utilities Reports.

October 7: Electricity Policy in Ontario
Ontario Ministry of Energy (2013). Making Choices: Reviewing Ontarios Long-term Energy
Plan. Queens Printer for Ontario.
Ian H. Rowlands, (2007). The Development of Renewable Electricity Policy in the Province of Ontario:
The Influence of Ideas and Timing, Review of Policy Research, Vol. 24, No. 3, pp. 185-207.
Leah Stokes (2013). The Politics of Renewable Energy Policies: The Case of Feed-in Tariffs in Ontario,
Canada. Energy Policy. Vol. 56, pp. 490-500.
Recommended:
Mark Winfield (2012). Blue-Green Province: The Environment and the Political Economy of Ontario.
University of British Columbia Press.
Tim Weiss and PJ Partington (2011). Behind the Switch. The Pembina
Institute.http://www.pembina.org/pub/2238

October 14:Thanksgiving no class

October 21:Soft Path 2.0?: Renewable Energy and Smart Grids as Disruptive Technology
Ontario Smart Grid Forum (May 2011). Modernizing Ontarios Electricity System: Next Steps Second
Report of the Ontario Smart Grid Forum.
Forest Small and Lisa Frantzis (2010). Executive Summary. The 21
st
Century Electric Utility:
Positioning for a Low-Carbon Future. Report Commissioned by CERES from Navigant
Consulting.
Peter Kind (2013). Disruptive Challenges: Financial Implications and Strategic Responses to a
Changing Retail Electric Business. Edison Electric Institute.

October 28: The Challenge of National Energy Policy-Making in Canada
Monica Gattinger (2009). Multi-level Energy Regulatory Governance in the Canadian Federation:
Institutions, Regimes and Coordination in Burkard Eberlein and G. Bruce Doern
(eds.), Governing the Energy Challenge: Canada and Germany in a Multilevel Regional and
Global Context. (Toronto: University of Toronto Press).
David McLaughlin (June/July 2013). Canadas Climate Challenge: How Getting to 2020 will be Tough,
Very Tough. Policy: Canadian Politics and Public Policy. Vol. 1, No. 2.
Dan Woynillowicz and Merran Smith (June/July 2013). Cutting Carbon: The Heart of a Canadian
Energy Strategy. Policy: Canadian Politics and Public Policy. Vol. 1, No. 2.
Recommended:
Doern, G. Bruce (2005). Chapter 1: Canadian Energy Policy and the Struggle for Sustainable
Development: Political-Economic Context. In Doern, ed. Canadian Energy Policy and the
Struggle for Sustainable Development. Toronto: University of Toronto Press. pp. 3-50.
Annette Hester and Jennifer Walsh (February 2, 2008). Superpower? Oil could make Stephen Harper
a superhero, The Globe and Mail.

November 4:Oil and Oil Sands in Canada (and mid-term test)
Kevin Lynch and Karen Miske (June/July 2013). An Unconventional Energy Revolution. Policy:
Canadian Politics and Public Policy. Vol. 1, No. 2.
William Marsden. The Perfect Moment in Thomas Homer-Dixon (ed) Carbon Shift: How Peak Oil and
the Climate Crisis will Change Canada (and our lives). Random House of Canada.
George Hoberg and Jeff Phillips (2011). Playing Defence: Early Responses to Conflict Expansion in the
Oil Sands Policy Subsystem. Canadian Journal of Political Science. Vol. 44 No. 3, pp 507-527.
Recommended:
Andrew Nikiforuk. Tar Sands: Dirty Oil and the Future of a Continent, (Vancouver, BC: Greystone
Books and David Sukuki Foundation, 2008).
Ezra Levant, Ethical Oil: The Case for Canadas Oil Sands, (McClelland and Stewart, 2010).
Tony Clarke, Tar Sands Showdown: Canada and the New Politics of Oil in an Age of Climate Change,
(Toronto: James Lorimer, 2008).
House of Commons, Standing Committee on Natural Resources. The Oil Sands: Towards Sustainable
Development. Report of the Standing Committee on Natural Resources. Ottawa: Library of
Parliament, March 2007, (remainder) Available at:
Web:http://cmte.parl.gc.ca/Content/HOC/committee/391/rnnr/reports/rp2614277/rnnrrp04/r
nnr04-e.pdf
Pembina Institute (August 2008). Taking the Wheel: Correcting the Course of Cumulative
Environmental Management in the Athabasca Oil Sands.
Web:http://pubs.pembina.org/reports/Taking_the_Wheel-report.pdf
George Hoberg and Jeff Phillips. Playing Defence: Early Responses to Conflict Expansion in the Oil
Sands Policy Subsystem. Canadian Journal of Political Science 2011, pp. 507-11.
Royal Society of Canada (RSC). Environmental and Health Impacts of Canadas Oil Sands: Executive
Summary. December 2010.http://www.rsc.ca/expertpanels_reports.php

