About the Program
The What’s the Big Idea? lecture series offers the community an opportunity to engage with leading researchers and join in fascinating conversations about the discoveries and creative breakthroughs happening in the Triangle community. Each program in this series invites experts from various disciplines to come together to consider an important contemporary issue. Come join the discussion!
Enjoy the free lecture series on the first
three Thursday evenings in March from 7 to 9 pm. There is a $35 fee for the dinner and
roundtable discussion on the fourth Thursday.
Advance registration is required due to space limitations. Spring 2006 Program: Energy and the Environment
Our world faces great challenges as nonrenewable energy sources are rapidly depleted.
Diminishing supplies and quickly evolving new technologies are already driving the
transition to new energy sources. But what does this mean for our state’s economy,
environment, and way of life? Will North Carolina emerge as a leader in these national
and global efforts? The researchers leading this lecture series will present new ideas in
the areas of chemistry, environmental sciences, and public policy and discuss how these
findings could impact our state and our world.
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Lectures and Roundtable
| Our Energy Future: What are
the Technology Challenges of
the Twenty-First Century? |
Thursday, March 2 , 7-9 pm
Course #2261
Fee: free of charge
Energy is at the heart of our economic well-being. But
limited oil and gas supplies and the impacts of global
warming caused by fossil fuels are leading to
increasing uncertainty about our energy future.
Thomas J. Meyer, Arey Professor of Chemistry and
former associate director of strategic research at the
Los Alamos National Laboratory, will lead an exploration of this increasingly important
global issue. Learn about emerging and future technologies that could increase the
sustainability of existing energy supplies. Explore the impact of our continued
dependence on fossil fuels and how carbon emissions can be controlled. Consider
nuclear power, a proven energy source, and what can be done about nuclear waste and
controlling access to nuclear materials. Explore the possibilities of hydrogen and solar
as future energy sources. Consider how we can ensure timely investment in research
and development in order to guarantee that new technologies are available when and
where they are needed. |
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| What Can North Carolina Learn
from England in Tackling Energy
and Climate Change? |
 |
Thursday, March 9, 7-9 pm
Course #2262
Fee: free of charge
One of the most pressing environmental issues facing
society is climate change. Doug Crawford-Brown,
professor of environmental sciences and policy, and
director of the campus-wide Carolina Environmental
Program, heads the US arm of the Carbon Reduction
(CRed) project. Crawford-Brown will review the implications of CRed for energy use, community
design, and lifestyles in North Carolina and the nation. He will discuss the magnitude of
the potential problem if climate change is not addressed; the current causes of climate
change; and the ways in which individuals, institutions, municipalities, states, nations,
and international communities are being called on to respond through the CRed
program. Cambridge, England and Chapel Hill, North Carolina—two cities that have
joined the CRed program—will be considered as examples. Crawford-Brown will also discuss
how the State of North Carolina might respond through the recently created Legislative
Committee on Climate Change. |
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| Energy, Environment, and Public
Policy: Transition to a Sustainable
Economy? |
Thursday, March 16, 7-9 pm
Course #2263
Fee: free of charge
Richard (Pete) Andrews, Thomas Willis Lambeth
Distinguished Professor of Public Policy, will discuss the
challenges of transforming the economy from historical
dependence on cheap fossil fuels to one that is both
economically and environmentally sustainable in an era of more costly fuels and greater
environmental constraints. How did we become so dependent on cheap fossil fuels, and
what roles did both markets and public policies play in that history? What might a
healthy but more sustainable economy look like, and how can public policies help us
make the most of the opportunities in this transition while avoiding its potential risks? Pete Andrews will discuss the historical context and future possibilities for North
Carolina in energy and environmental policy for a sustainable economy. |
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| Energy and the Environment Roundtable |
Thursday, Mar 23, 6-9 pm
Course #2264
Fee: $35
We will begin the evening with a roundtable discussion moderated by award-winning
journalist and nationally known television commentator Hodding Carter. Carter was
recently appointed University Professor of Leadership and Public Policy at UNC-Chapel
Hill, and served as press spokesman for President Jimmy Carter. Panelists will
include the three featured faculty lecturers joined by a group of North Carolina state
legislators and policy makers. The roundtable will be followed by a buffet dinner in the
Friday Center’s Trillium dining room.
Panelists:
- Michael I. Luger, Director, Office of Economic Development and Professor of Public Policy, Planning, and Business, UNC-Chapel Hill
- David McNelis, Research Professor, Environmental Sciences and Engineering and Deputy Director and Associate Director, Research Programs, Carolina Environmental Program, UNC-Chapel Hill
- Jane Preyer, Public Policy Specialist, Southeast Regional Director, Environmental Defense
- Cynthia Shea, Director, Office of Sustainability, UNC-Chapel Hill
- Larry Shirley, Director, State Energy Office, NC Department of Administration
- Tim Toben , NC Legislative Commission on Global Climate Change
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Register
Energy and the Environment is supported in part by Progress Energy, the Carolina Environmental Program, the Vice Chancellor for Research and Economic Development, and the UNC Office of Sustainability. The three lectures are offered to the public free of charge. Because of space limitations, advance registration is required and available on a first-come, first-served basis.
There is a $35 fee if you wish to attend the dinner and roundtable discussion on March 23. We anticipate a heavy response to this event. Please pre-register for it by Monday, March 13.
Online: Register now online for one or more lectures.
Mail: Print out the registration form and mail it to
What’s the Big Idea?
Campus Box 1020, The Friday Center
UNC-Chapel Hill
Chapel Hill NC 27599-1020.
Fax: Print out the registration form and fax it to 919-962-5549.
Phone: Call 800-845-8640 or 919-962-2643. [top of page]
Location
The William and Ida Friday Center for
Continuing Education is located approximately
three miles east of the UNC-Chapel
Hill campus, just off Highway 54 East
(Raleigh Road). The Center offers ample
free parking and is a short distance from
Interstate 40 (from Raleigh, I-40 exit 273-A;
from Greensboro, I-40 exit 273). For more detailed directions and a map, see Directions to the Friday Center.
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For More Information
Contact:
Professional Development and Enrichment Programs
Friday Center for Continuing Education
UNC-Chapel Hill
CB# 1020 Friday Center
Chapel Hill, NC 27599-1020
Phone: 919-962-2643 or 800-845-8640
Fax: 919-962-5549
E-mail: dmillett@email.unc.edu
The
University
of North
Carolina
maintains a
policy of
equal
educational
opportunity. |
