The Petrocollapse Conference
Surviving Peak Oil: Economic Doom or Transformation?
Culture Change and Sustainable Post-Petroleum Living
You are invited to attend!
All Souls Unitarian Church
16th and Harvard Streets, NW, Washington D.C.
Columbia Heights Metro Station (Map)
May 6, 2006 9 am - 7 pm
Sponsored by Culture Change
Listen to the Global Public Media interview about the Petrocollapse Conference
Most independent oil experts agree that the peak in global oil extraction is occurring approximately now. The pressures of the market to distribute the fuels and materials made from petroleum are already creating intense competition for energy supplies around the world. As the gap between supply and demand widens and prices skyrocket, supply will tighten as never before due to hoarding. This will cause massive repercussions in daily living and the global economy. Not only will people have to adapt to an energy-poor world by concentrating on sustainably working with their regional ecosystems for all their needs, but will also have to cope with climate change which is rapidly accelerating. This scenario is referred to by oil expert and conference organizer Jan Lundberg as Petrocollapse.
Richard Heinberg presents irrefutable evidence in his books and powerpoint presentations that the world’s maximum oil extraction has most likely been reached. He also shows what limited contributions can be offered by various countries to increase their oil output, and what alternative sources of energy can possibly provide to replace petroleum. Besides his solutions of "powerdown" and "lifeboats," Heinberg promotes the Oil Depletion Protocol proposed by Colin Campbell, the geologist who founded the international Association for the Study of Peak Oil and Gas.
Speakers
| Albert Bates | Global Ecovillage Network; author |
| Diana Leafe Christian | Communities Magazine |
| John Darnell | Ph.D Energy advisor |
| Richard Heinberg | Author of Powerdown: Options and Actions for a Post-Carbon World |
| Michael Kane | Investigative reporter for fromthewilderness.com |
| Jan Lundberg | Oil industry analyst, founder of Auto-Free Times and culturechange.org |
| Faith Morgan and Pat Murphy | The Community Solution, Introducing their just released film "The Power of Community: How Cuba Survived Peak Oil" |
| Jenna Orkin | Moderator; World Trade Center Environmental Organization |
| Mark Robinowitz | Author of Permatopia: a graceful end to cheap oil and Oil Empire: a political map to understand Peak Oil |
| Joel Salatin | Organic Agriculturalist |
Fliers
For more information, contact the conference coordinator
Ethan Genauer at conferences@culturechange.org
Please support the Petrocollapse Conference by making a donation
The New York Times calls it "almost certainly correct." Fortune Magazine says, "An economic tsunami is about to hit the global economy as the world runs out of oil." As oil prices soar and supplies of crude oil and refined petroleum products strain to keep up with demand, as global warming fuels out-of-control hurricanes that wreak havoc on oil production infrastructure as well as upon devastated populations, the critical issue of Peak Oil is finally becoming acknowledged in the mainstream news.
But the complete story is still suppressed, misunderstandings abound, and the public remains in the dark about the vast array of consequences due to hit from this looming "permanent energy crisis." The sudden effects of perpetual oil shortage are likely to strike within the next three years. Are we prepared? Sponsored by Culture Change, the DC PetroCollapse Conference will present the facts behind the hype about Peak Oil, explore the root factors of our present "oil-addicted" condition, and envision the strategies that we need to bypass unhelpful institutional barriers and achieve post-Peak Oil economic sustainability.
A very good analysis of what the Establishment is not doing about Peak Oil and petrocollapse is Michael Ruppert's review of We Were Warned, the CNN television show about the coming oil crisis that did not mention Peak Oil. See fromthewilderness.com
The public is also not fully aware of the extent to which oil pervades our lives not simply as fuel for transportation but also in the form of pesticides, fertilizers and plastics. A decline in oil supplies will affect our ability to grow enough food for the current global population of six and a half billion people. Malnutrition and resulting illness can be expected to spread far beyond the 3.7 billion who are currently affected into the developed world.
Our economy also depends on indefinite growth that will not be sustainable once Peak Oil hits. Its arrival is likely to have a paralyzing affect on certain sectors of the economy which will in turn spread both nationally and globally.
At The Petrocollapse Conference we will ask
- What are we facing now as the economy prepares to hit the wall known as resource limits? Will growth suddenly implode?
- What will be the effects of Peak Oil (a geological phenomenon) and petrocollapse (an economic and social phenomenon) on food supply and other services we depend on?
- What humane, ethical means are available to reduce the population (over the course of several generations) to a sustainable number?
- What other mitigation strategies are possible?
- What is the role of the market in determining how severe will be the effect of shortage stemming from geological depletion?
- Upon upheaval, deprivation, and a restructuring of social relations in a "new" local economics system, will we choose to create a sustainable culture?
- Is there a "Plan B" to ease a transition to sustainable living in a world without plentiful energy and petroleum's materials?
Information from the New York conference can be found here
Links for background on peak oil
www.culturechange.org
www.postcarbon.org
www.fromthewilderness.com
www.lifeaftertheoilcrash.net
www.peakoil.net
www.energybulletin.net
www.museletter.com
www.communitysolution.org