Houston group, Sierra Club plan presidential forum

HOUSTON (Reuters) - Houston's oil-based business community has teamed up with the oldest environmental organization to produce a November forum for leading presidential candidates to discuss U.S. energy policy.

The Greater Houston Partnership, a public-private economic development organization, and the Sierra Club are talking with the top candidates from both parties to appear at the forum to be broadcast on November 13.

"It's an extremely timely issue," said Jeff Moseley, chief executive and president of the Greater Houston Partnership. "There's not a day goes by that every one of us thinks about the cost of that tank of gas."

For the Sierra Club, the planned forum offers a chance to broaden support for new technologies that could increase U.S. energy supply while reducing ecological damage, a spokesman said.

"We are particularly excited about this event because it's reaching out to both sides of the aisle about 21st-century energy solutions," said the Sierra Club's national press secretary, David Willett.