March 22, 2010 6:30 PM - 233 attended

A talk by Peak Oil expert Richard Heinberg

Post Carbon Toronto is excited to present a talk by author, journalist and educator Richard Heinberg.

Life After Growth: Why the Economy Is Shrinking and What to Do About It
The ongoing economic recession represents a fundamental break with recent history: growth has ceased and may never return in the same way, because energy and resource limits are increasingly constraining economic expansion. But families and communities may actually be better off in a sustainable, "steady-state" economy--one that values people and nature over high-rate financial returns.

6:00pm Doors Open
6:30pm Primer and overview of Peak Oil issues by members of Post Carbon Toronto
7:00pm Richard Heinberg

Richard Heinberg is widely regarded as one of the world’s most effective communicators of the urgent need to transition away from fossil fuels. With a wry, unflinching approach based on facts and realism, Mr. Heinberg exposes the tenuousness of our current way of life and offers a vision for a truly sustainable future. He has delivered hundreds of lectures on oil depletion to a wide variety of audiences around
the world. He is the award-winning author of nine books including:

The Party's Over: Oil, War and the Fate of Industrial Societies;
Powerdown: Options and Actions for a Post-Carbon World;
The Oil Depletion Protocol: A Plan to Avert Oil Wars, Terrorism, and Economic Collapse; and
Blackout: Coal, Climate and the Last Energy Crisis.

Richard has authored scores of essays and articles that have appeared in such journals as The American Prospect, Public Policy Research, European Business Review, Earth Island Journal, Yes! Magazine, and The Sun. Richard has appeared on ABC’s Good Morning America, the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, the BBC, Australian Broadcasting Corporation, and Al Jazeera, as well as numerous radio programs and print publications. He has been featured in many film documentaries, including The End of Suburbia and Leonardo DiCaprio's 11th Hour.

Printable PDF Poster

  • peaknik
    peaknik

    Ridesharing for this event available at: www.tinyurl.com/heinberg

    Posted March 13, 2010 at 12:56 AM
  • peaknik
    peaknik

    Link to Op Ed in National Post today by Richard Heinberg:
    http://tiny.cc/9coMR

    Posted March 19, 2010 at 4:59 PM
  • David Wilson
    David Wilson

    the tiny link doesn't work for me - here is a direct one to the article at National Post http://www.nationalpost.com/story.html?id=2700421

    it starts, "... at least since 1998 ..." what about wazizname Hubbert? wasn't peak oil at least approximately 'scientifically articulated' back about 1957 or so?

