By Priya Narapareddy
This fall’s Town and Gown Lecture Series will introduce a prime concern to Union students and faculty: What is the role of energy sustainability in our lives today?
The event will focused on the various uses of energy in America.
All presentations will be held in Room D-3 of the Penick Academic Complex, except those to be held Oct. 20, in which the presentations will be given at the Carl Grant Events Center.
Each lecture is free of charge, open to the public and will be presented weekly throughout the month of October.
Dr. Beth Madison, assistant professor of science, taught the first lecture, Oct. 5, which was titled “Biofuels for Energy Stewardship.”
“(The event) is referred to as the Town and Gown because the lectures are open to the town of Jackson,” Madison said. “Gown is included in the name because Union students attend the lectures to earn credit toward graduation.”
Topics include “Economic Considerations of Renewable Energy,” “Solar Energy,” “Nuclear Power and Policy,” “Reverse Energy Generation,” “Energy Policy and Perspective” and “Christian Ethics and Energy Stewardship.”
The last series of lectures will be focused on the recent British Petroleum oil spill, as well as the uses and methods of conserving energy for the future. Union will welcome William J. McDonald, president of EnerPro, LLC in Houston, Texas, and Lloyd Hansen, owner of NORTEC, Inc., in Palm City, Fla., for a special presentation on the oil spill, technology, energy and the policies that regulate the use of petroleum.
The final lecture in the Town and Gown Lecture Series will be given by Vaughn Cassidy, recycling coordinator for the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation, Nov. 6.
