A report out of Britain funded by Virgin Airlines owner Richard Branson and other British business leaders warns that peak oil is looming in 2015. The controversial idea that growing oil demand will soon outstrip more finds is capturing the attention of governments.

The Christian Science Monitor
By Ben Quinn Correspondent / February 15, 2010
London

Long-accustomed to being dismissed as alarmists, the arguments of those warning of an impending peak oil crisis are now being bolstered by support from multi-billionaires like Richard Branson.

A major report funded by the Virgin Airlines owner and other British business leaders warned this week that the world is running out of oil and predicts shortages and price spikes as soon as 2015. A future of painful hikes in the cost of food, heating, and travel in a world unprepared for surging oil prices was forecast by the Industry Taskforce for Peak Oil and Energy Security.

“Don’t let the oil crunch catch us out in the way that the credit crunch did,” wrote Mr. Branson and other business executives in a forward to the report. Read the complete Post.

Climate change has opportunities for us all

by Toby Reid, VPOE

Recent declarations that we are in the midst of one of the greatest mass extinctions in the history of the planet are enough to make a person lose hope. In fact, this harsh reality is downright unsettling and, for this author, unacceptable. The means by which we’ve ended up in this position is important to understand, but more important is what we’re going to do to reverse the trend. There is no doubt that if we continue on our current path, humans are likely to be the biggest name on this extinction card. Some may not care about our current plight, but most of us feel the instinctive pull to try to do the right thing. But where do you start?

Let’s start with understanding how we got here. A friend recently laid it out this way, and it’s simply the cold truth of the matter – we’re in this mess because we’re using too much stuff. That’s right – stuff. Steel, fish, wood, oil, plastic, copper, fertilizers, cars, iPods, silicone breast implants - all of it. We’re drowning in stuff, and the byproducts of using this stuff to make other stuff. It’s a stuff-a-palooza gone horribly wrong.

The biggest, and most important step we all can make is to consume less stuff. I’m not suggesting that we go back to the loincloth and live in caves, but it’s a darn sight smarter than what we’re doing right now. We’ve got to scale back the amount of stuff that we consume. That starts with being less greedy, less needy, and more self-sufficient. Grandparents and great-grandparents are very helpful in providing guidance on this.

The next most important thing to look at is your housing situation. This also affects personal transportation, so it’s a biggie. If you live in the suburbs in a huge house for two, I’m sure it’s dawned on you that maybe that’s not sustainable living. You’re right – it’s not. The average single person needs only about 600 square feet to live, and the average family of four needs only about 1500 square feet to have a good home. Urban density is the way of the future.

Read the complete Post.

I can’t help but feel frustrated when I read Newsweek articles like that one below that only go as far as advocating a Business As Usual (BAU) or a Technofix just-in-time-to-save-our-asses solution (In religious jargon – False Messianic promise) to Climate Change and Peak Oil.

By Philip Be’er VPOE

In his Hierarchy of Needs, Abraham Maslow laid out in a graphic format, what human beings need to thrive http://www.businessballs.com/maslow.htm

Try to find the need for nuclear, fossil or even “low carbon” energy sources, for cars or of any other kind of mechanised transportation in the pyramid and you’ll see that they simply play no role in what human beings require to be healthy, wealthy and happy.

According to Professor Abraham Maslow, we do need Clean Air, Food, Water, Sleep and Shelter to survive. When we also get our safety and security needs met this creates a stable environment conducive to developing socially and emotionally. When we set up our societies in ways that allow us to have our Esteem Needs met, then we also have a shot at realising our personal potential.

Read the complete Post.

No longer the purview of anti-social types, experts warn we must embrace a massive lifestyle change

Feb 15, 2009 04:30 AM
The Toronto Star
Cathal Kelly
STAFF WRITER

While panic is not the prescription, experts are warning that the time to begin taking Peak Oil seriously is past.

“It’s not about believing. It’s about facts,” said Gord Miller, Ontario’s environmental commissioner. Miller has been warning about Peak Oil for years. He thinks we hit peak around early 2007.

“If we’re not there, we’re awful close,” said Dave Hughes, a geoscientist who once ran Canada’s national coal inventory.

Peak Oil doesn’t mean we have run out of the stuff. It means that we have crested the top of a bell curve of supply. Then it’s a roller-coaster ride down. Depending on who you ask, that ride will either be slow and uncomfortable or teeth-rattling and destructive.

“Depletion is taking somewhere between 5 and 6 per cent of (existing) world oil production per year,” said Hughes. “The reason that oil price is where it is today is that the economy has reduced demand.”

No one has found a major new oil field since the 1960s. It’s getting harder and more expensive to bring up the oil we know is there. All these signs point toward the peak.

What happens now? Read the complete Post.

Citizens of Norway will soon be able to ride around town on buses powered by nothing other than methane from human excrement. It’s emissions-free, hardly costs a thing and doesn’t require drilling into the earth’s surface. Every single person in Oslo will be contributing something very personal toward this new method of powering the city’s buses. Read the complete Post.

