North Texas Daily

Michael Burgess, Texas’ 26th congressional district representative, sponsored the annual Energy Summit and Fair last Saturday at UNT’s Discovery Park. The summit highlighted ways North Texas can become more energy efficient and reduce energy costs.

The first summit was in 2005 and has been an annual event ever since. The event provides information on different innovations in energy efficiency.

“Good news is Americans are leading the way for energy innovation and we’re going to hear about that this morning,” Burgess said in the presentation.

Several organizations provided energy efficiency advice and showcased their products. There was an auto show said to be fuel efficient and a presentation from different energy experts.

Michael Burgess’ opening comments for the presentation focused on the role of consumers in energy efficiency.

“The consumer really is the one who is best able to make the decisions that impact their lives and make things work for them,” Burgess said. “This event is about how you can make the decisions that are important to you and your family that will lead to the wise consumption of energy.”

The first presentation was on Toyota’s Environmental Challenge 2050. A series of six challenges to help Toyota “go beyond zero environmental impact,” according to the slideshow from the presentation.

Other presentations included tips to keep your house energy efficient, the state of air quality in Denton and information on the Prius Prime and the Toyota Mirai, which is a zero emission vehicle that could be driven at the event.

The last presenter was Drew Campbell of Capital-Insights who discussed the future of the auto industry. He envisioned a time where every vehicle is autonomous.

“Those are the kinds of things that, to me, are very exciting about what’s coming. If you can’t get excited about that then you don’t love cars and you don’t love innovation,” Campbell said.

Kelli Barr was in the audience and said the solutions didn’t speak to the problems in the district.

“They were just giving us an update about what some major companies in the area are doing to reduce their energy consumption and improve their energy efficiency,” Barr said. “ That’s great, but I don’t see how that actually helps us with the problems we are dealing with in his district.”

Joanne Passons has been in Burgess’ district for 12 years and was also present at the summit.

“I thought it was great,” Passons said. “Very informative and very interesting. If the speakers had more time then there is no telling what we could have learned.”

Will Fisher is challenging Burgess for the Texas’ 26th congressional seat. Fisher said he attended the summit to support the event and get a better understanding of the programs being advertised.

“I’m glad that Mr. Burgess holds events like this,” Fisher said. “Unfortunately his voting record doesn’t reflect a true care for things like conservation and green energy. He has voted consistently against conservation. He has voted consistently against tax incentives for green energy. What I expect our representative to be doing is fighting to bring green energy jobs to our district.”

As for the innovations presented at the summit, Burgess remembered George W. Bush’s State of the Union address in 2003. Bush talked about a vision for hydrogen and pollution free vehicles.

I thought [that vision] would never happen in my lifetime,” Burgess said. “It’s happened in my lifetime. I am grateful for the people that helped that prediction become a reality.”

Featured Image: On Saturday, July 15, Congressman Michael C. Burgess speaks to the crowd about the importance of educating themselves about energy consumption and being responsible consumers. Burgess mentioned that energy is an economic issue and if consumers dont take the extra step and buy energy efficient products, then no one will. Katie Jenkins