Energy-related issues to be talked at forum

The Messenger 02.16.09

When we think about energy, we often think about the negatives — high gas prices, environmental challenges and national security issues. However, many communities are seeing there are ways to capitalize on economic opportunities related to energy.
The public is invited to join an open discussion on how to turn energy-related issues into a positive in the community. The forum — sponsored by the University of Tennessee at Martin and the University of Tennessee Institute for Public Service — will be held Feb. 24 from 10 a.m.-noon in Room 111 of Boling University Center at UT Martin.
The forum is free.
Forum participants will be joining thousands of other Southerners, who are holding similar conversations across the region, to develop strategies for energy-related economic development — from bio-energy to sustainable design to green-collar job development.
The community feedback will be used in presentations at Southern Growth’s 2009 annual conference and in developing Southern Growth’s 2009 Report on the Future of the South, a high-profile policy report that is shared with Southern governors and regional leaders in business and education.
Southern Growth Policies Board is a regional public policy think tank representing 13 Southern states that develops and advances visionary economic development policies. For more information on the Southern Growth Policies Board, visit www.southern.org.
For conference information, contact Dr. Joey Mehlhorn, professor of agricultural economics, at (731) 881-7257 or mehlhorn@utm.edu; or Dr. Scott Parrott, assistant professor of agricultural economics, at (731) 881-7252 or sparrott@utm.edu.

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