John Kaufmann

John Kaufmann worked on energy and climate issues for 35 years with the Scientists’ Institute for Public Information, Oregon Department of Energy, and Pacific Northwest National Laboratory. He is retired and lives in Salem, Oregon.

Full biography

John Kaufmann worked with the Oregon Department of Energy for 29 years as a solar energy specialist, building codes specialist, manager of renewable energy and energy efficiency programs, and as a senior policy analyst, helping to make Oregon a national leader. He then worked for two years as Senior Policy Analyst at the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory in Washington. John received the Professional Achievement Award from the American Planning Association-Oregon for getting 26 jurisdictions in the Portland Metro Area to jointly adopt a set of solar orientation and solar rights ordinances, and received the 2009 Energy Manager of the Year Award from the Oregon Association of Professional Energy Managers for Lifetime Achievement. John is a Fellow with the Post Carbon Institute for his work with Portland’s Peak Oil Task Force. He has spoken about peak oil and climate change to numerous audiences around Oregon and the U.S. He is semi-retired as he consults, speaks, and writes on energy issues.

Recent Publications

Integrating Renewable Energy Requirements into Building Energy Codes. PNNL-20442. July, 2011.

“Local Government in a Time of Peak Oil and Climate Change.” In Post Carbon Reader: Managing the 21st Century Sustainability Crises, edited by Richard Heinberg and Daniel Lerch, Post Carbon Institute, 2010.

Principal author, Descending the Oil Peak: Portland Peak Oil Task Force Report. 2006. http://www.portlandonline.com/osd/index.cfm?c=42894

Oregon fire

West Coast wildfires: a letter to friends from an Oregon resident

We are in the midst of an unmitigated natural disaster here in Oregon and on the West Coast. I struggle to find the words to express what’s happening and the toll it’s taking – on our natural treasures, on homes and businesses, and on our collective psyches.

September 13, 2020

The Energy Independence Illusion

The purported benefits of energy independence are simple: an improved economy due to the reduced outflow of dollars, improved national security, and more flexibility on foreign policy, particularly with regards to the Middle East and now Russia. Those objectives are substantial, if they can be achieved.

April 29, 2014

Cities, Towns, and Suburbs: Local goverment in a time of peak oil and climate change

Many responses to peak oil urge individual and community solutions, ignoring government. They argue that since government hasn’t done anything to address the problem, citizens and businesses must take matters into their own hands. Some even argue that government is part of the problem, particularly federal and state governments. This attitude is shortsighted.

April 5, 2011

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