Webinar: The New Energy Reality, Aug. 2

Friday, July 27, 2012

Here is a great opportunity to check out an ASPO-USA Webinar for free. The speaker, father of the “energy returned on energy invested” concept, is a really interesting guy, very funny.

Thursday, August 2, 11:00 - 12:30 pm Central

The New Energy Reality
Featuring Dr. Charles A.S. Hall - Professor, School of Environmental Science and Forestry, State University of New York; Co-Author, Energy and the Wealth of Nations; ASPO-USA Advisory Board Member.

Dr. Hall will provide an assessment of global energy trends from his perspective as a systems ecologist and pioneer in the emerging field of biophysical economics. This webinar will examine key concepts regarding energy quality and energy return on investment in the context of current world energy and economic challenges. A critique of neoclassical economics and its divergence from the laws of physics and ecology regarding energy will be implicit in the discussion.

Dr. Hall will also provide highlights from his recent book, Energy and the Wealth of Nations, co-authored with Kent Klitgaard.

Please join us for this informative and lively Webinar.

Register here.

For more information: info@aspousa.org

Debate Feb. 14World Oil Supply: Looming Crisis or New Abundance?

Tuesday, February 14, 2012

A Debate, Free and Open to the Public 

Tuesday, February 14, 2102 

5:30 PM – Refreshments 

6:00 PM – Debate 

7:30 PM – Audience Reception Varsity Hall II, Union South 1308 West Dayton Street, Madison, WI 

John Hofmeister, Founder, Citizens for Affordable Energy  

Former president, Shell Oil North American 

US National Energy Security Council 

Author, Why We Hate the Oil Companies 

Dr. Tadeusz Patzek, Chair, Petroleum & Geosystems Engineering Dept. University of Texas – Austin, Board, Association for the Study of Peak Oil (ASPO) 

Co-author, Drilling Down: The Gulf Oil Debacle 

Professor Alan Carroll, UW Madison Geosciences Department 

Former Senior Research Geologist, Exxon Production Research

Event Sponsors: Madison Committee on Foreign Relations; Madison Peak Oil Group;  Society & Politics Committee of the Wisconsin Union Directorate; Energy Hub student group at U.W. Madison; Center for World Affairs & the Global Economy at UW Madison University of Wisconsin Energy Institute The Nelson Institute for Environmental Studies 

Facebook: http://tinyurl.com/OilSupplyDebate 

Hans Noeldner, Facilitator, Madison Peak Oil Group 

hans_noeldner@charter.net 

608-444-6190

A ghastly visual journey through the Alberta Tar Sands

Monday, February 06, 2012

A visual journey through the Alberta Tar Sands and a discussion of the the local regional and global impacts and how we can respond. For almost twenty years, Garth's photography of threatened wilderness regions, devastation, and the impacts on indigenous peoples, has appeared in the world's leading publications. His recent images from the boreal region of Canada have helped lead to significant victories and large new protected areas in the Northwest Territories, Quebec, and Ontario. Garth's major touring exhibit on the Tar Sands premiered on Los Angeles in 2011 and recently appeared in New York. Garth is a Fellow of the International League Of Conservation Photographers. Filmed at TEDxVictoria on November 19 2011.

Fracking industry executive says 90% of Americans are ‘nuts’

Monday, January 30, 2012

From a column by Lyle Hopkins in The Capital Times:

Wall Street and CEO culture in America is out of touch, arrogant, condescending, and those are probably their good qualities. Recent examples run the gamut, from snooty finance employees sipping champagne while mocking Wall Street protesters to a sign posted in the Chicago Mercantile Exchange proudly stating “we are the 1%.” It’s clear that our titans of industry are in dire need of an attitude adjustment.

One of the worst offenders is the energy industry. Case in point, the CEO for the Colorado Oil & Gas Association reportedly said of fracking opponents: “These nuts make up about 90 percent of our population, so we can’t really call them nuts any more. They’re the mainstream.”

