Areas of Expertise:

My work examines Systems Ecology: The application of integrative tools of science, including especially empirical simulation modeling, to the understanding and management of complex systems of nature and of people and nature. My principal focus throughout the diversity of my work is, and always has been, the examination of how organisms and societies invest energy in resource exploitation, and how such investments change as the quality of resources changes. I have applied these approaches to small rivers, estuaries, tropical forests, fish migrations, pollution, tropical land use change, petroleum extraction, and the national economies of the United States, Argentina and Costa Rica. Most recently my interests have been toward integrative geographical modeling of environments and economies, especially in the tropics. My ultimate goal is to develop biophysical economics as an alternative to neoclassical economics, which I believe to be fatally flawed on many levels.

B.A. Colgate University, Hamilton, NY, Biology 1965 (Advisor: Oran Stanley) M.S. Pennsylvania State University, Univ. Park PA, Zoology 1966 (Advisor: William Cooper) Ph.D. University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill NC, Zoology 1970 (Advisor: H. T. Odum)

Recent Comments by Charlie Hall

• "First of all I think anyone, including me, who makes a solid prediction is not unlikely to be proven wrong. Given that, I do like the presentation "
  Will Demand for Oil Peak by 2035?
• "In 1986 we undertook a thorough analysis of U.S. energy options and concluded that while we did not particularly like coal we would be burning it for "
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• "I am especially sympathetic to Dr. Bruce Dale's posting and also the follow up by Dr Grossman. While we need to look at and develop the alternative"
  Growing Poor Slowly: Why We Must Have Renewable Energy
• "Many renewable energies have a relatively low EROI — Energy Return On (energy) Investment (my thing). For example one thorough study (Prieto and Hall)"
  The State And Promise Of Energy Storage
• "From a short term view it may be viewed as virtuous to displace coal with natural gas to make electricity.  But natural gas is both a premium fuel, cr"
  Can Shale Gas Limit Air Pollution?
• "I do not wish to rain on the solar parade (which of course we all want) but I am concerned that appropriate energy analyses (e.g. EROI or Energy Retur"
  What Is The solar companies Future of Solar Energy?