wind turbine: This is the VAWT at rest.

As some of you may be aware, I presented at the Congress of New Urbanists Convention in Rhode Island this past Saturday. Many people have been asking for a copy of the presentation. Attached is my presentation in PDF format. The audio will be available shortly and I will direct those interested to its location as soon as it is. Thank you for your support.

Julian Darley CNU XIV 2006-06-03

This morning I paired with James Howard Kunstler to give a talk on resources and responses, a quick review of the increasingly dire oil and gas situation, and then a good spin through some of our responses. I think the important point of all this is that it’s the first time that I’ve spoken to a vast room full, somewhere between 500 and 1200 people must have been in the room. The room was primarily full of architects and people who are a very important part of building the infrastructure. They are particularly part of the built infrastructure – the domestic and commercial infrastructure. This is what these people do, so they are a very interesting counterpart to the municipalities, which is where the crux if change must occur. I think everybody who is connected to this should be heartened by this, because unless these and a few more sets of people join in this effort, we’re all just going to be stuck with the only possibility being an outside compost lavatory and a solar panel stuck on the roof. In order to get beyond that, we need the collaboration of these people, and I’m increasingly getting the impression and sensation that they will be willing partners. There’s definitely openness there amongst an array of people, who are themselves not without resources. So I think it’s very encouraging.

The New Urbanists scored something of a coup by being very early into the field of helping with the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina in Mississippi and Louisana. They got right in there on the ground and helped with interesting kinds of small-scale reconstruction to help house people. They developed something called the Katrina Cottage, for instance, which is designed to be small and simple but still aesthetically pleasing and functional, and the idea was that one could be built in two weeks. So that raised the profile of the New Urbanists. There are a lot of interesting people connected with them, including some mayors and government connections, developers, among other influential groups.

The other interesting thing is that I pressed into the hands of John Prescott, the Deputy Prime Minister of England, my book, High Noon for Natural Gas. I told him that nine years ago, almost to the day, that I was in his so-called Battle Bus campaigning for him for Uxbridge. He is very interested in the matter of sustainable communities, which is what he was there talking about. ‘Sustainable communities’ is one of the phrases that is coming to the fore now, and it is quite palatable, I think, until it gets debased. Well I pushed my book into his hands, and apparently, the British government has got a new energy plan report coming out quite soon. Given that they have now noticed that there is a terrible gas problem, there is a remote chance that someone might take notice of this.

I think those were the keys things worth of reporting on, and it was my positioning in the event with James Kunstler, that made my time there such a valuable opportunity. Jim was very generous, and introduced me to many people. Jim is very well regarded here, and as well he might be, he’s been a part of the New Urbanists since they were founded in 1993. In a wider sense, he’s the best known of them. Most people referred to his book, The Long Emergency, so it’s been widely read among this group, who are also able to do something. He’s unusual because he’s funny and a reverend of sorts, while these people are really quite earnest and serious, and it’s good that they are because they have a serious job to do.

You can hear James Howard Kunstler himself speak about his book, The Long Emergency: Surviving the End of the Oil Age, Climate Change, and Other Converging Catastrophes of the Twenty-first Century on GlobalPublicMedia.com.

Watch also for my the audio and slideshow of my presentation to be posted on GlobalPublicMedia.com in the coming couple of days.

In the architecture world this past weekend I was on a panel of presenters at the Congress of New Urbanists XIV conference in Rhode Island. There, I heard, and was lucky enough to meet, Andres Duany of the New Ubanists, who spoke for about 45 minutes at the to an audience of, I’d say, close to 1,000 people. In his presentation, Duany he kept referring to James Howard Kunstler’s Long Emergency. He was basically exhorting the audience to read or re-read it, and to understand the message of it. He pointed out to the audience, and it’s true, that every newspaper you pick up is laden with stories on energy. The USA today, for instance, had virtually a whole page devoted to shale oil in Colorado, and how the locals burnt their fingers in the 1970s when ExxonMobile put $5 billion into this thing and then cancelled it. People went bankrupt, livelihoods collapsed, and, therefore, they are very wary of it now.

Very important, I think, was the extent to which he was alerting an audience, probably largely full of architects if I’m not mistaken, to the looming danger of peak oil. He, however, was still stressing that oil won’t run out, so really what people need to be worried about is the price. I think the next stage is to get people to understand that it is going to be more than just price - the market won’t fix this one. 

CNU XIV http://www.cnuxiv.org/                    

CNU hppt://www.cnu.org   

Back in the office for only a few days, I am hitting the road once again for a series of interesting and informative conferences.