Lyle Hopkins is an energy and security analyst at the nonprofit and nonpartisan Civil Society Institute. He is also a former intelligence officer for the U.S. Air Force and led a 150-person watch center providing threat warning information to national leadership. He has a masters degree in Environmental Management and Sustainability from Harvard. This column was provided by the American Forum, a nonprofit, nonpartisan, educational organization.

The Great Recession, Energy Depletion, and Political Turmoil, Jan. 3

Sunday, January 01, 2012

A presentation by Nicole Foss, futurist, international lecturer, and co-author of www.TheAutomaticEarth.blogspot.com

Free and open to the public

Date/Time: Tuesday, January 3rd, 7:00 PM

Location: The Goodman Center 149 Waubesa Street Madison, WI 53704 Map

Sponsors: WORT, Madison Peak Oil Group, UW Madison Energy Hub, RENEW Wisconsin

During the past year, tremendous political and economic turmoil has rocked the United States and the world. Wisconsin – the center of the storm last February – has witnessed an unprecedented resurgence of citizen interest and engagement. In this midst of this upheaval we find ourselves challenged to re-imagine politics, economics, and government itself.

Meanwhile the aftershocks of the Financial Meltdown of 2008 continue to shake the world. With the Great Recession showing no signs of abatement, and the Euro on the verge of collapse, events are unfolding very much as futurist Nicole Foss predicted several years ago. With 1000 postings and counting at the website www.TheAutomaticEarth.blogspot.com , Nicole and her writing partners have provided readers with many insights into the interplay between Peak Oil, finance, and monetary policy. Not only did Nicole warn that a Financial Meltdown was imminent well before it occurred (a prediction which eluded leading economists such as Nobel-prize-winning Paul Krugman and Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke), she foresaw the NATURE of the violent oscillations in energy and commodity prices that would ensue.

Having lectured widely in North America and Europe during the past few years (including Madison appearances in September and October 2010), Nicole Foss is returning here for another presentation – one which is generating widespread interest and excitement.

How do these forces and trends intersect? What might be our vision for the future – one which combines a sober recognition of Earth’s biophysical limits…with a human-centric economic system…financial and government reforms…and an engaged, informed electorate? It is our hope that events like this will inspire Wisconsin citizens to engage in vigorous, civil, and open-minded debate

Pre-event Publicity: Nicole Foss will be interviewed live on WORT during an hour-long program starting at noon on Monday, January 2nd. Richard Heinberg, James Howard Kunstler, and Dmitry Orlov – leading luminaries in the Peak Oil/Post-Carbon world – will be calling in as guests.

Matt Rothschild of Progressive Radio will also be interviewing Nicole on Wednesday Jan 4th. It will be available here: https://www.progressive.org/radioweekly

For more information about this event please contact Hans Noeldner, hans_noeldner@charter.net, 608-444-6190

Suncor tar sands refinery leaks crude into South Platte River

Thursday, December 01, 2011

From a post on the blog of the National Defense Resource Council:

Colorado officials fear that vast amounts of petroleum have been leaking into the South Platte River from a broken pipeline at a refinery operated by tar sands producer Suncor. It is not yet clear how long oil has been leaking into the South Platte River, how much has been spilled or what substance was spilled. State officials are currently testing the water on the South Platte River, a major source of drinking water, wildlife habitat and agricultural water for Colorado and the Midwest. Meanwhile, levels of benzene and volatile organic compounds at the nearby Denver Metro Wastewater plant required a partial closure. Suncor is the oldest tar sands producers, up to 90% of its production comprised of tar sands bitumen. The company uses its Colorado refinery to process some of the heavy tar sands coming from the Express and Platte pipelines. At a time when companies like TransCanada and Enbridge are proposing to build tar sands infrastructure through our rivers and water resources---and some in Congress are trying to speed up the process by skipping environmental review---this spill provides another sad example of what can go wrong with these projects.

Walker road plan driving him crazy

Friday, April 22, 2011

From a commentary by Steve Hiniker, executive director of 1000 Friends of Wisconsin, in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel:

Gov. Scott Walker's proposed budget has more than enough pain to go around. Schools get hit with more than $800 million in cuts over the next two years. Recycling programs are not funded. Health care for seniors and the poor are slashed. Local road aids are cut. Some transit systems may not survive the proposed reductions. State revenue sharing is going down, putting more pressure at the local level to cover the costs of cuts to state aids - and without raising property taxes.

