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LAST SATURDAY, WILDCATS AND MAROONS PUT ASIDE PAST CONFLICTS TO FOCUS ON THE FUTURE. NORTHWESTERN’S ENERGY & SUSTAINABILITY CLUB JOINED UCHICAGO’S ENERGY & CLIMATE CLUB TO PUT ON THE SECOND ANNUAL CHICAGO ENERGY CONFERENCE.
THE CONFERENCE INCLUDED A CAREER FAIR, TWO KEYNOTE SPEAKERS, AND EIGHT PANELS ON EVERYTHING FROM .POLICY TO AI TO NUCLEAR ENERGY.
STUDENTS FROM BOTH SCHOOLS CAME TOGETHER TO MEET THE CURRENT TRAILBLAZERS OF THE SUSTAINABILITY INDUSTRY. NORTHWESTERN THEATER AND POLITICAL SCIENCE STUDENT HANNAH GILL FIRST HEARD ABOUT THE CONFERENCE FROM A NEWSLETTER.
Gill: I got very excited because this is an area specifically in what I’m studying in political science, and I’m very interested in, very interested in energy policy.
NOT EVERYONE WAS THERE FOR PROFESSIONAL REASONS. NATHAN SCOTT, ANOTHER NORTHWESTERN ATTENDEE, CAME BECAUSE OF WHAT HE DESCRIBES AS
Nathan Scott: sort of this love of nature. And that drives a lot of what I’m interested in and the natural sciences in general. I think the more I’ve learned about climate change, the more passionate I’ve become about it.
THE CONFERENCE ALSO ENCOURAGED DIALOGUE BETWEEN THE TWO SCHOOLS. KATHERINE MAYER, U-CHICAGO STUDENT AND ONE OF THE CONFERENCE’S EXECUTIVE DIRECTORS, SAYS THAT WAS A GOAL OF HERS.
Katherine Mayer: it’s really just creating that platform to share it and creating a space where Northwestern students get to actually interact with UChicago students.
IN BETWEEN PANELS, STUDENTS NETWORKED WITH PROFESSIONALS TO SEE HOW THEY CAN HELP SOLVE SUSTAINABILITY ISSUES.
CHRIS KEEFER IS THE PRESIDENT OF CANADIANS FOR NUCLEAR ENERGY. BECAUSE OF HIS INVOLVEMEN IN THE NUCLEAR ENEGY MOVEMENT, HE SPOKE ON THE NUCLEAR ENERGY PANEL. HE SAYS BECOMING A FATHER PUSHED HIM TO TAKE ACTION.
Chris Keefer: When I was thinking about my son, he’s going to live 80 years, you know, he’ll live ‘til like 2100, God willing, and like, okay, the climate seems like a really big deal. And I was a doomer at parties and my ex-wife was just like, shut up and do something about it.
KEEFER TOOK THAT TO HEART. IN 2024, HE SUCCESSFULLY FOUGHT TO SAVE ONTARIO’S NUCLEAR POWER STATION. AND HE NOW HOSTS A POPULAR NUCLEAR ENERGY PODCAST.
REPEATEDLY, SPEAKERS REITERATED THIS IDEA OF TAKING ACTION. THE CONFERENCE ENDED WITH A SIMPLE REQUEST FROM KEYNOTE SPEAKER, GEOLOGIST SCOTT TINKER:
“I would encourage everyone to think about their own storytelling, and even to your own families, right? You tell them you’re in the energy world, who knows how that ends, Thanksgiving dinner. But you gotta have those dialogues.”
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THE CHICAGO ENERGY CONFERENCE WILL BE BACK NEXT SPRING AT THE UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO.
FOR WNUR NEWS, THIS HAS BEEN ILIANA DEMAS AND MAYA HAWKS.
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