Whether San Franciscans like it or not, the days of "happy motoring" -- as author James Howard Kunstler puts it -- are likely over. That's because since extraction of petroleum from the Earth's surface started on an industrial level in 1859, humanity has used up about half of the world's oil reserves, and because it is unlikely that there will be a technological fix to replace the energy that we have gotten from oil. Since that is the likely case, the San Francisco Board of Supervisors convened a citizen body to study how best the city and county should prepare for life after oil (and natural gas as well). Members of the Peak Oil Preparedness Task Force will present their recommendations to the Government Audit and Oversight Committee of the Board of Supervisors on Thursday, September 24, 2009 (details below). Members of the public are invited to attend and testify.
Where & When: Task Force Members will present their findings to members of the Board of Supervisors’ Government Oversight and Audit Committee in the Legislative Chamber – Second Floor of City Hall at 1:00 PM on Thursday, September 24.
Who: Supervisor Ross Mirkarimi, who sponsored the resolution to create the Task Force; Task Force Members and supporters; Supervisors Eric Mar and Sophie Maxwell.
What: The San Francisco Peak Oil Preparedness Task Force, a citizen advisory body formed by the Board of Supervisors in 2007, will deliver its final report to city leaders. The 125-page report analyzes the City’s vulnerabilities to shortages of petroleum and natural gas and warns about the dire consequences of inaction.
Peak Oil is the point in time at which maximum global production of petroleum is reached, after which point production begins an inexorable decline, regardless of demand or price. With most of the planet's easily extractable (and therefore cheap) petroleum already used, geologists and oil industry insiders caution that reserves of petroleum and natural gas will soon begin that decline, if they haven’t already.
The Task Force presentation will be followed by ample time for public comment. Come and be part of this historic occasion. San Francisco is the largest city in the country to formally consider the consequences of Peak Oil. The report's 91 recommendations need to be prioritized and implementation begun. Our actions are being watched from around the country and as far away as Germany.
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2 comments:
It will be very interesting to see whether or not this report will generate any significant changes in the city.
Well, both Supervisor Mar and Supervisor Mirkarimi (the elected official who sponsored the resolution creating the task force) are talking about a working group to monitor the implementation of the recommendations. Now that the task force members have done the hard work of researching and writing the report, I would actually consider sitting on a working group.
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