    Posted March 19, 2010 at 8:50 PM
  • Steve Stinson
    Steve Stinson

    Peter Foster is on the mark in The Church of Peak Oil http://bit.ly/bWKVRg

    Posted March 24, 2010 at 5:07 PM
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233 attended
4.50 4.5030 (30 ratings)
  • Event Host
    Toronto Peak Oil MeetUp Host
    Organizer
  • Michael McNally
    Assistant Organizer
  • Colin Campbell
    Awesome - it was good to see such a large turnout of people. I think what struck me most was that the vast majority of people there were in their middle to senior age stages- Where were the young people? I know the doom/gloom aspects of PO can be depressing but given what's at stake - mental prepping will be key especially since they will be most affected by all this. That said, it was a great event and despite the fact that Mr Heinberg was the main draw everyone who got up and spoke was also deserving of the excellent reception provided by the crowd. Summary: Excellent meetup -definitely a memorable event and the organizers deserve 5 stars for executing this so well. Kudos to all
  • Ingrid
    Very Inspiring and great 'Facts' presented. Thanks!
  • blair clark
    Heinberg himself was informative, thoughtful, thought provoking, optimistic, positive. I'm motivated to get involved in the process of transition.
  • Alice Ho
    It was great to hear from an expert so that the facts aren't distorted. However, I think we as human do like to tangle ourselves with things that we want to fix, to be more efficient and therefore more intelligent and thus more destructive. The contemporary North American Urban Society has created our total economic social dependencies on our transportation system in every aspects of our life. We've created it, so how we are going to get out of it before more conglomerate damages are going to be done in future? Somehow, we've got to get started and it has to be from oneself first.
  • Peter Bursztyn
    +2 guests
    Sad actually, because the clear problem is the earth's surging population, but political correctness apparently forbids the obvious suggestion that this must be limited - somehow. There are two problems: (1) Economic orthodoxy dictates that we must either create (reproduction) or import young workers to support the elderly. (2) Human protein requirements demand "fixed" nitrogen. today. Half of this comes from nature and half from the Haber/Bosch process which basically runs off fossil fuel (mostly gas). If we did not have Haber/Bosch synthetic ammonia, world agriculture could only support 40% - 50% of the earth's present population of 6.5 billion. We have no method (yet) to "fix" nitrogen from either nuclear power, or renewables.
  • Glenn
    Still the beginners version. Richard showed the hockey stick graphs of what is happening to demand and that supply increases would be costly, so that prices have/could increase rapidly .... It is already happening with arable land around Bangladesh and water in sub Saharan Africa - people start to fight rather than die ........
  • Robert McDonald
    Excellent presentations by all ocncerned. Heinberg was everything I expected, well-informed, lucid, intelligent and inspiring. The meeting was very well organized. the only problem I experienced was when people did not speak into the mike and I couldn't hear them. Mikes and sound systems are a mixed blessing - people don't project their voices.
  • Steve Stinson
    It is clear that Heinberg does not understand economics. Instead, he should be looking to economics for solutions to our predicament, not the blame. Simply put, if peak oil is truly imminent, then prices should be reflecting the fact and provide opportunity for other energy solutions. Otherwise, there is money to be made whether supplying locally-produced food, energy-saving devices or car share services. Heinberg's talk of bottom-up approaches -- after all the market supplies what we demand -- initially seemed promising. But, then he went and spoiled it with his little anecdote about Cuba, as if all we need is some insightful dictator to tell us what to do. Also, his assertion about increasing inequality is wrong. Globally, the trend is inconclusive. In Canada, it has been declining. (http://en.w...) In any event, overall poverty rates are the lowest they have been in history.
  • David Katz
    While he showed his interprtation of Peak Oil and the problems with our society and the food production, I do not nesssarily agree with hiom that no one is seeing the links and problems as he claims. Many other organization are planning how to deal with all the major world problems taht are globally followed in eal time on the Internet, so perhaps his vision will not unfold as he claims.
  • Calan
    It was great to hear Richard speak and a good review of the basics. We need this, every once in a while, to remind us why we're doing what we're doing, so our thanks for organizing this talk.
  • Ray
    Well researched and well presented. I bought a copy of his latest book on Peak Coal.
  • David Elfstrom
    Assistant Organizer
    A very well-run evening. Richard Heinberg comes across as a very genuine person. A good introduction and crossover to the Transition Town movement. I'm glad to have attended.
  • steve
    Richard was agreat speaker to listen to. I really didn't receive any new info but thats ok..it was nice to see him in person steve
  • Ken Fair
    +1 guest
    Impressive for the group to have one of the brightest lights in the field of Peak Oil to give a talk.
  • bob findlay
    Enjoyed his message, although it has been expounded at length in his books and blogs.
  • David Wilson
    Richard was excellent, he did seem to imply that he is a PhD which I do not believe he is but ok, but your piling on one speaker after another was ... silly, Toronto is a big city - are there no competent sound people in it? you simply don't seem to know how to organize an event so that it works, too bad
  • Kelven
    +1 guest
  • Peter Shepherd
    +1 guest
  • jeffberg
    Assistant Organizer
  • Kathryn Tait
    Assistant Organizer
  • Randy Park
    Assistant Organizer
  • Catalina Navarro
    +1 guest
  • Jen
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