Former Vice President Al Gore warned of climate change’s immediate dangers and said the development of alternative energies — and smart distribution of them — can be as prolific as the Internet’s effect on information technology. He was the headliner of the Wall Street Journal’s ECO:nomics conference March 4 to 6 at the Bacara Resort & Spa in Goleta.

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Ford Motor Corp. CEO Alan Mulally speaks about his company’s moves toward getting vehicles to be more fuel efficient and, ultimately, electric. He also speaks about breakthroughs in making the cumbustion engine more efficient. Mulally was the first in a series of high-profile speakers at the ECO:nomics conference at the Bacara Resort & Spa in Goleta from March 4-6.

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Google CEO Eric Schmidt discusses the ability of the American people to come up with alternative energy solutions and ways to reduce the amount of energy consumed. He also refers to Google’s "Clean Energy 2030" plan, which provides a potential path to weaning the U.S. off of coal and oil and cutting oil use for cars by 44 percent.

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CEOs Michael Morris of American Electric Power and Peter Darbee of PG&E discuss the possibility of increased nuclear power production in the United States. Morris shares his views first, followed by Darbee.

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Energy expert T. Boone Pickens discusses his plan to shift trucks to natural gas as a viable way to reduce American dependence on foreign oil. He said natural gas will be a "bridge" to the next alternative fuel.

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Anne Mulcahy, chairman and CEO of Xerox Corp. spoke about marketing your company as "green" and why it may not be as important as you think.

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