By Monique Van Sant, WSU Tri-Cities intern
RICHLAND, Wash. – Scientist James Conca will talk about the evolution and future of the worldwide energy market and specific dangers facing energy sources at 4 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 12, and at 6:30 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 13, in the East Auditorium at Washington State University Tri-Cities.
The free, public presentations of “The GeoPolitics of Energy: Achieving a Just and Sustainable Energy Distribution by 2040,” are part of the Herbert M. Parker Lecture Series. Conca will sell and sign copies of his book of the same name after both talks.
Learn more about the Parker Foundation and Conca, who is on its board of directors, at http://tricities.wsu.edu/parkerfoundation.
Conca said all energy sources must be developed to full potential if the world is to attain sustainable energy without intermittent shortages, security vulnerabilities, extreme costs or environmental catastrophe.
“While renewables can overcome their hurdles of space needs, grid connections and material requirements in time to replace significant fossil fuel, nuclear can immediately begin replacing coal,” he said. “Nuclear, however, faces perceptual and market challenges that must be addressed, including nuclear waste, interstate commerce clashes, the rise of natural gas and other non-scientific issues.”
Conca is a senior scientist at UFA Ventures, Inc., an environmental remediation company in Richland. He is an affiliate scientist at the Los Alamos National Laboratory and a science contributor for Forbes magazine on energy and nuclear issues.
Herbert M. Parker, the first head of the Hanford Laboratories that later became the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, was a pioneer in medical radiation therapy and radiation protection.
Contacts:
Jeffrey Dennison, WSU Tri-Cities marketing and communications, 509-372-7319, Jeffrey.dennison@wsu.edu
Ken Fincher, WSU Tri-Cities assistant vice chancellor, 509-372-7398, ken.fincher@tricity.wsu.edu
Wayne Glines, Herbert M. Parker Foundation, wglines34@charter.net