It's called austerity.

Unless you happen to be a road builder.

Then this budget is called a bonanza.

While other programs are cut, highway expansion projects totaling more than $400 million get the green light. Highway expansion raids the general fund of more than $140 million, crushing any arguments that "highway users pay for the costs of roads." In fact, the general fund and property taxes will pay about half of roadway costs in the future. So-called user fees are soon to be eclipsed by decidedly nonuser fees.

When you look at the increase in highway spending, it is also important to pay attention to where the money goes. Local road aids are cut, meaning that even though there is more money going for major highway expansion, there is less money for local units of government to fix those bone-jarring potholes that crop up every spring. Maintenance dollars for highways are down as well.

Walker has said that the highway expansion is needed for our economic recovery. The governor is putting a lot of faith - and capital - in having superhighways be the cornerstone of the state's economic recovery. After all, he could have put the money in building better communities with better schools as a basis of economic development.

All of this seems bizarre when you consider that we are driving less than ever. We are in the fifth year of a steady decline in miles driven by each Wisconsin resident. The numbers of miles driven will likely decline even more as the cost of gas continues to climb above $4 a gallon. In fact, it is because we are driving less that the governor is proposing to raid the general fund for highways.

As people drive fewer miles with more fuel-efficient vehicles, they use less gas and the amount collected in gas taxes decreases. So in order to expand highways, non-transportation fund dollars need to be raised. This is why Walker is pushing transit aids out of the transportation fund and is raiding everything from general fund dollars to the environmental fund to pay for bigger roads.

But if people are driving less, why expand highways?

'You do what you have to do' to when it comes to gas prices

Tuesday, April 19, 2011

From an article by Catherine Izerda on Janesville's GazetteXtra.com:

Local residents and travelers say the price of gas is changing their habits, but they also say there is not much they can do. Work, school and family obligations won’t lessen because gas prices go up.

Fuel prices started their steady climb in August 2010, when the state average was $2.72 a gallon. By Jan. 1, 2011, the price was $3.12. From there, prices took off, rocketing rapidly upward.

On Sunday, Rosemauri Katz stopped at the Lions Quick Mart on Milton Avenue to fill up. Katz was traveling from her home in Duluth, Minn., to visit family in Indianapolis.

“It does have an impact on your day-to-day life, but you do what you have to do,” Katz said.

It usually costs her about $65 in gas to make the trip to Indianapolis. She expects this trip to cost about $150.

“I know politicians are dealing with a lot of economic issues,” Katz said. “But this affects the economy, too.”

Katz said she and her husband hope to sell their home in Duluth and move to be closer to her family, eliminating the expense and time involved in such trips.

Angela Werle said her family members are changing their driving habits.

“My husband works in Milwaukee,” she said as she filled up. “He’s been driving our kids’ car. It’s an old Toyota and gets better gas mileage than his truck.”

He is also tuning up his motorcycle—an even more fuel-efficient vehicle—so he can ride that to work when it’s warmer.

Werle wishes she could ride her bike to work. She lives near Craig High School and works in Milton.

“Highway 26 is just too busy; it’s too dangerous,” Werle said as she finished putting $51.50 worth of gas into her car.

While rising gas prices are causing middle class pain, some low-income people have been immobilized by them.

Susana Hernandez is a math teacher and coordinator for Project AHEAD at UW-Rock County.

Hernandez works with students from high-risk populations. Some have criminal histories, have limited educations or only GEDs and face other struggles.

“It’s funny you should ask about gas prices,” Hernandez said. “I’ve given out $354 worth of bus tickets to students.”

The tickets are for the Beloit-Janesville Express.

Last year, her bus tickets “stash” carried her through the whole year and then some.

