talk
february 2007
10:30am - 12:00pm
Peak Oil: What Is It, Who Is At Risk and What Can We Do About It?
Sun 18th | 10:30am - 12:00pm
The Edge
hosted by | Institute of Sensible Transport
Since September 2005, world crude oil prices have spiralled to record levels. Why has this happened? What are the social and economic consequences of super high oil prices? How can we adapt individually and as a nation to a future of scarce and expensive oil? Peak Oil is an increasingly common term used to describe the point at which maximum oil production is reached. Hear former Shell engineer, Phil Hart explain the basics of Peak Oil. Kate Colvin has been involved with groundbreaking research on the social and economic implications of high fuel costs. Focusing on low income, outer suburban and rural and regional Victoria, Kate explains how high petrol prices are hitting marginalised communities the hardest. Oil is one of the most important resources to modern living. Everything from agriculture to hip replacements is dependent on oil. The area of our lives most dependent on oil is transport. Around 70% of global oil is consumed by the transport sector and some 90% of our transport is oil dependent. Transport reform represents the low hanging fruit in the challenge of reducing our oil dependency. Hear Elliot Fishman explain what governments and individuals can do to reduce oil dependence.
Phil Hart, Kate Colvin and Elliot Fishman
Kate Colvin is the Policy and Public Affairs Manager at the Victorian Council of Social Service specialising in housing and transport policy. Kate has done research into the travel costs for residents of different locations in Melbourne. Before working at VCOSS, Kate worked in the international development sector in Australia and Thailand, campaigning against hydropower projects that threatened local livelihoods along the Mekong River. Kate is an economics graduate and is currently studying public relations.
Elliot has been a lead advocate on the relationships between oil depletion and transport. He has presented both internationally and around Australia on the issue. He acted as Expert Witness on Canberra's Senate Inquiry into Australia's fuel Supply Alternative in May 2006. He has written numerous articles for The Age and the Herald Sun on Peak oil and how it will affect our society. Elliot has a particular focus on the social ramification of Peak Oil in our auto dependent cities. He has addressed the Victorian Council for Social Services Congress on the social impact of peak oil in vulnerable communities. Elliot's approach is to draw upon the best estimates of current oil reserves, assess the feasibility of possible alternative fuels and integrate this with projected demand and geopolitical factors. On this basis, he sees world oil prices remaining high for the foreseeable future. This calls for the Government to take bold steps to replace our reliance on oil dependent transport. He has been working to do this through his involvement with the Institute for Sensible Transport and as Convenor if the Association for the Study of Peak Oil (ASPO)- Melbourne.
info@sensibletransport.org.au