11:00am - 12:00pm

Welcome and Keynote

The opening keynote address will set the stage for CHOW 2010 by providing an overview of the intersection between ocean and energy issues, the challenges and opportunities associated with navigating a healthy ocean and clean energy future and various ongoing initiatives designed to identify and promote the ocean’s role in current and future energy choices.

The Honorable Ken Salazar | Secretary, U.S. Department of the Interior

1:00pm - 3:00pm

A Current Snapshot: The United States’ Energy Needs and Supply Chain -- Clip One | Clip Two

The introductory panel session will offer a comprehensive description of today’s energy choices, including a review of the ways in which domestic needs are being met - or not - by our current energy production, transport and consumption methods. In addition to offering a summary of today’s energy mix that will enhance attendees’ understanding of later sessions, panelists will focus on the ocean’s current and future roles in addressing the United States’ energy needs.

Sherburne Abbott | Associate Director for Environment, Office of Science and Technology Policy, Executive Office of the President (moderator)

Staffan Ekwall | Policy Officer, Baltic and North Sea Maritime Policy, European Commission Directorate General for Maritime Affairs and Fisheries

Amanda Little | Author, Power Trip: From Oil Wells to Solar Cells - Our Ride to the Renewable Future

Christopher A. Smith | Deputy Assistant Secretary for Oil and Natural Gas, Office of Fossil Energy, U.S. Department of Energy

Jeff C. Wright | Director, Office of Energy Projects, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

Sally Yozell | Director of Policy, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

9:00am - 10:30am

Today’s Energy Mix: Impacts on Ocean and Coastal Resources

Past and present decisions concerning energy production and consumption are associated with a number of adverse impacts on marine resources. This session will offer an overview of the ways in which our current energy mix is both affecting and projected to affect the health of marine resources and unique ocean and coastal habitats at scales ranging from local to global.

The Honorable Sam Farr | U.S. House of Representatives (CA-17) (opening remarks)

Dr. Marcia McNutt | Director, U.S. Geological Survey (moderator)

John Amos | President, SkyTruth

Holly A. Bamford, PhD | Acting Deputy Assistant Administrator, National Ocean Service, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

Dr. F. Joel Fodrie | Assistant Professor, Institute of Marine Sciences, University of North Carolina

Dr. Gretchen E. Hofmann | Professor, University of California, Santa Barbara

Sergio Huerta, MD | Laboratory Administrator, Division of Water Resources, Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control

10:45am - 12:15pm

Implications of Today’s Energy Choices for Ocean Users and Coastal Communities

The ways in which society explores, produces, transports and consumes energy have a multitude of positive and negative consequences for coastal and inland communities. This panel will focus on the socioeconomic, national security and public health implications of effects on marine resources including sea-level rise and ocean acidification. Coastal communities are currently being influenced by fundamental physical and chemical changes that are slowly occurring in marine ecosystems, and presenters will offer insights into how these basic - and seemingly small - impacts are being amplified through depressed resource economies and potentially negative outcomes for health and well-being.

The Honorable Robert J. Wittman | U.S. House of Representatives (VA-01) (opening remarks)

Margaret R. Caldwell | Executive Director, The Center for Ocean Solutions, Stanford University (moderator)

John Austin | Nonresident Senior Fellow and Director, Great Lakes Economic Initiative, Brookings Institution

Dr. William Cheung | School of Environmental Sciences, University of East Anglia

Captain Tim Gallaudet | Deputy Director, Navy Task Force Climate Change, Office of the Oceanographer of the Navy

Kim Knowlton, DrPH | Senior Scientist, Natural Resources Defense Council

Joe LaClair | Chief Planning Officer, San Francisco Bay Conservation and Development Commission

12:30pm - 2:00pm

Traditional Ocean Energy: Offshore Oil and Gas

Currently the most widespread domestic sources of ocean energy, oil and gas are essential parts of today’s energy mix and - even in the wake of the Deepwater Horizon MC252 spill - are likely to remain indispensable for some time. This session will explore the current and anticipated impacts associated with offshore oil and gas production, including both beneficial and adverse outcomes. Panelists will also discuss the potential for new technologies and practices to decrease negative effects and reduce risks associated with tapping offshore energy sources.

William J. Douros | West Coast Regional Director, Office of National Marine Sanctuaries, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (moderator)

Walter D. Cruickshank, PhD | Deputy Director, Minerals Management Service

Christopher Mann | Senior Officer, Pew Environment Group

James P. Ray | President, Oceanic Environmental Solutions, LLC

Dave Westerholm | Director, Office of Response and Restoration, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

2:30pm - 4:15pm

Energy from an Ocean in Motion

As the market for alternative power sources continues to expand, offshore technologies are proving to be attractive renewable energy options. This is true of both offshore wind farms and emerging technologies that capture the energy of moving water from waves, tides and ocean currents. In this session, speakers will review the economic and ecological effects associated with capturing and distributing energy from offshore wind, waves, tides and currents and explore methods by which positive effects could be enhanced and negative impacts reduced. Furthermore, speakers will address the challenges posed by prioritizing renewable energy supply over other potential uses of the outer continental shelf, Exclusive Economic Zone and coastal zone.