Rising Diesel Prices Fuel Higher Electric Rates

Friday, April 15, 2011

For immediate release
April 15, 2011

More information
RENEW Wisconsin
Michael Vickerman
608.255.4044
mvickerman@renewwisconsin.org

We Energies Customers Will Pay the Higher Cost of Hauling Coal

We Energies’ electricity customers can look forward to coughing up an additional $25 million in 2011 due to the Public Service Commission’s approval yesterday [April14] of a rate increase to cover the escalating cost of transporting coal to Wisconsin power plants.

Milwaukee-based We Energies, Wisconsin’s largest electric utility, imports coal from such distant locations as Wyoming and Pennsylvania to generate electricity. Transportation now accounts for two-thirds of the delivered cost of coal to Wisconsin.

Diesel fuel costs have jumped to approximately $4.00 a gallon this year, propelled by political unrest in the Middle East, declining petroleum output from Mexico, a weakening dollar, and other factors. We Energies’ request predated the ongoing civil war in Libya.

“While we cannot control any of those price drivers, we can more effectively cushion their effects by diversifying our energy generation mix with locally produced wind, solar, small hydro, and biogas electricity,” said Michael Vickerman, executive director of RENEW Wisconsin, a statewide organization advocating for public policies and private initiatives that advance renewable energy.

“The coal mines aren’t getting any closer to Wisconsin. Therefore we have to be serious about reducing our dependence on fossil fuels that are tied to the global oil supply picture. Now is not the time to skimp on investments in conservation and renewable energy that will help stabilize the utility bills of businesses and residents,” Vickerman said.

“Do we have the will to pursue energy policies that take us off of the fossil fuel price escalator? Doing nothing will bake these rate increases into our future without any corresponding boost to Wisconsin’s job market and sustainable energy economy.”

--END--

Shortsighted energy plans just won't cut it; renewables needed

Thursday, April 07, 2011

From an editorial in the Sheboygan Press:

President Barack Obama has twice in the last year called for the nation to reduce its dependence of foreign oil by embarking on a multi-faceted plan on energy.

Obama's first call for energy independence was followed less than a month later by the Deep Water Horizon oil rig disaster in the Gulf of Mexico.

We hope that the president's latest energy initiative is followed not by a disaster, but by a commitment from Congress to develop a national energy policy. A commitment from the American people to be receptive of alternative energy sources would be nice, too. . . .

Until recently, we thought Wisconsin was poised to become a leader in helping the nation reach that goal.

Wind power was one area where Wisconsin was setting the pace.

The state had sensible rules on where wind turbines could be located in relation to residential properties and the state was on its way toward making progress on using this renewable energy resource. But those rules are on hold and are likely to be changed to the point where it will be impractical for companies interested in locating wind farms to do business in Wisconsin.

This is not only shortsighted in development of renewable energy sources, it is also a job-killer because the companies that now make wind turbines in Wisconsin are already talking about relocating to states where wind power is welcomed.

The easy thing to do is to keep relying on oil and coal to power our cars and heat our homes. The wise thing is to develop a long-range plan that relies on renewable energy.

Less than 50 years of oil left, HSBC warns

Wednesday, March 30, 2011

From a story by John Collins Rudolf on CNBC:

The world may have no more than half a century of oil left at current rates of consumption, while surging demand from the developing world threatens to create “very significant price rises” before substitutes like biofuels can serve as viable alternatives, the British bank HSBC warns in a new report.

“We’re confident that there are around 50 years of oil left,” Karen Ward, the bank’s senior global economist, said in an interview on CNBC.

The bank, the world’s second largest in assets, further cautioned that growth trends in developing countries like China could put as many as one billion more cars on the road by midcentury. “That’s tremendous pressure on oil to power all those resources,” Ms. Ward said.

James Howard Kunstler: The old American dream is a nightmare

Tuesday, March 15, 2011

From an article by Kerry Trueman on Grist:

The Great Depression gave rise to hobos and Hoovervilles. The Roaring Nineties brought us what New York Times columnist David Brooks termed "bobos in paradise."

Now our current round of layoffs and foreclosures has unceremoniously transferred millions of folks from the "affluent" to the "afflicted" category, exiling them from Brooks's mythical exurban Eden.