What are the challenges facing planners and policy makers at our regional and provincial level in addressing transportation issues related to peak oil and climate change? How can we contribute to effective actions that address these challenges? Join us at the upcoming PlanTalk to discuss topics including the proposed provincial Gateway Program, the BC Carbon Tax, and other transportation investments as we debate and challenge one another to think critically about the future of transportation in our region.

Speakers:
Anthony Perl, Director SFU Urban Studies Program and Jordan Bateman, Media Spokesperson for Get Moving BC and Langley Township Councillor will lead this discussion by providing their insight into the unique transportation challenges that face our region in the immediate and long term within the context of peak oil and climate change.

Moderated by Bryn Davidson, Executive Director of non-profit Dynamic Cities Project

When:
Tuesday January 27th, 2009
6:30 PM refreshments * 7:00-9:00 PM speakers & discussion

Where:
SFU Harbour Centre
Segal Centre, Room 1400
515 West Hastings Street, Vancouver
www.translink.bc.ca (for transit schedules and routes)
Cost:
$20 PIBC Members
$25 Non-PIBC Members
$5 Students
Payable by cash or cheque at the door. Receipts will be issued.

PIBC Members can earn up to 2.0 LUs of Organized CPD activity for attending this event.

Please RSVP by Monday January 26th to Brian Patterson MCIP, at bpatterson@urban-systems.com or 604-273-8700.

Join us for our monthly Vancouver Peak Oil Meetup.
All are welcome.

When: January 23, 2009 7:00 PM

Where: KAYA Knowledgeable Aboriginal Youth Association
#200 - 2019 Dundas Steet
Vancouver , BC V5L 2B6
(604) 254 - 5513

The Knowledgeable Aboriginal Youth Association (KAYA) presents “Vital Knowledge 2″ the second instalment in a series of film screenings and forums dedicated to educating youth on important world issues. In collaboration with the Vancouver Peak Oil Group, Vital Knowledge 2 will screen a selection from “A Crude Awakening” followed by an open discussion.

A Crude Awakening , produced and directed by award-winning European journalists and filmmakers Basil Gelpke and Ray McCormack, tells the story of how our civilization’s addiction to oil puts it on a collision course with geology. Compelling, intelligent, and highly entertaining, the film visits with the world’s top experts and comes to a startling, but logical conclusion – our industrial society, built on cheap and readily available oil, must be completely re-imagined and overhauled.

If the changes affect your plans to attend, please take a moment to update your RSVP. (You can RSVP “No” or “Maybe” as well as “Yes”.)

You can always get in touch with Brennan Wauters through the “Contact Organizer” link on Meetup.

IMPORTANT - Monday SFPR action w/Gordo & Falcon
<www.gatewaysucks.org >>

Tomorrow — Monday Jan. 12, 2pm — Gordon Campbell, Kevin Falcon, and Federal reps will be making an “announcement about the South Fraser Perimeter Road” at the Surrey Fraser Docks.This announcement may concern new Federal funding for the SFPR.

MAJOR MEDIA WILL BE THERE. Let’s greet them with a large outside presence, and let them know that the people of the Lower Mainland demand TRANSIT NOT FREEWAYS — GREEN WAYS, NOT GATEWAY!

The announcement will be behind the fence on Port property, so public access will be controlled (interesting, that they need to control access for a public announcement…what are they afraid of?).

Please join us there between 1 and 2 pm, with signs, drums and banners if you got em! (we will have some extra to share).

The announcement site is at the Surrey Fraser Docks on Elevator Road. Google map
To get to the site: you can take the #640 bus from Scott Road Station. Ask the driver to let you off at River Rd & Elevator Rd. OR take the #312 from Scott Road Station to Townline Divers

Thanks all! We look forward to seeing you tomorrow, as we continue to demand better solutions than Gateway and, in the leadup to the Provincial election, let our leaders know what the public wants.

Terrific library of free short videos courtesy of the show brought to you by Metro Vancouver - check out their site!

A Talk By Peter Newman, Professor of Sustainability, Curtin University, Australia.

Friday, January 9, 2009
5:30 – 7:00 p.m.
Room 1400
SFU Vancouver - 515 West Hastings St.

Peter Newman and Tim Beatley have written two new books, one on Resilient Cities, the other on Green Urbanism Down Under. They are on a North American tour in January beginning in Vancouver as it was here that the gestation of the Resilient Cities book began. Peter will speak about how cities are under threat from the financial crash and especially need to avoid pushing solutions such as road building and urban sprawl that were only responsible for the sub-prime meltdown. A new approach to urban development needs to be forged out of the down-turn that can at the same time enable cities to respond to the deep challenge of peak oil and climate change. Some hopeful directions will be outlined based on cities from around the world, including cities down-under.