I am off to Providence Rhode Island tomorrow June 02, 2006 for the National New Urbanism Congress (CNU)where I will be speaking on Relocalization. For more information
http://www.cnuxiv.org/

Following this event, I am off to Burlington Vermont for the 4th Annual BALLE Conference
June 8-10, 2006(the Business Alliance for Local Living Economies). http://www.livingeconomies.org/events/conference06

I will be back to Vancouver after this event to lead a guest lecture at Simon Fraser University (SFU), on June 13. Richard Gilbert teaches a graduate class at SFU and I will be lecturing on Relocalization within the framework of urban governance.

From the 19-23 of June, the third session of the World Urban Forum (WUFIII) will be hosted by the Government of Canada. It will take place in Vancouver, and the main theme is, Our Future: Sustainable Cities – Turning Ideas into Action.

Myself and other staff from Post Carbon Institute will be in attendance. Check back for details on what happened at this event. For more information: go here
http://www.unhabitat.org/wuf/2006/introduction2005.asp

Those are the exciting events for this month, as more come up I will be sure to post them here!

Best,
Julian Darley

The University of Maryland's Sustainable Development and Conservation Biology Program is hosting "Peak Oil and the Environment", a Sustainable Energy Forum, May 07-09, 2006.

The Forum will bring together scientists, policymakers and advocates from government, environmental NGO's and civil society groups to identify the challenges and opportunities for a sustainable energy future. The forum will address key issues regarding peak oil and its implications including:

• discussions on geologic and production constraints
•  geopolitical implications of the peak
•  environmental impacts of alternatives
•  critical energy policies needed to move forward and much more.

I will be moderating the panel on Demand Opportunities, Can Human Well-Being Coincide With the Eco-system's Capacities? The featured speakers on this panel include Herman Daly, Richard Heinberg,  Pat Hurphy, Jack Santa Barbara and Meagan Quinn.

Dmitry Orlov is a software engineer with a classically wry sense of Russian humour now living in Boston, Massachusetts. He uses his firsthand observations of the economic collapse that followed the dissolution of the USSR to analyze and comment on both the differences and the similarities between the former Soviet Union and the USA. With his experience and knowledge, Dmitry is able to offer a fascinating and detailed description of what can be called, ‘post-collapse America’.
 

Orlov presented at the Local Energy Solutions conference, in New York City April, 27-29, 2006 (sponsored in conjunction with Peak Oil NYC, one of our Local Post Carbon Groups) and prompted me to delve further into his discussion of Post-Soviet Lessons for a Post-American Century – not least because I too have some first hand knowledge of the Soviet Union (from 1980) and of Czechoslovakia before it split in 1992. Such experience makes Orlov’s points all the sharper, but is not necessary in order to understand his analysis, though it certainly makes his sardonic observations of the bizarreness of the ‘new’ Russian society all the funnier – and sadder.
 

I gave a presentation at the Vancouver Public Library last Wednesday (Feb. 15). This was part of the Necessary Voices lecture series. Please find my Powerpoint slides attached in PDF form.

Please find a transcribed version of my presentation in Boulder, CO on January 14, 2006 attached below along with the slides from my powerpoint.

Oil is near its historical high - it hit 69.15 during the night and is varying between 68 and 68.50 by the hour, yet it is not being reported almost anywhere as far as i can see. also, brazil's ethanol prices are up because of drought and other production problems. this should be a warning to people that biofuels are dependent on today's natural forces far more than oil or gas. Brazilian Economists Raise Inflation Forecast to 4.61%

Kuwait oil reserves only half official estimate-PIW 

The Boulder Valley Community Conference was a big success with over 450 people in attendance at the University of Colorado Boulder Campus. The
conference was organized by the local Post Carbon Outpost, Boulder Valley Relocalization.

My presentation covered the current energy situation and where we are headed. I also included some specific facts about Colorado's potential
for renewable energy. My presentation seemed to be well received. I felt that people were ready to hear the reality of the energy situation. Many
people become overwhelmed when they first realize the magnitude of the looming energy crisis. The challenge is to change one’s actions to reduce
energy consumption. We must lower our dependence on energy and produce as much as possible ourselves at a local level. We must also become involved with local governance. Talk to your local representatives or even become a representative yourself.

I am heartened by the fact that more and more of these sorts of conferences are appearing all across the globe. Hopefully people will begin to take the message to heart and change their ways.

I will be speaking at the Boulder Valley Community Conference and Relocalization Resource Expo on Saturday January 14, 2006.  This is an all day event held at the University of Colorado Boulder Campus.

The goal of the Community Conference is to increase community preparedness for the challenges and opportunities of the forthcoming energy crisis. Through this event, citizens will be informed about the options in order to prepare for near-term disruptions in energy supply and will be encouraged to participate in the strategic planning process for long-term community self-reliance in energy, food and economy.