Community Solutions to Peak Oil – Plan ‘C‘ Conference review
byline: Addressing our energy challenged future.
Over 300 people convened on the Oakland University campus in Rochester Michigan this past Halloween weekend for the 5th annual Conference on Peak Oil and Community Solutions.
The event was centered around Pat Murphy’s ground-breaking new book entitled Plan C: Community Survival Strategies for Peak Oil and Climate Change.
Keynote speakers engaged participants on the current economic downturn, energy constraints and possible solutions like efficient home design, eco-villages, local food generation, shared transportation and renewable energy.
Perhaps validating the conference, the International Energy Agency is expected to announce this week that the world’s major oilfields are declining faster than originally anticipated.
The event was sponsored by Community Solutions Inc., and Upland Hills Ecological Center.
The Long Emergency
The term Peak Oil was first used by geologist M. King Hubbert who successfully predicted the peak of US oil production in 1975. It refers to the point at which the rate of production of oil reaches its all-time peak and begins to decline forever thereafter. World peak oil, the conference was told, occurred in July of this year, based on monthly production figures gathered from around the world.
The issues of global warming, peak oil and economic turmoil combine into a perfect storm, increasingly being referred to as The Long Emergency after the name of a book of the same title by James Howard
Kunstler: http://www.kunstler.com.
Impact on Globalization
Reliance on cheap energy for transporting goods and food over vast distances was cited as one of the problems facing society today. As prices for fuel rise, so does the cost of everything. Local food production, driving less, reducing individual energy consumption were suggested as essential responses to address this problem.
Two thirds of all energy use is attributed to individuals in the areas of housing, food and transportation. By finding efficiencies in these areas we can greatly reduce our reliance on fossil fuels.
Cuba as an example
Cuba was featured in the conference as a role model for America, as they survived being cut off from Russian oil supply with the collapse of the Soviet Union in the early 1990s. Communities had to quickly
find less energy dependant ways of farming, transportation and living sustainably. The Cuban experience is a model for what may have to happen in America.
For more information on Peak Oil and Community Solutions, see http://plancconference.org.
Ron Rancourt
Participant – 5th Annual Peak Oil and Community Solutions Conference,
Oct 31 – Nov 2, 2008, Oakland University, Michigan
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