As oil and gas prices rise, so does the interest into alternative fuels.

Springfield city council member Dan Chiles joined Ozarks Today on Feb. 19 to talk about the Ozarks New Energy Conference this weekend.

News release from the organizers:

Ozarks New Energy Conference: Promising Technologies to Fuel Growth and Energy Independence in the Ozarks

The Ozarks – as is the rest of the world – is on the cusp of change. Escalating oil and gasoline prices are triggering the research and development of alternative fuels to secure energy independence for the United States.

The race is on to invest in promising new fuel technologies that will break the stranglehold of foreign oil and address the compelling evidence that climate change is real. Highly efficient engines and motors, more energy efficient building materials and techniques and plain old conservation measures also hold great promise for a revolution in our energy use.

A transition from fossil fuels for power and transportation to clean, renewable fuels will benefit our economy and the environment.

The Ozarks needs to be part of this exciting technological Renaissance. As a surge of energy investment and innovation sweeps the country, we must not be left behind. Failure to seize opportunities to produce new fuels – switch grass, for example – and to expand our region’s tiny foot hold in solar and wind technologies could affect southwest Missouri’s growth.

Let’s begin to explore those opportunities and invest in technologies right here in the Ozarks.

The Ozarks New Energy Conference starts with an impressive slate of nationally recognized researchers and experts on ammonia, algae, hydrogen, cellulose and biomass. We move from the research to practical and current examples of how these technologies are already being applied right here in the Ozarks.

Finally, we look at federal and state energy policies, tax credits and other investment incentives and the hard costs of applying new fuels and efficiency approaches.

It’s a conference for anyone in the Ozarks or beyond with a yearning to secure our region’s energy independence and reap the economic rewards of growing and developing our own fuel closer to home. It’s also a conference that promises to provide some answers on reducing greenhouse gases.