A Peak Oil Presentation, April 15

Monday, April 13, 2009

Energy, Natural Resources, and Human Behavior on a Full Planet
April 15, 2009, 7:00pm
Science Hall, Rm 180
Madison, WI

This talk by Nate Hagens, Editor, theoildrum.com, will provide a framework for planning supply and demand mitigation and adaptation strategies to fossil fuel depletion. Nate believes by acknowledging and understanding both our biophysical (resource depletion) and biological (cognitive barriers, habituation, and belief systems) constraints we will be better able to choose cultural opportunities for sustainability. He synthesizes recent research in cognitive neuroscience, neuroeconomics, and evolutionary biology and their applications to sustainability oriented behaviors in addressing energy and environmental limits. Ultimately Hagens looks for those solutions that are aligned with not only what we have, but who we are. Discussion to follow.

Nate Hagens is a PhD Candidate at the University of Vermont Gund Institute for Ecological Economics and Editor of The Oil Drum, an online global think tank devoted to energy and sustainability. Prior to UVM, Nate developed trading algorithms for commodity systems and was President of Sanctuary Asset Management, Managing Director of Pension Research Institute, and Vice President at the investment firms Salomon Brothers and Lehman Brothers. Nate has an MBA with honors from University of Chicago and a BBA in Business Administration from University of Wisconsin-Madison.

More details at Energy Hub.