Fort Lewis College disdains diversity of thought on energy

… So far in 2006, FLC has sponsored the showing of the film, “The End of Suburbia – Oil Depletion and the Collapse of the American Dream” and offers a four-credit course, “The End of Oil,” in its regular curriculum. Both promote an agenda on energy issues that is extreme in its desire for swift major change and needlessly alarmist in its message. Both ignore a host of factual material, leading to inaccurate conclusions about energy – present and future.

For example, both give great support to the so-called “Peak Oil” hypothesis: the idea that world oil production is set for imminent decline due to a vanishing resource base, with disastrous economic and societal consequences for the industrialized world. The hypothesis ignores contradictory assessments by knowledgeable individuals and agencies around the world, including the International Energy Agency and Cambridge Energy Research Associates (headed by Daniel Yergin, author of The Prize , the Pulitzer Prize-winning oil industry history).

In addition, FLC has had a hand in promoting the view that Peak Oil might after all be “good” for us, as demonstrated by the film, “The Power of Community: How Cuba Survived Peak Oil,” which was shown publicly in Durango on July 9 and as a classroom activity in the “End of Oil” course. According to the film, Peak Oil “good” arises from casting off modern technology and its economic, health and convenience benefits in favor of hand tools, human labor, and oxen-driven farm machinery. FLC also recently hosted a climate-change conference whose factually unfounded premise was that the climate of the region has recently changed in a significant and unusual way.

While engaging in these one-sided events, FLC sponsors no activities offering opposing or differing views. In fact, FLC shows great reluctance to accept legitimate opportunities to do so, as demonstrated by my particular experience.

Durango Herald (Colorado)