2010 International Conference on Sustainability: Energy, Economy &
Environment
The 2010 Local Future conference featured fifteen speakers on the areas
of renewable energy, peak oil, permaculture, collapse, risk, money,
economics, food security, and related topics. High definition videos are now available
below from the first
session of the conference. Featured speakers include John Sarver on
renewable energy, David Gard on peak oil, Nathan Ayers on permaculture, and Kurt
Cobb on rates and risks.
Renewable energy including solar, wind, and biomass will provide
the energy for the future. In this case study of one state, energy expert
John Sarver details the potential of Michigan to provide all of its energy from
renewables. Michigan is found to have the third highest renewable energy potential
of any state in the USA. Offshore wind in the Great Lakes could provide for
all the electricity needs of Michigan, given adequate storage such as pump
storage. Solar energy and renewable
biomass are also readily available.
Peak oil is here now. Peak oil is about flows and natural
limits. ASPO-USA, the Association for the Study of Peak Oil and
Gas held its annual conference and meeting in Washington D.C. in
2010. David Gard, energy director for the Michigan Environmental
Council, attended the ASPO-USA conference and provides an in
depth executive summary for those already familiar with peak
oil. This is an 18-minute presentation
titled "Permaculture and our Energy Conscious Future: From
Consumers to Producers" created by David Gard.
Permaculture or "permanent culture" offers an opportunity to
address climate change, peak oil, and financial instability.
Permaculture educator Nathan Ayers explains the roots of
permaculture, how it addresses peak oil and climate change, its
connection to transition towns and sustainability, and the
guiding permaculture principles. This is a 30-minute
presentation titled "Permaculture and our Energy Conscious
Future: From Consumers to Producers" created by Nathan Ayers.
Kurt Cobb, writer and author of Prelude: A Peak Oil Novel
demonstrates ways to explain peak oil, climate change, and risk.
Cobb uses simple household objects to demonstrate how the rate
of flow can impact extraction rates for oil, and how the flow of
carbon dioxide into the atmosphere is leading to increasing
levels of CO2 and climate change. Kurt Cobb discusses a simple
example for explaining why even a low risk of peak oil or
climate change is worth taking seriously.