Global Energy Experts Agree: We are Facing the End of Oil as We Know It
Speakers at ASPO-USA Conference Urge Government Action Now
WASHINGTON, DC, USA: Economists, activists, technical experts and policymakers from across the political spectrum gathered October 7-9, 2010 in Washington, DC to discuss the global energy crisis. After 150 years of oil extraction; most major oil exporting nations are well past their supply peaks, defined by scientists as “Peak Oil.” At the Association for the Study of Peak Oil and Gas’ (ASPO-USA) sixth annual conference speakers offered a single, coherent picture of a world unprepared to encounter energy limits, petroleum scarcity and the inevitable—and possibly unprecedented—rise in prices.
“We are on the brink of a major energy crisis,” stated Jim Baldauf, President of ASPO-USA. “The era of low-cost, easy to get oil has come to an end. Yet, our society is heavily dependent on oil and we have no contingency plan. It is our goal every year to bring together the world’s best global energy experts to grapple with solutions to this catastrophic situation and discuss the future.”
Rear Admiral Lawrence Rice, former Secretary of Energy Dr. James Schlesinger, and former Green Party Presidential Candidate Ralph Nader each addressed the need for political change to meet the peak oil crisis, expressing concern that current leadership has failed to adequately address the problem. As Dr. Schlesinger remarked, “Can our political process face up to the challenge? I see absolutely no reason for optimism.” Congressman Roscoe Bartlett, leader of the Congressional Peak Oil Caucus, observed that China’s strategic response to energy depletion was considerably more advanced than that of the United States.
Speakers also covered the geopolitical and environmental ramifications of the crisis. Former CIBC chief economist Jeff Rubin talked about the dangers to globalization and a stable world economy that tight oil supplies represent. “Peak oil is not a geological issue, it is an economic issue,” stated Rubin. Petroleum geologist Art Berman argued that U.S. oil shale reserves may be wildly overstated, and international environmental advocate Bianca Jagger drew connections between climate change and Peak Oil.
ASPO-International President Dr. Kjell Aleklett concluded the conference with a plea to the audience. “Take your expanded understanding of what’s at stake in our energy future and use that knowledge to make informed decisions about your own lives. Use this information in your advocacy efforts to influence policymakers at the local, national and international levels to protect global energy reserves.”
The Association for the Study of Peak Oil & GAS – USA is a non-profit, non-partisan research and public education initiative to address America’s Peak Oil Energy Challenge. ASPO-USA encourages prudent energy management, constructive community transformation, and cooperative initiatives in an era of depleting petroleum resources. Prudent energy resource management must include conservation and efficiency, ecologically responsible energy production and consumption, and the development of alternative energy resources. For more information, please visit http://www.aspousa.org/.
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