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Office of External Communications |
Houston, TX 77204-5017 Fax: 713.743.8199 |
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE |
Contact: Angie Joe |
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BIOFUELS, WIND ENERGY AS ALTERNATIVE FUELS With growing concerns about global warming and limited fossil fuel resources, government officials, industry leaders and academic experts are considering biofuels and wind energy as alternatives. But just how viable are they? That’s the focus of an upcoming conference hosted by the University of Houston’s Environmental and Energy Law and Policy Journal. “Getting Real About Renewables: Economic and Environmental Barriers to Biofuels and Wind Energy” will be held 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Friday, Feb. 23 at the University Hilton Hotel. The event will feature a number of expert speakers. R. James Woolsey is a former director of the Central Intelligence Agency and current vice president for energy security at Booz Allen Hamilton. He will discuss concerns about U.S. energy policy including transportation infrastructure, current and future regimes in the Middle East and global warming. Barbara Hickl, senior legal counsel for Shell Oil Co., will deliver a keynote address on Shell’s view of the production and use of biofuels. U.S. Rep. Nick Lampson, chairman of the Subcommittee on Energy and Environment, will discuss congressional policy and the future of renewables. “Renewable energy sources can reduce reliance on imported petroleum and reduce emissions of greenhouse gases,” said Sanford Gaines, Law Foundation Professor of Law at the UH Law Center. “Whether it’s wind energy for electricity or biofuels for vehicles and industrial use, these sources present their own technical, economic and environmental issues. A proposed wind farm off the coast near Galveston has raised controversy, and distribution of wind-generated electricity presents challenges. Expanded use of biofuels, too, raises issues---such as land use changes for raising biofuel feedstocks and the economics of investments in biofuel processing technologies.” Reporters may register by e-mailing ekkenned@central.uh.edu or calling 281-216-7143. For more information about the conference, go to http://www.law.uh.edu/eelpj/symposium.html.
For more information about UH visit the university’s ‘Newsroom’ at www.uh.edu/admin/media/newsroom. |
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