Speakers Announced! Conference on Michigan's Future

[Aaron Wissner]

A quick announcement on the some of the speakers for the Conference on Michigan's Future:

Speakers Include:

• David Hughes - The Future of Hydrocarbon Energy
• William R. Catton Jr. - Overshoot - The Ecological Basis of Revolutionary Change
• Jim MacInnes - Biophysical Economics
• Nicole Foss - Energy & Environment
• Laurence Boomert - Localization
• Peter Sinclair - Climate Change
• Faith Morgan - Plug in Electric Vehicles
• Pat Murphy - Passive House Building Standard
• John Sarver - Community Solar
• Skip Pruss - High Penetration Scenarios
• Aaron Wissner - Designing for a Local Future
• Jan Mueller - Innovation, Investment & Adapting to a New Energy Reality
• Brian Keeley - Ordinances on Industrial Activity and Hydrocarbon Extraction

Biographies:

• J. David Hughes is a geoscientist who has studied the energy resources of Canada for nearly four decades, including 32 years with the Geological Survey of Canada as a scientist and research manager. He developed the National Coal Inventory to determine the availability and environmental constraints associated with Canada’s coal resources. As Team Leader for Unconventional Gas on the Canadian Gas Potential Committee, he coordinated the recent publication of a comprehensive assessment of Canada’s unconventional natural gas potential. Over the past decade, he has researched, published, and lectured widely on global energy and sustainability issues in North America and internationally. He is a Fellow of the Post Carbon Institute and his work has been featured in the popular press, radio, television, and other public media. He is currently president of Global Sustainability Research Inc., a consultancy dedicated to research on energy and sustainability issues.
• William R. Catton, Jr. is an American sociologist best known for his scholarly work in environmental sociology and human ecology. His intellectual approach is broad and interdisciplinary. Catton's repute extends beyond academic social science due primarily to his 1980 book, Overshoot: The Ecological Basis of Revolutionary Change. Catton has written three other books, including From Animistic to Naturalistic Sociology and his 2009 book Bottleneck: Humanity's Impending Impasse. In addition he has authored numerous scholarly articles, book chapters and book reviews. He is retired from academic life and lives in Lakewood, Washington, USA.

The conference is inviting proposals: