Greenfield, MA--Jim Braude, host of NECN's NewsNight with Jim Braude, is the moderator for the free Public Forum, "Energy: Crisis or Opportunity?" It is being held as part of the Northeast Sustainable Energy Association's (NESEA) 31st annual Building Energy Conference and Trade Show at Boston's Seaport World Trade Center on March 7-9, 2006. The Public Forum, sponsored by SmartPower and U.K. Trade & Investments, will be held at the Seaport World Trade Center Amphitheater on Tuesday evening, March 7 at 6:00 p.m.

Braude, along with a panel of energy and green building experts, will engage the audience in a lively discussion of how we can meet the energy crisis while improving national security, the economy, and the environment. With high winter heating bills costing more for individuals and institutions, panelists will explore opportunities for improving the energy scene from a variety of perspectives.

The forum's panel of experts and the specific topics they will address include:
• Paul Epstein, M.D., Assoc. Director of the Center for Health and the Global Environment, Harvard Medical School, health impacts
• Steven Winters, President, Steven Winters Associates, green buildings
• Gina McCarthy, Commissioner for Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection, environmental links
• Beth Sachs, Executive Director, Vermont Energy Investment Corporation, conservation and efficiency
• Joel Gordes, President, Environmental Energy Solutions, technical and renewable energy solutions
• Brian Keane, President, SmartPower, marketing green
• Mark Sinclair, U.K. Trade & Investment, global climate change

Presently, Braude is a radio talk-show host at 96.9FM with Margery Eagan of the Boston Herald. He also hosted NECN's Emmy Award-winning Talk of New England in the 1990s.

"Energy affects everything we do and is clearly the number-one concern of Americans today. It has become apparent that a change in how we produce and use energy, is absolutely necessary," said Christine Scott, Senior Planner/Urban Designer at Goody Clancy, an architectural, planning, and preservation firm in Boston, and Chair of the Building Energy Conference. "This public forum will address possible solutions and how we can accelerate the adoption of those that are readily available to us now."

The Building Energy '06 conference will also offer a pre-screening of HBO's new documentary on global warming, "Too Hot Not To Handle." It is a cautionary documentary that offers a guide to the effects of global warming in the United States. Over the past 100 years, the mass consumption of fossil fuels, especially in America, has contributed to a dangerous warming of the earth that has adversely impacted the way we live. Conference attendees and those attending the Trade Show will have the opportunity to preview this global warming primer on Thursday, March 9, from 12:30-1:30. The documentary features contributions from leading scientists in the field, including Dr. Paul Epstein, a panelist at Building Energy's Tuesday's Public Forum. The official debut of the documentary is on Earth Day, April 22 (7:00-8:00 p.m.), exclusively on HBO.

The Massachusetts Technology Collaborative is Title Sponsor and Goody Clancy is a Gold Sponsor of Building Energy 2006. Additional sponsors include: Alternative Energy Retailer, American Planning Association, Arrowstreet, BuildingGreen, Cape Light Compact, Cape Wind Associates, Commercial Builder/Architect Magazine, Connecticut Clean Energy Fund, Conservation Services Group, Contractor Power, CSRwire, E-The Environmental Magazine, Efficiency Maine, EIN Publishing, Energy Magazine, Environmental Design and Construction Magazine, Green Roofs for Healthy Cities, GreenBiz.com, Haworth, High Profile Monthly, Honeywell Utility Solutions, Home Energy Magazine, KeySpan Energy Delivery, Long Island Power Authority, Maine's State Energy Program, Massachusetts Department of Energy Resources, New England Cable News, New England Real Estate Journal, New York State Energy Research and Development Authority, North American Wind Power, NSTAR, Residential Design & Build Magazine, Rhode Island Renewable Energy Fund, Sasaki, Smart HomeOwner Magazine, SmartPower, Solar Design Associates, Sterling Planet, UK Trade and Investment, and the U.S. Department of Energy.

The Northeast Sustainable Energy Association (NESEA) is the Northeast's leading organization of professionals working in sustainable energy, whole systems thinking and green technologies. NESEA facilitates the widespread adoption and use of sustainable energy by providing support to industry professionals and by educating and motivating consumers to learn about, ask for, and adopt sustainable energy and green building practices. NESEA accomplishes this through a number of ongoing programs and annual events including the Building Energy conference and trade show, its Sustainable Yellow Pages, K-12 educational materials, and award-winning public education events such as the Tour de Sol and the Green Building Open House.

For more detailed conference or workshop information, or to register for Building Energy 2006 -- "The Practice of Sustainability: Proven Profitable Partnership," please visit www.BuildingEnergy.nesea.org.

Northeast Sustainable Energy Association (NESEA)

Northeast Sustainable Energy Association (NESEA)

About NESEA

NESEA is the Northeast Sustainable Energy Association (www.NESEA.org), Founded in 1974, the Northeast Sustainable Energy Association (NESEA) is today the region’s leading membership organization promoting sustainable energy practices in the built environment. We as professionals in the fields of renewable energy and building embrace whole systems thinking as the path to sustainability, and we accomplish this by focusing on three core elements:

• Creating and supporting a diverse, multidisciplinary network
• Promoting sustainable energy solutions for the built environment
• Rigorously vetting solutions through our network of professionals - no greenwashing here.

Headquartered in Greenfield, MA, NESEA operates primarily in the six New England states plus New York, New Jersey, Delaware, and Pennsylvania, but we increasingly reach out to share ideas nationally and internationally.

About BuildingEnergy

BuildingEnergy is NESEA's annual building science and renewable energy conference and trade show. Held in Boston annually in March, BuildingEnergy is the is the most established, most cross-disciplinary renewable energy and high-performance building conference and trade show in the northeast. It attracts professionals from every part of the building and energy industry.

Learn more about this year's exciting BuildingEnergy line-up at www.nesea.org/buildingenergy

More from Northeast Sustainable Energy Association (NESEA)