Hammond Lecture Explores Energy and the Environment
March 02, 2009 - News Release
"Energy and the Environment" is the theme of this year's annual Kenneth Hammond Lectures March 6 to 7 at the University of Guelph. The annual event is sponsored by the University's Faculty of Environmental Sciences (FES).
Journalist, author and commentator Paul Roberts will give the keynote address March 6, at 7 p.m. in War Memorial Hall. His free talk will discuss "Fueling the Future: The Political and Environmental Implications of the Energy Revolution."
Last year, Roberts published The End of Food, a book about the modern food economy. That volume followed 2004's The End of Oil, which will form the basis for his U of G lecture.
"Until last November, the single most important thing people talked about was energy prices," said Prof. Joe Ackerman, FES associate dean. He says oil prices have fallen from last year's highs during the global economic downturn but he predicts prices will rise again. "This problem hasn't gone away. This year, next year, energy prices will go back up."
A free symposium will take place March 7 beginning at 10 a.m. at the Ramada Hotel adjacent to campus. This year's speakers are Marc Imhoff, Goddard Space Flight Centre, National Aeronautics and Space Administration, speaking on "Human Appropriation of Net Primary Production"; Mark Jaccard, Simon Fraser University, "Actions and Policies for GHG Reductions"; Peter Shulman, Case Western Reserve University, "The Prophet, the Pessimist and the Petroleum Geologist"; and Peter Garforth, Garforth International, "Urban Megatrends and Energy Impacts."
A panel discussion will follow.
The Hammond lecture series began in 2000 and is named after the late Kenneth Hammond, a former member of the University's Board of Governors and an advocate of environmental and resource issues and environmental education.
Space for this event is limited, so RSVP to hls@uoguelph.ca.