But instead of setting up tents, these newly poor live in a perpetual state of nestlessness, couch-surfing, or flitting from one basement rec room to the next. And rather than revisiting Hooverville, they've given our national landscape the barely-lived in, already abandoned suburban ghost towns I call Kunstlervilles, in honor of my favorite peak oil prophet, James Howard Kunstler.

Less scrappy than crappy, the derelict condos and subdivisions of Kunstlerville were built for buyers who never materialized -- erected with marginally better building materials than a Hooverville, but doomed to house pigeons before a decorator ever had the chance to breeze in and decree, "Put a bird on it!"

Kunstler has long warned of the horrendous hangover we're going to wake up with after our "cheap oil fiesta," but he's not gloating as global instability and climate destabilization become the new not-so-normal. Unlike some dystopians, he's motivated less by the desire to say "I told you so" than by the hope that we might still manage to reinvent the American dream on a scale that better suits our current circumstances.

I caught up with Kunstler recently when a conference took me to his hometown of Saratoga Springs, and afterward followed up via email. (Our conversation has been edited for space and style.)

Q. In your 2005 book The Long Emergency: Surviving the End of Oil, Climate Change, and Other Converging Catastrophes of the Twenty-First Century, you gave high-rises low marks, and declared that you're "not optimistic about our big cities." You maintain that towns and small cities are far better equipped to adapt to the post-cheap-oil future.

Now, we've got economist Edward Glaeser talking up skyscrapers in The Triumph of the City: How Our Greatest Invention Makes Us Richer, Smarter, Greener, Healthier and Happier. David Owen made a similar case with Green Metropolis: Why Living Smaller, Living Closer, and Driving Less are the Keys to Sustainability.

Do you find yourself swayed, even a little, by these defenders of urban density?

Earth 'will expire by 2050'

Thursday, March 03, 2011

From an article by Mark Townsend and Jason Burke posted on Guardian.co.uk:

Our planet is running out of room and resources. Modern man has plundered so much, a damning report claims this week, that outer space will have to be colonised.

Earth's population will be forced to colonise two planets within 50 years if natural resources continue to be exploited at the current rate, according to a report out this week.

A study by the World Wildlife Fund (WWF), to be released on Tuesday, warns that the human race is plundering the planet at a pace that outstrips its capacity to support life.

In a damning condemnation of Western society's high consumption levels, it adds that the extra planets (the equivalent size of Earth) will be required by the year 2050 as existing resources are exhausted.

The report, based on scientific data from across the world, reveals that more than a third of the natural world has been destroyed by humans over the past three decades.

Using the image of the need for mankind to colonise space as a stark illustration of the problems facing Earth, the report warns that either consumption rates are dramatically and rapidly lowered or the planet will no longer be able to sustain its growing population.

Experts say that seas will become emptied of fish while forests - which absorb carbon dioxide emissions - are completely destroyed and freshwater supplies become scarce and polluted.

The report offers a vivid warning that either people curb their extravagant lifestyles or risk leaving the onus on scientists to locate another planet that can sustain human life. Since this is unlikely to happen, the only option is to cut consumption now.

Obama’s Bid to End Oil Subsidies Revives Debate

Tuesday, February 01, 2011

From an article by John M. Broder in the New York Times:

WASHINGTON — When he releases his new budget in two weeks, President Obama will propose doing away with roughly $4 billion a year in subsidies and tax breaks for oil companies, in his third effort to eliminate federal support for an industry that remains hugely profitable.

Previous efforts have run up against bipartisan opposition in Congress and heavy lobbying from producers of oil, natural gas and coal. The head of the oil and gas lobby in Washington contends that the president has it backward — that the industry subsidizes the government, through billions of dollars in taxes and royalties, not the other way around.

But even as the president says he wants to do away with incentives for fossil fuels, his policies continue to provide for substantial aid to oil and gas companies as well as billions of dollars in subsidies for coal, nuclear and other energy sources with large and long-lasting environmental impacts.

Mr. Obama’s proposal rekindles a long-running debate over federal subsidies for energy of all kinds, including petroleum, coal, hydropower, wind, solar and biofuels. Opposition to such subsidies — often euphemistically referred to as incentives, tax credits, preferences or loan guarantees — spans the ideological spectrum, from conservative economists who believe such breaks distort the marketplace to environmentalists who believe that renewable energy sources will always lose out in subsidy fights because of the power of the entrenched fossil fuel industries.

