As the public grows increasingly concerned about rising energy costs, local businesses, environmental groups and universities are responding with an array of conferences and other programs designed to appeal to homeowners, business people and those concerned about living in ways less damaging to the environment.

Now, for the first time, Rhode Islanders can enroll this month in a Master Energy Program at the University of Rhode Island. Modeled after URI’s Master Gardener Program, it will provide information on how to save money and energy.

A local group has organized a Rhode Island chapter of the U.S. Green Buildings Council and scheduled monthly meetings that have been packed with architects, builders and designers. The group meets once a month at the New England Institute of Technology.

Robert Bailey, a Newport businessman, argues that Rhode Island’s older cities, its older residents and its good supply of financing put it in a great position to invest in more sustainable lifestyles in its cities.

“This state is very attractive to baby boomers who want to live in old houses,” Bailey says. “If you take the best of our historic cities and extend them, that is a sustainable way to live.”

He made two videos to make his point. You can view them by searching for SourceNewport on Youtube.com. And he plans a series of business conferences and other events.

The conferences, in the order they are scheduled, include:

•Bailey’s SourceNewport Sustainable Development and Restoration Conference runs from Oct. 15-17 at the Hyatt Regency on Goat Island in Newport. Marianne Cusato, designer of the “Katrina Cottage” as an alternative to mobile homes after the hurricane, will be the keynote speaker. Registration is $1,295. On Oct. 16, there will be a related reception and conversation about the 37 historic properties razed or converted between 1755 and 1950.

•From Oct. 23 to 26, politicians, scientists and citizens will discuss local and global environmental sustainability issues at the fourth annual Bioneers by the Bay Conference at the Marion Institute, in New Bedford. Registration is $100 for one day, $225 for three days. The speakers will include Gary Hirshberg, of Stonyfield Farms yogurts, and Van Jones, a national leader in promoting a green economy.

•The University of Rhode Island will play host to the 2008 Rhode Island Energy Solutions Expo from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 16, at the Ryan Center. Admission is $5 online and $8 at the door. Vendors will exhibit energy-efficient products, sources for renewable energy and alternative fuels. There will also be speakers and presentations.

•From Nov. 19 to 21, more than 25,000 people are expected to attend the U.S. Green Building Council annual conference and exhibition at the Boston Convention and Exhibition Center. This is the group that sponsors the LEED green building certifications. Fees for the entire conference can range up to $975, but there are much lower cost daily passes. Scheduled speakers include Archbishop Desmond Tutu and Harvard scientist E.O. Wilson.

The registration fee for URI’s Master Energy Program is $75. For more information, go to: www.uri.edu/cels/ceoc.

The next meeting of the Rhode Island Chapter of the U.S. Green Building Council will provide an overview of National Grid’s energy efficiency programs. The meeting will run from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m. on Oct. 30 at New England Tech, Warwick. For more information, call Connie McGreavy at 862-3158.

For more information on the SourceNewport conference and events go to: www.sourcenewport.com.

For more information on the Bioneers by the Bay conference, go to www.connectingforchange.org.

For more on the Rhode Island Energy Solutions Expo, go to: www.rienergyexpo.org.

For more on the USGBC conference, go to: www.greenbuildexpo.org.

plord@projo.com