The West Is The Best

Those accolades for The West, specifically California in this case, are less about geography than accomplishment in this mention.

I just finished moderating two of the four panels at the Western Energy Summit in Mountain View, just outside San Jose. That's my tiny image in the middle of the head table, black suit, surrounded by great minds and impressive titles. One of the main themes at the summit,"California clean-tech research rocks!" That's my paraphrasing at work and not the official session title, as you might guess. In any event, it's difficult to argue against relevant accomplishments of the California public and private sectors.

(here's a link to the Western Energy Summit agenda)

Among the panelists during my two sessions, the directors of the Lawrence Berkeley, Lawrence Livermore, Pacific Northwest, and Sandia National Laboratories. Also on hand, additional big guns from NREL, Berkeley, and Livermore. Remember, this is the atmosphere in which Steven Chu not only emerged to become Energy Secretary but also where he won his Nobel Prize. Impressive advancements seem to abound at the labs, though much of the accomplishments fly under the radar. Perhaps that's preferable for the work horses behind the glass.

(links for Lawrence Berkeley and Lawrence Livermore National Laboratories)

During my sessions, we found some clear areas of consent among these participants. Whether you compare it to The Manhattan Project or The Apollo Project, the clean energy revolution carries great urgency and gravitas. Secretary Chu is the right kind of leader to give the labs what they need to rise to the energy and environmental challenges we're now facing. One of our greatest resources, and one that is easy to take for granted, lies within the talent and potential of U.S. students. Indeed.

We have a few of my interviews with summit panelists up right now on our website, with more discussion to follow. Also, by August 3rd we should have both of the panels I moderated available in their entirety. You can find everything at CleanSkies.com.

If you didn't recognize it, the inspiration for the title of this particular post comes from "The End" by The Doors. Man, it's astounding to me that Jim Morrison's lyrics about the blessings of The West and the seven-mile snake were published 42 years ago. Seems like far less to me, but then again my generation's mass introduction to The Doors came from Val Kilmer playing The Lizard King in the 1991 Oliver Stone movie.

Val's hair was perfect for the part.