David W. Kreutzer, an energy economist at the conservative Heritage Foundation, argues that the federal government should take its thumb off the scale by eliminating subsidies for all forms of energy, even it if means slowing development of cleaner-burning fuel sources.

“We would like to get rid of all subsidies,” Dr. Kreutzer said. “We know that petroleum and coal survive just fine in places where there are no subsidies. I don’t know if that’s true for wind and solar now, but someday it will be, when the price comes down.”

H. Jeffrey Leonard, president of the Global Environment Fund, a private equity firm that invests in clean-technology ventures, said that the current subsidy structure was the legacy of 60 years of lobbying and political jockeying in Washington that largely benefits oil, coal, nuclear power and corn-based ethanol. He calls for scrapping all subsidies and letting fuel sources compete on equal ground.

Mr. Obama is not willing to go that far. . . .

Conference of Cassandras?

Monday, January 31, 2011

Jack Kisslinger, Hans Noeldner, and David Knuti attended the 2010 ASPO Annual Meeting, Washington, D.C., Oct. 7-9, 2010.

The 2010 Annual Meeting of the
Association for the Study of Peak Oil (ASPO)
Washington D.C., October 7-9, 2010

David E. Knuti
Madison Peak Oil Group

2010 Conference Proceedings, Association for the Study of Peak Oil & Gas (ASPO), at aspo-usa.com. Speaker Videos and Conference Notes from presentations to the 2010 ASPO Convention at Washington, D.C., October 7-9, 2010.

The Impending World Energy Mess: What it is and what it means to you. By Robert Hirsch, Roger Bezdek, and Robert Wendling. Forward by James Schlesinger. 2010. Apogee Prime/Griffen Media. 251 pp, $30.00.

ASPO — An Association with a Mission
Last fall Hans Noeldner, Jack Kisslinger and I traveled via Amtrak to Washington, DC to attend the 2010 conference of the Association for the Study of Peak Oil & Gas-USA (ASPO), October 9-11. We attended as members of RENEW Wisconsin and our Madison Peak Oil Group. About 60 elite authorities presented their current findings about the dynamics of world energy flows with particular concern for the risk that supplies will soon hit limits that could have profound effects on our lives in the coming decade. These are important to share broadly. (For details go to the presentation notes from the conference at ASPO-USA.com)

The Association for the Study of Peak Oil (ASPO) is a volunteer organization dedicated to independently study the future availability of energy resources (primarily oil) and pursue "energy action for a healthy economy and clean environment." A group of American senior petroleum geologists, energy economists and financiers organized it in 1992, and there are now affiliated ASPOs across Europe and Australia, and an informal network of local Peak Oil Groups.

ASPO's founders feared that industry and government authorities were dangerously exaggerating the future flow of oil resources. They took heed of insights of Shell petroleum geologist M. King Hubbert about the pattern of production from a finite natural resource base. He asserted that it does not follow a continuously rising or smooth path to exhaustion, but instead, follows a bell-shaped curve, rising exponentially to a peak about half way through the total resource, and then falling inexorably from the production peak. To the astonishment of the U.S. oil industry, Hubbert identified the peak of U.S. oil production in 1970. ASPO is dedicated to identifying the factors which will determine the world oil production peak (which many fear is now uncomfortably close to zero to ten years away), its consequences, and what to do to prepare for them. This analysis decisively turns the debate from the ultimate size the resource available and various potential technological innovations, to the factors which determine the actual pace at which resources can be supplied to the market to for our oil dependent economy. As one conference speaker exclaimed, "It about the rate, stupid!"

The mood at the 2010 conference was highly charged, because ASPO people feel a sense of triumph in their command of the issues and an obligation to share their important insights. They are also are deeply frustrated by their inability to communicate with the political leadership and a public which purposely ignores the situation and might even figuratively "shoot the messengers" if pressed too openly. As keynote speaker, former Secretary of Energy and Defense James Schlesinger proclaimed, "The peak oil debate can be considered over, but we should not gloat because political acceptance is unlikely in the foreseeable future."

