ACT Peak Oil

Prepare for oil's decline

The Iranian navy has warned it could close the strait of Hormuz, through which a fifth of the world's traded oil passes (Iran: We'll close the strait of Hormuz, GW, 13-19 January 2012).

This would not be good for anyone, least of all the Iranians, but it may help us to prepare for what is to come as global oil supplies begin to decline, perhaps as early as 2015.

The Canberra Times published the following letter from ACT Peak Oil President Jenny Goldie on January 3:

CLIMATE OF DOOM

As one who tries to inform people about the implications of peak oil, I was infuriated by being lumped with such ''apocalypse-predicting subcultures'' as Christians who anticipate an imminent day of rapture when all non-believers will perish, and interpreters of the Mayan calendar who are convinced the world will end on December 31, 2012 (''Apocalypse tomorrow'', Panorama, December 31, p12).

The Canberra Times published the following letter from ACT Peak Oil President Jenny Goldie on November 10:

There is much to applaud in Dr Paul Mees' position on the ACT draft transport plan (Car-dependent disaster, CT, Nov 7). We do indeed need to redirect money away from the private car to public transport and more cycleways.

An editorial opinion from ACT Peak Oil Vice President Jenny Goldie published in The Canberra Times.

Australia's own 'peak oil'

Resources and energy minister Martin Ferguson has warned the country's growing dependence on imported energy could reach critical proportions, speaking at the Australian Petroleum Production and Exploration Association conference in Perth.

“With only about a decade of known oil resources remaining at today's production rates, Australia is looking down the barrel of a $25bn trade deficit in petroleum products by 2015,” Mr Ferguson said.

ACT Peak Oil has been featured in a number of news items today raising awareness about the imminent oil crisis.

Click through for an article from the Canberra Times reporting some of our expectations for the future of transport planning.

Update: The Canberra Times featured ACT Peak Oil for a second day running after we held up a banner at the opening of the last stage of the GDE. Minister Hargreaves came over and we had a polite and friendly chat with him on transport policy.

Speaking today at the Canberra 2020 summit, Alex Pollard, President of ACT Peak Oil, said "The ACT Government's decision to build the GDE with only one lane in each direction is to be welcomed. ACT Peak Oil recognises this decision as a prudent cost saving measure. The daily commute will be uneconomic to most Canberrans within a decade. World oil production is likely to peak and decline imminently. Additional expenditure on the road would have been a waste."

Body:
ACT Peak Oil is proud to present the premiere screening of the acclaimed film Crude Awakening: The Oil Crash on Wednesday 1st August. The world-wide peak and irreversible decline of oil production is happening now. And Canberra is particularly vulnerable. Come and find out more about this important issue.
Update: There will be a short forum after the film with guest speakers Kerrie Tucker (ACT Greens Senate candidate), Bill Stefaniak (ACT Leader of the Opposition) and Mike Kelly (Labor candidate for Eden-Monaro). Wine included.

News from Engineers Australia:

Following the recent "Future frameworks for regional rail" symposium, at Charles Sturt University at Wagga Wagga in southern NSW, Engineers Australia's Railway Technical Society (RTSA) is alerting a wider audience to the issue.

The Senate Rural and Regional Affairs policy committee has tabled the report into Australia's future oil supply. The report is centred upon concerns about 'Peak Oil'.

ACT Peak Oil made a submission to this inquiry, and appeared before the inquiry at the Canberra hearing in May.

The final report is available here