The University of Alabama Environmental Council, in collaboration with Focus the Nation, will host the University of Alabama Clean Energy Forum in Gorgas Library Room 205 from 1 to 6 p.m. on Friday.
The program, titled “Crimson in Green,” will investigate environmentally friendly energy initiatives through lecturer presentations and panel discussions.
Bailie Clark, student coordinator for the event and a sophomore majoring in environmental science, said the forum specifically aims to educate students on these initiatives’ applicability to the University and Tuscaloosa communities.
“We’re actually one of the most energy-efficient schools in the SEC,” Clark said. “However, we would like to see a passion for our campus eventually implementing renewable energy technology.”
Student coordinator Andrew Bersson, a senior majoring in biology, said he feels change will not necessarily be significant in the immediate future, but he stressed the importance of getting the ball rolling now.
“The stuff the presenters are going to be talking about, it’s not going to happen in just one year,” Bersson said. “But if we get people started thinking about it, maybe four or five years down the road, we’ll start to see some change.”
Presentations and discussion with guest lecturers will serve as the primary catalyst for change in Friday’s forum.
“We’ll have information booths and stuff set up, but the real focus is on the presenters,” said Emma Buchalter, student coordinator and New College senior. “We’ll have three different panels, with a number of different speakers in each panel.”
The panels will flow from what Buchalter described as a “top-down scheme,” with initial presentations scheduled to focus on general green practices, the second panel to outline Alabama and Tuscaloosa applications and the third group to emphasize UA initiatives. The final hour of the forum is reserved for casual, open dialogue between presenters and attendees.
Clark insisted the forum isn’t geared to appeal only to the pathos of the environmentally conscious but is designed instead to interest those approaching the topic from diverse perspectives. Several speakers will emphasize the practical benefits of environmentally conscious transitions.
“One of our speakers is going to be a business owner from Birmingham, and he’s going to be talking about the benefits on the business side of things,” Clark said. “There are lots of opportunities for new industries and jobs to be created from going green, whereas a lot of people have the misconception that it will kill jobs.”
Though the forum is listed as running from 1 to 6 p.m., the organizers made it clear students don’t have to be present the entire time to learn something new. Clark said most speakers’ presentations will last no longer than 15 minutes.
“We encourage people to come even if you can’t be there the whole time,” Buchalter said. “You’re going to get something out of it even if you just stop by for a few minutes between classes.”
The coordinators have spent much more than a few minutes organizing the event. They have been working to arrange presenters and promote attendance since November, when Focus the Nation offered the opportunity for collaboration. Focus the Nation, a national, nonprofit organization based in Oregon, works to hasten the “transformation to a clean energy future by… empowering young people through education, civic engagement and action,” according to its website.
Clark said a central goal of the program, beyond presenting clean energy information to campus audiences, is training students in the art of establishing public programs such as the UA Clean Energy Forum.
“I’ve never hosted a forum before. We’re all kind of flying by the seat of our pants,” Clark said. “This program is giving us some real life experience in being grassroots organizers.”
In true grassroots fashion, Bersson encouraged all interested students to stop by Friday afternoon.
“Everyone should come by and check it out and learn something,” Bersson said. “It’s not just for science majors – there’s something here for everybody.”