November 11: Fall Break no class

November 18: Pipeline Politics
Joe Oliver (January 9, 2012). An open letter from the Honourable Joe Oliver, Minister of Natural
Resources, on Canadas commitment to diversify our energy markets and the need to further
streamline the regulatory process in order to advance Canadas national economic interest.
Web: http://www.nrcan.gc.ca/media-room/news-release/2012/1/3520
George Hoberg et al. Comparative Pipeline Politics: Oil Sands Pipeline Controversies in Canada and
the United States. Paper prepared for Delivery at the Canadian Political Science Association
annual meeting, Edmonton, AB, June 12-15, 2012.
Keith Stewart (2012). Harpers Shell Game: Why New Tar Sands Pipelines are not in Canadas National
Interest. Greenpeace Canada.
Recommended:
Nathan Lemphers (December 2010). Pipeline to Nowhere? Uncertainty and unanswered questions
about the Enbridge Northern Gateway pipeline. Pembina Institute.
Web: http://pubs.pembina.org/reports/pipelinetonowhere-final-withcover.pdf
Monica Gattinger, From Government to Governance in the Energy Sector: The States of the Canada-
U.S. Energy Relationship, The American Review of Canadian Studies (Summer 2005) 35 (no.
2): 321-332.
Jennifer Grant, Nathan Lemphers, Lindsay Fischer, Summary of Environmental Management Policy
Deficiencies in the Canadian Oilsands: Implications for U.S. Decision Makers, Pembina
Institute, September 22, 2011. Web:http://www.pembina.org/pub/2266
Matthew Bramley, et al, Responsible Action? An assessment of Albertas greenhouse gas policies,
Briefing Note, Pembina Institute, December 16, 2011.
Web:http://pubs.pembina.org/reports/ab-climate-policy-briefing-note-12162011.pdf

November 25:Case Study on Oil Sands and A National Energy Strategy
Energy Policy Institute of Canada, A Canadian Energy Strategy Framework Summary, (August 2012),
pp. 1 27.
Tides Canada, Towards a Clean Energy Accord, (May 2012).
Suggested:
Michael Cleland and Roger Gibbins (November 2010). Western Leadership for a Canadian Energy
Strategy, Canada West Foundation. http://cwf.ca/pdf-
docs/publications/Western_Energy_Leadership.pdf
Canadian Chamber of Commerce (October 2009). Call for a Canadian Sustainable Energy
Strategy. http://www.chamber.ca/images/uploads/Reports/Energy_Paper-low.pdf
Canadian Council of Chief Executives (November 2010). Clean Growth 2.0: How Canada can be a
Leader in Energy and Environmental Innovation, Policy Paper, Task Force on Energy, the
Environment, and Climate
Change,.http://www.ceocouncil.ca/publications/pdf/test_09ebfb64765872c39d1b1a6e8b8db63
8/Clean_Growth_2_0_November_8_2010_with_cover_page.pdf
Sven Teske, Dave Martin and Keith Stewart (September 2010), Energy [R]evolution: A Sustainable
Energy Strategy for Canada, (Greenpeace and the European Renewable Energy
Council), http://www.greenpeace.org/canada/Global/canada/report/2010/9/E%5bR%5dcanad
a.pdf
Environmental Defence, Equiterre, Pembina, Duty Calls: Federal Responsibility in Canadas Oil Sands,
October 2010, Web: http://pubs.pembina.org/reports/ed-fedpolicy-report-oct2010-web-
redo.pdf

December 2: The Future of Energy Policy (essay assignments are due)
No required readings.

Accessibility Needs:
The University of Toronto is committed to accessibility. If you require accommodations for a disability,
or have any accessibility concerns about the course, the classroom or course materials, please contact
Accessibility Services as soon as possible: disability.services@utoronto.ca or
http://studentlife.utoronto.ca/accessibility.

Plagiarism and Academic Integrity
Academic integrity is fundamental to learning and scholarship at the University of Toronto.
Participating honestly, respectfully, responsibly, and fairly in this academic community ensures that
the U of T degree that you earn will be valued as a true indication of your individual academic
achievement, and will continue to receive the respect and recognition it deserves.
Familiarize yourself with the University of Torontos Code of Behaviour on Academic
Matters (http://www.governingcouncil.utoronto.ca/policies/behaveac.htm). It is the rule book for
academic behaviour at the U of T, and you are expected to know the rules. Potential offences include,
but are not limited to:
In papers and assignments:
Using someone elses ideas or words without appropriate acknowledgement.
Copying material word-for-word from a source (including lecture and study group notes) and
not placing the words within quotation marks.
Submitting your own work in more than one course without the permission of the instructor.
Making up sources or facts.
Including references to sources that you did not use.
Obtaining or providing unauthorized assistance on any assignment including
working in groups on assignments that are supposed to be individual work,
having someone rewrite or add material to your work while editing.
Lending your work to a classmate who submits it as his/her own without your
permission.
On tests and exams:
Using or possessing any unauthorized aid, including a cell phone.
Looking at someone elses answers
Letting someone else look at your answers.
Misrepresenting your identity.
Submitting an altered test for re-grading.
Misrepresentation:
Falsifying or altering any documentation required by the University, including doctors notes.
Falsifying institutional documents or grades.
You can get further guidance on academic integrity at:www.artsci.utoronto.ca/osai/students
Cases of suspected plagiarism will be addressed in accordance with the procedure established by the
Code of Behaviour on Academic Matters.

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