Kinsey and Laura Watson of Raleigh look closer at a Toyota Prius electric hybrid car during a sustainable energy conference in Raleigh on April 8, 2008.Credit: H. Scott Hoffmann / News & Record
By Morgan Josey Glover
Staff Writer
Wednesday, July 2
updated 7:40 am
Credit: H. Scott Hoffmann / News & Record
WANT TO GO?
What: Presentation on peak oil by Peter Kauber of Guilford Solar Communities
When: 10 a.m.-noon July 12
Where: Kathleen Clay Edwards Family Branch Library, 1420 Price Park Road, Greensboro
Cost: Free
Information: 375-5876 or send an e-mail to pkauber@triad.rr.com
If Greensboro leaders became convinced the years of cheap fuel are gone forever, what would they do?
Residents could soon find out. A citizen effort to educate the public about peak oil is making its way to City Hall. Mayor Yvonne Johnson said she expects a briefing on the issue later this month.
Knowledge of peak oil, the point at which the amount of petroleum that is economically feasible to extract and refine goes into decline - and prices go through the roof - has spurred some cities in the United States to curb their oil use. Some activists cry out for a World War II-scale mobilization that would transform the economy to run on a fraction of its fossil fuel base.
"The stark reality is that we're looking at a world where not too long in the future, fossil fuel energy will not be around," said David Noer, professor of business leadership at Elon University. "We're in deeper trouble than we think."
Now, Guilford County residents and leaders must decide how that transformation should take place and who should lead the effort: local governments or businesses....
