UK oil depletion awareness organisation PowerSwitch.org.uk officially launches free forum for people concerned about the imminent peak in global oil production and the consequences for the UK to meet, talk and work locally to raise awareness.
(PRWEB) April 18, 2005 — UK oil depletion awareness organisation PowerSwitch.org.uk has officially launched a free forum on Friday 15th April 2005 for people concerned about the imminent peak in global oil production and the consequences to meet, talk and work locally to raise awareness. The ever-rising oil prices are a result of strong global demand soon to be exceeding world supply, It is argued that is because we are fast approaching terminal decline in world production that the world is struggling to meet global needs. That certainly is the perspective taken by bodies such as the Association for the Study of Peak Oil and Gas (www.peakoil.net) , Oil Depletion Analysis Centre (www.odac-info.org) and PowerSwitch (www.PowerSwitch.org.uk).
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People tend to take oil for granted but do no realise how vital it is for our daily living, from agriculture to medicine to industry and obviously transport. Due to oil being so entwined to the way we live there is no doubt that a permanent oil crisis – such as those seen in the 1970s but lasting permanently – would mean significant changes would be needed to the way we live. PowerSwitch feels that early preparation for this period is prudent and vital and is encouraging people all around the UK to raise awareness.
Officially launched on 15th April 2005, the forums can be found at www.powerswitch.org.uk/forum and is open to all from around the UK to meet and discuss. ” People have to get together and work on this. This has to be a grass-roots movement,” explained James Howard of PowerSwitch.org.uk. ” We just can”t expect the government to turn around and say that we”re going to have to get by on less and less oil, because oil – and the growing use of oil – is so fundamental to economic growth. Governments cannot shatter the idea of permanent economic growth. It is not exactly a vote winner to propose cutbacks and people never voted for austerity! Therefore the call for change and the spread of information has to come from the public.”
PowerSwitch.org.uk now has over 200 members and the website regularly gets over 1000 visits a day. Since its formation in October 2004 the group has seen the level of awareness rising. “There is no doubt that people are talking about oil peak more,” stated James Howard. ” The Hirsch Report for the U.S Department of Energy covered it; a presentation to the U.S Congress by Roscoe Bartlett also explained the urgency of the situation; the Green Party in New Zealand is very vocal about it. We need something like that happening here in the UK. “
PowerSwitch.org.uk warns that while the world failed to act in time to limit global warming and climate change it must not fail a second time and must deal with the problem as soon as possible. The trouble is that there is a lot of contention at to when the peak will come – from a “pessimistic” 2005 to an “optimistic” 2037. Can we afford for the optimists to be wrong? Not when the evidence for a peak between 2005 and 2010 is so compelling. James Howard illustrates the point. “Even if you take the simple argument that an oil field peaks about 40 years after its discovery, and that the global peak for discovery was in 1967, you can see that there is cause for concern. We”re not talking about the end of oil, but we really are seeing the end of cheap oil. You only need to see the works of ASPO and more recently the Oilfields Megaprojects Report by Chris Skrebowski for the UK Petroleum Review to see how close we are to the peak.”
All this is why PowerSwitch.org.uk has launched these forums. Along with presentations and advertising in the press as well contacting MPs, PowerSwitch.org.uk sees “people power” as a vital step. ” We really need everyone picking up on this and talking about it straight away. We”re sleepwalking into a crisis with serious consequences for the well-being, lifestyles and prosperity of everyone in oil-dependent countries, ” concluded James Howard. ” We can”t just assume that technology such as renewables, nuclear or fuel cells will save us – the technology for mass distribution is still too far away and it only address the problem of power, not the other benefits that oil brings. We are much nearer the problem than the solution.”
Note to editors:
Oilfields Megaproject Report by Chris Skrebowski can be found at:
www.globalpublicmedia.com/interviews/378
The Hirsch Report (Peaking of World Oil Production) for the U.S Department of Energy can be found at:
www.hilltoplancers.org/stories/hirsch0502.pdf
The presentation by Republican congressman Roscoe Bartlett on Peak Oil to the US Congress can be found at:
www.bartlett.house.gov/SupportingFiles/documents/PeakOil.pdf
Early Day Motion 199 – Oil Depletion, Energy Self-Sufficiency and the Low Carbon Economy:
edm.ais.co.uk/weblink/html/motion.html/EDMI_SES=03/ref=199
For further details visit :
PowerSwitch – www.PowerSwitch.org.uk
Association for the Study of Peak Oil & Gas – www.peakoil.net
Oil Depletion Analysis Centre – www.odac-info.org
Depletion Scotland – www.depletion-sctoland.org.uk
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POWERSWITCH.ORG.UK
James Howard
07910946098
