Annual Conference
Conference History
2012| 2010| 2009 | 2008 | 2007 | 2006
2005 | 2004 | 2003 | 2002 | 2001 | 2000
1999 | 1998 | 1997 | 1996 | 1995 | 1994 | 1993
For fifteen years, dedicated members of the environmental club have organized Rice’s annual environmental conference. Started by undergraduate David Greene in 1993, the conference began as a way for Rice students to share their environmental research with the community. While each conference since then has been bigger and better attended, the mission of this year’s conference remains the same as that of the first. The conference, which is run and organized entirely by Rice students, brings together citizens, business leaders, public officials, and students of all viewpoints and backgrounds and encourages debate about protecting the environment both in the community and around the world.
“The Conference has evolved each year and shows the influence of its many inspired participants. This started as a project to engage students in their own education, and environmental issues gave us a broad theme on which to base the conference. Environmental issues are not fading away but instead are demonstrating broader implications as we are literally surrounded by them.”
— David Greene, Conference Founder
We are grateful for the support we have received to sustain the conference each year. Our sponsors have included Rice’s Energy and Environmental Systems Institute, the Citizens’ Environmental Coalition, the East Harris County Manufacturers Association, the James A. Baker III Institute for Public Policy, the Environmental Science and Engineering Department at Rice University, the Greene Family, Mr. James Blackburn, the Wray Trust, HL&P, and DuPont.
RICE ENVIRONMENTAL CONFERENCE XIX
Theme
2012
Keynote Speaker:
TBA
Highlights:
TBA
RICE ENVIRONMENTAL CONFERENCE XVIII
EPICURIOSITIES: Save Your Planet and Eat It, Too!
2010
RICE ENVIRONMENTAL CONFERENCE XIII
Urban Jungle: Cities in the Image of Nature
February 12, 2005
Keynote Speaker:
Pliny Fisk III, Co-Director of The Center for Maximum Potential Building Systems
Highlights:
Panels on Greenspace and Green Building
Talks by Keith Crenshaw (Texas Parks and Wildlife), David Crossley (Gulf Coast Institute), Ron Jones (Sierra Custom Builders)
Closing remarks by Brian Yeoman (Houston Advanced Research Center)
RICE ENVIRONMENTAL CONFERENCE XII
Stuck in a Jam: The Problems and the Future of Transportation in Houston
March 13, 2004
Keynote Speaker:
Elizabeth Deakin, Associate Professor of City and Regional Planning, Director, University of California Transportation Center
Highlights:
Panel discussion on the future of Houston transportation
Closing remarks by Jim Blackburn
Exposition of hybrid cars
RICE ENVIRONMENTAL CONFERENCE XI
This Land is Your Land: Public Lands’ History, Philosophy, and Controversy
February 28 – March 1, 2003
Keynote Speakers:
Paul Edwards, Montana Environmental Information Center
Scott Silver, Wild Wilderness
Highlights:
Numerous Panel Discussions on such topics as The Importance of Public Spaces, Public Lands Law, and Urban Public Lands
Public Lands Photo Exhibition
Environmental expo
RICE ENVIRONMENTAL CONFERENCE X
Power to the People: The Future of Energy
April 6, 2002
Keynote Speaker:
Barbara Shook, Energy Intelligence Group
Highlights:
Panel Discussions on Energy Deregulation, The Potential of Fuel Cells
Alternative Energy Presentations and Discussion Panels
Student environmental paper competition
Environmental expo
RICE ENVIRONMENTAL CONFERENCE IX
It’s the End of the World as We Know It, and I Feel Fine:
A Sense of Place in the New Millennium
February 3, 2001
Keynote Speaker:
Ken Kramer – Lone Star Chapter, Sierra Club
Highlights:
Panel Discussions on Sense of Place, Ecology in a Sense of Place, and Resource Decisions and Community Involvement in Daily Life
Student environmental paper competition
Environmental expo
RICE ENVIRONMENTAL CONFERENCE VIII
Planes, Trains, and Automobiles: The Future of Transportation
February 12, 2000
Keynote Speakers:
Bob Lanier, Former Mayor of Houston
John Johnson, Texas Statewide Transportation Commissioner
Highlights:
Panel Discussions on Urban Planning & Smart Growth, Air Quality, and Future Technologies
Cars of the Future Display
Student environmental paper competition
Environmental expo
RICE ENVIRONMENTAL CONFERENCE VII
1999
Keynote Speaker:
Judith Jacobsen, President of the Board, Zero Population Growth
Highlights:
Panel Discussions on Women, Religion, and Population as an Environmental Issue
Presentation and workshop on the systematic study of the future
Student environmental paper competition
Environmental expo
RICE ENVIRONMENTAL CONFERENCE VI
1998
Keynote Speakers:
Gary Mauro, Gubernatorial Candidate and Texas General Land Office Commissioner
Daniel Quinn, author of Ishmael, The Story of B, and My Ishmael
Highlights:
Panels on Houston Air Quality and Business and the Environment
National Wildlife Federation workshop on Campus Activism
Student environmental paper competition
Environmental Expo
RICE ENVIRONMENTAL CONFERENCE V
1997
Keynote Speakers:
Dr. Alan Thornhill, Rice University Ecology Dept.
Dr. Tony Chase, Univ. of Houston Law Center
Fred Werner, US Fish and Wildlife Service
Highlights:
Interpretive Environmental Presentation
Panel Discussions on Environmental Technology, Careers, Education, and Local Heroes
National Wildlife Federation Workshop on Campus Activism
Environmental Expo
RICE ENVIRONMENTAL CONFERENCE IV
1996
Keynote Speakers:
Malcolm Gillis, President of Rice University
Jim Blackburn, Blackburn and Carter Law Firm
Highlights:
Panel Discussions on Environmental Protection and Houston Development
Workshops on the Environment on the Internet and Campus Environmental Leadership
Environmental Expo and Career Fair
RICE ENVIRONMENTAL CONFERENCE III
1995
Keynote Speakers:
Scott Hochberg, State Representative, District 132
David Rubenstein, Environmentors Project of Washington D.C.
Highlights:
16 Rice Student Paper Presentations
Community Expo
RICE ENVIRONMENTAL CONFERENCE II
1994
Keynote Speakers:
Hal Kane, Worldwatch Institute
Stephen Klienberg, Dept. of Sociology at Rice U.
Highlights:
Student Paper Sessions
National Wildlife Federation Workshop on Campus Activism
RICE ENVIRONMENTAL CONFERENCE I
1993
Keynote Speakers:
Scott Hochberg, State Representative, District 132
Glenda Callaway, Galveston Bay Foundation
Mary Van Kerrebrook, Houston Sierra Club
Highlights:
26 Rice Student Paper Presentations
Environmental Education Roundtable Discussion
High School Activism Networking
Slide Show on East African Ecosystems and Cultures