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What do former Green Party Presidential Candidate Ralph Nader, Rear Admiral Lawrence Rice, former secretaries of defense and energy Dr. James Schlesinger, Human Rights and Environmental Campaigner Bianca Jagger, former CIBC Chief Economist Jeff Rubin, and Republican Congressman Roscoe Bartlett have in common?
It certainly isn’t their politics – they cover the full spectrum from left to right and everything in between. And it sure as heck isn’t their fashion sense. What they do agree on, however, is that the debate over an imminent energy peak is over – that it is time to get on with the hard work of addressing the realities of energy depletion. ASPO-USA is bringing together voices rarely, if ever, heard in the same place and all are speaking out to bring national attention to peak oil.
ASPO-USA is bringing its annual conference to Washington, and in a city where the word “non-partisan” gets tossed a lot, but rarely means anything, this conference is truly non-partisan and a represents a true big tent as people put aside their differences to preserve our future. Everyone there knows exactly what’s at stake – to echo founding words, “our lives, our fortune and our sacred honor.” All of those are put at risk by the fact that we haven’t addressed energy depletion.
The conference will take full advantage of the Washington location with a press conference bringing those many disparate experts together, a congressional briefing and 24-hour live blogging and tweeting by a host of influential writers. Attendees will be armed with talking points and encouraged to visit their own congressional representatives. Organizers, speakers and attendees will be working together to bring peak oil into the mainstream and to bring about real action.
The center point of the conference will be hard-hitting, cutting-edge presentations on the way peak oil will alter everything. Dr. Michael Klare and Rear Adm. Rice will speak about issues of national security and the implications of peak oil for global stability. Former CIBC Chief Economist Rubin will speak about the ways that peak oil will bring about the end of globalization. Inventor and energy adviser Robert Hirsch will speak about the post-peak future.
Nicole Foss (Stoneleigh of the Automatic Earth) and Chris Martenson (Crash Course) will talk about the implications of peak oil for the future of the economy. James Hansen (Ravenna Capital) and Charles Schlumberger of the World Bank among others will explore the implications of peak oil for gas and oil investment. Petroleum Geologist Jeffrey Brown and Mazama Science President Dr. Jonathan Callahan will consider the future of net exports and the implications for future supplies.
In a Saturday morning session a number of experts will explore the implications of the BP Gulf spill for the future of oil exploration. Climate Change and Human Rights Campaigner Jagger will speak about the environmental and social justice impacts of peak oil. Author John Michael Greer and CFP Dick Vodra Esq. will offer a session on scenario planning and personal preparedness. Former Green candidate Nader will talk about how to move policy forward.
Dr. Brian Czech will speak about the future of a steady-state economy and about the connections between peak oil and climate change. Art Berman, Dr. Tad Patzek and Charlie Maxwell will consider whether the optimism about natural gas supplies is warranted, while Kjell Aleklett (Uppsala University) and David Rutledge (CalTech) explore the same question for coal supplies.
These are just a small portion of the programs going forward, connecting the dots between science, policy, media and our future. The conference has the power to move us forward in new and important ways.
On behalf of ASPO-USA, we hope to see you at the conference.
Sharon Astyk, Jim Baldauf, Dave Room, Ron Swenson, Greg Geyer, Stephanie Martin, Carl Berndtson, Carol Lathrop, Kim Comart, Debbie Cook, Liz Longenecker, Max Wolf, and Tom Whipple