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Earlier this year, we announced that we would not host a 2013 ASPO-USA conference. But with the arrival of fall, we’ve been getting lots of inquiries regarding the conference, so I thought an update on our work would be timely.
First, we were exceptionally pleased with the 2012 ASPO-USA Conference at The University of Texas at Austin. Our goal was to re-focus our attention on the fundamental facts regarding the outlook for oil and gas supply, and provide a foundation for understanding their economic consequences. We had an impressive group of speakers and attendees to help us do that, and by these measures, the conference was a tremendous success. Video presentations from the 2012 Conference can be viewed here.
But ASPO-USA’s primary focus has shifted–from educating “ourselves” to educating people beyond the peak oil community–in particular, leaders and decision-makers in business, government, education, media, etc. This is a natural evolution of our accomplishments since ASPO-USA was founded, and consistent with the priorities of our members and readers, as indicated by our recent survey.
This shift is tricky, however. We hope our long-time constituents will continue to support and be involved in our work. But to accomplish our mission, we also need to focus on people who do not regularly think about, let alone understand, peak oil. Experience shows that a peak oil conference is not the most effective way to do that.
Hence, we have been taking time to re-think the conference and explore other approaches in partnership with other organizations. We have also been using this time to develop our capacity for ongoing outreach and communications. As you may know, we have been working on a new website called The Energy Xchange. This online information hub will track critical oil and gas issues, but will also focus on their economic consequences, and strategies for America to adapt to a new energy and economic reality.
These are challenging times for the peak oil issue and ASPO-USA, but also a time of great opportunity. Your membership and donations are more important than ever.
We appreciate your support and patience as we strengthen our capacity to move the national conversation forward, Please stay tuned for more updates and feel free to share your thoughts at info@aspousa.org.
Thank you for being a part of ASPO-USA!
Jan Lars Mueller
Executive Director, ASPO-USA