Future of the West Topic of UW Panel Discussion

The Earth, Wind and Water Series continues at the University of Wyoming Nov. 2-3 with a two-part discussion on “The Future of the West.”

The program is part of a new initiative known as the UW Institute for Advanced Study (IAS), which is sponsoring a series of events and programs this semester under the theme “Earth, Wind and Water.”

“Wyoming and the West: Looking Back (and South) to Look Forward” will be presented Wednesday, Nov. 2, from 5:30-7:30 p.m. in the Berry Biodiversity Conservation Center auditorium.

Patty Limerick, University of Colorado-Boulder’s Center of the American West faculty director and chair of the board, will discuss “Always Neighbors and Sometimes Strangers: Wyoming, Colorado, and the Powers of Comparison When Contemplating the Future.”

Her talk will be followed by a panel discussion from UW’s Gregg Cawley, political science; Rob Godby, economics and finance; Frieda Knobloch, American studies; and Nina McConigley, Honors Program.

“From the World to the West: Responses and Options in a Changing Resource Landscape” is the topic of the second discussion Thursday, Nov. 3, also from 5:30-7:30 p.m. in the Berry Center auditorium.

R. Andreas Kraemer, senior fellow in the Institute for Advanced Sustainability Studies, and founder and director emeritus of the Ecologic Institute in Berlin, Germany, will discuss “Hits and Myths of the German Energiewende and Implications for the Resource Landscape.”

His talk will be followed by a panel discussion from UW’s Jean Garrison, global and area studies/political science; Chuck Mason, economics and finance; Mark Northam, School of Energy Resources; and Sarah Strauss, anthropology.

“Wyoming, the West and the world face globalization trends that transform our economy; social forces that shape our values and identity; and political forces that both divide and unite. These forces of convergence and divergence have led us to a turning point about how we live and what the future may hold,” says Garrison about the latest Earth, Wind and Water Series presentation.

She says the two linked panel discussions will place Wyoming within the larger regional, national and global context, and address forces of social change and economic development, including discussions of identity and landscape as how people use and develop natural resources.

In her talk, Limerick will exercise her powers as the official Colorado state historian to explore the past, present and future of the “neighborhood” in the Rockies. Kraemer will discuss “lessons to be learned,” including mistakes that Germany made and that others can now avoid in Germany’s energy transition. An interdisciplinary group of UW faculty experts will join the discussion to explore the opportunities and challenges facing Wyoming in changing times.

The Nov. 2 panel presentation can be viewed via WyoCast at http://bit.ly/wywestwyo, and the Nov. 3 panel presentation can be viewed at http://bit.ly/worldtowestwyo.

The International Education Steering Committee (IESC) sponsors the IAS initiative. The IAS supports and promotes international and interdisciplinary research, knowledge sharing and engagement with the UW community.

To learn more about the IAS and IESC, visit www.uwyo.edu/intprograms/ias/partners.html.

For more information about the latest presentation, contact Garrison at (307) 766-6119 or garrison@uwyo.edu.