Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute: Global Warming
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute President Shirley Ann Jackson to Deliver Keynote Address at The Washington Post Company Energy Conference - 11/07/07
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute President Shirley Ann Jackson will deliver the keynote address at the Washington Post Company Energy Conference on November 8, 2007, continuing her call for a comprehensive energy roadmap to meet the demand for global energy security.
"Global energy security is the greatest challenge of our time, inextricably interlinked with our economic and national security," Jackson says. "The issue presents extraordinary geopolitical challenges and offers extraordinary economic opportunities. Yet, the United States does not have a comprehensive energy roadmap."
Jackson, former chairman of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (1995-99), is co-chairing the Council on Competitiveness "Energy Security, Innovation & Sustainability Initiative," convening leaders in business, academe, and labor to craft an agenda to enhance U.S. competitiveness and global energy security. She also is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations' Independent Task Force on Climate Change and the Brookings Institution's Energy Initiative.
Many have urged a focus on "energy independence," but Jackson notes that "in a globally interconnected and interdependent world, 'energy independence' is a troubling misnomer," and she warns that, "if we want to be successful it is essential that we are both clear and correct about our goal."
"True global energy security will require innovation in the discovery, extraction, and transportation of fossil fuels; innovation in conservation; and innovation to develop alternative energy sources which are reliable, cost-effective, safe, and as environmentally benign as possible," Jackson says.
