Author, Affiliation, Date:
Mark Boshnack, The Daily Star, 19 December 2005
Body:
A Franklin group is not waiting for a national energy policy to address the problems arising from possible future oil shortages.
A citizens commission to assess the needs and resources of the town of Franklin in the face of peak oil will start meeting in January, Eugene Marner of Franklin said. He has been involved in the group’s organization through his interest in the subject of oil.
Peak oil is the point of global peak oil production, after which production will decline, according to the BBC News website. Estimates of when that point will be reached range from a couple of years from now to far off in the future, but governments are starting to take a serious look at the subject, according to an article on the website.
The local group was endorsed by the Franklin Town Board on Dec. 6, according to Marner and a town official, though it is not an official town organization and has no legal status.
In a copy of the resolution provided by Marner, the board supported the effort to examine the issues raised by declining energy supplies and increased costs. It will also assess the needs and resources of the town.
The proposition also calls for the group to report back to the town on its findings.
Franklin board member Louis Ackley said that the motion was meant to support the group’s effort.
How could you not support doing something about a potential energy problem?" Ackley asked. "You don’t have to wait until we are in trouble."
The idea for the commission grew out of an October talk at Hartwick College by Richard Heinberg, who has written about peak oil, Marner said.
During the talk, Heinberg talked about a plan by students working with a city in California, Marner said.
Since then, interested Franklin residents have learned about similar efforts in Iceland and closer to home in Tompkins County.
Each group will serve as a model for the Franklin group, he said.
"I think the evidence for the peak coming now, or by 2007 at the latest, is quite convincing," Marner said. "But if peak oil will not happen for 20 years, I will rejoice. We need 20 years of massive preparation to prepare."
But, he added, "If we don’t have 20 years, as I believe, then our efforts today are even more urgent."
While Marner, who is co-artistic director of the theater group Franklin Stage Company, said he doesn’t have the answers, "I do know there is a problem. With cooperation and vision we can come up with a solution."
The group could report back to the town within a year after it starts working, he said.
"We don’t know what to expect," Ackley said. "It’s an effort to see what can be done at the grass-roots level."
The plan will be designed for Franklin residents, Marner said, but anyone who wants to participate is welcome.
An organizational meeting is planned for January at Franklin Town Hall, but no date has been scheduled yet, Marner said.
For more information, call Marner at 829-8451.
Mark Boshnack, The Daily Star, 19 December 2005
A Franklin group is not waiting for a national energy policy to address the problems arising from possible future oil shortages.
A citizens commission to assess the needs and resources of the town of Franklin in the face of peak oil will start meeting in January, Eugene Marner of Franklin said. He has been involved in the group’s organization through his interest in the subject of oil.
Peak oil is the point of global peak oil production, after which production will decline, according to the BBC News website. Estimates of when that point will be reached range from a couple of years from now to far off in the future, but governments are starting to take a serious look at the subject, according to an article on the website.
The local group was endorsed by the Franklin Town Board on Dec. 6, according to Marner and a town official, though it is not an official town organization and has no legal status.
In a copy of the resolution provided by Marner, the board supported the effort to examine the issues raised by declining energy supplies and increased costs. It will also assess the needs and resources of the town.
The proposition also calls for the group to report back to the town on its findings.
Franklin board member Louis Ackley said that the motion was meant to support the group’s effort.
How could you not support doing something about a potential energy problem?" Ackley asked. "You don’t have to wait until we are in trouble."
The idea for the commission grew out of an October talk at Hartwick College by Richard Heinberg, who has written about peak oil, Marner said.
During the talk, Heinberg talked about a plan by students working with a city in California, Marner said.
Since then, interested Franklin residents have learned about similar efforts in Iceland and closer to home in Tompkins County.
Each group will serve as a model for the Franklin group, he said.
"I think the evidence for the peak coming now, or by 2007 at the latest, is quite convincing," Marner said. "But if peak oil will not happen for 20 years, I will rejoice. We need 20 years of massive preparation to prepare."
But, he added, "If we don’t have 20 years, as I believe, then our efforts today are even more urgent."
While Marner, who is co-artistic director of the theater group Franklin Stage Company, said he doesn’t have the answers, "I do know there is a problem. With cooperation and vision we can come up with a solution."
The group could report back to the town within a year after it starts working, he said.
"We don’t know what to expect," Ackley said. "It’s an effort to see what can be done at the grass-roots level."
The plan will be designed for Franklin residents, Marner said, but anyone who wants to participate is welcome.
An organizational meeting is planned for January at Franklin Town Hall, but no date has been scheduled yet, Marner said.
For more information, call Marner at 829-8451.
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