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The role of the gathering was, as President Malcolm Gillis told the conference-goers, "to build a bridge between the world of ideas and the world of action [and]... to facilitate the exchange of ideas and tools."

The conference tackled many issues between March 3 and March 5. The proceedings were divided into sessions considering different facets of problems and solutions. Speakers focused on one of three issues: defining sustainable development and its economics, the use of often unclear science in critical policy decisions and the integration of sustainable development into market economies as well as incentives for businesses to cooperate.

Defining exactly what "sustainable development" means has been a problem for both the initiated and uninitiated alike. It is "about the well-being of people in the distant future," Nobel laureate and economist Richard Solow from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology said.

Solow spoke March 4. "It is a political obligation to manage our economy so that all future generations can be as well off as we are. No more and no less."

Rice alumnus Richard Daly from the University of Maryland was the first to speak of the new economic models of sustainable development. Daly defined modern economies as moving from an "empty world" perspective where man's capability for production limited economies, to a "full world" state where natural resource availability limits economies. Prominent in Daly's talk was the concept of "uneconomic growth," where growth costs more than it pays via diminishing utility and returns of growth and productivity increases.

Also presenting new economic theory was Robert Repetto, vice president of the World Resources Institute. Present economic thought does not factor environmental costs into models of economic growth. Thus, many regulatory policies, when environmental factors are weighed, actually raise productivity and provide economic benefits, not costs.

The second morning was dedicated to science and its use in policy. The key issue discussed was the use of uncertain scientific data in crucial policy matters. The consensus was on action rather than paralysis due to a lack of consensus.

The transition from a command and regulation-based economy to a market-oriented approach was the overarching theme. Speakers from Frances Cairncross of The Economist to Brad Allenby of AT&T attested to the superiority of government incentives and taxation over regulations, although regulatory bodies certainly have a role. "I think that you get nowhere if you don't have a regulatory backbone ... [but] if you can use economic instruments, you should do so," Cairncross said.

The response from attendees was enthusiastic. Drawing over 400 people from academia to business, from Houston to Ghana, the Woodlands conference had quite an impact. "My impression of the lectures I've heard so far is that I was very impressed,"Caroline Ley of the Mickey Leland National Urban Air Toxins Research Center in Houston said.

"The conference has really been extremely useful because it has brought together leading thinkers from so many different disciplines," Terrel Dixon, a professor from the University of Houston, said.

The conference closed with a panel discussion attempting to formulate a conference statement. A committee met over the course of the conference to consider the problem in a holistic manner and create a plan of action. Panelists ranged from Antonio Magalheas of the World Bank to Rice's own Marayana Iskander, a Wiess College senior and former Studnet Association president.

This item appeared in the News section of the March 14, 1997 issue.