Dr. David Murphy is an Associate Professor of Environmental Studies at St. Lawrence University. His scholarship examines the intersection of energy, the environment and economics with a focus on energy transition – broadly defined. His past work has included energy and environmental policy work for various agencies within the federal government, as well as net energy analysis work within academia. Much of Dr. Murphy’s recent research is focused on the energy transition, with a forthcoming textbook called “Renewable Energy in the 21st Century.” Dr. Murphy was previously a faculty member at Northern Illinois University and a research associate with Argonne National Laboratory.
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In conversation: Dave Murphy and Tom Murphy – What if the energy transition is not enough?
In the concluding installment of this discussion series, Tom Murphy and Dave Murphy wrestle with whether a just energy transition can truly be sustainable, or whether modernity itself is a dead end on a finite planet.
May 26, 2026
In conversation: Dave Murphy and Tom Murphy – Can modernity become sustainable? Cont’d
In this installment of an ongoing series, Tom and Dave Murphy explore what “sustainable” truly means and whether any disruption to natural ecosystems or energy flows by humanity is inherently unsustainable.
May 19, 2026
In conversation: Dave Murphy and Tom Murphy – Can modern civilization ever be sustainable?
Can modern civilization survive for the long term within planetary limits? This dialogue pits optimism about renewable energy and human adaptability against a more fundamental critique: that modernity itself may be incompatible with ecological sustainability.
May 6, 2026
In conversation: Dave Murphy and Tom Murphy – if modernity can’t last forever, what comes next?
If modernity cannot endure within planetary limits, what comes next? Dave Murphy and Tom Murphy debate the likelihood of collapse, the possibility of adaptation and what we owe each other in a time of ecological overshoot.
April 27, 2026
In conversation: Dave Murphy and Tom Murphy – can modernity survive planetary limits?
In a wide-ranging exchange, physicist Tom Murphy and energy scholar Dave Murphy explore the tension between optimism and planetary limits, debating whether modernity can endure or must give way to something entirely new.
April 23, 2026
EROI of RE
Do renewable energy sources generate enough energy ‘profit’ to make them worth continued investment? And is any energy profit large enough to run our modern world, as renewables displace fossil fuels?
November 10, 2022