The ASPO leadership showed its determination to expand exposure for its viewpoint, first by bringing the conference to Washington and scheduling associated Congressional and press briefings. ASPO also announced that it was projecting itself into the national debate by moving its headquarters from Denver to Washington and raising funds to hire a full staff. (Recently it hired an Executive Director, Jan Mueller, who is an experienced participant in the energy policy debate and is determined to "mainstream" the peak oil message.) In a rousing speech to the group, Ralph Nader called for ASPO to get moving from analysis into action and pursue his new approach of "finding a sympathetic billionaire" to fuel the cause.

Read more »

Free pizza! Peak oil!

Tuesday, January 25, 2011

Nicole Foss: We Need Freedom of Action To Confront Peak Oil

Saturday, January 22, 2011

Nicole Foss recently spoke in Madison.

300 years of fossil fuel addiction explained in just FIVE MINUTES!

Wednesday, December 01, 2010

International peak oil expert Nicole Foss in Madison Wednesday & Thursday

Tuesday, October 19, 2010

As some of you already know, Nicole Foss – the woman who did the “Century of Challenges” presentation in Madison last month – will be back in the Madison Tuesday afternoon thru Friday morning this week. So we have another great opportunity to meet with her! This came up at the last moment; I’ve taken on organizing her schedule; we want to make it work for as many of you as possible.

FIRST
We are hosting a pot-luck gathering with Nicole in the Village of Oregon on Thursday evening – and y’all are most welcome! Bring food if you can; skip it if you don’t have time – the important thing is conversation, not mastication.
Time: 6:30 PM, Thursday October 21
Place: Village Hall Community Room, 117 Spring Street, Oregon, WI
http://tinyurl.com/27qqk53

SECOND
I would appreciate any ideas and HELP you could offer. Especially with media contacts: WPR (please, let’s open that door!), WORT, Isthmus, Cap Times, State Journal, etc. Just give them a call – the more people they hear from, the better. If you get a “yes”, let me know so we can schedule a time: 608-444-6190

THIRD
Here is the schedule right now. If you want to organize a small gathering for any of the “open” times, let me know: 608-444-6190
Tue afternoon – arrive, maybe time for coffee or something
Tuesday @ 7:00 PM – “Fuels Paradise” presentation
Wednesday AM – open
Wednesday @ noon thru ~2:00 – Madison Peak Oil Group special meeting (222 South Hamilton Street)
Wednesday afternoon – open
Wednesday evening – small gathering – tentative
Thursday AM – open
Thursday @ ~1:00 PM – video shoot
Thursday afternoon ~3:00 thru ~6:00 PM – open
Thursday @ 6:30 – pot-luck in V Oregon
Fri AM – open

Will keep you posted.

Hans Noeldner, Facilitator
Madison Peak Oil Group
http://www.madisonpeakoil.org
hans_noeldner@charter.net
608-444-6190

International peak oil speaker, September 22

Tuesday, September 21, 2010

A CENTURY OF CHALLENGES:
Building Local Resilience in an Era of Economic Turmoil & Resource Depletion

Wednesday, September 22nd, 7:00 PM
Room 180 Science Hall, 550 N. Park St., Madison

Peak Oil and the implosion of high-leverage finance schemes around the world are converging into a “perfect storm” that may threaten prosperity and social cohesion. The consequences are frightening: “hallucinated wealth” is vanishing, real unemployment is rising, and social unrest is growing amid global tensions over energy resources, water and land. Families and communities should prepare for the challenging times ahead.

A Presentation By

Nicole M. Foss

(a.k.a. “Stoneleigh”)

Energy Industry Consultant and Financial Analyst at

http://www.theautomaticearth.blogspot.com/

Free and open to the public. Donations welcome.

Sponsored by: Energy Hub, UW Madison WISPIRG/Big Red Go Green,
Madison Peak Oil Group, and Transition Madison Area

Info: http://www.uwehub.org/ or contact Hans Noeldner, 608-444-6190, hans_noeldner@charter.net