The energy and environmental challenges of today require new ways of thinking. While the history of environmental management contains its share of success stories, the problems we face going forward are qualitatively different from those of the past. Population growth and economic expansion, urbanization and the emergence of new energy resources, as well as climate change and our efforts to adapt to an uncertain future will tax both our ability to maintain the environmental gains we’ve achieved and our ability to confront novel risks to human health and wellbeing. Solutions to these problems depend on our ability to make connections not only across environmental media, but also between the ways in which we meet needs for energy, transportation, water, shelter, and food. This challenge presents an opportunity for people who can think creatively about design from a systems perspective, develop practical problem solving skills, and collaborate with a wide range of professionals.

Timothy Johnson is an Associate Professor of the Practice in Energy and the Environment at Duke and Chair of the Nicholas School’s Master of Environmental Management Energy and Environment program. Tim’s teaching and research address public decision making as it relates to topics at the intersection of energy system planning, design of the built environment, and natural resource management, with a particular interest in how we can leverage interactions among these areas to improve environmental quality and human health. Prior to joining Duke, Tim worked for the US EPA, where he was part of a multidisciplinary team of energy analysts responsible for examining the environmental consequences of technology change across the energy system. Tim earned a M.S. and his Ph.D. from the Department of Engineering and Public Policy at Carnegie Mellon University, and a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering and a M.S. in Industrial Engineering from the University of Minnesota.

This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at http://ted.com/tedx