Freudenthal to Discuss Wyoming's Energy Future at Summit |
|
Sept. 24, 2007 -- Gov. Dave Freudenthal will speak on the future of Wyoming energy, including the realities of climate change and carbon emissions, to open a three-day summit Oct. 8-10 in Jackson.
"Finding the Balance: Energy and Climate" will bring together high-level decision makers and energy and climate experts at Walk Festival Hall in Teton Village. The University of Wyoming sponsors the summit.
While the federal government spends money that could be used to fund the development of domestic energy production to pay mounting military expenses, Freudenthal believes it is each individual state's responsibility to investigate the potential impacts of global warming and conduct research on technologies such as carbon sequestration.
Freudenthal will discuss "Wyoming's Place in the Energy-Climate Puzzle," at 7:15 p.m. Monday, Oct. 8. His speech will follow a welcome by UW President Tom Buchanan and Jackson Mayor Mark Barron.
"As the leading producer of coal in the United States and a major contributor to the nation's supplies of natural gas, oil, uranium and wind power, Wyoming will continue to benefit from the surge in demand for domestic energy," says Freudenthal. "But we can't afford to discount the critical role that coal will continue to play in the nation's mix of energy resources.
"The federal government needs to dedicate the same level of commitment to questions about clean coal as it has to wind power. If we don't do something to assist in the capture of carbon from coal, we'll have neither market forces nor tax incentives for companies to make that investment."
The summit will combine keynote speakers and panel discussions to facilitate dialogue among participants. The conference concludes Wednesday morning, Oct. 10, with a panel discussion among Wyoming decision makers and opinion leaders and closing comments by Dick Davis, President of the UW Board of Trustees.
Among the conference speakers are Lord Ron Oxburgh, former chairman of Royal Dutch Shell PLC; John Lavelle, manager of coal gasification at General Electric; Greg Boyce, president and CEO of Peabody Coal; Stephen Schneider, senior fellow at Stanford University's Center for Environment Science and Policy; Geoff Heal, professor of public policy and business relations at Columbia University, and other leaders in their respective fields.
Bill Blakemore, ABC News correspondent, has been invited to moderate the summit. UW sponsors include the Enhanced Oil Recovery Institute, Ruckelshaus Institute of Environment and Natural Resources, the School of Energy Resources and the Stroock Forum on Wyoming Lands and People.
For more information about the conference, contact Robyn Paulekas at (307) 766-5146 or e-mail paulekas@uwyo.edu.
For a complete agenda and registration information for the summit, visit www.uwyo.edu/findingthebalance.
Posted on Monday, September 24, 2007
|
