SEF 2006 Brings Together Leading Scientists and Policymakers

Congressman Roscoe Bartlett, Governor Brian Schweitzer, Lester Brown, and James Hansen Join 20 Leading Thinkers on Energy Sustainability

April 17, 2006 WASHINGTON, D.C.

Scientists, policymakers and advocates from government, environmental non-profits and academia will gather to discuss this year’s theme, “Peak Oil and the Environment.” For registration and information visit http://www.beyondpeak.org/

“America is ‘addicted to oil’ but this addiction will not be broken through technology alone,” said Congressman Roscoe Bartlett (R-MD). “This gathering will make an important contribution toward our understanding of true energy security.”

Congressman Bartlett will be joined by fellow University of Maryland alum Lester Brown, president of the Earth Policy Institute, to discuss the mounting challenges to America’s goal of energy independence in light of impending constraints imposed by ‘Peak Oil’- reaching the maximum rate of global oil production.

“When oil production turns downward, it will be a seismic economic event, creating a world unlike any we have known during our lifetimes,” said Brown. “Indeed, when historians write about this period in history, they may well distinguish between ‘before’ and ‘after’ Peak Oil.”

Montana Governor Brian Schweitzer will give the dinner address Monday evening, May 8 entitled “America’s Energy Future”. Montana holds vast wind energy and biofuels production potential, as well as the nation’s third largest reserves of coal.

“Clean, affordable energy can be produced in America while adding value to agricultural products,” said Schweitzer. “This will be an integral part of the solution for the near term – bridging the petroleum economy of the past to a new sustainable energy future – and as an important step in reducing our dependence on foreign oil.”

Mona Sahlin, Sweden’s Minister for Sustainable Development, will announce her country’s new initiative to be free of oil dependence by 2020.

Other speakers include James Hansen, Director of NASA’s Goddard Institute for Space Studies, who will discuss ecosystem and climate constraints to continued fossil fuel use; and Michael Klare, Director of Peace and World Security Studies at Hampshire College, who will highlight America’s growing vulnerability to further geopolitical conflict as a result of global competition for remaining oil reserves.

A panel of experts will assess the viability of liquid fuel alternatives such as biofuels, tar sands and coal liquefaction, which have become financially feasible due to sustained high oil prices resulting from burgeoning demand and supply constraints. However, production of some of these ‘alternatives’ produces greenhouse gas emissions that exceed conventional oil use, along with reduced net energy return and other environmental impacts.

“Global warming, geopolitical instability and conventional oil depletion ensure that we will not invent, invade or drill our way to energy independence,” said Max Christian, one of the organizers of Sustainable Energy Forum 2006. “This conference will bring realistic, forward-thinking ideas to the discussion of America’s energy future.”

The conference is sponsored by Wallace Global Fund, Sustainable Scale Project, Natural Resources Defense Council, and NRG Systems.

About Sustainable Energy Forum

Sustainable Energy Forum brings together today’s leading thinkers on energy, environment and society to explore options for a sustainable energy future. For registration and information visit: http://www.beyondpeak.org/

Contact Info:
Megan Quinn
Media Relations
Sustainable Energy Forum
Tel : 937-260-2377
E-mail : mailto:SEF06@umd.edu