Contact: Jan Lundberg:
(215) 243-3144
or Jenna Orkin, Moderator:
(718) 246-1577

DC Petrocollapse Conference: May 6, 2006
All Souls Unitarian Church - 16th & Harvard Streets, NW, Washington, D.C - 9 A.M. – 7 P.M

Berkeley, March 22 - A conference on the effects of Peak Oil and the growing global energy crisis will take place in Washington, DC on May 6th at the All Souls Church, Unitarian from 9 A.M. to 7 P.M. Speakers include peak-oil author Richard Heinberg.

Experts on Peak Oil, Community-scale agriculture and alternative energy will discuss "petrocollapse," the imminent failure of the petroleum infrastructure to continue to provide the myriad goods and services that our consumer economy has grown accustomed to. Multimedia presentations will suggest solutions to the audience.

Conference organizer and speaker Jan Lundberg is a former oil industry analyst who ran the market research firm Lundberg Survey. Lundberg, who quit serving the oil industry so he could put his knowledge to use to protect the environment, says "M. King Hubbert, who developed the theory of peak oil, observed that we do not have an energy crisis but rather a culture crisis. This fits with the theme of the Washington DC Petrocollapse Conference that there is no technofix for our energy dilemma. Society will have to bring about a closer level of community and rediscover what local economics are about."

Lundberg and a community-oriented network called Culture Change organized a similar conference in New York on October 5, 2006. The May 6 conference will feature the addition of Richard Heinberg, the most-read Peak Oil author (The Party's Over, and Powerdown). Films and music will be also offered as part of a varied program to stimulate discussion and action by attendees. Heinberg and Lundberg and others will perform music including oil-satire songs. Short Documentaries include premiers of "Our Synthetic Sea" (plastics pollution in oceans) and "The Power of Community: How Cuba Survived Peak Oil."

Lundberg says the Petrocollapse Conference asks, "What we can do in advance of the social upheaval and chaos that may produce a ‘Katrina,' to prepare or mitigate? What will the future look like during and after a transition to non-petroleum living?"

For more information, see www.petrocollapse.org

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Background briefing for:

Petrocollapse Conference: May 6, 2006 9 A.M. - 7 P.M.
All Souls Unitarian Church - 16th & Harvard Streets, NW, Washington D.C.

Most independent oil experts agree that the peak in global oil extraction is occurring approximately now. The pressures of the market to distribute the fuels and materials made from petroleum are already creating intense competition for energy supplies around the world. As the gap between supply and demand widens and prices skyrocket, supply will tighten as never before due to hoarding. This will cause massive repercussions in daily living and the global economy. Not only will people have to adapt to an energy-poor world by concentrating on sustainably working with their regional ecosystems for all their needs, but will also have to cope with climate change which is rapidly accelerating. This scenario is referred to by oil expert and conference organizer Jan Lundberg as Petrocollapse.

The conference brochure states, "the world's peak in oil extraction is about now -- although there is uncertainty and debate. The pressures of the Market to smoothly spread around the fuels and materials made from petroleum promise to create intense competition for energy supplies, as seen already today on the world stage. As the gap between supply and demand widens and prices skyrocket, supply will tighten as never before due to hoarding. This will cause massive repercussions in daily living and the global economy. Not only will people have to adapt to an energy-poor world by concentrating on sustainably working with their regional ecosystems for all their needs, climate change is accelerating."

Richard Heinberg presents irrefutable evidence in his books and powerpoint presentations that the world’s maximum oil extraction has most likely been reached. He also shows what limited contributions can be offered by various countries to increase their oil output, and what alternative sources of energy can possibly provide to replace petroleum. Besides his solutions of "powerdown" and "lifeboats," Heinberg promotes the Global Oil Depletion Protocol proposed by Colin Campbell, the geologist who founded the international Association for the Study of Peak Oil and Gas.

Speakers include:

Albert Bates Global Ecovillage Network; author
Diana Leafe Christian Communities Magazine
John Darnell, Ph.D Energy advisor
Richard Heinberg Author, The Party’s Over and Powerdown
Michael Kane From the Wilderness publications
Jan Lundberg Petroleum industry analyst; culturechange.org
Jenna Orkin Moderator; World Trade Center Environmental Organization
Mark Robinowitz www.oilempire.us; author, Permatopia: a graceful end to cheap oil
David Room Post Carbon Institute; Global Public Media
Joel Salatin Organic Agriculturalist

Invited:
Cynthia McKinney, member of Congress
Faith Morgan, Community Solutions
Daniel Quinn, author, Ishmael

For more information, see www.petrocollapse.org
The registration cost is $100, payable on the website via PayPal.Scholarships and discounts for volunteers.

Culture Change’s recent newsletter:
www.culturechange.org/cms/images/stories//jan-newsletter.pdf

Culture Change P.O. Box 4347 Arcata, California 95518 USA
Telephone and FAX: 1-215-243-3144
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