U.S. Energy Flow - In the Belly of the Beast

Tuesday, October 17, 2006

Randy Udall, whose father (Morris) and uncle (Stewart) were conservation giants, will discuss America’s energy challenges at 7:00 p.m. on October 18, 2006, at the Pyle Center, 702 Langdon Street, Madison.

Udall also writes prolifically and insightfully on energy issues and the coming end of cheap oil. From U.S. Energy Flow:

From a biological perspective, think of the U.S. economy as the largest “animal” the planet has ever seen—a living, breathing T. Rex Americus,whose energy appetite is gargantuan. If we dissect the beast to study the energy flows that sustain it, we end up with [a]chart, produced at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. . . .Our economy is not, metabolically speaking, a thrifty creature. About 55 percent of the energy that flows into the economy is ejected as T. Rex dung. This waste carries with it a huge pollution and climate burden.

Udall, who founded the Community Office for Resource Efficiency, will also speak at 8:30 a.m. on the same day at the Monona Terrace during the Sustainability Energy Efficiency conference of the Wisconsin Green Building Alliance.

Madison Peak Oil Group, RENEW Wisconsin, Gaylord Nelson Institute for Environmental Studies, and Wisconsin Green Building Alliance sponsor the evening event.

Links:
Community Office for Resource Efficiency – www.aspencore.org
Madison Peak Oil Group – www.madisonpeakoil-blog.blogspot.com
RENEW Wisconsin – www.renewwisconsin.org
Gaylord Nelson Institute - www.ies.wisc.edu
Wisconsin Green Building Alliance – www.wgba.org