Contact: Allison Matthews
STARKVILLE, Miss.--Two events titled "Climate Change: Science, Faith, and Free Enterprise" will be held Monday [Feb. 25] to explore scientific and faith-based perspectives, as well as how free enterprise provides possible solutions for climate and energy issues.
An afternoon session for students from 2-4:30 p.m. is scheduled in addition to a 6-8:30 p.m. session, which is open to the public. Both sessions are free and will be held at Mississippi State University's Bost Extension Center in the South Auditorium.
The event will feature a panel, including:
--Bob Inglis, executive director of the Energy and Enterprise Initiative and former U.S. Congressman (R-SC). Inglis began working on limited-government climate solutions while serving as Ranking Member on the House Science Committee's Energy and Environment Subcommittee. He founded E&EI to raise public awareness of free-enterprise solutions to climate and energy challenges.
--Lowell "Rusty" Pritchard, president and co-founder of Flourish Magazine. Pritchard is a resource economist who has worked at the interface of resource use and environmental conservation for 20 years. He serves as a key adviser to numerous evangelical organizations and leaders on creation care and climate issues. He holds a doctorate in resource economics, and a master's degree in environmental engineering sciences, both from the University of Florida.
--Joel Paz, MSU assistant professor of agricultural engineering and water resources. His research program focuses on water quality, GIS, and impacts of climate change. Paz has worked extensively in the areas of environmental quality, sustainable agriculture, climate change and climate variability, decision support tools for risk management, and agricultural applications for climate and weather information, through projects funded by NASA, NOAA, and USDA.
--Karen McNeal, associate professor in MSU's geosciences department. Her research focuses on the scientific and human understanding of complex Earth systems in both geoscience education/geocognition and biogeochemistry. She serves as principal investigator for the Climate Literacy Partnership in the SouthEast, an NSF-funded Climate Change Education project.
The event is sponsored by the CLiPSE, E&EI and the Southern Rural Development Center. For more information, contact Julian Carroll at 662-268-1032 or fjc21@msstate.edu.