Louisiana energy and sustainability experts said Thursday the state has the capacity to produce much of its own energy through renewable resources and reduced individual use.A coalition of University, government and private interests met Thursday in the Dalton J. Woods Auditorium of the Energy, Coast and Environment Building to promote individual and community energy responsibility.”Our individual usage of energy may not seem like a lot, but all of us collectively looking to reduce our own energy use can really make an impact,” said Jeff Williams, director of environmental issues for Entergy.Make an Impact, presented by the University, Entergy and the Pew Center on Climate Change, brought together representatives of Louisiana energy for lecture and discussion of current sustainability issues.”We bring really diverse interests together,” said Sidney Coffee of America’s Wetland Foundation. “This cooperation has been the message we’ve been sending since we started.”Coffee said there is often dissent between different interests she works with, some believing in the threat of global climate change while others deny it.She said the key to fostering relations between these interests is to focus on real and visible threats like rising sea levels and the threat to the Louisiana coast.Mike McDaniel, University Center for Energy Studies, said it’s important for energy interests to reach for the “low hanging fruits” of sustainability, or the smaller, more attainable goals.McDaniel suggested individuals use more efficient lighting and passive heating to reduce energy use and save money over time.He said waste-heat recovery is the largest untapped resource in the country. McDaniel said recovering just 20 percent of waste-heat from America’s industrial sector could generate 180 gigawatts of power, equivalent to 150 nuclear power plants.In Louisiana, McDaniel said there are dozens of options for renewable energy solutions, including turbines in the Mississippi River and geothermal/geopressure reservoirs.Though the state doesn’t have to worry about the availability of power sources, Williams said many of the technologies needed to tap these resources are underdeveloped and need serious government and private investment.About 50 people, including students, faculty and concerned locals, came to listen to and ask questions of these officials. Members of the Environmental Conservation Organization at LSU also attended the meeting.”There is a real effort to draw in corporate, academia and government to try and solve the many environmental problems we face,” said Matt Wyatt, ECO at LSU co-vice president.Wyatt said the speakers were mostly “preaching to the choir” during the event, but said it was important to have open discussions of the issue.—-Contact Adam Duvernay at [email protected]