Tom FitzGerald of the Kentucky Resources Council and Jim Waters of the Bluegrass Institute often disagree on some aspects of Kentucky coal production, federal regulations and the environment (as evidenced by this recent opinion piece written by Waters). They’ll debate the subject and listen to each other’s perspective tomorrow during this month’s "Tackle With TAC4,” a occasional series of debates sponsored by consulting firm TAC4.President Alan Claypoole says the point of these events is “to get panelists from opposing sides of a heated issue, people who are deeply entrenched in their way of thinking, to come together and start hearing the other side better.”FitzGerald and Waters will both present their opinions, and then answer questions about their stance on coal. Claypoole says discussions like this one help advance the dialogue, and help people on both sides understand the other’s perspective.“That makes us be more inventive, it makes us change our solution, tweak our solution, so that we’re meeting a broader set of needs than we were before,” he said. “Because I didn’t used to value your needs, but now I’ve heard your needs, I’ve heard that in order to get my needs met, I need to consider your needs as well.”The discussion on coal will be tomorrow at 6pm at the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville. Here’s a link to register; it’s $8.90 for preregistered attendees, $10 at the door.
