Former ASHRAE President Terry E. Townsend, P.E., will be the keynote speaker at the 2008 Refrigeration Service Engineers Society annual conference.

During the Sept. 16-20 event at the Hilton Indianapolis Hotel, Townsend will talk about the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers’ charge to improve energy efficiency and sustainable construction. It is a personal issue for Townsend.

“We are at an environmental tipping point right now,” Townsend said. “We’re faced with an impending energy crisis and global warming situation that will affect people worldwide. We cannot continue on this path and we all must do something about it in a bold and aggressive manner.”

Townsend is president of Townsend Engineering Inc. in Chattanooga, Tenn., and Panama City, Fla. He represented ASHRAE on a joint steering committee with the U.S. Green Building Council, and was a liaison to the National Environmental Balancing Bureau and the American Society for Healthcare Engineering.

“RSES’ historic commitment to educating HVACR professionals in the best practices of installation, service and maintenance align perfectly with the recent industry and societal push to design systems that produce comfort efficiently, said RSES President Allan Smith. “RSES-training professionals help achieve the goals adopted during this recent revival of industry interest in sustainability and efficiency, so Terry’s message will be a welcome one.”

Visit www.rses.org for more information on the meeting.