News Release:
SEI's Jan Lundberg delivers Sustainable Energy message at
Institute of Petroleum annual meeting
Read the full text of Jan Lundberg's speech.
Visit the Sustainable Energy Institute website: http://www.culturechange.org.
Press conference February 20th, 3:30 p.m.
One Great George Street, Bruce White Room, Westminster, London.
London, Feb. 18th, 2003 - Californian environmental
activist Jan Lundberg wrapped up the opening day of IPWeek, The Institute of Petroleum's annual conference.
"Fueling the World Economy: Future Risks and Opportunities" was the
theme of the day, but Lundberg's vision was unconventional: the risk to sustainability on a global level is partly due to unfounded faith in the
"technofix," and a great opportunity lies in people's better understanding petroleum, on the community level up to world bodies.
"Citizen Petroleum Councils should be created everywhere that food security
relies on unlimited supply of petroleum for agriculture and transport. A
renewable energy future is not going to come about from a seamless transition
when petroleum disappears," warned Lundberg. "The world is about to
see a final energy crisis because of oil production peaking in our present
period of history."
Lundberg also pointed out to the international audience of energy leaders that a
shortfall of oil can paralyze the world oil market, even though much oil remains
in the ground and in the distribution system. His family-business background
includes The Lundberg Letter's accurate prediction of the Second Oil Shock in
the U.S. in 1979. He now heads the Sustainable Energy Institute which publishes Culture Change Letter.
Lundberg's message to the industry included conservation measures that utilize
human pedal-powered transport, and an emphasis on rail rather than roads. His
group has fought road building with modest success in the U.S. with the Alliance for a Paving Moratorium. The nonprofit group is based in
Arcata, California, in the redwood forest region.
"I believe we can bring industry and the public together by fostering
understanding and honesty regarding critical petroleum issues. We are all in the
same boat, and presently about to hit a rocky reef: climate change is poised to
go out of control, and war for oil is hardly any sane solution for responsible
planning in a world of unprecedented and massive population size."
A local-based solution is London's
Congestion Charge which seriously reduces car traffic, inaugurated yesterday:
"It is a most reasonable approach to cutting over-reliance on oil,"
says Lundberg.
***
For the full text of Jan Lundberg's speech of Feb. 17th, 2003, see
the Sustainable Energy Institute/Culture Change website: http://www.culturechange.org/ip_speech.htm
Mailing address: P.O. Box 3387, Santa Cruz, CA 95063 USA
E-mail: info@culturechange.org.
In London call 0207-566-1713 (Friends of the Earth)
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