MSU’s Wheeler Center hosts forum – "Climate Change in Montana: Impacts and Opportunities for Energy and Agriculture" May 12-13

MSU’s Burton K. Wheeler Center http://www.montana.edu/wheeler/spring_2008_info.htm will conduct a forum May 12-13 on opportunities arising from climate change

Opportunities for Montanans arising from climate change will be the topic of an upcoming Burton K. Wheeler Center conference to be held May 12-13 in the Strand Union Ballrooms of Montana State University in Bozeman.

"Climate Change in Montana: Impacts and Opportunities for Energy and Agriculture" will focus on the future of Montana’s agriculture and energy sectors. Among the issues to be addressed during the two-day policy conference are the impacts on crops and livestock if the state enters a period of long-term climatic changes. Changes and new ideas that might be considered by the agricultural community, the impact on the state’s energy resources, and the future directions of technologies will also be discussed. Additionally, the intersection of ag and energy sectors in the emerging carbon trading arena will be addressed.

Montana Governor Brian Schweitzer will open the program during the second day of the conference. Speakers will include Randy Udall, an energy consultant based in Colorado. Whitney MacMillan, former president of Cargill, Inc., will be the keynote speaker.

The conference will be of particular interest to those in the agriculture and energy sectors (traditional and non-traditional), environmentally-based organizations, the education community, state agencies, climate scientists, current and former legislators, state, city and county officials, and all others who have a role in making Montana’s energy and agricultural economies work.

The registration fee for the conference, which is open to the general public, is $45, which includes three meals.

For more information about the conference, or to register, go to the Wheeler Center Website at: http://www.montana.edu/wheeler/spring_2008_info.htm

The Burton K. Wheeler Center for Public Policy at MSU is a non-profit organization that promotes the discussion, analysis and eventual resolution of critical issues facing Montana and the region.

Contact: Julie Hitchcock (406) 994-0336, [email protected]