The University of Maryland’s Sustainable Development and Conservation Biology program hosted Sustainable Energy Forum 2006: Peak Oil and the Environment, May 7-9, in Washington, DC.

The conference brought together scientists, policymakers and advocates from government, NGO's and civil society to identify the challenges and opportunities for a sustainable energy future.

Lester Brown called the conference "the most enagaging that I have attended in some 50 years of conference going."

Listen to audio files of the Sustainable Energy Forum 2006 speakers including:

Lester Brown Herman Daly James Hansen Michael Klare Bill McKibben

Overview

The purpose of the 2006 forum was to evaluate the environmental implications- particulary for climate stability- of various energy alternatives in light of projected global energy supply constraints:

Our recently diagnosed "addiction to oil" has re-ignited interest in energy independence: Global warming, geopolitical instability, and high oil prices have focused awareness on our need for energy alternatives, however resource constraints may pose more proximate threats to human well-being on a global scale.

The Department of Energy, US Army, major oil companies, and the NY Times have recognized the widespread implications of reaching the maximum rate of global oil production:  Peak oil will present unprecedented challenges to ecological sustainability and economic resilience, irrespective of the peak’s ultimate timing.

Our current energy trajectory is unsustainable; how the world responds to the twin challenges posed by peak oil and global warming will determine our legacy to future generations. These are a few of the key energy, environment, and economic issues to be addressed:

•        What are the geologic and production constraints implicit in peak oil?                      
•        What are the geopolitical implications of reaching the peak?                                    
•        What are some options for transportation fuel alternatives and their viability?          
•        What are the environmental implications of the energy alternatives being pursued?

•        How much energy is needed for human well-being?                                                  
•        What options do we have for reducing demand?                                                      
•        What policy approaches are critical to moving forward?                 

                           
Conference co-sponsors: