Saturday, June 16, 2007
Friday, June 15, 2007
Thursday, June 14, 2007
An Invitation from Greg Peterson and the Urban Farm
Hi all,
Many of you know me from my work either as a graduate student in Environmental Planning at ASU or from my work at the Urban Farm in Phoenix. Well I have recently launched a new venture which includes an extensive webportal and television show called Smart Spaces: Inside & Out.
Each week we publish a new article on just how we can live a greener lifestyle. The article includes an Innovative Idea that is designed to spark your thinking in this area. I have included below this weeks Innovative Idea. I would like to invite you to subscribe (it's free) to our weekly tip here.
Again I want to thank you all for your awesome continued support of the work that I do. I feel blessed each day that I get to follow my heart and will continue to do it for a very long time.
Greg Peterson
June 11, 2007 Innovative Idea
This weeks article is the forward from a really great tool that helps you figure out the size of your ecological footprint. Our ecological footprint reflects as the impact of our everyday choices on the natural environment and believe it or not the cumulative effect of the choices that we make every day can make a difference.
"Anyone who knows me knows that for more than 25 years I've been preaching that at a small percentage of [us] changing the way [we] shop and the way we live can be a powerful force for good in the environment, says Joel Makower, Editor of The Green Consumer Letter.
EarthScore provides a cool scoring system designed to help us measure our personal impact with the idea that by understanding our individual habits and lifestyles, over time, we can identify where we can truly make a difference. Please read our article of the week for more information on the topic at Smart Spaces TV.
We look forward to your comments, interactions and feedback.
Greg Peterson
Editor
SmartSpacesTV.com
Greg@SmartSpacesTV.com
PS. Got a great tip you want to share? Visit Smart Spaces TV connect and share it.
Many of you know me from my work either as a graduate student in Environmental Planning at ASU or from my work at the Urban Farm in Phoenix. Well I have recently launched a new venture which includes an extensive webportal and television show called Smart Spaces: Inside & Out.
Each week we publish a new article on just how we can live a greener lifestyle. The article includes an Innovative Idea that is designed to spark your thinking in this area. I have included below this weeks Innovative Idea. I would like to invite you to subscribe (it's free) to our weekly tip here.
Again I want to thank you all for your awesome continued support of the work that I do. I feel blessed each day that I get to follow my heart and will continue to do it for a very long time.
Greg Peterson
June 11, 2007 Innovative Idea
This weeks article is the forward from a really great tool that helps you figure out the size of your ecological footprint. Our ecological footprint reflects as the impact of our everyday choices on the natural environment and believe it or not the cumulative effect of the choices that we make every day can make a difference.
"Anyone who knows me knows that for more than 25 years I've been preaching that at a small percentage of [us] changing the way [we] shop and the way we live can be a powerful force for good in the environment, says Joel Makower, Editor of The Green Consumer Letter.
EarthScore provides a cool scoring system designed to help us measure our personal impact with the idea that by understanding our individual habits and lifestyles, over time, we can identify where we can truly make a difference. Please read our article of the week for more information on the topic at Smart Spaces TV.
We look forward to your comments, interactions and feedback.
Greg Peterson
Editor
SmartSpacesTV.com
Greg@SmartSpacesTV.com
PS. Got a great tip you want to share? Visit Smart Spaces TV connect and share it.
Wikipedia Wally Rippel
Click here for Wiki site.
Wally E. Rippel is an engineer at Tesla Motors, and a long-time developer and advocate of battery electric vehicles.
Wally has a prominent role, labeled as himself, "Research Engineer, AeroVironment," in the 2006 documentary movie Who killed the electric car?, including two brief scenes in the official trailer [1].
In 1968, as an undergraduate student, he built the Caltech electric car (a converted 1958 VW microbus) and won the Great Transcontinental Electric Car Race against MIT [2] [3].
In the 1970s and 1980s, Rippel worked for the Jet Propulsion Laboratory on electric vehicle battery research, among other things.
Around 1990, Rippel joined AeroVironment and helped to design the GM Impact, later named the EV1; he had worked on the induction motor for the car before joining AeroVironment [4]. In 2003, he was one of the participants in the mock funeral for the EV1 as GM prepared to collect the last few for crushing [5].
Rippel left AeroVironment in 2006 and joined Tesla Motors where he continues his life long work on the battery electric car.
Wally E. Rippel is an engineer at Tesla Motors, and a long-time developer and advocate of battery electric vehicles.
Wally has a prominent role, labeled as himself, "Research Engineer, AeroVironment," in the 2006 documentary movie Who killed the electric car?, including two brief scenes in the official trailer [1].
In 1968, as an undergraduate student, he built the Caltech electric car (a converted 1958 VW microbus) and won the Great Transcontinental Electric Car Race against MIT [2] [3].
In the 1970s and 1980s, Rippel worked for the Jet Propulsion Laboratory on electric vehicle battery research, among other things.
Around 1990, Rippel joined AeroVironment and helped to design the GM Impact, later named the EV1; he had worked on the induction motor for the car before joining AeroVironment [4]. In 2003, he was one of the participants in the mock funeral for the EV1 as GM prepared to collect the last few for crushing [5].
Rippel left AeroVironment in 2006 and joined Tesla Motors where he continues his life long work on the battery electric car.
Sunday, June 10, 2007
Two Blogs Plus This One Promote Refocus
I am glad to report two more blog sites that promote a refocus:
Ergobalance
by Chris Rhodes, see his profile here.
and my list of 117 selected sites here.
Thanks to peaknik for her patience.
Sustain
Ergobalance
by Chris Rhodes, see his profile here.
and my list of 117 selected sites here.
Thanks to peaknik for her patience.
Sustain
ASPO: 2007 Houston World Oil Conference
Wish I could go. It looks like it will be exciting. For more exciting peak oil news go to ASPO-USA's site here
2007 Houston World Oil Conference
We are pleased to announce that ASPO-USA will hold its 2007 World Oil Conference, October 17-20, at the Hilton Americas in downtown Houston, Texas. We have an exciting roster of confirmed participants including legendary Texas oilman T. Boone Pickens, Houston Mayor Bill White(former U.S. Deputy Secretary of Energy), Bob Hirsch (co-author of the groundbreaking Hirsch-Bezdek Report to DOE), Peter Tertzakian (author of “A Thousand Barrels a Second"), Matthew Simmons, (author of "Twilight in the Desert: The Coming Saudi Oil Shock"), Henry Groppe of Groppe, Long & Littell, Charles Maxwell of Weeden & Co., David Hughes of the Canadian Geological Survey, Chairman Elizabeth Ames Jones of the Texas Railroad Commission, Professor Peter Bishop of the University of Houston, and many others. We are awaiting RSVPs from other high-profile speakers including Former President Bill Clinton.
Honorary Co-chairmen of the Conference are Houstonians Matt Simmons of Simmons & Company International, and Art Smith of John S. Herold, Inc.
ASPO Week in Houston will consist of four days of energy discussion as well as field trips to a drilling site and to Refinery Row on the Houston Ship Channel, the heart of our nation's refining and petrochemical industries.
Nothing could be more fitting than Houston - "The Energy Capital of the World" - hosting international oil & gas experts to address the energy challenges of the 21st Century. We are proud to announce that the ASPO-USA World Oil Conference will be jointly Co-sponsored by the City of Houston and the University of Houston.
Our 2006 World Oil Conference was co-sponsored by BostonUniversity's Center for Energy & Environmental Studies, and our 2005 conference was co-sponsored by the City of Denver and the University of Colorado Graduate School of Public Affairs. Both meetings were widely acclaimed by Peak Oil scientists, attendees, and media outlets from across the country and around the world.
Peak Oil experts don’t claim that we will run out of oil, but that we will run out of cheap oil, as production decreases and demand increases. They point to below-ground evidence and above-ground factors: the continued depletion of major oil fields worldwide drives resource nationalism, a volatile geopolitical climate, and rising oil & gas prices.
The deniers of Peak Oil say that technology, new discoveries, and unconventional oil will save us. If the deniers are wrong, we are in deep trouble; if the Peak Oil experts are wrong, we will have conserved and mitigated ahead of schedule. ASPO-USA says the latter prudent and conservative approach is the path we must take as a nation.
Professor Peter Bishop of the University of Houston's Future Studies Program will conduct a conference session to explore scenarios of Peak Oil impacts on the City of Houston, the intelligent responses to mitigate these impacts, and the needed steps going forward to preserve the city's position as "Energy Capital of the World."
The Houston Conference agenda will feature technical sessions on Reserves and Production; Substitute Fuels; Peak Oil & Climate Change; Peak Oil Reports from the GAO, National Petroleum Council, and AAPG; a Natural Gas/LNG Update; a Net Energy Update; Mitigation Scenarios; Smart Policy Initiatives (local, state & national); and Smart Money & Investment in the Age of Peak Oil.
Registration will open on or about June 1st. For more information on agenda details, speakers and activities as they become available, as well as a review of past Conferences, please see the links above and our website at www.aspousa.org.
We look forward to seeing you in Houston,
ASPO-USA Co-founders,
Steve Andrews, Jim Baldauf, Randy Udall, Dick Lawrence
For further information please contact:
Rick Block, 856-845-0579
2007 Houston World Oil Conference
We are pleased to announce that ASPO-USA will hold its 2007 World Oil Conference, October 17-20, at the Hilton Americas in downtown Houston, Texas. We have an exciting roster of confirmed participants including legendary Texas oilman T. Boone Pickens, Houston Mayor Bill White(former U.S. Deputy Secretary of Energy), Bob Hirsch (co-author of the groundbreaking Hirsch-Bezdek Report to DOE), Peter Tertzakian (author of “A Thousand Barrels a Second"), Matthew Simmons, (author of "Twilight in the Desert: The Coming Saudi Oil Shock"), Henry Groppe of Groppe, Long & Littell, Charles Maxwell of Weeden & Co., David Hughes of the Canadian Geological Survey, Chairman Elizabeth Ames Jones of the Texas Railroad Commission, Professor Peter Bishop of the University of Houston, and many others. We are awaiting RSVPs from other high-profile speakers including Former President Bill Clinton.
Honorary Co-chairmen of the Conference are Houstonians Matt Simmons of Simmons & Company International, and Art Smith of John S. Herold, Inc.
ASPO Week in Houston will consist of four days of energy discussion as well as field trips to a drilling site and to Refinery Row on the Houston Ship Channel, the heart of our nation's refining and petrochemical industries.
Nothing could be more fitting than Houston - "The Energy Capital of the World" - hosting international oil & gas experts to address the energy challenges of the 21st Century. We are proud to announce that the ASPO-USA World Oil Conference will be jointly Co-sponsored by the City of Houston and the University of Houston.
Our 2006 World Oil Conference was co-sponsored by BostonUniversity's Center for Energy & Environmental Studies, and our 2005 conference was co-sponsored by the City of Denver and the University of Colorado Graduate School of Public Affairs. Both meetings were widely acclaimed by Peak Oil scientists, attendees, and media outlets from across the country and around the world.
Peak Oil experts don’t claim that we will run out of oil, but that we will run out of cheap oil, as production decreases and demand increases. They point to below-ground evidence and above-ground factors: the continued depletion of major oil fields worldwide drives resource nationalism, a volatile geopolitical climate, and rising oil & gas prices.
The deniers of Peak Oil say that technology, new discoveries, and unconventional oil will save us. If the deniers are wrong, we are in deep trouble; if the Peak Oil experts are wrong, we will have conserved and mitigated ahead of schedule. ASPO-USA says the latter prudent and conservative approach is the path we must take as a nation.
Professor Peter Bishop of the University of Houston's Future Studies Program will conduct a conference session to explore scenarios of Peak Oil impacts on the City of Houston, the intelligent responses to mitigate these impacts, and the needed steps going forward to preserve the city's position as "Energy Capital of the World."
The Houston Conference agenda will feature technical sessions on Reserves and Production; Substitute Fuels; Peak Oil & Climate Change; Peak Oil Reports from the GAO, National Petroleum Council, and AAPG; a Natural Gas/LNG Update; a Net Energy Update; Mitigation Scenarios; Smart Policy Initiatives (local, state & national); and Smart Money & Investment in the Age of Peak Oil.
Registration will open on or about June 1st. For more information on agenda details, speakers and activities as they become available, as well as a review of past Conferences, please see the links above and our website at www.aspousa.org.
We look forward to seeing you in Houston,
ASPO-USA Co-founders,
Steve Andrews, Jim Baldauf, Randy Udall, Dick Lawrence
For further information please contact:
Rick Block, 856-845-0579
Wednesday, May 30, 2007
You Know You're a Peak Oil Doomer When.....
...you are seriously considering dandelion greens as a side for your
supper because you can't stand the fact that the plastic wrapped
lettuce in your supermarket has traveled over 2,000 miles and the
local Farmer's Market hasn't opened up for business yet.
...you observe cicadas for the propective protein they might deliver
to your body in a fast crash scenario.
...you start using your dishwater to water the container plants on
the deck.
...you travel long distances only out of necessity, observe the
suburban sprawl development and visualize the chaos that will ensue
in those neighborhoods for lack of transportation, electricity, heat,
and water.
...it's a windy day and you contemplate whether or not a wind turbine
would be feasible in the area, and you wonder why nobody has any
erected yet.
...you're on a trip, you're spending the night in a hotel, and you're
the only one in the group to notice that they've switched to CFLs in
all of their lighting.
...you hope and pray for consistent temperatures between 60-80
degrees Farenheight throughout the year so that you don't have to use
any heating or cooling of which you haven't had the ability to
convince the rest of the family to switch to alternative forms of
energy such as wind, solar, or geothermal yet.
...you're in a supermarket shopping and you will only buy items grown
and produced within your state or within 200 miles at the most.
...you go to garage sales and collect every hand tool you can find
(and you're a female).
...you go to a mall with your friends or family, and you're upset and
depressed that there isn't a locally-owned store with locally-made
items in sight.
...you happen to have a trip calculator on your vehicle, so you
obsess over the mileage by constantly looking at the instant
miles/gallon at different speeds.
...you are upset that you can't ride your bicycle to work and back in
order to cut your oil consumption because it's not safe for a female
to ride through dark trails at 1:30 in the morning.
...you wonder if the river birch tree in your front yard is useful
for something besides shade.
...you can't understand why nobody else in the family is as
enthusastic as you are about solar cooking or using baking soda as a
toothpaste (or another of it's many uses).
...you're depressed because bubble wrap is losing its popularity as a
filler in packages because you could use it as insulation on your
windows for the winter.
...you scoff at your neighbors selection of inedible landscaping plants.
...you seriously consider building an in-floor vent system to provide
cold winter air to your refrigerator so you can eliminate another 500
watt hours per day of electric power consumption.
...when you have friends over during the winter they ask when you're
going to get the heater fixed.
...you consider a 200 square foot garden 'practice'.
...you consider "Cookin' with Home Storage" one of your most valuable
cookbooks
...you've ever ordered from Walton Foods.
...you have more than 20 pounds of honey, but no bees.
...people who see your pantry ask if you are preparing for the Tribulation.
...you choose stone wheels with a lifetime guarantee for your grain
mill, then buy two extra sets, just in case.
...you choose a half-ton 5hp stationary diesel engine from 1940 over the
brand new 15kw natural gas powered backup generator because the newer
model is too 'high tech'.
...you see a large Coi pond and immediately wonder how many calories per
year it would produce.
...you have livestock in your garage
...you skip right over "energy efficient" and research "hand-powered" .
...you wonder about the grazing potential of abandoned cornfields.
...you take your compass out to stake out a new outbuilding, to make
sure it's facing true south.
...you consider investing in draft harnesses - for your neighbor's horse.
...you suggest to your parents that they use your old toys in their
attic/basement as holiday gifts for your kids.
...you put a thermometer in your car on a sunny day, to see if it gets
hot enough for cooking.
...you buy antiques on eBay, and actually use them
...you can use words like Ghawar and Cantarell in conversation.
...you see animal traps in the store and think "potential food source!"
...you become more interested in vermiculture instead of vermicelli.
...the dandelions and chickweed in your lawn are healthier-looking than
the grass.
...you seriously consider turning your swimming pool into a fish pond.
...you wonder if the pet donkey you've had for 10 years can be trained to
pack :)
...you read about a massive leap in some energy technology and chuckle
to yourself "Go ahead SUCKERS - see how far it gets ya..."
...you walk past a playground and burst into tears, knowing in your
heart all those sweet little kids playing in the grass and swings and
monkey bars will all grow up and die of starvation and disease in a
dusty desert transit camp somewhere in Eastern Oregon.
...you consider a rapid and miserable global die-off an indisputable
and inevitable fact, rather than a horrible and unwanted contingency.
...you keep a "bug out bag" in your closet freshly stocked with bare
survival materials, imagining that you could actually survive in the
wilderness without help from other humans, as if any wilderness
actually existed within a walkable distance of your domicile, and as if
other people won't have the same idea in such circumstances and be
vastly better armed than yourself.
...you think survival is living big.
...you get busted for burglary for stealing oil from MickeyD's to power
your camoflaged diesel Rabbit pickup.
...you sell the diesel Rabbit pick up, figuring it'll only attract
attention from the roving hordes, anyway.
...you spit at people who drive SUVs, and when they complain, tell them
they're "lucky it wasn't a FREAKIN' BULLET YOU GAS GUZZLING MORON!!!"
...you engage ideas of the glass half full or half empty, when in point
of fact,the glass is simply too big.
Okay...these are a few liners we on the RunningOnEmpty3 discussion group have come up with! I've been invited to post some content on Groovy Green's website but I wasn't sure if this would be appropriate enough since the website focuses more on Green living than on peak oil. Just because one is "green", per se, or environmentally aware, doesn't always mean the same people are aware of peak oil, although they are closely interlinked when looking at the bigger picture.
Overall, I thought it would be fun to poke fun at ourselves (peak oil believers) with a little humor concerning a sometimes very serious subject. Those on ROE3 did a superb job of adding to this conglomeration of one liners! I'm sure we have all had some unorthodox thoughts transpire by and through our transcendance of learning more about resource depletion. If Groovy will take it, I might transfer it over there. Anybody have any other experiences with which they could provide additional funnies? I'm sure many could relate some strange thoughts they've had concerning the need to power down for the betterment of mankind!
supper because you can't stand the fact that the plastic wrapped
lettuce in your supermarket has traveled over 2,000 miles and the
local Farmer's Market hasn't opened up for business yet.
...you observe cicadas for the propective protein they might deliver
to your body in a fast crash scenario.
...you start using your dishwater to water the container plants on
the deck.
...you travel long distances only out of necessity, observe the
suburban sprawl development and visualize the chaos that will ensue
in those neighborhoods for lack of transportation, electricity, heat,
and water.
...it's a windy day and you contemplate whether or not a wind turbine
would be feasible in the area, and you wonder why nobody has any
erected yet.
...you're on a trip, you're spending the night in a hotel, and you're
the only one in the group to notice that they've switched to CFLs in
all of their lighting.
...you hope and pray for consistent temperatures between 60-80
degrees Farenheight throughout the year so that you don't have to use
any heating or cooling of which you haven't had the ability to
convince the rest of the family to switch to alternative forms of
energy such as wind, solar, or geothermal yet.
...you're in a supermarket shopping and you will only buy items grown
and produced within your state or within 200 miles at the most.
...you go to garage sales and collect every hand tool you can find
(and you're a female).
...you go to a mall with your friends or family, and you're upset and
depressed that there isn't a locally-owned store with locally-made
items in sight.
...you happen to have a trip calculator on your vehicle, so you
obsess over the mileage by constantly looking at the instant
miles/gallon at different speeds.
...you are upset that you can't ride your bicycle to work and back in
order to cut your oil consumption because it's not safe for a female
to ride through dark trails at 1:30 in the morning.
...you wonder if the river birch tree in your front yard is useful
for something besides shade.
...you can't understand why nobody else in the family is as
enthusastic as you are about solar cooking or using baking soda as a
toothpaste (or another of it's many uses).
...you're depressed because bubble wrap is losing its popularity as a
filler in packages because you could use it as insulation on your
windows for the winter.
...you scoff at your neighbors selection of inedible landscaping plants.
...you seriously consider building an in-floor vent system to provide
cold winter air to your refrigerator so you can eliminate another 500
watt hours per day of electric power consumption.
...when you have friends over during the winter they ask when you're
going to get the heater fixed.
...you consider a 200 square foot garden 'practice'.
