Converging Storms: Peak Oil, Climate Change,
and the Fate of Industrial Civilization
Dick Lawrence, Board Member
Association for the Study of Peak Oil
A Free Lecture at First Parish Lexington ma
Open to the Public
Thursday October 25, 2007 at 8 pm
LEXINGTON MA September 25, 2007 First Parish Lexington (Unitarian-Universalist) will host the fall 2007 Elizabeth Howe Lecture in the First Parish Sanctuary entitled Converging Storms: Peak Oil, Climate Change, and the Fate of Industrial Civilization. Dick Lawrence, co-founder and Board member of ASPO-USA, will examine the controversy, the facts, and the ethics of energy consumption in the 21st century. A reception and refreshments will follow the lecture.
ASPO-USA is the US branch of the Association for the Study of Peak Oil & Gas. "Peak Oil" is the conclusion of many geologists and other oil industry experts that world oil production has or will peak within a few years leading to increasingly significant yearly shortfalls between global oil demand and supply. These shortfalls will have very serious impacts on just about every aspect of industrial modern life including our food supply, transportation, and, ironically, our ability to mitigate global warming.
The Association for Study of Peak Oil (ASPO) Global's website describes the association as a network of scientists and others, having an interest in determining the timing and impact of the peak and decline of the world's production of oil and gas, due to resource constraints. Independent national associations are in existence or in formation in thirty countries including the United States. The mission of ASPO is (1) to evaluate the world's endowment and definition of oil and gas; (2) to study depletion, taking due account of economics, demand, technology and politics; (3) to raise awareness of the serious consequences of oil and gas decline for our industrialized civilization.
Dick Lawrence has followed energy issues closely for more than two decades, and in 2005 he co-founded ASPO-USA (Association for Study of Peak Oil and Gas, USA affiliate) where he currently serves on the Board of Directors. In 2006 he organized the group's second annual conference in Boston, which was hosted by Boston University and attracted over 500 attendees for 3 days of presentations on energy issues and climate change. He now coordinates a project to model world energy flow and the economy, with Millennium Institute (Washington, DC) and SUNY-ESF (Syracuse, NY).
Dick worked as a system and IC design engineer for Digital Equipment for 22 years, followed by 8 years at Intel, and is now semi-retired. He has lived in Hudson, MA since 1979. Dick also serves on the Board of Directors for OAR, a watershed advocacy group for the Assabet and Concord Rivers. He is a member of HCAN, the Hudson-area Climate Action Network, and is a volunteer for the Hudson Recycling Committee. He cycles 3000 to 4000 miles a year and in his spare time tries to make a c. 1825 farmhouse more energy efficient.
This lecture is being sponsored by the Elizabeth Howe Lecture Fund and the Social Action Committee of First Parish Lexington. Elizabeth Howe was a long-time First Parish member and Lexington teacher. Her bequest to First Parish established a fund to support an annual lecture series by nationally recognized speakers who address matters of national and global concern. Past years' speakers have included environmentalist Bill McKibben and former Assistant Secretary of Defense for International Security Affairs Joseph Nye. For more information please contact Janet McKenney or John Oberteuffer via the church office.
7 Harrington Road, adjacent to the Green
(781) 862-8200; email: admin.fplex@verizon.net
Parking is available, wheelchair accessible
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