SAN FRANCISCO, CA — For those who can’t make the trip to Pisa for this year’s international Association for the Study of Peak Oil and Gas (ASPO), the next best thing could be a visit to ASPO-5 Live a near real-time weblog sponsored by SF Informatics (SFI).
SF Informatics’ blog — the first at an international ASPO conference—will feature daily postings from two of SFI’S four principals, Rob Bracken and Richard Katz. They’ll cover the major presentations and file exclusive interviews with experts such as Colin Campbell, Richard Heinberg and others. ASPO-5 Live will also offer guest postings from attendees and links to conference transcripts and resources as they become available.
Featuring a veritable “who’s who” of the peak oil movement, the conference is expected to make news with fresh assessments of the world’s oil reserves and production capacity, new insights into the likely impacts of peak oil (as well as gas and coal), and creative strategies for negotiating the ride down the far side of Hubbert’s curve.
Participants—among them Colin Campbell—plan to post their peak oil musings on the blog. Campbell told us… “Debate on the date of peak misses the point because it is not a high or isolated peak, being merely the maximum value on a gentle curve. What matters and matters greatly is the view of the long remorseless decline that follows peak. Given the central place of oil in the modern economy, the transition to decline threatens to be a time of great international and economic tension, but at the end of the day may herald a more benign age. Those who plan and prepare have a better chance of being counted amongst the survivors.”
“This is shaping up to be one of the most important ASPO conferences ever and we’re thrilled to be covering this historic event in near real time,” said Richard Katz, spokesman for SF Informatics. “In addition to reporting on the keynotes and other talks, we’re planning interviews with key participants and hope to talk to as many attendees as possible.”
“ASPO-5 is the culmination of a year-long collaboration,” says Ugo Bardi, professor of chemistry at the University of Florence and lead organizer of the conference. “We are bringing together an incredible group of experts and scientists along with growing numbers of individuals and government officials who are concerned about energy depletion. A blog such as this cannot but help disseminate up-to-date information and thus assist in the understanding of the implications and help give insight into appropriate courses of mitigation.”
Others set to speak include Petroleum Review Editor Chris Skrebowski (“Peak Oil: the Emerging Reality”), Geologist Jean Laherrere (“Uncertainty in Data and Forecasts”), author Andrew McKillop (“The Impossibility of Market Solutions to Peak Oil”), and former oil man Jeremy Leggett, who will address “Peak Oil, Climate Change, and the Daunting Arithmetic of Carbon Fuels.” Robert Hirsch of SAIC will give an update to his path-breaking study, “Peaking of World Oil Production: Impacts, Mitigation, and Risk Management.” Dennis Meadows, co-author of the landmark 1972 book “Limits to Growth,” will explain why declining oil output will put the breaks on conventional economic growth. Sixteen other notable speakers will round out the information-packed two days.
Join us at ASPO-5 Live (www.oilposter.org/blog/aspoblog.html) to keep your finger on the pulse of this important event.
Conference Details:
The 5th International Conference on Oil and Gas Depletion
Sponsor: The Association for the Study of Peak Oil and Gas (ASPO)
Dates: 18-19 July 2006
Location: San Rossore, Italy (near Pisa)
Conference Web site: tinyurl.com/c9b38
Conference Contact: Prof. Ugo Bardi, Department of Chemistry, University of Florence
Press Access: Katie Buckley
ASPO web site: www.peakoil.net
Italian section of ASPO: www.aspoitalia.net
About ASPO.
The Association for the Study of Peak Oil and Gas (ASPO) is a network of scientists, affiliated with institutions and universities, having an interest in determining the date and impact of the peak and decline of the world’s production of oil and gas, due to resource constraints.
About SF Informatics
SF Informatics is a not-for-profit organization representing a group of concerned individuals committed to researching and communicating critical ecological and societal trends worldwide. SFI creates learning and research tools to assist in communicating issues of global importance and makes these tools available free of charge to educational institutions and educators.