...you consider "Cookin' with Home Storage" one of your most valuable
cookbooks
...you've ever ordered from Walton Foods.
...you have more than 20 pounds of honey, but no bees.
...people who see your pantry ask if you are preparing for the Tribulation.
...you choose stone wheels with a lifetime guarantee for your grain
mill, then buy two extra sets, just in case.
...you choose a half-ton 5hp stationary diesel engine from 1940 over the
brand new 15kw natural gas powered backup generator because the newer
model is too 'high tech'.
...you see a large Coi pond and immediately wonder how many calories per
year it would produce.
...you have livestock in your garage
...you skip right over "energy efficient" and research "hand-powered" .
...you wonder about the grazing potential of abandoned cornfields.
...you take your compass out to stake out a new outbuilding, to make
sure it's facing true south.
...you consider investing in draft harnesses - for your neighbor's horse.
...you suggest to your parents that they use your old toys in their
attic/basement as holiday gifts for your kids.
...you put a thermometer in your car on a sunny day, to see if it gets
hot enough for cooking.
...you buy antiques on eBay, and actually use them
...you can use words like Ghawar and Cantarell in conversation.
...you see animal traps in the store and think "potential food source!"
...you become more interested in vermiculture instead of vermicelli.
...the dandelions and chickweed in your lawn are healthier-looking than
the grass.
...you seriously consider turning your swimming pool into a fish pond.
...you wonder if the pet donkey you've had for 10 years can be trained to
pack :)
...you read about a massive leap in some energy technology and chuckle
to yourself "Go ahead SUCKERS - see how far it gets ya..."
...you walk past a playground and burst into tears, knowing in your
heart all those sweet little kids playing in the grass and swings and
monkey bars will all grow up and die of starvation and disease in a
dusty desert transit camp somewhere in Eastern Oregon.
...you consider a rapid and miserable global die-off an indisputable
and inevitable fact, rather than a horrible and unwanted contingency.
...you keep a "bug out bag" in your closet freshly stocked with bare
survival materials, imagining that you could actually survive in the
wilderness without help from other humans, as if any wilderness
actually existed within a walkable distance of your domicile, and as if
other people won't have the same idea in such circumstances and be
vastly better armed than yourself.
...you think survival is living big.
...you get busted for burglary for stealing oil from MickeyD's to power
your camoflaged diesel Rabbit pickup.
...you sell the diesel Rabbit pick up, figuring it'll only attract
attention from the roving hordes, anyway.
...you spit at people who drive SUVs, and when they complain, tell them
they're "lucky it wasn't a FREAKIN' BULLET YOU GAS GUZZLING MORON!!!"
...you engage ideas of the glass half full or half empty, when in point
of fact,the glass is simply too big.
Okay...these are a few liners we on the RunningOnEmpty3 discussion group have come up with! I've been invited to post some content on Groovy Green's website but I wasn't sure if this would be appropriate enough since the website focuses more on Green living than on peak oil. Just because one is "green", per se, or environmentally aware, doesn't always mean the same people are aware of peak oil, although they are closely interlinked when looking at the bigger picture.
Overall, I thought it would be fun to poke fun at ourselves (peak oil believers) with a little humor concerning a sometimes very serious subject. Those on ROE3 did a superb job of adding to this conglomeration of one liners! I'm sure we have all had some unorthodox thoughts transpire by and through our transcendance of learning more about resource depletion. If Groovy will take it, I might transfer it over there. Anybody have any other experiences with which they could provide additional funnies? I'm sure many could relate some strange thoughts they've had concerning the need to power down for the betterment of mankind!
Wednesday, April 25, 2007
CNN Money: $80 a barrel oil for this year--investor T. Boone Pickens
Another prediction, click here. Anyone else also hear that Warren Buffet is pouring his investments into the railroad system? Hmmm...what does he know that we don't?
The Nation: The Establishment Rethinks Globalization
Important article to spread and give to congress people, click here. After reading this, compare to Wendell Berry's "The Idea of a Local Economy" essay if you can get a hold of it. He has some great and promising ideas.
Sunday, April 08, 2007
CNBC Addendum: Oil Supply Shock
Here's is a video version of CNBC's coverage of the peak oil issue after the GAO report.
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