Happy Groundhog Day!  A surprise this morning as we dig out from a thick layer of ice -- Punxy Phil predicts an early spring! But, due to the nasty weather, Air Force One won't touch down in Happy Valley until tomorrow for President Obama's visit.  He's set to tour the Energy Innovation Hub at Penn State University to build on his State of the Union message about green jobs and energy innovation.  We'll take a closer look at "winning the future" in meeting America's energy needs on Smart Talk, Thursday night at 8 on WITF-TV.  As always, we welcome your comments live at 1-800-729-7532, or via  This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or www.facebook.com/witf.org.

The U.S. Department of Energy and other agencies awarded Penn State a $129 million, five-year grant last year to create the Energy Innovation Hub at the Philadelphia Navy Yard. Research at the Hub and at main campus labs focuses on ways to make more energy-efficient buildings. In last week's State of the Union Address, President Obama spoke of this time in the country’s history as our “Sputnik moment,” and the Hub fits into his plans to help America emerge from a period of economic threat to one of growing prosperity.  "Two years ago, I said that we needed to reach a level of research and development we haven't seen since the height of the Space Race. And in a few weeks, I will be sending a budget to Congress that helps us meet that goal. We'll invest in biomedical research, information technology, and especially clean energy technology -– an investment that will strengthen our security, protect our planet, and create countless new jobs for our people," he said last week in the State of the Union Address.

The controversial part of his plan involves public investment -- taxpayers' money -- in these ventures.  "I'm asking Congress to eliminate the billions in taxpayer dollars we currently give to oil companies ... I don't know if you've noticed, but they're doing just fine on their own. So instead of subsidizing yesterday's energy, let's invest in tomorrow's.  Now, clean energy breakthroughs will only translate into clean energy jobs if businesses know there will be a market for what they're selling. So tonight, I challenge you to join me in setting a new goal: By 2035, 80 percent of America's electricity will come from clean energy sources. Some folks want wind and solar. Others want nuclear, clean coal and natural gas. To meet this goal, we will need them all -- and I urge Democrats and Republicans to work together to make it happen."

It's the idea of the government picking economic winners and losers that angers some free-market economists.  Conservative businessman and talk-show host Glen Meakem railed against Obama's plan on his radio program last weekend.  "Obama wants big government to lead in innovation, education, and economic development. And he has blind faith in these ideas despite the fact that history clearly demonstrates that they have failed repeatedly and categorically over the past 150 years since they first surfaced. The more our current President defends his agenda – which includes Obamacare, carbon regulation, card check, and record deficit spending (which he now calls "investment" rather than "stimulus") – the more he demonstrates that he is at best a European Social Democrat who is far left of the American mainstream. He does not understand innovation or free trade, and he is completely off base on education. We must vote him out in 2012," Meakem writes on his website.  Nathan Benefield, director of policy research at the Commonwealth Foundation, will appear on the show.

Penn State University Vice President for Research Hank Foley is the principal investigator on the project.  The Centre Daily Times quotes Foley as noting, "Our scientists and engineers will show the country how to reduce dramatically energy usage in buildings through proper deployment of state-of-the-art technology and science; we will bring together the best and brightest political and social scientists to consider how optimally change regulations and standards in order to foster this happening and we will look to our colleagues in the humanities, especially the architects, to develop a whole new school of design for energy efficient buildings with distinctive elements of style that integrate form and function in readily identifiable ways and that lead to renovated and new spaces that are truly human centered and sustainable."

Terry Engelder, professor of geosciences at Penn State University, is considered to be an authority on the Marcellus Shale play in Pennsylvania. Dr. Engelder estimates that the shale field that runs from southern New York, through western Pennsylvania, into the eastern half of Ohio, and across West Virginia contains at least 168 trillion cubic feet of natural gas, and potentially, as much as 516 trillion cubic feet.  He will be a guest.

Also joining us tomorrow night is David Mooney, president and COO of Enginuity Energy LLC,  an energy-solutions company based in Mechanicsburg.  Mooney is an expert in the area of biomass energy generation and industrial energy conservation.  He'll make the argument that lesser known renewable energy options can make a great contribution to agriculture, industrial manufacturing and our efforts to clean up the Chesapeake Bay.  Quoting from his official bio, "The company specializes in renewable energy production through the use of patented biomass gasification technology, Ecoremedy™. The specialized technology allows the use of a broad spectrum of biobased-high moisture content (up to 65%) and high ash (up to 50%) materials as sources of clean renewable fuel. Ecoremedy™ recovers the nutrients from these same materials for the creation of carbon-free organically sourced fertilizer and all natural feed supplement or vary the output to create carbon-rich biochar."  We'll try to decipher what all of that means on the show!

Finally, David E. Callahan, vice president of the Marcellus Shale Coalition, is on the panel.  The Coalition represents dozens of major oil and gas producers in Pennsylvania and touts the economic benefits of natural-gas exploration and production, as well as its impact as a "clean-burning" energy source.

We welcome you to join the conversation at 1-800-729-7532, or email us at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .  You can also post a comment to www.facebook.com/witf.org.

Part 2 of the program will be The Scam Sleuth