All of the people attending this Summit are leaders in their respective fields and are being asked to address the following challenge:

What should be done, and by whom, to bring about the changes necessary to significantly diversify energy options in the state, reduce the emissions of greenhouse gases, and create more jobs within the State of Oklahoma? Participants should consider three time frames: near-term (4-8 years), mid-term (10-20 years), and long term (up to 50 years). They should analyze the social equity, health, technical, economic, environmental, and political aspects of each. Specifically, students should answer the following:

1) Social Equity. Must everyone have equal access to energy opportunities?
      • Will technologies be available to everyone, or will some options only be available in concentrated urban areas, or only to
         wealthy individuals?

2) Health. The energy we produce provides tremendous societal benefits, but also has associated health impacts. A sustainable energy choice must also take health into account.
    • Will new technologies have new waste streams (like mercury from CFLs) that might affect some communities more than
      others?
    • Do some technologies have health impacts close to where the energy is produced, or are health effects felt far away? Are
      some health effects immediate and others more long-term?

3) Technical. Many improvements are available currently, others are close to deployment, and still others are in more nascent research stages.
    • What are current technology constraints?

4) Economic. Implementation of certain technologies may have long-term savings, but short-term costs, or may cause certain technologies to succeed and others to fail.
    • Who will pay for up front costs?
    • What incentives should be used to motivate consumers to support various energy options, and to encourage their
      adaptation? Are revisions to the tax code required?

5) Environmental. What are the environmental impacts of these various choices? (e.g., use of materials, potential affects from carbon sequestration, impacts on wildlife from siting new facilities, etc.)

6) Political. Congress enacts legislation and the US Environmental Protection Agency and state legislatures and environmental agencies create their own regulations to limit some activities and encourage others. 
    • What existing legal and regulatory issues affect the deployment of energy technologies? (See the Energy Policy Act of 
      2005 and Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007, and the Executive Order signed by President Obama on Jan. 
      26, 2009, and discussions about a Renewable Portfolio Standard in Michigan).
    • Some feel that the market should be allowed to determine the best solution, while others feel that more regulation is
      required to keep society moving in desirable directions. How do different stakeholders apply political pressure to alter the 
      outcome?