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Ozzie Zehner - UC Berkeley. San Francisco, CA, US

Ozzie Zehner

Visiting Scholar | UC Berkeley

San Francisco, CA, UNITED STATES

Author of Green Illusions | Visiting Scholar, UC Berkeley

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Ozzie Zehner Publication

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Authors@Google: Ozzie Zehner - Green Illusions

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Biography

Ozzie Zehner is the author of Green Illusions and a visiting scholar at the University of California, Berkeley. His recent publications include public science pieces in Christian Science Monitor, The American Scholar, Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, The Humanist, The Futurist, and Women’s Studies Quarterly. He has appeared on PBS, BBC, CNN, MSNBC, and regularly guest lectures at universities. Zehner’s research and projects have been covered by The Sunday Times, USA Today, WIRED, The Washington Post, Business Week and numerous other media outlets. He also serves on the editorial board of Critical Environmentalism.


GREEN ILLUSIONS:

✔ Discover the 5 unseen harms of solar cells and witness a simple sticker that could produce a greater energy impact than all of the nation’s photovoltaics combined.

✔ See why engineers can’t solve wind power’s biggest obstacle and what they’ll really need.

✔ Learn why nuclear power may not close a single coal-fired power plant in the U.S.

✔ Discover why future environmentalists will resist electric cars and hybrids as well as a host of other technologies.

✔ Find out why contraception won’t solve concerns about overpopulation (and what actually could).

✔ Examine the problems with thinking of consumption in terms of “Sustainable,” “Green,” or “Organic” (and uncover secret paths forward).

✔ See why future environmentalists will reject LEED buildings and straw-bale homes in favor of more durable options.

✔ Discover why carbon taxes won’t solve our energy challenges (and learn about one tax that could).

✔ Learn what environmentalists of the future are studying in college today.

❝Provocative and essential! Green Illusions shakes us awake...❞
– John Perkins, Author, Confessions of an Economic Hit Man

❝At once prophetic and pragmatic – must be read by anyone concerned about our collective future.❞
– Joel Bakan, Filmmaker and author of The Corporation

❝An extremely important message for a society whose best-intentioned members have lost themselves in a wilderness of wishful thinking.❞
– James Howard Kunstler, Author of The Long Emergency

❝Terrific book…Zehner is especially good at untangling sloppy thinking.❞
– David Owen, The New Yorker and author of Green Metropolis

Industry Expertise (5)

Research

Public Policy

Architecture and Planning

Energy

Writing and Editing

Areas of Expertise (9)

Alternative Energy

Environmentalism

Wind Power

Consumer Society

Walking and Biking Neighborhoods

Governance and Public Policy

Population and Overpopulation

Hydrogen Hydropower and Hybrids

Critical Environmentalism

Education (3)

Universiteit van Amsterdam: MS/Drs, Science and Technology Studies

Kettering University: BS, Engineering

Smithsonian Institution: Journalism

Affiliations (1)

  • University of California, Berkeley

Event Appearances (9)

Google

Authors@Google  Mountain View, CA

University of California - Berkeley

Visiting Scholar Lecture  Berkeley, CA

Kettering University

Sobey Lecture on Leadership and Ethics  Flint, MI

Kendall College of Art and Design

Visiting Scholar Lecture  Grand Rapids, MI

The Morning Show

  MI Public Radio

Energy and Politics

(30 min segment)  PBS Television

Everything is Broken

  NY Public Radio

The Joy Cardin Show

  WI Public Radio

San Francisco State University

Visiting Scholar Lecture  San Francisco, CA

Sample Talks (2)

Green Illusions

Though we generally believe we can solve environmental problems with more energy—more solar cells, wind turbines, and biofuels—alternative technologies come with their own side effects and limitations. How, for instance, do solar cells cause harm? Why can’t engineers solve wind power’s biggest obstacle? Why won’t contraception solve the problem of overpopulation, lying at the heart of our concerns about energy, and what will?

Solar Cells and Other Fairy Tales

We environmentalists admire solar photovoltaic cells for silently extracting clean energy from the sun’s rays but the panels have a dark side too. They contain heavy metals that can leach into groundwater when disposed at the end of their lifecycle. And, solar cells are undeniably more expensive than a host of other initiatives that promise greater ecological returns.

Availability

  • Keynote
  • Moderator
  • Panelist
  • Workshop Leader
  • Author Appearance
  • Corporate Training

Fees

1000 to 5000 *Will consider certain engagements for no fee