Gore, Pickens and Reid to attend August clean energy summit

Former Vice President Al Gore will join Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and billionaire Texas oilman T. Boone Pickens for the second National Clean Energy Summit next month at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas.

Reid, D-Nev., announced the Aug. 10 forum in a statement Monday that dubs this year's conference "National Clean Energy Summit 2.0."

The summit will focus on how renewable energy developments such as wind and solar farms can generate 1.7 million jobs nationwide, including many in Nevada.

Gore shared the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize with the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change for fostering greater knowledge about climate change and what needs to be done to reduce its affects, particularly on the renewable energy front.

This year's summit will feature discussions by energy leaders in government, business, labor and nonprofit groups. The summit's sponsors are Reid, UNLV, and the Center for American Progress Action Fund led by its President and Chief Executive Officer John Podesta.

Former President Bill Clinton spoke at last year's summit, challenging Americans to make the United States the world's model for renewable energy use.

"This event will bring the nation's top minds to the table to continue building a vision for a sustainable clean energy economy; one that creates jobs, fuels innovation and investment, creates consumer savings for every American and reduces our reliance on oil," Reid said in Monday's announcement.

Contact reporter Keith Rogers at krogers@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0308.