Presented with the Society of Environmental Journalists and the Woods Institute for the Environment

The race is on for commercialization of domestic fuels that shrink our carbon footprint, and change is in the wind: utilities are revisiting solar and wind power; big oil is investigating biofuels; car companies are betting on fuel cells; and government is rethinking nuclear power while peddling incentives for expanded production of natural gas and "clean" coal. But what about good old-fashioned conservation? Are we on the right track?

Paul Ehrlich
Paul R. Ehrlich, the Bing Professor of Population Studies at Stanford, is co-founder of the field of coevolution. He studies the structure, dynamics, and genetics of natural butterfly populations. He may be best known for his work on the problems of overpopulation, and in raising issues of population, resources, and the environment as matters of public policy. His research group currently studies checkerspot butterflies, and is investigating ways that human-disturbed landscapes can be made more hospitable to biodiversity. A special interest of his is cultural evolution, especially with respect to environmental ethics. His most recent book, co-authored with Anne Ehrlich, is One with Nineveh: Politics, Consumption, and the Human Future.

http://www.stanford.edu/group/CCB/Staff/Ehrlich.html

Fred Krupp
Fred Krupp is executive director of Environmental Defense, a national nonprofit organization that links science, economics, law and innovative private-sector partnerships to create breakthrough solutions to the most serious environmental problems. He leads Environmental Defense's teams of scientists, economists and attorneys in achieving four main goals: stabilizing the Earth's climate, preserving species and habitat, protecting human health and safeguarding oceans and marine life. Since he joined Environmental Defense in 1984, its annual budget has increased from $3 million to $71.8 million, full-time staff increased from 50 to nearly 300, and membership expanded from 40,000 to more than 500,000.

http://www.environmentaldefense.org/page.cfm?tagID=870

George Shultz
George P. Shultz is the Thomas W. and Susan B. Ford Distinguished Fellow at the Hoover Institution. He was sworn in on July 16, 1982 as the 60th U.S. secretary of state and served until January 20, 1989. He is chairman of the J. P. Morgan Chase International Council, the Accenture Energy Advisory Board, and the California Governor's Council of Economic Advisors. He was awarded the Medal of Freedom, the nation's highest civilian honor, in 1989. He also received the Seoul Peace Prize (1992), the Eisenhower Medal for Leadership and Service (2001), and the Reagan Distinguished American Award (2002). The George Shultz National Foreign Service Training Center in Arlington, Virginia, was dedicated in 2002. He was named a Distinguished Fellow of the American Economic Association in 2005.

http://www.hoover.org/bios/shultz.html

JB Straubel
JB Straubel oversees the technical and engineering design of the electric car company, Tesla Motors. He focuses on the battery, motor, power electronics, and high-level software sub-systems. Additionally, he evaluates new technology, manages vehicle systems testing, and interacts with key vendors. Before joining Tesla Motors, he was the CTO and co-founder of the aerospace firm, Volacom Inc., where he invented and patented a new long-endurance hybrid electric propulsion concept that was later licensed to Boeing. A Stanford alumnus, he has also built an electric Porsche 944 that held a world EV racing record, a custom electric bicycle, and a pioneering hybrid trailer system.

http://www.straubel.com/

Amy Goodman (moderator)
Amy Goodman is the host and executive producer of Democracy Now! This independent news program airs daily on over 500 radio and television stations in North America. She recently began a weekly syndicated column with King Features. Amy and her brother, journalist David Goodman, co-authored the books Static: Government Liars, Media Cheerleaders, and the People Who Fight Back and The Exception to the Rulers: Exposing Oily Politicians, War Profiteers, and the Media That Love Them. She has reported on dozens of major issues and significant political figures, including Haitian President Jean-Bertrand Aristide as he returned from exile in 2004. She also worked on the radio documentary "Drilling and Killing: Chevron and Nigeria's Oil Dictatorship," which exposed Chevron's role in the killing of two Nigerian villagers in the Niger Delta, who were protesting yet another oil spill in their community.

http://www.democracynow.org/staff.shtml