Election Townhall: Economy, Energy, Environment (8 of 10)

Election '08's Impact on Michigan: Energy, the Environment, and the Economy

Grand Valley's Hauenstein Center for Presidential Studies and Michigan Radio present this panel discussion examining the policies of the presidential candidates and how they will impact Michigan. Experts on the environment, energy, and the economy are joined by advocates for the Obama and McCain campaigns to help explain their views in these important areas.

Mr. Mark A. Coscarelli is vice president for Great Lakes & environment at Public Sector Consultants (PCS). He has been with the firm since 2001. Mr. Coscarelli, who holds a B.S. in environmental and natural resource studies and an M.S. in fisheries and wildlife from Michigan State University, conducts research and writes reports on the environment and public policy for the firm and its clients. He also serves as manager and secretary for the Great Lakes Fishery Trust.

Prior to joining PSC, Mr. Coscarelli was a senior environmental specialist in the Office of the Great Lakes, Michigan Department of Environmental Quality. He managed the Michigan Great Lakes Protection Fund, and served as a statewide expert for the control of harmful nonindigenous species in Michigan. Mr. Coscarelli has also been employed as an environmental quality analyst in the Surface Water Quality Division of the Michigan Department of Natural Resources, and as a resource specialist in Michigan State University’s Groundwater Education Program.

Dr. Paul Isely is associate professor of economics in the Seidman College of Business at Grand Valley State University. Dr. Isely, who holds a dual B.S. in physics and economics from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, as well as an M.S. and Ph.D. in economics from Purdue University, joined the Grand Valley faculty in 1995. Dr. Isely teaches courses on environmental economics, business cycles and growth, and economic modeling.

Dr. Isely's research interests have led to numerous articles and reports about West Michigan's economy and its relationship to the national and state economies, and about renewable energy sources and traditional energy pricing. His academic publications have focused on firm and government interaction. Recent publications have explored a firm’s ability to create new innovations and Grand Rapids recycling. He has also consulted on several projects to the Annis Water Resources Institute, aimed at providing economic information to assist local decision makers.

Dr. Imad Mahawili is executive director of the Michigan Renewable and Alternative Energy Center. He also serves as executive director of the Muskegon SmartZone and director of research for the Grand Rapids SmartZone. Since earning a B.Sc. and Ph.D. in chemical engineering from the University of London, Dr. Mahawili has gained extensive experience developing energy conversion technologies, semiconductor technologies, and medical devises. He worked at Du Pont during the 1974 energy crisis, developing chemical feedstocks from coal and consulting on alternate and renewable energy research, before he moved to Silicon Valley to work on semiconductor technologies throughout the 1980s. In 1992, Dr. Mahawili moved to Grand Rapids, Michigan, to start Micro C Technologies, Inc., an advanced semiconductor capital equipment technology company.

He owns twenty-one U.S. patents, with five more pending, and he has authored four technical papers.

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Education

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