LAS VEGAS - October 13, 2009 - The Brookings Scholars program - a product of the new Brookings Mountain West Initiative - welcomes leading experts from the Brookings Institution to UNLV each month to conduct research and interact with faculty, students and community leaders in areas such as renewable energy, climate change, transportation and public policy.

Each visiting scholar also lends their insight on key regional issues through the Brookings Scholars Lecture Series, a free public discussion to be held in conjunction with each scholar's visit to campus.

The following is a list of the Brookings Scholars Lectures for October. For more information on the Brookings Mountain West Initiative, including visiting scholar biographies, please visit brookingsmtnwest.unlv.edu.

Oct. 7 - 5:30 p.m. - 7 p.m.; Greenspun Hall Auditorium
"Should the Economic Crisis Change our Assessment of Markets and Government?"
Clifford Winston, senior fellow in the Brookings Institution's Economic Studies Program, will discuss how effective government policy has been in correcting market inefficiencies during the current economic crisis. Winston will draw on historical and current evidence and will take questions from the audience.

Oct. 14 - 5:30 p.m. - 7 p.m.; Greenspun Hall Auditorium
"Geopolitics of Global Change: The Melting of the Arctic"
Charles Ebinger, director of the Brookings Institution's Energy Security Initiative, will discuss how the northern polar region - due to the accelerated melting of the Arctic polar ice cap - is emerging as a new area of geopolitical, commercial and strategic contention as nations rush to reinforce their sovereignty claims over energy, mineral and fish resources. Ebinger will highlight what the implications of these developments are for US national policy.

The Brookings Mountain West Initiative is a partnership between UNLV and the Brookings Institution. The initiative combines the renowned public policy research of Brookings scholars with the expertise and insight of UNLV faculty to make real improvements in infrastructure, policy and quality of life challenges that face Las Vegas and the region.