Business Forum to Discuss Global Energy and Sustainability

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The McBride Center for International Business at Baylor University will host the Global Business Forum from Monday, March 21, to Friday, March 25, in the Cashion Academic Center of the Hankamer School of Business on the Baylor campus.

The forum will include prominent international speakers, film presentations and panel discussions by international students. All lectures and activities will focus on the theme of "Global Energy: Sufficiency and Sustainability."

Political instability in the Middle East, environmental disaster in the Gulf of Mexico and a nuclear emergency in Japan have disrupted the supply of energy and "have raised critical questions about the sustainability of growth in the global economy," said Dr. Stephen Gardner, chair and professor of economics at Baylor.

Speakers were selected to represent the views of leading energy executives, public officials and experts from academic and public policy research agencies. They will discuss the best way to meet the energy needs of the future without endangering national security of environmental sustainability.

"These issues are affecting all of us at the gas pump today and will require important public policy decisions to be made in the U.S. and abroad," Gardner said. "Our speakers will provide us with the emerging economic, political and technical information that we need to make sense of these historic conditions and to take advantage of new opportunities."

All events will be held on the fifth floor of the Cashion building on the Baylor campus, and are free and open to the public. The dinner on the evening of Wednesday, March 23, and the lunch on Thursday, March 24, have limited seating and require registration. To register, visit www.baylor.edu/globalbusiness.

Monday
The forum will begin at 3:30 p.m. with "The Big Energy Gamble," a film about California's attempt to quickly reduce dependency on fossil fuels.

Tuesday
At 3:30 p.m., several speakers will address the energy needs of developing countries. Speakers include Richard Hansen, founder of Soluz Inc.; Brian Thomas, a Baylor lecturer in the computer engineering department; and Megan Rapp, a United Nations consultant and graduate student at Columbia University. Rapp is also a Baylor alumna, who was in Haiti during the earthquake.

Wednesday
Charles Ebinger, director of the Energy Security Initiative at the Brookings Institution, will speak on "Energy Security: Myths and Realities" from 7 to 9 p.m. Dinner will be provided. Registration is required.

Thursday
Sessions will occur from 9:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Energy executives, journalists and scholars will discuss the future of global energy.

"This year, we are convinced that the issue that must be addressed most immediately in the national and global community is the adequacy and sustainability of energy resources," Gardner said.

"Energy in Economic Development" from 9:30 to 11 a.m. will host Bob Tippee, editor of Oil & Gas Journal, and Gurcan Gulen, senior energy economist for Center for Energy Economics at the University at Texas at Austin.

"The Outlook for Renewable Energy" from 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. will feature Tod Perry, senior analyst for the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, and Paul Clegg, executive director for Mizuho Securities Co., Ltd.

"The New Geopolitics of Oil" from 12:30 to 2 p.m. will feature Joe Barnes, Bonner Means Baker Fellow for Baker Institute at Rice University. Lunch will be provided. Registration is required.

"Energy Sufficiency and Sustainability: The Outlook From Industry" from 2 to 3:30 p.m. will feature Mark McCollum, executive vice president and chief financial officer at Halliburton, and John E. Lowe, assistant to the chief executive officer at ConocoPhillips.

Friday
A panel of experts from Baylor's Middle East Studies program will discuss events in the region and the global energy market at 3 p.m. Baylor professors William G. Baker, Randall Brown, Dr. Mark Long, Dr. William A. Mitchell and Dr. Lynn Tatum will all be present.

"We hope that Baylor students, faculty, and the whole community will take advantage of this opportunity to learn about issues of historic importance," Gardner said.

This will be the fifth year for the Global Business Forum. For more information on the forum and speakers, visit www.baylor.edu/globalbusiness. Although most of the events are free and open to the public, registration is also available at the website for the events that require it.

Cashion Academic Center is at 1401 S. Fourth St.

by Susie Typher, student newswriter, (254) 710-6805