The UH Center for Public History and the newly formed Center for Energy Management and Policy co-sponsored an Oil Spill Symposium to touch on energy production, the oil spill response, environmental impacts and government regulations — all key elements that have been considered beneficial in understanding the recent disaster in the Gulf of Mexico.
The Sept. 23 event took place in the Plaza Room of the UH Hilton Hotel.
UH history doctoral candidate and event organizer Jason Theriot said the overall outcome was positive.
“It was a success, we answered a lot of the questions,” he said.
The all-day event was split up into three different sessions. It started out with a morning history discussion, followed by an Oil Spill Research/Response and ended with a regulatory and legal impact discussion.
Each session had different speakers in charge of specific topics to discuss depending on their area of expertise. The event was made for anyone who wished to attend.
“It was promoted in the UH system, through magazines and the Houston Chronicle,” Theriot said. “We had people coming and going.”
UH alumni were amongst the many who attended the event.
“My specialty was energy and environment,” Alumna Melissa Luna said. “When I heard about this, it caught my attention.”
The speakers that attended were experts on the subject and said they hoped to help people understand the matter better.
“This gives you some clue. It is not a simple project,” former director of the Louisiana oil spill coordinator’s office Don Davis said.
The link to watch the oil spill symposium will be posted on the web so people will be able to watch the entire event or watch specific guest speakers.
For more information go to www.history.uh.edu/oilspillsymposium.