Alejandro Moreno | Water Power Team Lead, U.S. Department of Energy (moderator)

Darren Deffner | Manager of Environmental and Government Affairs, Pacific Gas & Electric Company

Dennis Duffy | Vice-President of Regulatory Affairs, Cape Wind Associates, LLC

Will Hopkins | Executive Director, Cobscook Bay Resource Center

Micah McCarty | Councilman, Makah Tribal Council

Chris Sauer | President & CEO, Ocean Renewable Power Company

Alla Weinstein | President & CEO, Principle Power, Inc.

9:00am - 10:30am

Ocean Energy Sources on the Horizon

Researchers in the US and abroad are hard at work developing next-generation ocean energy sources. This panel will offer profiles of these nascent energy sources and the production and consumption technologies being created to exploit them. Presenters will also provide insight into the future of ocean energy as they discuss the potential impacts of emerging ocean energy technologies and how new ocean energy sources may have different - but not necessarily better or worse - impacts than does our current energy mix.

The Honorable Brian Baird | U.S. House of Representatives (WA-03); Chairman, Subcommittee on Energy and Environment (opening remarks)

Michael Kearns | Director, External Affairs, National Ocean Industries Association (moderator)

Ray Boswell | Technology Manager for Methane Hydrates, National Energy Technology Laboratory, U.S. Department of Energy

Dr. Ted G. Johnson | Director of Alternative Energy Programs Development, Lockheed Martin

Dennis Takahashi-Kelso, JD, PhD | Executive Vice-President, Ocean Conservancy

Jonathan D. Trent, PhD | OMEGA Project Scientist, NASA Ames Research Center

10:45am - 12:15pm

Congressional Initiatives: Policy for a Healthy Ocean and Clean Energy Future

The 111th Congress has been particularly active on energy, climate, and ocean issues, and this panel will feature Congressional experts discussing specific pieces of legislation moving through the U.S. House of Representatives and Senate. From bills that would regulate carbon emissions and improve the Minerals Management Service to legislation establishing superior pollution response systems or tax benefits for ocean energy technologies, there are numerous possibilities for action on ocean energy issues in the remainder of the 111th Congress.

The Honorable Sheldon Whitehouse | U.S. Senator, Rhode Island (opening remarks)

The Honorable Mike Castle | U.S. House of Representatives (DE-01) (opening remarks)

Curry Hagerty | Specialist in Energy and Natural Resources Policy, Congressional Research Service (moderator)

Ana Unruh Cohen | Deputy Staff Director, U.S. House of Representatives Select Committee on Energy Independence and Global Warming

Michael Conathan | Professional Staff, U.S. Senate Subcommittee on Oceans, Atmosphere, Fisheries, and Coast Guard

Dr. Shimere Williams | Professional Policy Staff, U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Science and Technology, Subcommittee on Energy and Environment

12:30pm - 2:00pm

Overcoming Barriers and Offering Incentives: Ocean Energy’s Infrastructure, Regulatory and Financing Needs

In order for clean ocean energy to come into its own as a domestic power source, regulatory and financing barriers must be overcome. Shared jurisdiction among federal, state, tribal, and local governments complicates the permitting and management of activities recently introduced to the coastal zone and Outer Continental Shelf, and the comprehensive spatial planning efforts meant to identify the most efficient uses of our offshore spaces are only just getting underway. Furthermore, significant public and private capital investment is still required to shift new technologies from development to deployment. Panelists in this session will discuss a range of infrastructure, regulatory and financing challenges, and potential solutions, that must be addressed before clean ocean energy technologies are able to make increased contributions to our energy mix.

Jack Sterne | Rising Tide Strategies, LLC (moderator)

Dr. Willett Kempton | Professor, College of Earth, Ocean, and Environment; and Director, Center for Carbon-free Power Integration, University of Delaware

Steven R. Kopf | Partner, Pacific Energy Ventures

Cherise M. Oram | Partner, Stoel Rives, LLP

Sandra Whitehouse, PhD | Senior Advisor, Ocean Conservancy

2:15pm - 2:45pm

Final Keynote

Dr. Larry Robinson | Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere

3:00pm - 4:30pm

Ocean and Energy Policy in a Changing Arctic

Experts from across the ideological and political spectrum have identified the Arctic as a region both rich in ocean energy sources and particularly vulnerable to the adverse impacts of certain energy choices. CHOW 2010 will culminate with a capstone session in which panelists will explore the challenge of maintaining healthy marine ecosystems in a changing Arctic likely to continue playing a key role in the United States’ ocean energy mix.

The Honorable Mark Begich | U.S. Senator, Alaska (opening remarks)

Monica Medina | Principal Deputy Undersecretary for Oceans and Atmosphere, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce (moderator)

Harry Brower | Chairman, Alaska Eskimo Whaling Commission

Captain J. J. Fisher | Chief, Office of Policy Integration, U.S. Coast Guard

Marilyn Heiman | Director, U.S. Arctic Program, Pew Environment Group

Kent Satterlee, III | Offshore/US Regulatory Policy Manager, Shell Upstream Americas

4:30pm - 4:40pm

Closing Remarks