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Geoscientist and economist discuss our energy future

Oct. 2, 2007

KALAMAZOO--A Western Michigan University geoscientist and an economist from Kalamazoo College will address "Our Energy Future: Alternatives and Consequences" in a free, public lecture Thursday, Oct. 4, from 7 to 9 p.m. in the WMU Fetzer Center's Putney Auditorium.

Dr. David Barnes, WMU associate professor of geosciences, and Dr. Ahmed Hussen, professor of economics at Kalamazoo College, will discuss viable alternatives for our energy future, and the economic and environmental consequences of proposed solutions to meeting the energy needs of the United States and the world.

Barnes' areas of expertise include petroleum and sedimentary geology and subsurface geology of Michigan. He leads an environmental research project aimed at reducing atmospheric greenhouse gasses by safely storing them--carbon sequestration--in Michigan's unique underground rock formations. He was employed in the petroleum industry for six years prior to joining the WMU faculty in 1986. Barnes received a doctorate from the University of California, Santa Barbara

Hussen's areas of expertise are environmental and resource economics, population, resources and economic growth. He joined the Kalamazoo College faculty in 1985 and founded the college's environmental studies program in 1987. Hussen is the author of the popular textbook "Principles of Environmental Economics" and recently returned from a year in Botswana, where he conducted research in natural resource valuations. He earned a doctorate in natural resource economics from Oregon State University.

The program is sponsored by the Kalamazoo Jaycees and WMU Department of Geosciences. For more information, contact WMU student Shawn Brueshaber at shawn.r.brueshaber@wmich.edu or (269) 382-5810.

Media contact: Thom Myers, (269) 387-8400, thom.myers@wmich.edu

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